1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy sequel, 25 Sep 2008
This review is from: Blade Runner 2: Edge of Human: The Edge of Human (Paperback)
The Edge of Human is an interesting sequel to Ridley Scott's classic movie and also the Philip K Dick novel on which it was based. It takes some of the ideas and characters from the novel and puts them into the environmentof the movie. A strong atmosphere of paranoia and conspiracy permeates the novel, with the constant question of 'is Deckard a replicant?' constantly teasing the reader. A refreshing change is that whereas the movie was set in a dark rainy November LA, this one takes place during a swelteringly dry August. The use of description is very evocative, really bringing the images of the movie vividly to life, and all the characters from the movie are well brought to life. If I had to be critical I'd say that there is at times too many red herrings, the basic plot and climax is a little too similar to the movie, and the character of Gaff, who was one of the most interesting characters from the movie who got far too little screen time, is killed off before the book even starts, a wasted opportunity there. Overall though, The Edge of Human is a very enjoyable read, that is sure to appeal to fans of the movie and Phillip K Dick's paranoid and dystopian fiction.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An intriguing if flawed sequel, 19 Aug 2007
This review is from: Blade Runner 2: Edge of Human: The Edge of Human (Paperback)
I'm a big fan of the original philip K dick novel and even more so
the movie adaptation directed by Ridley Scott.
Being a big fan, I obviously decided to follow the blade runner story
through the book sequels, I have only just finished reading The Edge Of Human
and I must say it is an engaging read, but I couldnt help but read it as
if it was another peice of throw away fiction (something that is plagueing
the market recently), the story on the whole is well structured and as I
said engagin but It leaves to many questions unanswered, and a number of
characters have what seems to be no real reason for their actions at times
other that to make the story itself more exciting.
*SPOILER WARNING*
A few examples of intrigueing yet unanswered questions are,
1) throughout the book deckard is hinted at to be the 6th replicant that
is missing from the films plot, and yet no conclusion is drawn and the question
is just blatantly dismissed.
2)The fact that at one point it is said that all bladerunners are actually
replicants and when their 4 year life span comes to an end their memories
are re-imprinted into a fresh replicant and they carry on as normal,
this again is dismissed, but it is done in quite a clever way, using
deckards uncaring personality to actually side step the issue.
3)There is supposedly a conspiracy to kill off the blade runners one by one,
for example holdens death in the film is ochestrated by the tyrell corporation
and his old boss bryant, but this also raised the issue of the fact that
if the blade runners were replicants, why would the people paying for them
to be repeatedly replaced, seek to kill them off?.
Just as a side not I am halfway through the 3rd book Replicant Night and
no answers to these questions have arisen as of yet.
All in all for fans of blade runner, this sequel will act as a booster to
their fanatisism but, in all honesty its an action packed if hollow experience
in the blade runner universe.
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