Ahira's Hangar

I've just noticed that I have Neverness sitting on my shelf...unread.

It will be the next book I start.
I'll let you know.

Adios
Rockin' & in The Land of Oz

<i></i>

You don't know what you've been missing Ser! *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

OOOOHHHH yes!!!!! ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

I'm not going to give you a blow by blow, but I must say that the very first proparagraph (no idea what you actually call it, there's probably a correct term for it, but buggered if I know what it might be,) the one that starts...

On Old Earth...and then talks about the gods Mumu, Yahweh and Random Mutation...impressed the Hell out of me. Very cool, very funny. I'd probably have given this book a try based on that proparagraph alone.

Anyway, nothing else from me 'till I'm finished.

Adios
Rockin' & in The Land of Oz
<i></i>

COOL! *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

DRAGONEMISIS,
Keep us posted on your progress!
-pitch <i></i>

OK folks, I finished it.

Actually, I finished it over the Easter weekend, it's just taken me this long to decide what I wanted to say about it. And there seems little point in being anything but honest...to my own embarrassment.

Neverness is without doubt the toughest book to get into that I've attempted, and finished, in quite sometime...and I have to admit that I fear great chunks of it went right over my head.

My Maths/Astronomy/Science/Etc/Etc/Etc are all only about average...and there's a lot of it in this book, ain't there?
Also, my poor, tired old brain no longer appreciates being bombarded with an endless stream of new concepts and ideas, with nothing familiar to hook onto...and there's a lot of that going on too.
(I thought/hoped once they wandered off to the Alaloi, that things might settle down and be a little less esoteric, but that didn't happen either.)

This is one serious piece of SciFi...which, unfortunately, really isn't to my taste anymore.

Now, having said that: Whilst I know people who wouldn't have finished the first chapter, I've already recommended Neverness to several of my mates...people whom I know are still into good, hard-core SciFi...and Neverness is certainly that. (They'd better thank me, as they're always bitching about Fantasy taking over the book-shops, and how hard it is these days to even find a good main-stream SciFi author.)

Which begs the question. Are all of Zindell's other books written this way? Are they all this cerebral? 'Cause despite not being overwhelmed by Neverness, I'm not yet lost to this author's imagination...only, maybe, to this particular book.

Adios




<i></i>

The rest of the series still is fairly heavy duty-but they focus more on Danlo's inner struggles and a variety of philosophies and spiritual practice. You might try reading The Lightstone, the questioning the nature of the Universe stuff is there but the language is simpler-a slighty complex but engaging fantasy *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

I actually had mixed feelings about Neverness the first time I read it. I thought it was a brilliantly concieved universe and extremely well written, but I was more emotionally engaged by its two contemporary rivals, Simmons' Hyperion and On My Way To Paradise by Dave Wolverton.

It was really The Broken God that turned me into a Zindell fanatic. And while it is pretty heavy philosophically (maybe the most philosophical SF book ever), I also think it's a lot more accessible in other respects. You'll definitely be drawn in by Danlo's journey of discovery and his doomed friendship/rivalry with Hanuman.

After reading the rest of the Requiem, I returned to Neverness and re-read it with a new perspective. It seemed like a totally different book, and I loved every word of it!

Broken God is still my favorite, but it's kind of a transitional novel - I think Neverness is the better complete story. Quality-wise, I would rank The Wild third, and War In Heaven last, but they're still among the best books I've read.

******************

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice ...<i></i>

Dragonemisis,
Don't worry about the math & science stuff at all. It's science fiction, after all. We aren't remotely aware of any way to travel to other stars. Even though Zindell made it sound very intriguing to me - even believable, as though just beyond my grasp - it's still entirely fiction. Not even theoretical. (And the fact that Zindell made such a fantasy feel just beyond my grasp is certainly a sign of his genius!) For me, the sci-fi aspects are merely a vehicle for the aspects that make us think, and help us grow. The things that do that for me are in the "Neverness quotes" thread.

AlphSeeker,
Cool av! ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

I am about halfway through Neverness. I also found it very hard to get into, initially. I would read a few pages or paragraphs, put it down, come back to it when I had the chance. I did this over about a week and a half or two before the story really started to pull me in.

For one thing, on the first page, Zindell starts in with unfamiliar terms and concepts, so that you only have the vaguest idea what is going on and what is being spoken about. The mathematical concepts are also way over my head. It is definitely not an easy read.

I am a bit afraid to open too many of the threads here, for fear of spoilers. Also wondering if I should take this discussion over to the new site, since I am guessing we are working on moving over there.

I am continuing to read, slowly (when I have a break from the various work I have to do) and will be back later. But you will need to tell me which threads have no spoilers for the other books.

That's all for now. "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

Start you own thread if you don't want to run into spoilers. I don't know what we're doing with the other board right now. It's just a test area, really. We're working with Vain right now to get a free hoster (without ads). <i></i>