- Hardcover: 312 pages
- Publisher: Eos (T) (Sep 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0380974347
- ISBN-13: 978-0380974344
- Product Dimensions: 18.3 x 13.7 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,533,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
J. R. Dunn is definitely a science fiction writer for the nineties. In his latest book, Full Tide of Night, he tackles the subjects of terra forming, artificial intelligence, religion and revolution in his own inimitable fashion. The hardware-driven stories of the past are not his forte. If I have a quibble with Dunn's writing style, it would be that he tends to over-analyze his subject. I tend to like a more direct writing style, one that moves along at a brisk pace with less time spent at the scenic rest stops. Yet, this very aspect of Dunn's writing is what makes it so memorable. You close his book on the final page of the final chapter and find yourself thinking about what he so punctiliously taught you about the human condition. Full Tide of Night is a classic "What if?" story, as is so much of science fiction. What if you could leave the problems and mistakes of earth behind and start all over again somewhere else? Would you avoid the pitfalls of those historical figures who went before? Would the society you create be a utopia? Would the place you adopted as your new home become a second Eden? Dunn focuses his laser intensity on these subjects, providing a thoroughly interesting read in the process. Some complaints have been made regarding his political and religious views, as reflected in his writing, but I feel he handles each divergent point-of-view with a surprising amount of even-handedness-developing sympathy in characters many would write off as despicable. Dunn isn't a gadget writer of science fiction. He doesn't trot out all the hardware and revel in its "gee whiz!" features-like a car salesman. He introduces what future technology there is in matter-of-fact terms and as it would be in real life. Sometimes he has some fun examining it through the eyes of people not familiar with it but, for the most part, his futuristic technology is viewed by his characters as we would view a plane, a VCR, or a cell phone. Even when he deals with artificial intelligence, it is highly anthropomorphic. I feel he does this on purpose, for AI is a construct of man, and what would we be most comfortable with? As science fiction goes, this is a five star read. Full Tide of Night is easily as good as his previous book, Days of Cain. I'm impressed with his choices of subject matter in each of his novels. Dunn seems at home in any milieu. At the end, we realize Full Tide of Night is, as are all memorable stories, a people story. We also realize that Dunn is, after all, a writer of people stories. They may be dictators, heroes, or fools but they are first and foremost people.
Format:Hardcover
I was really disappointed by this book.
The ideas were great, but it didn't deliver on the promises. The story wasn't compelling, and the consequences of the theme weren't explored well. I really didn't care about any of the characters. It's fine for the author to try to examine good and evil and in-between in different terms, but that does not excuse him from writing a story that is interesting.
Some things were very good:
1. Dealing with the difficulties of AI.
2. The author doesn't bore us with too many useless details, but lets the reader imagine for himself much of the background.
All in all I do not recommend the book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Intriguing premise, but weak storytelling
22 Sep 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
While I read and enjoyed Dunn's "Days of Cain," this book shares a weakness of that novel, although it is more prevalent here.
The ideas in "Full Tide.." are interesting, and the concept original, but the characters seem little more than mouthpieces for various political and idealogical points of view, and the plot moves at a sluggish pace.
While I'm not advocating a book full of bone-crunching action, I did want a novel where I cared about the people in the story, and what happened to them.
In "Days of Cain" I felt the emotion of the situation. Here, I didn't feel I got inside the characters heads or feelings enough.
Not recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Dull
10 Jun 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Like the first reviewer, I agree that the author develops his political idealogy at the expense of the characters. The plot moves at glacial speed, never reaching moments of true tension. One particular frustration is the Erinye, who never become important characters although the author keeps teasing us with them.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Could have been great, but it wasn't
27 Oct 1998
Format:Hardcover
I was really disappointed by this book.
The ideas were great, but it didn't deliver on the promises. The story wasn't compelling, and the consequences of the theme weren't explored well. I really didn't care about any of the characters. It's fine for the author to try to examine good and evil and in-between in different terms, but that does not excuse him from writing a story that is interesting.
Some things were very good:
1. Dealing with the difficulties of AI.
2. The author doesn't bore us with too many useless details, but lets the reader imagine for himself much of the background.
All in all I do not recommend the book.
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