Land Of The Headless (Gollancz S.F.) - Adam Roberts

A difficult book to review

I found much of the book to be fairly dull and at times difficult to read. I liked the ideas in the book, but I really disliked the main character which at times made the book drag horrendously. I was also slightly unimpressed with some of the Sci Fi elements of the book they where just to generic and rather lame.

That said I thought the ending of the book to be excellent, the best ending Mr Roberts has come up with so far in his previous books.

A very good but strange book

I was unsettled by the barbaric nature of the punishment but stuck with the story. Much of the phraseology is what you might expect from the English middle ages but it fits in with the story. It's not what you could call hard science fiction but a projection of what a devoutly religious civilization could become if it did not reject all new developments. I recommend it as it's a good story in its own right. It also has a good ending which is a bit rare these days.

Irritating, frustrating and engaging read

This was a toughy - the hero of the story by turns was self pitying , self deluding, and a whiner but ultimately, and you need to perserve here until almost the end of the book before he 'gets it'
The religious fanaticsm is very well done, the persecution of the headless and the casual contempt for their lives by people who feel supported by religion get you to throwing the book and saying people don't think like that - then you listen to the news and yes they do ..
The action is well done, the story as it develops and the hero understands the meaning of friendship and love in retrospect is excellent because the book drags you in and I defy you not to become involved in the story
I won;t spoil the end of the story but the revelation when he realises what matters in life - not cant , or religion but friends is superb

Land of the read this

This excellent book is comparable to Salt and Gradisil in regards to the first person narrative and also equal in terms of quality to those books (his best work). The novel covers the issue of revenge, the meaning of love and you will understand how unfair and unpleasant it is to face injustice and prejudice at the bottom of society's food chain. The middle section follows a futuristic war from the point of view of the poor drafted infantry through brutal training to repetitive but deadly missions in a foreign war zone. An interesting aspect of this is the nature of the computer controlled battles and the cool way in which hacking plays a role. There is plenty of mystery and adventure to go with the political science and the ending is extremely satisfying. Read this, then go and buy Salt and Gradisil at least.

A difficult book to review

I found much of the book to be fairly dull and at times difficult to read. I liked the ideas in the book, but I really disliked the main character which at times made the book drag horrendously. I was also slightly unimpressed with some of the Sci Fi elements of the book they where just to generic and rather lame.

That said I thought the ending of the book to be excellent, the best ending Mr Roberts has come up with so far in his previous books.

A very good but strange book

I was unsettled by the barbaric nature of the punishment but stuck with the story. Much of the phraseology is what you might expect from the English middle ages but it fits in with the story. It's not what you could call hard science fiction but a projection of what a devoutly religious civilization could become if it did not reject all new developments. I recommend it as it's a good story in its own right. It also has a good ending which is a bit rare these days.

Irritating, frustrating and engaging read

This was a toughy - the hero of the story by turns was self pitying , self deluding, and a whiner but ultimately, and you need to perserve here until almost the end of the book before he 'gets it'
The religious fanaticsm is very well done, the persecution of the headless and the casual contempt for their lives by people who feel supported by religion get you to throwing the book and saying people don't think like that - then you listen to the news and yes they do ..
The action is well done, the story as it develops and the hero understands the meaning of friendship and love in retrospect is excellent because the book drags you in and I defy you not to become involved in the story
I won;t spoil the end of the story but the revelation when he realises what matters in life - not cant , or religion but friends is superb

Land of the read this

This excellent book is comparable to Salt and Gradisil in regards to the first person narrative and also equal in terms of quality to those books (his best work). The novel covers the issue of revenge, the meaning of love and you will understand how unfair and unpleasant it is to face injustice and prejudice at the bottom of society's food chain. The middle section follows a futuristic war from the point of view of the poor drafted infantry through brutal training to repetitive but deadly missions in a foreign war zone. An interesting aspect of this is the nature of the computer controlled battles and the cool way in which hacking plays a role. There is plenty of mystery and adventure to go with the political science and the ending is extremely satisfying. Read this, then go and buy Salt and Gradisil at least.

A difficult book to review

I found much of the book to be fairly dull and at times difficult to read. I liked the ideas in the book, but I really disliked the main character which at times made the book drag horrendously. I was also slightly unimpressed with some of the Sci Fi elements of the book they where just to generic and rather lame.

That said I thought the ending of the book to be excellent, the best ending Mr Roberts has come up with so far in his previous books.

A very good but strange book

I was unsettled by the barbaric nature of the punishment but stuck with the story. Much of the phraseology is what you might expect from the English middle ages but it fits in with the story. It's not what you could call hard science fiction but a projection of what a devoutly religious civilization could become if it did not reject all new developments. I recommend it as it's a good story in its own right. It also has a good ending which is a bit rare these days.

Irritating, frustrating and engaging read

This was a toughy - the hero of the story by turns was self pitying , self deluding, and a whiner but ultimately, and you need to perserve here until almost the end of the book before he 'gets it'
The religious fanaticsm is very well done, the persecution of the headless and the casual contempt for their lives by people who feel supported by religion get you to throwing the book and saying people don't think like that - then you listen to the news and yes they do ..
The action is well done, the story as it develops and the hero understands the meaning of friendship and love in retrospect is excellent because the book drags you in and I defy you not to become involved in the story
I won;t spoil the end of the story but the revelation when he realises what matters in life - not cant , or religion but friends is superb

Land of the read this

This excellent book is comparable to Salt and Gradisil in regards to the first person narrative and also equal in terms of quality to those books (his best work). The novel covers the issue of revenge, the meaning of love and you will understand how unfair and unpleasant it is to face injustice and prejudice at the bottom of society's food chain. The middle section follows a futuristic war from the point of view of the poor drafted infantry through brutal training to repetitive but deadly missions in a foreign war zone. An interesting aspect of this is the nature of the computer controlled battles and the cool way in which hacking plays a role. There is plenty of mystery and adventure to go with the political science and the ending is extremely satisfying. Read this, then go and buy Salt and Gradisil at least.

A difficult book to review

I found much of the book to be fairly dull and at times difficult to read. I liked the ideas in the book, but I really disliked the main character which at times made the book drag horrendously. I was also slightly unimpressed with some of the Sci Fi elements of the book they where just to generic and rather lame.

That said I thought the ending of the book to be excellent, the best ending Mr Roberts has come up with so far in his previous books.

A very good but strange book

I was unsettled by the barbaric nature of the punishment but stuck with the story. Much of the phraseology is what you might expect from the English middle ages but it fits in with the story. It's not what you could call hard science fiction but a projection of what a devoutly religious civilization could become if it did not reject all new developments. I recommend it as it's a good story in its own right. It also has a good ending which is a bit rare these days.

Irritating, frustrating and engaging read

This was a toughy - the hero of the story by turns was self pitying , self deluding, and a whiner but ultimately, and you need to perserve here until almost the end of the book before he 'gets it'
The religious fanaticsm is very well done, the persecution of the headless and the casual contempt for their lives by people who feel supported by religion get you to throwing the book and saying people don't think like that - then you listen to the news and yes they do ..
The action is well done, the story as it develops and the hero understands the meaning of friendship and love in retrospect is excellent because the book drags you in and I defy you not to become involved in the story
I won;t spoil the end of the story but the revelation when he realises what matters in life - not cant , or religion but friends is superb

Land of the read this

This excellent book is comparable to Salt and Gradisil in regards to the first person narrative and also equal in terms of quality to those books (his best work). The novel covers the issue of revenge, the meaning of love and you will understand how unfair and unpleasant it is to face injustice and prejudice at the bottom of society's food chain. The middle section follows a futuristic war from the point of view of the poor drafted infantry through brutal training to repetitive but deadly missions in a foreign war zone. An interesting aspect of this is the nature of the computer controlled battles and the cool way in which hacking plays a role. There is plenty of mystery and adventure to go with the political science and the ending is extremely satisfying. Read this, then go and buy Salt and Gradisil at least.

A difficult book to review

I found much of the book to be fairly dull and at times difficult to read. I liked the ideas in the book, but I really disliked the main character which at times made the book drag horrendously. I was also slightly unimpressed with some of the Sci Fi elements of the book they where just to generic and rather lame.

That said I thought the ending of the book to be excellent, the best ending Mr Roberts has come up with so far in his previous books.

A very good but strange book

I was unsettled by the barbaric nature of the punishment but stuck with the story. Much of the phraseology is what you might expect from the English middle ages but it fits in with the story. It's not what you could call hard science fiction but a projection of what a devoutly religious civilization could become if it did not reject all new developments. I recommend it as it's a good story in its own right. It also has a good ending which is a bit rare these days.

Irritating, frustrating and engaging read

This was a toughy - the hero of the story by turns was self pitying , self deluding, and a whiner but ultimately, and you need to perserve here until almost the end of the book before he 'gets it'
The religious fanaticsm is very well done, the persecution of the headless and the casual contempt for their lives by people who feel supported by religion get you to throwing the book and saying people don't think like that - then you listen to the news and yes they do ..
The action is well done, the story as it develops and the hero understands the meaning of friendship and love in retrospect is excellent because the book drags you in and I defy you not to become involved in the story
I won;t spoil the end of the story but the revelation when he realises what matters in life - not cant , or religion but friends is superb

Land of the read this

This excellent book is comparable to Salt and Gradisil in regards to the first person narrative and also equal in terms of quality to those books (his best work). The novel covers the issue of revenge, the meaning of love and you will understand how unfair and unpleasant it is to face injustice and prejudice at the bottom of society's food chain. The middle section follows a futuristic war from the point of view of the poor drafted infantry through brutal training to repetitive but deadly missions in a foreign war zone. An interesting aspect of this is the nature of the computer controlled battles and the cool way in which hacking plays a role. There is plenty of mystery and adventure to go with the political science and the ending is extremely satisfying. Read this, then go and buy Salt and Gradisil at least.