Rating: 
Summary: A book for the thinking SF reader
Review: ... I have to state that this book (and its sequel, "The Stars Are Also Fire", and less so with the remaining two in the quartet, "Harvest the Fire" and "The Fleet of Stars") is perhaps the most thought-provoking SF work I have read. It ranks, for me, with the very best of Asimov, Heinlein, et. al., in terms of making me think of what the author is trying to convey. Its exposition of artificial intelligence (developed to much greater depth in the successors to this book) is very good, albeit coming late in this volume. The classic conflict between central control of society, and individual freedoms, is well set out, and overall it places one in the position of constantly asking "How would I react to this?" I've gone to the trouble of buying the whole quartet in hardcover, as I know that these are books I will be re-reading until I die. Great work!
Rating: 
Summary: Very, Very Interesting
Review: After reading the numerous rave reviews on the cover, I was expecting a masterpiece. I didn't get it until page 420 or so. The last section of the book is masterful. Beautiful. As it's the last section, it's the part the reader will remember best, which is the only rationale for the excellent reviews.'Harvest..' starts like any other SF novel. Earth is a global planet with Asians & South Americans dominant. There's an oppressive, unfeeling government. So far nothing we haven't seen 100 times. The story isn't very good either. I found myself confused on numerous occasions.
Rating:
Summary: Very, Very Interesting
Review: After reading the numerous rave reviews on the cover, I was expecting a masterpiece. I didn't get it until page 420 or so. The last section of the book is masterful. Beautiful. As it's the last section, it's the part the reader will remember best, which is the only rationale for the excellent reviews. 'Harvest..' starts like any other SF novel. Earth is a global planet with Asians & South Americans dominant. There's an oppressive, unfeeling government. So far nothing we haven't seen 100 times. The story isn't very good either. I found myself confused on numerous occasions.
Rating:
Summary: OK read, but would not read again
Review: As I have noted elsewhere, as he got older Poul Anderson seemed to more or less settle on his vision of man's future. He essentially appears to believe that man is destined to be subordinate to and dominated by entities of artificial intelligence, which will simultaneously raise the general standard of living while diminishing mankind's self-determination. Anderson portrays this as an inevitable and a depressing future. There is no better friend to freedom and liberty than Anderson, yet he seems to lack confidence that mankind in the future will enjoy freedom in a manner consistent with American notions. A plausible and interesting concept, but in his last decade or so Anderson seemed unable to depart from this groove. Surely other human destinies are possible--Anderson has told of many. Poul Anderson is far and away my favorite SF author. This novel, while interesting and readable, is not his best work. This book is a maddening mix of brilliant speculation, great characterization, and bloated prose. This novel would have been twice as good if it had been half as long. The novel is the story of a freedom-loving spacefaring "corporation" (really a nation of sorts) struggling against oppressive earth governments. The relevant characters are brilliantly portrayed as people and as idealists, and/or villains. Unfortunately, the book bogs down and could and should have been much more crisply written. Consequently, the story line seems to ramble towards the end. Frankly, I found the ending unsatisfying and implausible. Poul Anderson's other works are more imaginative and better written. If you like this book (and there is a fair amount to like) try his Nicholas Van Rijn/Polesotechnic League series, and his many collections of short stories. This are among his best work.
Rating: 
Summary: A dark novel. Good, but not Anderson's best work.
Review: As I have noted elsewhere, as he got older Poul Anderson seemed to more or less settle on his vision of man's future. He essentially appears to believe that man is destined to be subordinate to and dominated by entities of artificial intelligence, which will simultaneously raise the general standard of living while diminishing mankind's self-determination. Anderson portrays this as an inevitable and a depressing future. There is no better friend to freedom and liberty than Anderson, yet he seems to lack confidence that mankind in the future will enjoy freedom in a manner consistent with American notions. A plausible and interesting concept, but in his last decade or so Anderson seemed unable to depart from this groove. Surely other human destinies are possible--Anderson has told of many. Poul Anderson is far and away my favorite SF author. This novel, while interesting and readable, is not his best work. This book is a maddening mix of brilliant speculation, great characterization, and bloated prose. This novel would have been twice as good if it had been half as long. The novel is the story of a freedom-loving spacefaring "corporation" (really a nation of sorts) struggling against oppressive earth governments. The relevant characters are brilliantly portrayed as people and as idealists, and/or villains. Unfortunately, the book bogs down and could and should have been much more crisply written. Consequently, the story line seems to ramble towards the end. Frankly, I found the ending unsatisfying and implausible. Poul Anderson's other works are more imaginative and better written. If you like this book (and there is a fair amount to like) try his Nicholas Van Rijn/Polesotechnic League series, and his many collections of short stories. This are among his best work.
Rating:
Summary: Anderson is one of the Gods Of Hard SF.
Review: Harvest deals mostly with the trials and tribulations of a resistance fighter named Kyra Davis as she goes all around the northeastern seaboard of what is now America but has become a world domineering theocracy/ideocracy trying to protect the recorded personality of the legendary Anson Guthrie from the government's special police. Masterful in everything it attempts. Along with one very moving part in the book involving a beautifully rendered dream box sequence that I personally would do just about anything to experience. Truly one of the great masterpieces of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: When will it ever end?!
Review: I agree with the Kirkus Review: this novel is ponderous, bloated. I marvelled at the additional layers of sentimental stuff that kept plopping into the final 50 pages; at times it read like the author's outline. There was no character change, no hard decisions. Plot developments were weighty and slow, then petered away into inconsequential issues. It was my first exposure to Poul Anderson and it'll probably be awhile before I get back.
Rating:
Summary: A book for the thinking SF reader
Review: I first read Poul Anderson's ambitious novel HARVEST OF STARS at the age of fourteen and thought its epic scope and powerful drama fascinating. Reading it again at a more mature age, however, shine light on the book's myriad weaknesses. HARVEST OF STARS is divided into two parts. The first takes place within a period of about a month and tells of a future North American government's plot to secure its oppresive regime by reprogramming a copy of downloaded personality of the head of Fireball, a private company that through space exploration has grown until it is a quasi-nation. Kyra Davis, a space pilot, is selected to save the original of the download, get him out of North America, and let him reclaim Fireball away from his warped copy. The second part is really the best part of the book. It covers a sweeping era of several hundred years of Fireball's colonization of a planet in Alpha Centauri after it has fled the increasingly machine-led goverment of the Solar System. The man vs. machine matter is disquieting and Anderson's treatment of it is certainly thought-provoking. Poul Anderson's prose, however, is nearly execrable. He frequently uses words that have been left behind in the English language for centuries, "yon," "fain," "how fare you," and puts them into the mouths of people who would plainly not speak that way. This makes for simply unbelievable dialoge. Another unfortunate matter is Anderson's near-bigotry. The hero of the book, Anderson's model of the well-rounded man, says in one part "I've considered Islam to be one of the human race's bigger mistakes." In another part, Anderson uses "chocolate complexion" to describe the face of an African-American in a racially insensitive way. HARVEST OF STARS is not a good book for most people. It may be appropriate for youngsters, who will not be driven mad by the sheer silliness of the language but who will still be touched by the book's drama and will not be influenced by the book's Libertarian prostylizing.
Rating: 
Summary: The book raises interesting issues, but it's not enough
Review: I first read Poul Anderson's ambitious novel HARVEST OF STARS at the age of fourteen and thought its epic scope and powerful drama fascinating. Reading it again at a more mature age, however, shine light on the book's myriad weaknesses. HARVEST OF STARS is divided into two parts. The first takes place within a period of about a month and tells of a future North American government's plot to secure its oppresive regime by reprogramming a copy of downloaded personality of the head of Fireball, a private company that through space exploration has grown until it is a quasi-nation. Kyra Davis, a space pilot, is selected to save the original of the download, get him out of North America, and let him reclaim Fireball away from his warped copy. The second part is really the best part of the book. It covers a sweeping era of several hundred years of Fireball's colonization of a planet in Alpha Centauri after it has fled the increasingly machine-led goverment of the Solar System. The man vs. machine matter is disquieting and Anderson's treatment of it is certainly thought-provoking. Poul Anderson's prose, however, is nearly execrable. He frequently uses words that have been left behind in the English language for centuries, "yon," "fain," "how fare you," and puts them into the mouths of people who would plainly not speak that way. This makes for simply unbelievable dialoge. Another unfortunate matter is Anderson's near-bigotry. The hero of the book, Anderson's model of the well-rounded man, says in one part "I've considered Islam to be one of the human race's bigger mistakes." In another part, Anderson uses "chocolate complexion" to describe the face of an African-American in a racially insensitive way. HARVEST OF STARS is not a good book for most people. It may be appropriate for youngsters, who will not be driven mad by the sheer silliness of the language but who will still be touched by the book's drama and will not be influenced by the book's Libertarian prostylizing.
Rating:
Summary: Harvest of Yawns
Review: I wasn't a Poul Anderson fan before I read this book, and I still am not. The last Anderson book I read was in the Ensign Flandry series in the late 80's which told a nice story but was nothing special. This book has an interesting idea: the downloads of the head of Fireball trying to outwit each other. The corrupted download is a pawn of the oppressive government while the other fights to maintain Fireball's independence and freedom. Too bad Anderson forgot to tell a story or build the characters along the way. Another author could have made this into a great book with this premise. The book is indeed a ponderous read as Kirkus Reviews indicates. Instead, of concentrating on developing a good storyline and dialogue, Anderson describes EVERYTHING is excruciating detail. If you want to be entertained, I would recommend that you read some of Anderson's earlier Flandry novels.
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