Interesting, entertaining, but superficial

books:


	• The Accidental Time Machine Joe Haldeman Ace Hardcover, 2007 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 52 reviews view larger image
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Good Fun

I'm not a huge fan of time travel stories and time travel paradoxes are usually more annoying than entertaining (ie, "omg!" the guy says, "I'm my own mother!".) This book, however, is a page-turning SciFi action/adventure tale that is a consistently enjoyable ride. Haldeman's crystal clear prose is engaging for both SciFi fans and for more mainstream readers. This one is Good Fun!

Alright

All in all, this was an okay novel, but personally I found it really disappointing. After reading The Forever War, I was so impressed by it that I figured I had to read more of Haldeman's books. Unfortunately, after this one, I'm pretty sure I'm done.

One of the first things you realize in the book is just how uninspired and almost rushed it seems (look no further than the title). In the beginning you don't mind it much, since most books take some time to come together, but this one just never gets there. All of the characters are pretty bland, the story changes settings and topics so fast that you never get a real feel for the characters, or develop a feeling of concern for them, and in general it just seems like Haldeman put as little effort in as he needed to to get the story published. Even most of the future settings that could have had great potential were just briefly touched on before being left behind.

Aside from the character and setting problems, the whole thing suffers from some serious plot issues. The last sixty pages or so feel like they were just thrown on to bring the story to the quickest, least-detailed ending possible, and by the time it was all over, I couldn't believe there wasn't more.

I really wanted to like this book from the beginning, and I can't deny that it was entertaining enough to keep me reading to the end. However, it doesn't win any of my personal accolades, and at the end of the day, even the survival of a grade school math error on page 102 (177 + 15 + 1 = 293???) makes you wonder if this book was ever meant to be anything but a cash cow.

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Interesting, entertaining, but superficial

I have not read much Haldeman, so had no preconceived ideas notions. For the first 1/3rd of this novel I was not sure whether I liked this book or not. The primary problem was with the main character. He was shallow, uninteresting and basically a dweeb, whiner, and pathetic looser. It's always someone else's fault. This guy is the poster child for a society based on entitlement. He really needs to be put out of our misery.

The story raised more questions than it answered (robots in a society that shuns science?) Jesus? LA? It seemed really rushed to me, especially the final couple of chapters.The whole thing reads like a future history of MIT. And is just about as boring as that sounds.

Overall it was interesting, had couple of unique plot ideas, and was a fast read. If you don't have anything to read right now, you may enjoy it. But it's really nothing special.

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A light read into the future

I liked this book by Haldeman, coincidentally I started reading it just after watching the movie NEXT, also about accessing one's future.
This book is a quick read, good character development, not an intent study but sometimes got bogged down in details/color of the scene as opposed to real story development. The plot develops well and keeps you guessing most of the way. I like that it works out well but the ending also bothers me because the author wrapped it up too quickly, literally in a handful of pages, leaving tons of explanation unexplored and missing.
For instance at one point in the story the main character is helped out, and several times he conjectures/concludes that he must have come back in time and helped himself out of that jam, but the author never actually delivers the answer, which was very very frustrating. It was almost as if once Haldeman figured out how to end the story, then he wasn't interested in continuing the effort anymore and just wrapped it up.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

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