Rating: 
Summary: What a novelization should be
Review: I was nervous reading this book because The Abyss is one of my all time favorite movies. My fears were quickly quieted. Orson scott Card is a masterful story teller and creates a depth to his characters that make them come alive. I look forward to picking up some of his other works. This book was the movie and more. Each enriches the other. The book adds the detail a movie cannot contain. I know the movie by heart and was not bored by this book. That says a lot.I also found the afterwords by both Cameron and Card fascinating. It is good to see two masters of their own media working together with a respect for each other's work. Both men should be applauded for thier contributions to the world of Science Fiction. I was riveted to this book and got frustrated when I put it down then forgot where I put it. I highly recommend the book and the movie.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book
Review: My father and I both read this before the movie came out. I believe the book was released a few months before the movie. Anyway, when the movie came out, we were both very disappointed by the ending. Now that the director's cut has been released with the full ending in it, our faith in James Cameron has been renewed. From the start though, we have always loved the novelization by Mr. Card.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book
Review: My father and I both read this before the movie came out. I believe the book was released a few months before the movie. Anyway, when the movie came out, we were both very disappointed by the ending. Now that the director's cut has been released with the full ending in it, our faith in James Cameron has been renewed. From the start though, we have always loved the novelization by Mr. Card.
Rating: 
Summary: More Orson Scott Card sci fi!
Review: Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, and in some recent Amazon-surfing, I was delighted to discover this Card novel that I'd never heard of. I got a used copy, and I really enjoyed it. The book is based on the 1989 movie "Abyss" by James Cameron, who did "Aliens," "Titanic," and the "Terminator" movies. It's about a deep-sea mission, some cool aliens, and a bunch of interesting people, their relationships, and their deepest personal struggles. I'll probably rent the movie eventually, though I'm guessing I won't like it nearly as much as the book, since a movie can't explore the characters in the same depth. (A similar undersea sci fi adventure is Michael Crichton's "Sphere," which I didn't like, but the average customer review is 4.5 stars, so if you're into thrillers, you might like it. And I highly recommend most anything by Orson Scott Card, especially "Ender's Game," one of the best science fiction novels ever, and, if you're into religion, "Stone Tables," which is a novelization of the life of Moses.)
Rating:
Summary: The Abyss...more than fiction
Review: Over the years since I first read "The Abyss," it has continued to be among my favorite books, and movies. This book exemplifies the talent of both Orson Scott Card and James Cameron. It is a unique creation displaying what is possible when fiction and film meet in a positive manner.
Rating:
Summary: Ron's Review of "The Abyss" novel.
Review: The cover of this book caught my eye the day I moved from Hawaii to San Francisco, so I bought it and was totally absorbed in the story for the entire 6 hour flight! This was before the movie had been released, but the novel's cover indicated that it would soon be in the theatres and I thought: "If the movie stays true to the book, then WOW! How Flawless that would be!"...of course, that wasn't the case...(but the book is a MUST READ!!!)
At anyrate, the books themes and morals dealing with humanity's arrogance, ignorance, nuclear-war capabilities and our potential to "love", truly struck home for me...I was moved to tears. This was the first time all those issues were brought together in such a manner that this novel literally helped me to adopt a new attitude about myself, this planet, other lifeforms and the due respect we need to have for all of it! This novel should be used in schools to help teach kids the important values it contains! Way to go Orson!
Rating:
Summary: Ron's Review of "The Abyss" novel.
Review: The cover of this book caught my eye the day I moved from Hawaii to San Francisco, so I bought it and was totally absorbed in the story for the entire 6 hour flight! This was before the movie had been released, but the novel's cover indicated that it would soon be in the theatres and I thought: "If the movie stays true to the book, then WOW! How Flawless that would be!"...of course, that wasn't the case...(but the book is a MUST READ!!!)
At anyrate, the books themes and morals dealing with humanity's arrogance, ignorance, nuclear-war capabilities and our potential to "love", truly struck home for me...I was moved to tears. This was the first time all those issues were brought together in such a manner that this novel literally helped me to adopt a new attitude about myself, this planet, other lifeforms and the due respect we need to have for all of it! This novel should be used in schools to help teach kids the important values it contains! Way to go Orson!
Rating:
Summary: A Novel that adds a whole new dimension to the Movie
Review: The dusk jacket of this novel takes great pains to explain that this is "A Novel by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Author Orson Scott Card based on an original screenplay by James Cameron." That lengthy description is important because it is trying to make it crystal clear that this is NOT a "novelization" of a screenplay, and to give you some idea what a unique and exquisite book you are reading. Card provides an entirely new dimension to Cameron's screenplay. I still think the Abyss is James Cameron's best movie, Oscar winning block busters aside, although that other film certainly proves water is his natural element. Displeased with the "cursory, mediocre, often inaccurate, and sometimes downright reprehensible" novelizations he had already read of his films, Cameron determined there would be a NOVEL. In a totally unique process, Card worked from videotapes of the film as the editing progressed, updating his manuscript as scenes were changed, added or cut. In addition to covering everything you see in the film version of "The Abyss," Card made two significant contributions to the story in his novel. First, he wrote chapters focusing on the three main characters of Buddy, Linsey and Coffee. Each chapter goes back to when they were kids and relates the seminal events that made them the people they grew up to be and brought them to the setting of this story. Cameron was so impressed with these chapters that before filming began he gave them to Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (and you have to wonder what Michael Biehn would have done with the background on Coffey). Second, Card works in the entire story from the side of the alien beings, explaining what they are doing and thinking even when they are not around the humans on Deepcore. Things that you wondered about in the film (How could Coffey survive that great depth and cut the right wire?) will be made clear and the additional scenes add great depth to the film (intentional pun). It is because of this added dimension that I think you will best enjoy this book after you have seen the film and more specifically the Special Edition or Director's Cut of the film. Of course, I can certainly appreciate that fans of Orson Scott Card might pick up "The Abyss" without any care about the movie. This is not a bad thing either because Card is a first rate imaginative writer, as he has proven from "Ender's Game" to "Enchantment." If you loved the movie, you will love the book. You do not want to miss out on this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel that adds a whole new dimension to the Movie
Review: The dusk jacket of this novel takes great pains to explain that this is "A Novel by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Author Orson Scott Card based on an original screenplay by James Cameron." That lengthy description is important because it is trying to make it crystal clear that this is NOT a "novelization" of a screenplay, and to give you some idea what a unique and exquisite book you are reading. Card provides an entirely new dimension to Cameron's screenplay. I still think the Abyss is James Cameron's best movie, Oscar winning block busters aside, although that other film certainly proves water is his natural element. Displeased with the "cursory, mediocre, often inaccurate, and sometimes downright reprehensible" novelizations he had already read of his films, Cameron determined there would be a NOVEL. In a totally unique process, Card worked from videotapes of the film as the editing progressed, updating his manuscript as scenes were changed, added or cut. In addition to covering everything you see in the film version of "The Abyss," Card made two significant contributions to the story in his novel. First, he wrote chapters focusing on the three main characters of Buddy, Linsey and Coffee. Each chapter goes back to when they were kids and relates the seminal events that made them the people they grew up to be and brought them to the setting of this story. Cameron was so impressed with these chapters that before filming began he gave them to Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (and you have to wonder what Michael Biehn would have done with the background on Coffey). Second, Card works in the entire story from the side of the alien beings, explaining what they are doing and thinking even when they are not around the humans on Deepcore. Things that you wondered about in the film (How could Coffey survive that great depth and cut the right wire?) will be made clear and the additional scenes add great depth to the film (intentional pun). It is because of this added dimension that I think you will best enjoy this book after you have seen the film and more specifically the Special Edition or Director's Cut of the film. Of course, I can certainly appreciate that fans of Orson Scott Card might pick up "The Abyss" without any care about the movie. This is not a bad thing either because Card is a first rate imaginative writer, as he has proven from "Ender's Game" to "Enchantment." If you loved the movie, you will love the book. You do not want to miss out on this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel that adds a whole new dimension to the Movie
Review: The dusk jacket of this novel takes great pains to explain that this is "A Novel by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Author Orson Scott Card based on an original screenplay by James Cameron." That lengthy description is important because it is trying to make it crystal clear that this is NOT a "novelization" of a screenplay, and to give you some idea what a unique and exquisite book you are reading. Card provides an entirely new dimension to Cameron's screenplay. I still think the Abyss is James Cameron's best movie, Oscar winning block busters aside, although that other film certainly proves water is his natural element. Displeased with the "cursory, mediocre, often inaccurate, and sometimes downright reprehensible" novelizations he had already read of his films, Cameron determined there would be a NOVEL. In a totally unique process, Card worked from videotapes of the film as the editing progressed, updating his manuscript as scenes were changed, added or cut. In addition to covering everything you see in the film version of "The Abyss," Card made two significant contributions to the story in his novel. First, he wrote chapters focusing on the three main characters of Buddy, Linsey and Coffee. Each chapter goes back to when they were kids and relates the seminal events that made them the people they grew up to be and brought them to the setting of this story. Cameron was so impressed with these chapters that before filming began he gave them to Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (and you have to wonder what Michael Biehn would have done with the background on Coffey). Second, Card works in the entire story from the side of the alien beings, explaining what they are doing and thinking even when they are not around the humans on Deepcore. Things that you wondered about in the film (How could Coffey survive that great depth and cut the right wire?) will be made clear and the additional scenes add great depth to the film (intentional pun). It is because of this added dimension that I think you will best enjoy this book after you have seen the film and more specifically the Special Edition or Director's Cut of the film. Of course, I can certainly appreciate that fans of Orson Scott Card might pick up "The Abyss" without any care about the movie. This is not a bad thing either because Card is a first rate imaginative writer, as he has proven from "Ender's Game" to "Enchantment." If you loved the movie, you will love the book. You do not want to miss out on this one.
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