Will Sargent reviewed Minds Machines & Evolution by James P. Hogan
Review of 'Minds Machines & Evolution' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
It's half short stories, and half essays and anecdotes.
There are some real problems with this book. The first is that it just hasn't aged well. It's from 1986, and most of the futuristic stories that he's tried to impart are not only known, but almost beaten into the ground.
This would be okay if there were something else holding the book together. Unfortunately, Hogan does not have any literary flair, and he doesn't do characterization very well. That leaves the story hanging by its science, and that only goes so far.
There's a version of Slider (the movie) in here, there's a story about transporter style which spells out the implications, and there's a even a story about how killing Hitler has unanticipated consequences. I felt almost embarrassed at some point -- it's like finding a story about two space travellers on a distant uninhabited planet "and they turn …
It's half short stories, and half essays and anecdotes.
There are some real problems with this book. The first is that it just hasn't aged well. It's from 1986, and most of the futuristic stories that he's tried to impart are not only known, but almost beaten into the ground.
This would be okay if there were something else holding the book together. Unfortunately, Hogan does not have any literary flair, and he doesn't do characterization very well. That leaves the story hanging by its science, and that only goes so far.
There's a version of Slider (the movie) in here, there's a story about transporter style which spells out the implications, and there's a even a story about how killing Hitler has unanticipated consequences. I felt almost embarrassed at some point -- it's like finding a story about two space travellers on a distant uninhabited planet "and they turn out to be Adam and Eve."
So yeah. Very much a product of its era. Two stars because it's at least good for what it is, but I wouldn't recommend to others.