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anastaciaknits 's review for:
Hope of Earth
by Piers Anthony
I grew up a huge Piers Anthony fan, and I keep trying to remain one as an adult. I still do consider myself a fan, even though I'm always vastly disappointed when I read one of his books.
This is the 3rd book in the geodyssey saga. I've read all of them before, and this one is a reread. You can read the books in order or as a stand alone.
The premise sounds cool on paper - follow one family through history and see what happens. Anthony picks various events in history, explains a bit of back story and reveals his thoughts behind why he writes each chapter the way he does. The first half of the book I found quite enjoyable, but the latter half I was simply bored with. Not sure if it was because the characters were just not evolving, or because I was bored with the historical events he was talking about, or a combination of other things, but the second half simply dragged. I ended up skipping most of one chapter completely because I could not get interested in the story, at all.
So, what's good about the book? Well, it's an Anthony book and as I already explained, he's got a built in fan in me. I love history, and I enjoy what he's trying to do in this book. I like the fact that the characters all have flaws, though he places way too much emphasis on physical flaws and repeats that emphasis in each and every chapter. I like the fact that the book spans such a huge span of history - including the future (though it's way too Romeo & Juliet for me). I like the fact that it's part of a series.
But I just never get behind any of the characters, though I didn't dislike any of them, either. I think because there are six major characters in the book (all being a major character in a few individual chapters and being a minor character in others), plus husbands, wives, kids, and various enemies, there are just too many people to keep track of.
So all in all, I have mixed feelings about the book. I like it enough that I have to give it 3 stars, but I dislike it enough that I can't rate it any better.
I borrowed this book from my dad, who introduced me to Piers Anthony in the first place.
This is the 3rd book in the geodyssey saga. I've read all of them before, and this one is a reread. You can read the books in order or as a stand alone.
The premise sounds cool on paper - follow one family through history and see what happens. Anthony picks various events in history, explains a bit of back story and reveals his thoughts behind why he writes each chapter the way he does. The first half of the book I found quite enjoyable, but the latter half I was simply bored with. Not sure if it was because the characters were just not evolving, or because I was bored with the historical events he was talking about, or a combination of other things, but the second half simply dragged. I ended up skipping most of one chapter completely because I could not get interested in the story, at all.
So, what's good about the book? Well, it's an Anthony book and as I already explained, he's got a built in fan in me. I love history, and I enjoy what he's trying to do in this book. I like the fact that the characters all have flaws, though he places way too much emphasis on physical flaws and repeats that emphasis in each and every chapter. I like the fact that the book spans such a huge span of history - including the future (though it's way too Romeo & Juliet for me). I like the fact that it's part of a series.
But I just never get behind any of the characters, though I didn't dislike any of them, either. I think because there are six major characters in the book (all being a major character in a few individual chapters and being a minor character in others), plus husbands, wives, kids, and various enemies, there are just too many people to keep track of.
So all in all, I have mixed feelings about the book. I like it enough that I have to give it 3 stars, but I dislike it enough that I can't rate it any better.
I borrowed this book from my dad, who introduced me to Piers Anthony in the first place.