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Gradisil (Paperback)

by Adam Roberts (Author)
2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Hardcover £18.99 £16.14 21 used & new from £0.77
Paperback £10.99 £10.99 31 used & new from £0.53

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Product details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Prometheus Books (1 April 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1591025389
  • ISBN-13: 978-1591025382
  • Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,054,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Nick Gevers, LOCUS
"This is Roberts' best novel to date, and quite conceivably a harbinger of greatness." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"Roberts supplies convincing details - his characters are flawed, cranky and driven. At times, this is reminiscent of Robert Heinlein at his best." (Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES )

"The author manages to deflect attention from most of the improbabilities and include an occasional anti-consumerist message, while developing his own language, spelling and finally - and most riskily - letters. Classic Roberts." (Jon Courtenay Grimwood THE GUARDIAN )

"Roberts' use of Scandinavian legend as an allegory to the magnetic boost technologies he uses to put planes into orbit has the smack of an SF trope that'll become a universal cliche in a few years." (STARBURST )

"Against the backdrop of Gradisil's nation-building odyssey, Roberts impressively explores a variety of themes. It all adds up to proof, if any were really needed, that Roberts belongs in the first rank of hard SF writers." (SFX )

"This is Roberts' best novel to date, and quite conceivably a harbinger of greatness." (Nick Gevers LOCUS )

"A well measured political science fiction novel with a darkly realistic tone throughout. The fact that the Gyeroffy family remains so flawed and yet so credible throughout is testament not just to good science fiction, but good writing in general." (DREAMWATCH )

"A thought provoking read." (BBC FOCUS ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
2.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply human characters; intriguing science conceits., 12 May 2006
This review is from: Gradisil (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
First off, let's be clear - Adam Roberts writes high-concept sf. In the past, he's written about a universe where it was possible to fly to the moon in a biplane, and a world where gravity operates at ninety degrees... Gradisil is a story of do-it-yourself homesteaders living in tin cans in Low Earth Orbit, struggling to remain free of the bickering nations of the Earth beneath them. His style is meditative, with sparse dialogue (no scriptwriters in these people's lives). His characters are deeply flawed, and very human. His scientific conceits are sometimes pretty far-out and sometimes fascinatingly practical, but I think there's a deeper level where the relationship between his characters and their surroundings rings true. And I love it.

What's sad is that Adam will always be a niche author, because he embodies all the qualities which people assume science fiction doesn't have - fully developed characters, human-centred bittersweet stories, a deliciously innovative literary style - while still building his stories around crazy scientific and technological ideas. The best comparison I can make is with Stanislaw Lem, who died a few weeks back (very sad) - some of you might have come across 'Solaris'. If you haven't... it's the sort of style you might get if Kafka and Solzhenitsyn ganged up on Isaac Asimov and beat the crap out of him in a darkened alleyway. That's my best attempt.

What makes Adam stand apart for me, though, is his characters. They're not the emotionless, super-rational cardboard cutouts that often crop up in the genre. They are always deeply human: they're emotional and passionate, often giving to uttering non-sequiturs, or doing stupid things and not regretting them until much later. They're making their way as best they can, in a world where baffling, unfair, Kafka-esque things happen to them. And the worlds in which they live are both the same as ours, but different - physically, they might be completely different (flying to the moon in a biplane?), but on a human level, they're still populated by people making selfish, stupid, emotional, deeply familiar decisions.

I don't know how Adam approaches his work; I've never read any interviews, or seen anything about him. But one theme I see coming out of his books is the idea of our relationship with technology being difficult, almost abusive - technology mindlessly making things more complicated while we struggle to live our lives in a way we can still understand. It's not about consumerism, or corporate evil. It's not about any sort of conscious will at all. It's just about how we get ourselves into a mess, and then have to live with it. And whereas with most books things can be neatly squared away at the end, Adam's stories never seem to fit into our neat, shrink-wrapped preconceptions. That, for me, is his greatest skill and his great triumph.

I'm still only halfway through reading this. I know the ending will be sad, or at best bittersweet - that's Adam's style. But it'll be great: I am utterly, totally confident that he won't let me down. Two things I am sure of; I'll be ambushed by weirdness a few more times before the end of the book; and I will feel these characters for every moment of it. I can't wait
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Page turning - in a ghastly sort of way, 8 May 2007
This review is from: Gradisil (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
Like a DVD that you borrow on the pretext of the dust jacket and can't switch off bcause you can't quite believe how atrocious it is, this book ought to have a health warning. "Danger, danger!" It ought to warn the reader.
After the title come interminable pages of poorly executed sub-political claptrap wherein no-one does anything for any readily discernable reason. Spanning three generations, the dysfunctional protagonists orbit the principal charcter in a helpess way that never gives a clue that any of them are other than either cogs in the machine of destiny or - more teeth grindingly - hapless chaff before her indomitable will.
Run, save yourselves.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ideas, 1 Jul 2007
By Graham B. Irvine "Scifi head" (Shetland, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Gradisil (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)
The ideas behind the book are interesting but very little happens, the spelling becomes so poor midway through I wonder how old the author was, maybe he was trying to be cool in a text speak kind of way.
It is only the second book in my life I have been unable to read completely, this is due to the incomprehensible and infuriating spelling.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark non-traditional sci fi
As with his other books, I found Gradisil to be extremely well written. The characters were very well developed and the plot held together beautifully. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. A. Farooq

1.0 out of 5 stars Gradisil
I deeply, deeply wish I had read the earlier reviews before I wasted any money on the book: deeply depressing, but I acknowledge the need expressed by others to keep turning... Read more
Published 15 months ago by F. Taylor

1.0 out of 5 stars Gave up half way through
Got too bored of it. The concept was cool at the start but then it just became all too political - this was the point at which I put it down. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Russell J. Watts

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