Twistor

Rating:
Summary: Twistor - A Fine Story
Review: Cramer's blend of physics and a believable story in the near future makes for a book that is difficult to put down. The physics is real with only slight modification to make it acceptable in a fictional novel. This makes for more realistic fiction than the more far-fetched 'star wars' type. All in all, it's a book that I found very readable. The only annoying feature was the continual break in story line to recount a fairy-tale to the two children. I hope he writes more books along the same lines.

Rating:
Summary: At Last: A Science Fiction Book With Science
Review: I am often bemused by customer reviews that criticize a science fiction book because it has science in it. This is the type of book that a lot of "science fiction" fans won't like: It contains some actual, fairly believable science; it takes place in the present; it is not a space opera. Twistor uses the concept of a shadow universe to provide us with a most interesting thriller. If the modest amount of science is over your head you can safely skim through it.

My only annoyance was with the fairy tale that the protagonist told to two children in stages throughout the book. While I can grasp the author's intent in telling it, I didn't like the plot interruption. All in all a most worthy book.

Rating:
Summary: Great hard sci-fi
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is set in the present time and approaches the story as something that could be happening at a University lab right now. Some people won't like it because the characters aren't morally bankrupt, but if you like hard science fiction with a happy ending this is it.

The story is somewhat predictable, but keeps you interested.

Rating:
Summary: Great hard sci-fi
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is set in the present time and approaches the story as something that could be happening at a University lab right now. Some people won't like it because the characters aren't morally bankrupt, but if you like hard science fiction with a happy ending this is it.

The story is somewhat predictable, but keeps you interested.

Rating:
Summary: As close as it gets to real science!
Review: If you want realistic science fiction, this is it! As a scientist, I really appreciate Cramer's physics background and his ability to write about it in a captivating way. Real science is sometimes even more intriguing than science fiction. And both of Cramer's books begin with a strong foundation in cutting-edge physics and then step into scientific speculation, not wild frictionalizing.

While time/dimensional travel might not be a new topic, Cramer deals with it in an incredibly realistic way. It is also quite easy to follow and understand the complex physics he talks about. Twistor is one of the best science fiction books EVER! His second book, Einstein's Bridge, is even better!

Rating:
Summary: As close as it gets to real science!
Review: If you want realistic science fiction, this is it! As a scientist, I really appreciate Cramer's physics background and his ability to write about it in a captivating way. Real science is sometimes even more intriguing than science fiction. And both of Cramer's books begin with a strong foundation in cutting-edge physics and then step into scientific speculation, not wild frictionalizing.

While time/dimensional travel might not be a new topic, Cramer deals with it in an incredibly realistic way. It is also quite easy to follow and understand the complex physics he talks about. Twistor is one of the best science fiction books EVER! His second book, Einstein's Bridge, is even better!

Rating:
Summary: Intrigue, Spies, & High Powered Physics.
Review: My edition of "Twistor" was published in 1989. I found Cramer's predictions in the afterword to be quite an accurate reflection of what the internet has become...starting from BitNet. Its a good story with the kind of plot that is hard to put down. Now if only he'd write that sequel he alluded to in the afterword...

Rating:
Summary: no new ideas and slow pace
Review: My search for this book was a long one. I first learned about the author and his book when I downloaded a computerized periodic table for the Macintosh written by John Cramer. (It was a Hypercard stack, I believe.) It was freeware that, incidentally, advertised his book Twistor. I put the book on my mental "to buy" list but it was YEARS before I spotted a copy on a bookshelf. (Still a first printing. Go figure.)

What goes around comes around, though, and I did wind up "paying" for Cramer's excellent periodic table with my purchase of his book. Meanwhile it's a fine book, a thoroughly well crafted hard science fiction tale with a little mystery and fantasy thrown in. Highly recommended to fans of "good old SF" -- like me! And infinitely more deft than, say, Crichton's recent expedition into vaguely similar territory.

Rating:
Summary: no new ideas and slow pace
Review: Twistor is about parallel universes and a greedy corporation trying to steal a great new discovery. These ideas are not exactly new. In fact they are rather worn. Unfortunately storytelling doesn't compensate for the lack of ideas either. The pace is slow and for some reason the author thinks that the reader is interested in the make and model of computer each character uses, the routes they drive and where do they shift gears. There are quite a few books better then this.