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Polystom (Gollancz S.F.)
 
 

Polystom (Gollancz S.F.) (Hardcover)

by Adam Roberts (Author) "Polystom climbed into his biplane one morning, having made up his mind to fly to the moon ..." (more)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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  • This item: Polystom (Gollancz S.F.) by Adam Roberts

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 294 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; First Edition edition (15 May 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575071788
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575071780
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 362,398 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Product Description

Adam Roberts' fourth novel is his most ambitious yet. In a feat of extraordinary world building he creates a universe where a breathable atmosphere extends out between the planets, where aristocrats cruise interstellar space in biplanes, and skywhals make mysterious distant orbits. Then, with bravura plotting he undermines our own notions of reality and leaves the reader unsure which universe to believe. Gaining a reputation as one of the UK's leading SF stylists and masters of the high-concept Roberts, shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke award with his debut novel SALT, confirms his extraordinary potential with POLYSTOM.


About the Author

Adam Roberts is 36 and a Senior Reader in English at London University. His first novel, SALT, was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. He has also published a number of academic works on both 19th century poetry and SF.

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Polystom climbed into his biplane one morning, having made up his mind to fly to the moon. Read the first page
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Polystom (Gollancz S.F.)
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars V.well written. Interesting concept, weak story realisation, 3 Nov 2003
I chose this largely based on the book cover notes with a mind that it may be along the lines of Moorcocks Dancers at the End of Time. Though no relevance to that, Polystom sketches an engaging world , HG Wells/Victorians in Space, however does not follow through with plot execution or characters you really invest in whilst reading the book. On reflection its culmination veers towards a cyberpunk concept of alternate realities; interesting though not defining.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Nice concepts - failing implementation., 12 Jul 2004
By S. Holm (Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have previously read three other (stand alone) novels by Adam Roberts, namely Stone, Salt and On. Well...Polystom makes 4 and I will not be buying a 5th.

I find myself buying his books because the ideas and concepts of this author are brilliant - especially when presented in condensed 'synopsis' form on the Amazon website.

The problem is - I have yet to witness a successful implementation of Adam Roberts' brilliant ideas. Maybe he would benefit from teaming up with a co-writer who could take the stories a step further and actually make me care about events and characters along the way.

I'll rate this one at 3 stars - solely for for the interesting concept.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly annoying, 9 May 2008
This book is annoying. Few of the characters are in any way sympathetic. The story meanders.

And then it all suddenly makes sense and becomes somehow worthwhile. Incidentally, I'm not sure that this book has anything to with alternate realities (see other reviews) at all. In fact, I'll go further and say that it definitely doesn't have anything at all to do with alternate realities - and the fact that the other reviewers missed this may have something to do with their low scores.

More of a clinical exploration than a breathless dash through otherwise typical space opera territory, a book that demands a little patience as it sacrifices pretty much everything in favour of its high-concept core. But I like high concept.

Finally, one of the things that makes high-concept 'high' is the general irreality of it all. Clearly, there won't be any alternate reality that we can experience. But what happens in this book WILL happen, in some way shape or form. Therefore: read and be intrigued.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars An average tale of alternative realities
A well written and reasonably enjoyable novel with an imaginative, if slightly derivative, dual reality ending. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2006 by Feldyguy

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