5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't watch a movie before reading the book very often, Oct 3 2002
This review is from: Millennium (Paperback)
It's not normal practice for me to watch a film prior to reading the book it's based on, but when I do, watching the film can lead me to some very good books. Such was the case with Millennium by John Varley. I had seen the film with Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd a number of times but had been frustrated in my efforts to obtain a copy of "Air Raid", the original short story the film was credited as being based on, until one day when the book almost literally fell into my lap.
I gotta tell you, Millennium was one of those books I could not put down. From the first page, I found myself absolutely enraptured by the characters of both Louise Baltimore and Bill Smith. Varley's Smith is actually very close to the character that Kris Kristofferson portrayed in the movie, but his Louise Baltimore is a very tough, take-charge kind of gal that's unlike the one played by Cheryl Ladd in the film. That Louise always seemed to be looking to her personal robot, Sherman, for advice, whereas the Louise of Varley's book might have depended on Sherman for emotional support at times, but generally kept her own counsel and scoffed at the very notion that Sherman's ideas could be taken seriously in a critical mission such as the one she was running to Smith's time in order to get her lost "stunner". The funny thing was, in the end it was the Big Computer who was running everything, and not Louise or Bill or even Sherman.
I am currently on my 6th copy of this excellent time-travel novel (the other 5 have worn out due to repeated readings), and I hope that all of you who are sci-fi enthusiasts will take the time to pick up a copy and read it, if you haven't read it already. It's a definite page-turner.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Characters and Plot + Surprise Ending, April 4 2002
This review is from: Millennium (Paperback)
I became a hard-core sci-fi fan in the 1950s. Since then, my reading has become more discriminating. This book meets my much higher standards for a good read for several reasons. First, I liked the character of Louise Baltimore. Second, I liked Varley's telling of this tale through alternating points-of-view in alternating chapters. I liked the plot, and finally I liked the last chapter, where a final character emerges to tie it all together by revealing the things not seen in the characters povs.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Varley when Varley was writing his best, Mar 8 2001
This review is from: Millennium (Paperback)
Not to complain, but I found that all the stuff Varley wrote before I discovered him (in Titan) is ever so much better than the stuff SINCE I discovered him. This book is dynamite and a great read. It was a fair movie (with some laughable sfx) but the book delivers.
John, if you're out there...go back to Gaea. Get back on the airplane. Go to Jupiter and kick those mysterious thingies butts! Quit messing with reporters and faux-shakesperean actors.
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