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Summary: Another gem that should be reprinted
Review: Long before Piers Anthony wrote his successful fantasy novels he penned "Macroscope"- one of the most imaginative and original science fiction novels ever written. The characterizations may be a bit weak, and the dialogue a bit wooden at times, but the ideas, and the scope of the novel boirder on the breathtaking. Imagine: A huge instrument is set up in Earth orbit that has the ability to view a recently discovered particle that lets it peer anywhere in space- not only in the present, but in the past as well. What started as a research instrument has been revealed as the ultimate spy satellite. This alone makes it a political hot potato, as different factions fight over control of the scope . Unknown to the governments on earth fighting over the scope, the researchers on board have discovered that other civilizations are broadcasting information viewable by the scope, if you're smart enogh to figure out the code. But there's a catch: Everyone of the brilliant scientists who has thus tried to read the signal has ended up dead or brain damaged. The last man to try sent for a childhood friend before the attempt that left him in a vegetative state. What's odd is the friend he sent for isn't a genius like the others; he's downright dull, by all appearances. Affairs come to a crisis when a powerful and very intelligent Senator demands access to the scope- and is killed by it. Faced with the seizure of the scope by the military, the researchers on board cut it loose and flee into space. That's just the first chapter. What follows is one of the most original and imaginative novels in SciFi. I first read it back in high school, in 1970; it's still fresh today.
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Summary: Fellow readers, find this book.
Review: Macroscope is one of those books that has insinuated its tendrils through my core being, occasionally poking to the surface to prod me in ways only my past adolescence could understand. More than twenty five years later I still recall the intensity of the experience, the impact of the story, the depth of the emotion. I seek to revisit the book, although alas I realize the experience will pale in comparison to when I read it last as a starry-eyed impressionable teen. I do not seek to belittle the teen years. On the contrary, our very being is molded by those early experiences and in no small part by the books we read then. Macroscope has stuck with me like few other titles. I have to concur with what others have posted. If you've ever read one of Piers Anthony's more recent works (by more recent, I mean post Orn series), then you owe it to yourself to read this early masterpiece. Like bob20799 suggests, I too wish Piers Anthony would return to writing with that skill evinced in his early novels, before it gets too late as in Isaac Asimov's case. It seems as though Isaac Asimov's more recent works aren't even penned by his own hand. Alas... So go to the Used Racks, the Library, e-bay. Find this book, and read it. While you're there, find one of these books too: The Mote in God's Eye, Across a Billion Years, the Foundation series, Anthony's own Orn series, Battlefield Earth (another tremendous early work by an author not really known for his pure Sci Fi roots), Lucifer's Hammer (yet another great collaboration by Niven/Pournelle), or The White Mountains trilogy.
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Summary: ONE THE BEST BOOKS I EVER READ!
Review: Macroscope was definetily the best science fiction book I ever read! This book had me thinking all the way through as to who Schon was and why the macroscope in the story was destroying the minds of earths greatest scientists. This book is filled with adventure and the way Mr.Anthony lets you know what is going on in side the minds of the characters shows how talented he is at writing. I seriously recomend science fiction readers everywhere to read this one you will not be disappointed!
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Summary: A classic from the "early" Piers Anthony
Review: On balance I prefer Orn/Omnivore/0X, but this is a classic of SF, not just a Piers Anthony classic. Of course nowadays Piers Anthony is known as the mundane and amazingly prolific author of Xanth books, and someone who "knows" Piers Anthony would no more recognize his writing in Macroscope than in, oh, "In the Barn." Be that as it may, Anthony was once a magnificent hard SF writer in the vein of Heinlein, and his early works in the genre are good and sometimes great. Fantasy owes Anthony a huge debt for popularizing the genre, but if you ask me, he did his heavy lifting in SF.
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Summary: One of those rare books you chance on.
Review: Probably the best book I ever read, certainly one I'll never forget. The story describes an absolute genius ( his IQ can't be measured ) and a young man who seems to be a simpleton, apart from 3 special talents. The genius IS a genius, but the other one ? It's SciFi and Fantasy, nearly every fantasy episode becomes somehow strangely familiar towards the end. The whole story seems to have been penned by a mind as ingenious as the ( main ? ) figure, which is in fact part of the book's magic.
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Summary: Whatever happend to Piers Anthony?
Review: Read this book before you read anything else by Piers Anthony. It might allow you to forgive nearly everything else he's written.
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Summary: Undoubltably one of PA's finest and one Sci-Fi's finest
Review: So much to say. The characters are not just deep but convoluted with a complexity that would make fine subject matter for a novel unto itself. That is only the beginning of this book however, the Macroscope is a fantastic invention of PA's imagination and the none of the socio-political implications that such a device would have on society are missed in PA's treatment of it. As the book winds forward we experience a many different adventures each of which are complete stories themselves. The book has a refreshingly scientific treatment of inter-galactic space travel and the problems involved with it. All around one of my favorite books of all time.
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Summary: Erratic, fascinating, brilliant
Review: The plot of this tour de force includes such disparate elements as ancient Middle Eastern history, astrology, future science, music of the mind, cold-war politics, love and galactic civilization... all handled with lucid plausibility. What makes the book fascinating, though, is the way the author renders the IQ of his main characters... from an "ordinary" couple to a being only barely human
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Summary: A bittersweet example of what Anthony used to be
Review: This book will remain forever one of my favorites, of any genre or author. Unfortunately, it is also a continual reminder of the seemingly endless imagination and depth Anthony used to put into his work. Read it and enjoy it, but be aware it will put much of his recent work to shame.
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Summary: His Best Work
Review: This is an interesting story, and by far the best work of Anthony's ever. His other books don't contain half as much originality and creativity, if that much.
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