Solis

Rating:
Summary: More Fawning Praise For Attanasio
Review: A masterpiece. Deep, colourful, rich and poetic Space Opera. The transhuman Maat come across as truly wise, the villians are despicable, the writing is beatiful and the characters are distinctive and likeable. The ideas examined are interesting, classic SF themes, excellently handled and with great insight. Its only flaw is a mildly spiteful sticky end for two of the villians, which seams tacked-on and a little too neat. I picked this up idly one morning in the library, and found myself still there reading it when it closed. Well worth looking for.

Rating:
Summary: We're off to see the wizard!
Review: Attanasio writes some pretty good science fiction, and this novel is a lot better than a lot of the books you see, but it isn't the author's best. In fact, it reminded me of 'The Wizard of Oz' ... you've got a tin man who wants a heart (or to become human), a brain who wants a body (sort of a reverse Scarecrow), and a girl who wants a home (well, maybe). I can't work out if the journalist or Buddy is the cowardly one, and the wicked character melts in the end. Actually, the correlations listed are a bit stretched, but still, the character's are on their way to a magical city to have their problems solved. Not a bad read.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Fantastic book; from the ore mining scenes to the trek, from the humble beginnings to the twist at the end, this book is well worth the price!!!

The author is a true poet. I've never seen SF so beautifully written (believe it or not)...

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: Fantastic book; from the ore mining scenes to the trek, from the humble beginnings to the twist at the end, this book is well worth the price!!!

The author is a true poet. I've never seen SF so beautifully written (believe it or not)...

Rating:
Summary: A very interesting idea, but the plot fizzles
Review: Hƒ(Solis begins with a very intersting idea and main character- a person who awakes one thousand years after having his brain frozen at the moment of death in the 21st century. Charles Outis wanted to see the future, even if there was only a slim chance that his brain would be revived. The brain is found in an archeological dig, and Charles Outis, dubbed Mr. Charlie by his discoverers, finds a world beyond anything he could have imagined.

The premise to the story, and even the main character (a brain without a body) is very interesting. The first coulpe of chapters are well-written and drawn the reader into a facinating world that has an android created by superadvanced, genetically manipulated decendents of humankind who has a program that makes him fixedly interested in humans. The interest that the android takes in the "archaic" human brain makes for a good possible plot. However, the author continues to introduce new characters, many of marginal interest. For a 200 page novel, there are too many marginal characters. The most unfortunate outcome, however, is the loss of focus on the two most interesting characters, Mr. Charlie and the android. Mr. Anatansio is facinated with the broad repertoire of words availble in the English language. More time could have been put into plot development than "finding the right word." The book concludes with so many unanswered questions that in almost seems the author just go tired and decided to stop.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the "Big Names"
Review: It is amazing what celebrity can accomplish. Attanasio has to be one of the greatest sci-fi writers around but who do we hear about - Azimov (very formulaic and mechanical), Clarke (who has published some of the best/worst potboilers around) or any of the other "Founding Fathers" of science fiction.

How else can one praise this magnificent work of art - the characters (including the brain) are all interesting, the story is one we've heard before but is handled so well that it seems refreshingly new, the plot is especially well designed but even better is the execution. Dialogue was perfect and the writing was just this side of poetic.

The long chase scene and the switches in scenery seemed to fit in effortlessly in the plot. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the "Big Names"
Review: It is amazing what celebrity can accomplish. Attanasio has to be one of the greatest sci-fi writers around but who do we hear about - Azimov (very formulaic and mechanical), Clarke (who has published some of the best/worst potboilers around) or any of the other "Founding Fathers" of science fiction.

How else can one praise this magnificent work of art - the characters (including the brain) are all interesting, the story is one we've heard before but is handled so well that it seems refreshingly new, the plot is especially well designed but even better is the execution. Dialogue was perfect and the writing was just this side of poetic.

The long chase scene and the switches in scenery seemed to fit in effortlessly in the plot. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Sci-fi Masterpieces
Review: When I read this book, it was breathtaking. Every line is so well written that it captures the heart, and at the same time, makes you think. One of the most well written sci-fi stories in history. A. A. Attanasio is also one of the greatest science fiction writers in history. He is very clever when using his imagination - he brings the reader into his world.

This book is a triumph. It should be hailed for all time. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of SciFi
Review: You can just imagine the sudden jolt from your last death vision to that of an alien laboratory as they revive your frozen brain and put you to work as the central computer of a mining station. This book sucks you in and sticks in your mind with its vivid imagery and rich storyline. I hope someone turns this into a good movie, it sure certainly wouldn't turn into a standard sci-fi movie (Lost in Space, Wing Commander).