Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst books ever
Review: I've read almsot everything Niven has ever had printed. He's one of my favorite authors from my youth.That being said, this book was so painful to read that it made me physically angry. The plot wanders aimlessly, at times almost like entire chapters had fallen from the book binding. I kept finding myself backing up in the book trying to see where I missed what was going on, only to discover that IT WASN'T IN THE BOOK. Years would pass unremarked from one page to the next. Characters disappeared, never to be mentioned again, new ones appeared and treated as if they'd been there for 100 pages. Not simply a waste of time, but a literary insult to the reader.
Rating:
Summary: The Worst Book I've Ever Read
Review: Destiny's Road is a fairly slow paced character study that contains a fair amount of science fiction, but mostly low tech. The protagonist of the novel, Jeremy Bloocher commits a murder (albeit in self-defense) and is uprooted from his safe existence in a very small colony of Earthlings on a distant planet. We follow Jeremy as he gets further from his home and begins to learn the secrets of Destiny. Jeremy is very well written and the world Niven has created is interesting enough to keep you turning pages. The main complaint I have is that the scope of the world is too small (maybe 100kms from end to end) for such the dichotomy of existence Jeremy found.
Rating:
Summary: Skip this one
Review: I've read lots of Niven's books, and all were good or excellent. Except this one. I seriously wonder if Niven even wrote this himself. I'm really sorry to say it, but its awful.
Rating: 
Summary: It had some potential
Review: Destiny Road is an interresting outline of what could have been a really great story with some charachter development, plot development, and some real feeling. However, it reads as a technical/historical account of someone who wanders along a road on the planet Destiny, and meets people in different places and experiences some hardships. I never really felt I could connect with any of the charachters. The plot lacks any real momentum, and the story jumps in places, near the end a full 27 years, during which time he marries, has children, and a stable life.....but when his wife of 16 years dies from a tragic accident, he gets on with things and finds someone new to 'rub up with' in a matter of days. Finding the 'great terrible secret' of Destiny life is little more than the protaginist surfing the net on a library computer and reading entries on various topics. No real conflict, no real suspense. There are also inconsistancies in the book which others have pointed out in many places. It's books like these which reinforce the idea of using the library to read books, and only buying the ones I really want to keep.
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