Customer Reviews (2)

Man tries to escape, finds himself
Mass, a Streinveldtian, is looking for one of the fabled starships from a time when civilization was far more connected. He finds it, but to make use of it ends up with a crew he'd just as soon dump, including one person trying to take the ship away from him.

Space Skimmer is a very good story--and looking back at it, is a kind of reaction to Star Trek, for which Gerrold wrote the justly famous and hilarious "The Trouble with Tribbles." Space is big enough that there simply can't be a homogeneous civilization like ST's Federation; even with a common human ancestry, different parts will change in strange and different ways. (One has to wonder whether the group-mind Homolkans here gave rise to the Borg.) The trip Mass and the companions he picks up take is fascinating for that reason.

One Great Piece of Sci-Fi
Space Skimmer is a very good, at times thought provoking, piece of science fiction. It starts out as Mass'-- a short, but
immensely strong young man from a high gravity world-- search for the Empire. Sometime long before this story begins, the galactic Empire had collapsed almost over night and nobody seemed to know the answer why. But when Mass' quest across the worlds of the fallen Empire leads him to the Space Skimmer, Mass soon learns why the Empire has fallen.

I won't be giving anything critical away to say that the Skimmers were an unique type of spaceship designed to revolutionize communications and commerce within the Empire, but things went wrong as Mass discovers. As he travels from world to world, Mass acquires a crew that he really doesn't want and friends that he wants even less.

Gerrold tells a really good story here of what happens to Mass, his journeys from one exciting world to another, and of the Space Skimmer itself, another character in itself. This is a fun read for all science fiction fans and shouldn't be missed.
... Read more

Product Description
Having escaped both an Earth on the verge of global collapse and their squabbling parents in a "divorce" at Geosynchronous Station, a newly independent Charles and his two brothers find themselves alone on the Moon with very few prospects. Worse, they are being hunted by ruthless interplanetary corporations who would stop at nothing to come in possession of a memory bar the boys smuggled on board. Can they make it on their own? Who can they trust?
Charles thought the moon would be a new beginning. He will be lucky just to stay alive.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Uninteresting and Gay
I found this novel to be rather boring.Also, trying to follow it without reading the first novel was a bit of a challenge.

Even with all of that it would have been ok, except for the gay aspect of the story.I'm not into gay literature, and would not have bought this if I had know ahead of time.

HARLIE on the Moon
In this second book of the series, the Dingillian kids continue to be pushed around by everyone they meet.

First they are smuggled off of the Line (a space elevator)and crash land on the Moon.There they go though a series of grueling survival missions just to stay ahead of everyone who wants to stop them.

The big complication is that now they know they are carrying the latest generation of a HARLIE unit (an artificial intelligence introduced in Gerrold's When HARLIE Was One).As things get worse on Earth, control of the HARLIE unit represents power and possibly life over death for many groups, governments and factions.

Before it is all over, everyone winds up in court to see who should really have custody of the HARLIE unit.There are some surprising arguments and results.

Another fine book that has me aching for the final book in the series.Lots of action and introspection.Once again everything is from Charles's (Chigger's) viewpoint.How can they stay alive?Who can they trust?Where should they all go?

If you have read the first book (Jumping Off The Planet) you will really want to read this one.If you haven't read the first one, you really should before reading this one as much will be totally confusing otherwise.

Moonlight Escapades
This is a direct sequel to Jumping off the Planet, and reading the earlier book is required to have any kind of understanding of this book.

Once more we are treated to Gerrold's version of a Heinlein juvenile, and this one owes some direct debts to a couple of Heinlein's works.Picking up immediately after the end of Jumping off the Planet, we find the dysfunctional Dingillian brothers starting on their trip to the moon, somewhat less mixed up than they were, but still on the run from certain shadowy persona who are extremely interested in the toy monkey they carry. They are taken under the wing of Alexei, a Russian-Loonie money launderer, who proceeds to get the brothers to the moon by most unconventional means, and travel beyond their arrival there via overland foot-trek.

Alexei could be a character taken directly from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, complete with a rather tortured syntax in his English speech patterns, but he is a rather interesting character, far better than most secondary characters. Some of the details of the brothers' forced march across the lunar landscape are a clearly updated version of a similar trek in Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. Gerrold does provide some rather fascinating updates to the technology that Heinlein used, most especially his 'portable' airlock. Most of the details Gerrold describes about the Lunar society belong in the same milieu as Mistress, but he does provide some possibly better economic justifications for why the society is the way it is. He makes clear that the Lunar culture is one built on scarcity, reusing everything to the greatest degree possible, perhaps explaining why this society does not seem nearly as rich and diversified as Heinlein's.

Plot-wise, this book is a continuing series of jumping from frying pan to fire to blast furnace. This makes for some fast page-turning adventuresome reading, though occasionally the descriptions of the technology slow down the pace. And there are some serious moral questions being posed underneath the action, questions that can be only partially answered by the protagonist middle brother. Charles' emotional and moral development is really the prime focus of this book, but he seems to make little progress in this book until near the very end. This is the major problem with this book, as Charles and his internal troubles did not do a very good job of engaging my interest, although this aspect was better done in this book than in the earlier Jumping Off the Planet.

A pretty good adventure, a nice update of some older Heinlein works, but not top-flight, though this book is better than its predecessor.

I enjoy the serise very much
The serise itself is witty and charming at the same time.Charles, the hero is a fine addition to the world of Science Ficton and as the serise goes on we get to see him mature and grow.You get to see Dougles finally come into his own as the leader of this tight nite little family.

I did not, however like ths book as much as I did the first in the serise entitled "Jummping off the Planet", it just seemed a bit rushed in places.

I realize this book is for young adults however I feel that the charecter of "Stinky"(Bobby) was added almost as an afterthought.He contributes nothing the dialong or the story line in fact hisonly actions thought the whole novel are to moan and complain and suffer brief periods of bladder control problems.We already know that from Mr Gerrold's portrayal of Howard that he doesn't like members of the legal profession.Maybe he is also trying to tell us that he doesn't like small children either.

I will read the 3rd and final book to see if Bobby matures a all.

This is a wonderful book don't get me wrong.

A Worthy Sequel!
If you're thinking of reading David Gerrold's latest young-adult novel, "Jumping Off The Moon" without reading the first one, "Bouncing Off The Planet", be prepared to be completely lost.This worthy sequel to "...Planet" begins only a week after the action of the first.The characters already established, as is the plot, "...Moon" is a continuation of the wonderful story.

"Chigger" and his two brothers are still fleeing from many people, including their parents, while unknowingly toting a stuffed robotic animal endowed with super-intelligence.While this super-intelligence is only in its test phases, a few units have "escaped" and are loose in the solar system."Chigger" finds out that his little brothers stuffed monkey is actually a sentient being on the lam from many nations who would control it. Most of the action takes place on the cold, sterile and anonymous surface and sub-surface of Earth's Moon, which has been colonized by the "Loonies", a nickname for lunar inhabitants.Gerrold does an apt job of bringing the action forward (although the story itself nearly mimics the first novel in story arc) and keeping the reader interested in the outcome, which has a somewhat surprising twist.

As far as young adult fare goes, this one is a winner! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not Free SF Reader
Black ape, brown ape, naked ape.


Or, a series that went on a bit too long here, really, and Gerrold did his best with what he had to work with - which in this case was not a lot.

Or the nice guy chimps et. al. get to come into conflict with mutants and gorillas.Actually doesn't sound too bad when you put it that when, in the good old cheesy sense, does it?

Not as fun as it sounds, though.

Better than the movie...
David Gerrold (he of Star Trek "Trouble With Tribbles" fame) takes the worst "Planet of the Apes" movie and turns it into a passable, enjoyable novelization.Though it has a light page count, this book doesn't suffer from the paltry budget the filmmakers labored under, so it comes across as a bit more powerful than the film.

Gerrold also manages to give the apes, humans and mutants who make up the cast believable inner lives.Even Aldo, the brutal, villianous gorilla general, has motivation.Gerrold's descriptions of the ruined New York, and the marauding mutant army paint mental pictures much grander than what you'll see on the screen if you dare watch the movie.Plus, the novel contains a few deleted scenes that broaden the action's scope and provide context for the earlier films.

If you're a "Planet of the Apes" fan, it's well worth your while to hunt down a copy.If you're not, check it out anyway, and enjoy an oddball bit of pop culture.

The Apes take the upper hand.
This novelization of the Movie is a more detailed exploration of this dark edition in the Planet of the Apes saga. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

THE MAN WHO LOVED HIMSELF JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH...
I love books that have a time travel theme and looked forward to reading this book, as it had come highly recommended. This book is more like a long short story or a very brief novella, which is a mercy, considering how disappointed I was by it. It was merely ok. In fact, there was very little about it that I found to be engaging, though I do not affirmatively dislike the book.

The book is about a young man, Daniel Eakins, who inherits a belt that allows him to travel in time. The book itself is like a diary that the main character keeps of his journeys in time. He writes mostly about meeting other versions of himself, both male and female, and making love to those versions. His presence at some of the greatest moments in history, which he does go to see, consist of nothing more than a laundry list to indicate that he had been there. There are also journal entries by some of his other various incarnations, which is a moderately interesting contrivance.

Still, there is little substance to the book in terms of plot, as well as little character development. The time spent in other eras are glossed over quickly, as if too much time would be wasted in doing otherwise. Daniel does try to change some historic moments, with some interesting consequences, but that, too, is glossed over. The book almost reads as if it were a stream of consciousness narration, which is, perhaps, congruent with keeping a diary or journal. The exploration of sexuality in which the author engages is certainly novel, though slightly creepy.

This book, which feels more as if it were an outline for a book, would probably be of interest only to die hard, time travel fans. If you are not such an individual, deduct one star from my rating and avoid this book. As is its central character, the book is in a state of arrested development. ... Read more

Product Description
Chris Metzen, Blizzard Senior Vice-President, contributes to this fourth volume of interstellar journeys. The brutal...The menacing...The twisted...Confront the vast, renowned world of StarCraft inside this collection of mind-blowing adventures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

starcraft short stories
4 short stories relating to the hit game starcraft series.

all in all the stories were pretty much ok, meant for easy reading. only felt that raynor's wongs of liberty prequel could have been better although it raises a bit of contradiction whether jim was feeling guilty over his late wife and kid or whether over kerrigan, anyway his late family was never really mention in games and therefore the writers try to keep it separated in novels. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Thought-provoking book on the original Star Trek
I'm amazed that there are not more reviews of this terrific book about the original "Star Trek" TV series. Does that mean that not many people are reading BOARDING THE ENTERPRISE? Fans should definitely read this book, because it's a great anthology of perspectives about the show, mostly positive, but since it's "completely unauthorized," some negative views as well. Most of the authors are, like me, clearly fans of the original "Star Trek" and have been much influenced by it, but are willing to admit that it had its shortcomings too. These essays are very wide-ranging, from D.C. Fontana's "I Remember Star Trek" that is largely behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the show, to "What Have You Done With Spock's Brain?" by Don DeBrandt about Vulcan society and identity, to "Who Killed the Space Race?" by Adam Roberts that looks at the relationship between science fiction and real space travel, to "The Prime Question" by Eric Greene that ponders meanings behind various episodes and aspects of "Star Trek," and so on through 15 usually fascinating essays.

Greene's "The Prime Question" was helpful to me in pointing out that the show's inconsistences in applying the Prime Directive (which advocated non-interference with alien societies) reflected a difference of opinion between two of the show's producers, Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon, and those inconsistencies actually provide an interesting debate on the pros and cons of interference. Another of my favorite essays was "Star Trek in the Real World" by Norman Spinrad, in which the famous sci-fi author argues that the alien Mr. Spock was important to our society in promoting the acceptance of other ideas and cultures. Another well-known sci-fi writer and media professor, Paul Levinson, points out in "How Star Trek Liberated Television" that the show's success in syndication was the first salvo in the struggle to liberate us from the dominance of the big three TV networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. Some essays I found less enlightening, but one must remember that from infinite diversity comes infinite combinations! Notice too that this is NOT a book intended to provide a huge amount of detail about the original Trek, but rather is perspectives about the meanings and impact of the show. I have read a substantial amount about "Star Trek," especially the original series, and BOARDING THE ENTERPRISE is the most interesting book of perspectives about the show that I have read.

Boarding the Enterprise
I enjoy this book because its like a bible of the 'inside information' on the specs and technical info about the Enterprise and the Federation. I enjoy writing fan-fiction, so this is a treasure chest of info. ... Read more

Product Description
This thought-provoking examination of The Matrix explores the technological challenges, religious symbolism, and philosophical dilemmas the film presents. Essays by renowned scientists, technologists, philosophers, scholars, social commentators, and science fiction authors provide engaging and provocative perspectives. Explored in a highly accessible fashion are issues such as the future of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The symbolism hidden throughout The Matrix and a few glitches in the film are revealed. Discussions include "Finding God in The Matrix," "The Reality Paradox in The Matrix," and "Was Cypher Right?: Why We Stay in Our Matrix." The fascinating issues posed by the film are handled in an intelligent but nonacademic fashion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Philosophy and the Matrix...
Enjoy the science and philosophy of the first Matrix movie with such greats as Robert J. Sawyer, David Gerrold, and Ray Kurzweil.Chapters on machine intelligence, ethics, and our future.Truly fun and mind expanding if a tad outdated now that the other movies are out.
So, which pill would you take?

Bent covers received twice
Very disappointed to receive this book twice (a replacement) with a very bent cover.Amazon's replacement was no better and was no help.Very disappointing.

Short on Social/Political Commentary
I enjoyed this book. But honestly it could have been better. "The Matrix" is a striking film--in my opinion one of the best movies of the decade. To me, the most gripping thing about the movie is the implicit parallel between the unreality of the parasite-controlled Matrix and the commercially-shaped Matrix of our American culture. What the average joe experiences as reality is a false world. It's a created set of impressions that don't match reality very closely, but do serve the commercial interests that foster them. Like the movie Matrix, the parasitic "matrix" of our time exploits us. It extracts our money, time, and energy to its own ends. The essays in this book were good. But the editor seemed to sidestep any serious commercial or political issues. Maybe he was hesitant to take them on. Or maybe he just didn't get it.

Good and Bad
This is actually a hard book to review because of the essays beign written by many authors.Basically I give this a three because it does not go into great depth.If you have thought about the Matrix while watching you more than likely have an opinion and thoughts on the subjects they write about, for example - Was Cypher right in wanting to be plugged back in?The good part of this book though is that it is a great introduction to some philosophical concepts if one hasn't taken an intro to philosophy course.It does give the background on where the ideas for this movie came from.If you really like this one or don't like it for that matter read The Matrix and Philosophy.This is a good read that goes into a little more depth than this book seems to do.Although everything I have said is not positive I do not want to discourage you from reading this book.

An amazing look at how the Matrix could indeed be real
Every essay in this book will shed new light on the way you view this world. It is so well researched, written, and edited that I'm hard pressed to find another book that I would rate so highly. There are theories presented here that will have you talking to anyone who will listen about the almost unreal possibilities these authors present. They are the top people in their respective fields and were not chosen because they just had cool ideas. They were chosen because they know what they're talking about. I can say this with some authority as one of my good friends is basically 2nd in command at the publishing company. So, do not hesitate to pick up this book and gain unbelievable new insights. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides great science fiction classic examined from new and exciting perspectives. It also includes the complete text of the original "War of the Worlds". H. G. Wells' great classic of science fiction is as vivid and powerful today as the day it was written. In this collection, 14 of science fiction's greatest talents come together to discuss, with insight and humour, one of the genre's most important works. The essays include: "H.G. Wells' Enduring Mythos of Mars", in which Stephen Baxter provides the history of man's investigations of Mars and explains why Wells was right after all; "Just Who Were Those Martians, Anyway?", in which Lawrence Watt-Evans explains how ridiculously incompetent the Martians were as interplanetary invaders, and why; "In Woking's Image", in which Mercedes Lackey takes readers to a different alien world: Wells' hometown of Woking during the late 19th century; "The Tiniest Assassins", in which Mike Resnick suggests that Wells gets one tiny thing wrong; The Hugo-winning "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" (the only reprint in this anthology), in which Connie Willis describes the unfortunate encounter between Emily Dickinson and Wells' Martians. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Mediocre and Half-Hearted
Based on the glowing praise from other reviewers, I was expecting something wonderful when I ordered this book. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver.

To be fair, there are two or three essays that give interesting historical or biographical insights into Wells' work. But these little gems hardly make up for all the self-indulgent, aimless, fuzzy writing that fills most of the book. Where was the editor?

Advice: Check this out of a library, or browse through it at a bookstore. It's not worth paying for...

Fun book on the classic S-F story
Although this book contains the entire text of the novel, having previously read the Wells novel, the best part of this book for me was the essays by various sci-fi writers. Just over half the book is devoted to the essays. There are about a dozen interesting pieces here on different topics, but the one I enjoyed the most was by David Gerrold, so I thought I would just briefly discuss that. But the other essays are worthwhile also and I found they enhanced my enjoyment and appreciation of the book.

In his article Gerrold discusses an obscure but interesting sequel to the Wells book, "Edison's Invasion of Mars," which had an interesting premise. The main character was none other than Thomas Alva Edison, the famous inventor, who headed up a punitive expedition to seek revenge for the Martians' invasion. Written by Garrett P. Serviss, who obtained Edison's approval before writing the book, the novel, although virtually unknown today, had several important firsts. It describes the first space suits, the first battle in space, and the first death ray. The story was published only 6 weeks after the serialized version of Wells's novel ended in the newspaper, and as it was immediately recognized as an attempt to capitalize on the Wells novel, it quickly sank into obscurity.

At first I thought envisioning the great inventor as the head of a military expedition was a little odd; but on the other hand, one could picture Edison bringing some good ol' American ingenuity and know-how to the task of visiting some interplanetary whuppass on the evil Martians. Anyway, it would have been interesting to read the book to see what kind of commander Edison was and how he was able to beat the Martians.

Oddly enough, over the years there have been one or two attempts to revive it, one time by a small press that printed 1500 copies (it was in fact their only book, before the operation folded), but it was never a success. So although completely forgotten today, the story is of interest for the several firsts I mentioned, and I enjoyed reading Gerrold's piece about this now forgotten but historically important story.

Serious perspectives mixed with lots of humor.
I happen to be a huge fan of H.G. Wells many books but the one that I enjoy the most is The War of the Worlds.So I bought this book up the second I found out about its existence.Being a fan of such authors as Stephen Baxter, Fred Saberhagen and Mercedes Lackey I couldn't put it down once I had it in my greedy little hands.With articles about Mars, how the novel effected sci-fi (and history in general), and even just fun sections on how smart the Martians REALLY were, this is a treasure.Also, many of the authors, in passing, mention other books and movies that have also taken the alien invasion theme from Wells and carried it onwards (many of which I have and many of which I don't have) - spin offs and such.This makes it a great source for finding sci-fi novels and movies that you might not have yet.
A must for any fan, young or old.

An All Star List of Contributors!
Robert Silverberg, Robert Charles Wilson, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Pamela Sargent, Stephen Baxter, Jack Williamson, David Gerrold, Mercedes Lackey, Fred Saberhagen, George Zebrowski, David Zindell, Mike Resnick, Ian Watson, Connie Willis... plus H.G. Wells of course!

... Read more

Product Description
Features a long novella by Michael Bishop; seven other short stories. ... Read more

Product Description
Containing many answers to the questions posed by the first 'Matrix' film, this book explores the frontiers of philosophy, technology and religious symbolism. It explores the enormous dilemmas the Wachowski brothers presented when they gave the movie its many layers of meaning - fusing myriad philosophical and religious themes with futuristic science and technology. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", which reveals information about the actors who starred as the crew of the "Enterprise-D". It details their lives, their roles outside of "Star Trek", and their characters' development. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

COOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!
Star Trek TNG it my favorite T.V. show!This book is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!READ IT!!!!!

Good for getting info. on the careers of the actors
I LOVE Star Trek: The Next Generation.While I couldn't put this book down, it left a lot to be desired.It is basically a collection of mini auto-biographies about the cast focusing on their acting careers.If youwant to know more about the characters they play this book offers littleinsight.If however you are looking for information on the lives of theactors,then this is the book you want.And the title holds true: the crewof the Enterprise-D is the finest crew in the fleet, in any time period.

Every Star Trek fan should own this book!
Being a lifelong Star Trek fan, I'm used to reading about Trek.A great many of the biographies and "histories" of Trek are boring and poorly written.Finally, here's a book that not only gives you interesting details about the crew we know and love (Yes, the Next Generation crew), but it's well written.This book gives us intimate portraits of the Star Trek actors, the actors who seem so much a part of their roles it's a shock to see them out of uniform. The book reads like a breeze, and confidently exposes the lives and loves of the actors we feel we know so well.Some of the details Shrager elicits are moving; for example, learning of Patrick Stewart's unhappy childhood makes one feels all the more satisfied that he has hit it big.Of course, the browsing reader will enjoy the spectacular photographs, which create a kind of dizziness when you first see them (Jean-Luc with hair! Worf on "CHiPs"!), but the more careful reader will note the way ! Shrager blends intimate details of the actors with the nature of the characters they play.This is good stuff.On a comic note, the great cover you're looking at caused the hacks at Paramount no end of worry;they had the same cover slated for a book they released months later.Of course it flopped; it was nowhere near as good as this one.Buy it, read it, love it.

I can't get enough of this cast!
I received the book yesterday in the mail, and I'm really enjoying it! I have read so much about the different characters, but there are always aspects we don't know. I loved the Brent Spiner chapter, I didn't know his make-up had been removed with a kerosene based remover! It was the little things like that, that have made the book highly enjoyable. The pictures are great too, I love the one on the back cover. I think the cast of TNG consits of an exceptional group of actors, who are highly talented and very enjoyable to watch and read about! I'm very passionate about the series, and consider it to be one of my favorite shows. Thanks for writing a book where I can read more about the cast when I need to. They are truly wonderful. Thank you! LJB

Combines all the facts into one condensed version- excellent
This is a necessary book for any Next Generation fan. It takes the rumors we know and the facts we never heard and combines them into one useful text. I learned more about the actors from the series than I had anywhere else. I truly hope another one comes along. Great pictures too ... Read more

Product Description
The Voyage of the Starship Enterprise Continues...TOKYOPOP delivers new manga-style stories of the classic U.S.S. Enterprise crew in this third installment of the Star Trek the manga series. In Uchu: David Gerrold (writer of the famous "Trouble with Tribbles" episode) brings us a rumpus on the Enterprise as the mysterious, teddy bear-like creature Bandi runs amok with a pretty virulent vibes. Wil Wheaton returns with a Klingon confrontation that may test Kirk's resolute hatred of them. Nathaniel Bowden brings us a society in which bureaucrats run wild. And Luis Reyes tries to glimpse the softer side of Spock. Stories include: Art of War (Story by Wil Wheaton and Art by E.J. Su), Inalienable Rights (Story by Nathaniel Bowden and Art by Heidi Arhnold), Bandi (Story by David Gerrold and Art by Don Hudson), and The Humanitarian (Story by Luis Reyes and Art by Nate Watson) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Are These Fan Stories?
There are five short stories and each one is created by a different writer and artist. I accept that the art and writing styles will vary from story to story. However, I expect a good standard for the writing and the art. Most of these stories seem like they were done by amateur fans.

The first and last story had good art and the stories were interesting. It bugged me on the last story how the captions were some times placed on the wrong characters. There is one story where Kirk is hugging a teddy bear and hearts and rainbows are floating all around. When I hit that scene, I almost quit reading the book.

If there is a fourth book, I'll think twice about getting it. ... Read more

Product Description
ENEMY MINE-The Nebula and Hugo Award winner that inspired the 20th Century Fox motion picture starring Dennis Quaid and Lou Gossett, Jr.The story of a man, incomplete in himself, taught to be a human by his sworn enemy, an alien being who leaves with the human its most important possession: its future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A caveat
I bought this item, thinking it was Barry Longyear's original novelette. This item is NOT the original novelette (a reprint of which is at Enemy Mine). Note the joint authorship on this item between Barry Longyear and David Gerrold. This item is a novelization of the movie "Enemy Mine" (1985).

More confusing yet, the "Look Inside" link (as of 21 Apr 2009) takes you (incorrectly) to the original novel as reprinted by IUniverse, not (correctly) to this novelization of the movie as published by Charter Books. The "Just so you know..." message leaves the impression that they're just different editions of the same book. They're not just different editions. They're different stories.

A few of the differences between the two: The original novel begins with the confrontation between human and alien on the ground. How they got there is later told in retrospect in a couple of paragraphs. The novelization of the movie begins at the "starbase" and descibes the space battle step by step in 5 chapters/19 pages. The original novel puts them on an island up against frequent tidal waves. The equivalent in the novelization of the movie is repeated meteor showers, and they're on a continent. In the original, they eat snakes to survive. In the novelization, they eat mock turtles. Pretty much all of the details in the stories are different, but the general gist is similar. The original novel is 96 pages long. The novelization of the movie has 218 pages.

Between the two, I prefer what I've read of the original novel, but the novelization of the movie is a good story, too, and it's cheap: I bought my like-new used paperback for a penny (plus $3.99 shipping and handling, of course).

Heartfelt
This is quite simply one of the best books I've ever read. I believe it was originally published in a magazine as a novella and then reprinted in book form to make money. It is rather short, but every page is worth five in a typical novel. The story is deceptively simple: a human and an alien crashland on an ocean world and most work together to survive. The story has been done before, but never so well as this. The beginning is solid suspense while the middle is a tear jerker. The final third is less intense and moves to more of a cerebral level. It is a fitting conclusion, though not as intense as the first two parts. All in all, Enemy Mine deserves its many accolades. By the way, read the book before you see the movie--the acting is good but they changed too many things for a fan to be satisfied.

accross the sea of xenophobia
[...]
The second short story is about a displaced man who finds himself in the
novel Moby Dick come to life around him.
Both are award winning stories, but "Enemy Mine" in the original form is the prize here:that which is taught here inis worthy.

Not Free SF Reader
Two fighters on opposite sides of a war, and on different species are forced to work together to stay alive.

This relationship also moves on to the next generation, and the human combatant becomes a diplomatic bridge between the two alien races, once they are out of the hairy situation.

One of the best SF Books EVER!
I'm a huge fan of "Enemy Mine," and have read every version Longyear has published and every Longyear collection it has been in... "Manifest Destiny" and "The Enemy Papers," to be precise.This is one of the greatest stories of breaking racial barriers and living in peace with people of different cultures ever written.It is just as timely now as ever.

I am hoping that the full length novel version of Enemy Mine that Longyear and David Gerrold (author of "The Man Who Folded Himself" and Star Trek's "Trouble With Tribbles") will be reprinted soon.Longyear is bringing back all of his other books, why not that one?Does the movie studio own the rights?I'm sure Gerrold would like to see it reprinted.It fleshed out the story more, developed the relationship between Shigan and Davidge, and added more Zammis material.The ending was almost the same as the short story only it was expanded and improved.The only version out there is the one with the movie tie-in cover, which is long out-of-print. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Second Half of an Okay Space Opera
Emerging victorious from another David-eats-Goliath encounter with the Morthan Solidarity, the Star Wolf licks its wounds and makes its way home.The ship's unwelcome reception at Starbase is no surprise to readers of David Gerrold's preceding book, The Voyage of the Star Wolf.The cast of now-familiar characters are joined by some new faces as they and their not-quite-yet-captain Commander Korie struggle to rebuild the ship.They face enemies on all sides as they deal with Morthan sabotage, attempts by the fleet to break up their ship for spare parts, and an impending Morthan attack that no one else sees coming.

This book really should have been packaged with The Voyage of the Star Wolf as a single offering.Although it stands on its own reasonably well, it fixes some flaws in the previous book.In Middle of Nowhere we finally see into the minds and cabins of the Star Wolf's crew and gain some sense of their motivations and concerns.It would be better still if less of this perspective were sexual, and more richly emotional or intellectual.But the main characters at least achieve a second dimension to their personalities, a dimension lacking in the previous book.And Commander Korie's flashbacks build a more credible emotional link with his lost wife and sons.

If you are hooked on the Star Wolf and its Star Trek seen-through-a-glass-darkly universe, this book is for you.If David Gerrold's first book in the series fell a little flat, this sequel could still save it for you.After reading it, I was convinced to move the next book in the series, Blood and Fire, a little higher on my recreational reading list. ... Read more