tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post2076735179320507954..comments2024-03-26T21:58:50.501-04:00Comments on MPorcius Fiction Log: West of Eden by Harry HarrisonMPorciushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-89076630414314053952014-01-01T04:29:56.412-05:002014-01-01T04:29:56.412-05:00Intriguing!!Intriguing!!Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-24983792017181923132013-12-31T17:48:47.658-05:002013-12-31T17:48:47.658-05:00West of Eden is probably the best Harrison I have ...<i>West of Eden</i> is probably the best Harrison I have read. I haven't read the sequels yet, though I own them and plan on reading them, probably within a year.<br /> <br />As a kid I read a bunch of Stainless Steel Rat books, the three Deathworld books, and the original <i>Bill the Galactic Hero</i> book. As an adult I have reread the first Rat book and all three Deathworld books. I think <i>West of Eden</i> is more serious, more ambitious, and less polemical than all of those novels. The main text of <i>West of Eden</i> has no jokes that I can recall, and if Harrison is pushing an agenda it is pretty subtle. The setting and characters are all pretty believable and none of them seems like a caricature of someone or something Harrison hates or an exemplar that embodies or voices Harrison's own views. I actually found just about all the characters interesting and sympathetic; they all act in ways that make sense based on their culture and experiences. I think in <i>West of Eden</i> Harrison was trying something new, stretching himself, and I think he succeeded. MPorciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-16993862815289873082013-12-31T03:17:37.018-05:002013-12-31T03:17:37.018-05:00I am neither a lover or hater of Harrison. I thin...I am neither a lover or hater of Harrison. I think he's got great intentions, just not always the talent to embed them in solid characters, settings, etc. A friend of mine recently recommended the <i>Eden</i> series to me, however, claiming its the best of the author's s oeuvre. <br /><br />Have you read the other two books in the series? If you've read enough of Harrison's other works, how do the book(s) compare?Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.com