The Wine of Violence

Rating:
Summary: Can pacifism be taken too far?
Review: Morrow has a gift for an unforgettable image. In Towing Jehovah, we have God's 2 mile long rotting corpse being towed by a supertanker, and here we have a river of liquefied hate. If you think the book is totally unrealistic (even by sfnal standards), you're right. But that's not the point-- read the cover: it's "A Science Fiction Fable." In between the satire runs the very serious question of how far we should bow before the altar of expedience. This book is deeper than it seems.

Rating:
Summary: Can pacifism be taken too far?
Review: Morrow has a gift for an unforgettable image. In Towing Jehovah, we have God's 2 mile long rotting corpse being towed by a supertanker, and here we have a river of liquefied hate. If you think the book is totally unrealistic (even by sfnal standards), you're right. But that's not the point-- read the cover: it's "A Science Fiction Fable." In between the satire runs the very serious question of how far we should bow before the altar of expedience. This book is deeper than it seems.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most abysmal books I've ever read
Review: Subtitled "A Science Fiction Fable," The Wine of Violence was a wonderful beginning to Morrow's career. The central plot element is a fabulous (as in "fable") river into which planetary inhabitants routinely "decant" their violent impulses. The book begins when an outsider makes a forced landing on the planet, and discovers the society that results when violence is all but eliminated. It takes off when the protagonist's new lover partakes of the wine of violence. For me, the book was a tour de force of characterization, as the main characters remained real throughout their transformations. Ever since I read it, I have eagerly looked forward to Morrow's work.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific debut novel
Review: Subtitled "A Science Fiction Fable," The Wine of Violence was a wonderful beginning to Morrow's career. The central plot element is a fabulous (as in "fable") river into which planetary inhabitants routinely "decant" their violent impulses. The book begins when an outsider makes a forced landing on the planet, and discovers the society that results when violence is all but eliminated. It takes off when the protagonist's new lover partakes of the wine of violence. For me, the book was a tour de force of characterization, as the main characters remained real throughout their transformations. Ever since I read it, I have eagerly looked forward to Morrow's work.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most abysmal books I've ever read
Review: The plot is ludicrous. The characters are completely flat. The science and nature described in the book are so incredibly bad as to be absurd. The only thing that kept this book from being a complete waste of paper is that it serves as an object lesson for how not to write.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not as good as his others.
Review: The Wine of Violence wasn't a bad book. It's better than most out there. But James Morrow is one of the best authors writing today, and this isn't his best work. In my opinion, "This is the Way the World Ends" is. The theme of the book is peace vs. freedom, and the setting is utopian Quetzalia, a hidden planet of pacifists. But the ideas aren't just floating out there; as in most of James Morrow's books, the characters are strong. I recommend this book for James Morrow fans only, the rest can skip it.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Fairy Tale
Review: The writing is what saves this book from mediocrity. Morrow is very sly and his humor is mostly satirical. Some people like satire and some people don't. So if you enjoy books like Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" you might also like "The Wine of Violence". Both set up artificial worlds in order to poke fun at society. It's true that the characterization isn't very good and the plot is only mildly interesting, but the description of the moral dilemma in this story is great. What would happen if cannibals got loose in a pacifistic society? At what point is it permissable to kill? The story is entertaining to read because it examines a deep concept in a generally non-threatening way, giving food for thought without being too dark and depressing.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Fairy Tale
Review: The writing is what saves this book from mediocrity. Morrow is very sly and his humor is mostly satirical. Some people like satire and some people don't. So if you enjoy books like Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" you might also like "The Wine of Violence". Both set up artificial worlds in order to poke fun at society. It's true that the characterization isn't very good and the plot is only mildly interesting, but the description of the moral dilemma in this story is great. What would happen if cannibals got loose in a pacifistic society? At what point is it permissable to kill? The story is entertaining to read because it examines a deep concept in a generally non-threatening way, giving food for thought without being too dark and depressing.

Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Fairy Tale
Review: The writing is what saves this book from mediocrity. Morrow is very sly and his humor is mostly satirical. Some people like satire and some people don't. So if you enjoy books like Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" you might also like "The Wine of Violence". Both set up artificial worlds in order to poke fun at society. It's true that the characterization isn't very good and the plot is only mildly interesting, but the description of the moral dilemma in this story is great. What would happen if cannibals got loose in a pacifistic society? At what point is it permissable to kill? The story is entertaining to read because it examines a deep concept in a generally non-threatening way, giving food for thought without being too dark and depressing.

Rating:
Summary: Eh.
Review: This is certainly a pretty good book. However, it also certainly has some problems. Personally, I feel that the book is basically completely pointless. The plot is interesting, to a point (...) The last part of the book is basically completely linear and boring, (...)

Anyways, now that I am done dissecting the plot, it is time for the theme. I find that the theme of the book is more like 'agression vs. pacifism'. However, if the book was supposed to be an arguement for pacifism, it did not work very well. If it was supposed to be an arguement for agression, it did even worse. It did not seem like it was an argument for anything, however.

The characters were kind of piddly-ish. Burne especially was flat and kind of lame (although he was the coolest character). He was also the least believable. I mean, come on, he is archaelogist! Who does he think he is, Indiana Jones? :D

To sum it all up, this is book without any sort of external motives for being written or read. It is purely a story, although it (is bad) (somewhat). In short, do not expect anything amazing. I wouldn't pay more than 5 bucks for this - and I doubt you could get it for that much. Just borrow it.