Contact (Movie Tie-in) Cassette: Amazon.ca: Carl Sagan: Books

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Customer Reviews

261 Reviews

5 star:		(178)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (261 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Truely deeply terrific, April 25 2003

By

H. J. Spivack (Yardley, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Contact (Movie Tie-in) Cassette (Audio Cassette)

Carl Sagan was a wonder and this abridged audio version of Contact is the only version I've ever gone through. I saw the film, but never read any of his other books. I've since ordered them all. Amazing.

Wow. I literally didn't want to get out of my car. As good as Jodie Foster was in the film, her audio read was remarkable. She really is as good as they get on screen and in my car stereo. Her talent was to convey the wonder of the book and make me care about the issues and she really delivers.

If you are thinking about buying this, you won't regret it. The only regret you may feel is that Carl is now gone and there won't be any more of his wonderfully educating stories.

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5.0 out of 5 stars more than a novel, Jun 14 2004

By

Veloci86 "bibliophile" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contact (Mass Market Paperback)

While taking care to keep the fantastical adventure scientifically sound, Sagan seems to have given into his didactic nature. The book is a novel in the sense that it focuses on the central characters' thoughts, feelings, and experiences, but it is also an examination of human culture and philosophy. Fascinating . . . it will provide enlightenment for all future generations.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of My All-Time Favorite Sci-Fi Books, April 30 2004

By

Mark H. Drought (http://www.geocities.com/markdrought) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Contact (Mass Market Paperback)

I would never have guessed that Sagan, a hardheaded, agnostic, scientific type would have in him a book with such a fine sense of character development and emotional pitch. Having read many of his nonfiction books, I was not surprised by the social and religious commentary, which I found to be both perceptive and very even-handed.

The science was interesting -- particularly the mode of travel described -- and I found the use of messages buried in irrational numbers to be an imaginative concept that I've never seen before. As a sci-fi story, I would compare this favorably with some of Arthur C. Clarke's best work, including "2001" and "Rendezvous With Rama," in terms of the scope and majesty of the universe he creates.

My only problem with the story, in fact, is that it is a little bit too derivative of Clarke; the space/dimensional traveling sequence seems to be imitative of "2001," and there are other similarities to Clarke novels, such as "Childhood's End," that were a little distracting (that's why, on a scale of 1-10, Contact would get a 9, rather than the full 10 rating). Nonetheless, I found this a very moving story that has more genuine feeling in it than almost any S-F story I've read.

This is a novel that is visionary and almost religious in its awe of the universe -- the movie was also enjoyable, but as is almost always the case, it can't capture the numinous feeling that the book has, despite a great performance from Jodie Foster.

Don't let some of the religious nuts' reactions scare you away from this book -- it has more genuine spirituality in it than a whole room full of Baptists and 700 Club members.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars The film is better....and I didn't like the film.
Was totally disappointed with the book. Carl Sagan spends too much time on unimportant details (probably using it as filler)and very little on the main story. Read more

Published 12 months ago by peppe51

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Novel; Failed Political Point
"Contact" is the story of one Dr. Eleanor Arroway, a radio astronomer whose work is responsible for Earth's first contact with an extraterrestrial species. Read more

Published on July 8 2004 by Kurt M. Weber