Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Excellent finish to teh series, 01 Jun 2004
Once again while fans wait for the next in the War against the Chtorr series, David Gerrold brings out another great book to keep us going.

This showed how gifted he is for writing great science fiction, and although not a huge saga, the Star Wolf series is good reading and highly enjoyable.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Excellent finish to teh series, 01 Jun 2004
Once again while fans wait for the next in the War against the Chtorr series, David Gerrold brings out another great book to keep us going.

This showed how gifted he is for writing great science fiction, and although not a huge saga, the Star Wolf series is good reading and highly enjoyable.

Fascinating ; ), 24 Oct 2006
Some of the chapters go over territiory that may be familiar to dedicated fans like the history of the show, its battles with cancellation and what Gene Roddenbury was trying to accomplish with the original series but for me it was all really informative. I found the other essays in the book with hardly any exception to be very insightfull and really made me think about some of the story lines in detail I had never considered. I already knew the show was important for the civil rights movement and commentary on the vietnam war but this book opened my mind to other aspects such as religion on the show and how much sence the prime directive really makes.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Excellent finish to teh series, 01 Jun 2004
Once again while fans wait for the next in the War against the Chtorr series, David Gerrold brings out another great book to keep us going.

This showed how gifted he is for writing great science fiction, and although not a huge saga, the Star Wolf series is good reading and highly enjoyable.

Fascinating ; ), 24 Oct 2006
Some of the chapters go over territiory that may be familiar to dedicated fans like the history of the show, its battles with cancellation and what Gene Roddenbury was trying to accomplish with the original series but for me it was all really informative. I found the other essays in the book with hardly any exception to be very insightfull and really made me think about some of the story lines in detail I had never considered. I already knew the show was important for the civil rights movement and commentary on the vietnam war but this book opened my mind to other aspects such as religion on the show and how much sence the prime directive really makes.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Excellent finish to teh series, 01 Jun 2004
Once again while fans wait for the next in the War against the Chtorr series, David Gerrold brings out another great book to keep us going.

This showed how gifted he is for writing great science fiction, and although not a huge saga, the Star Wolf series is good reading and highly enjoyable.

Fascinating ; ), 24 Oct 2006
Some of the chapters go over territiory that may be familiar to dedicated fans like the history of the show, its battles with cancellation and what Gene Roddenbury was trying to accomplish with the original series but for me it was all really informative. I found the other essays in the book with hardly any exception to be very insightfull and really made me think about some of the story lines in detail I had never considered. I already knew the show was important for the civil rights movement and commentary on the vietnam war but this book opened my mind to other aspects such as religion on the show and how much sence the prime directive really makes.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

Some interesting ideas, 09 Jul 2006
This book poses some interesting ideas and theories. Some of the essays are linked to the film and others are inspired by themes the film explores. I found most of the essays to be well written and have something of interest to say, a minority were not of much interest, a little tenuous or of minor relevance. Never the less, it is worth a read for some of the forward looking ideas explored in it's pages.

Religion? in the matrix, 23 Nov 2004
Some of the scientific and philosophical essays were definitely worth a read. e.g. 'Are we living in the matrix' and how the kind of computing power required for the matrix is not so far away.

However the religious essays were total drivel. e.g. The Christian theme and how Neo is like Jesus. Give me a break. Did Jesus go around with big weapons? Or is Christianity a bit more complicated than that?

The link to the Matrix film was a bit tenuous in several of the essays, e.g. in one essay other science fiction is discussed but The matrix is only briefly mentioned.

I liked the matrix as a film but this book gives the impression that is a deep and meaningful film. It is not.

Overall I enjoyed a bit more than half the essays in the book. On the other hand a good proportion was such drivel that they don't deserve the paper they were printed on, so much so that I nearly abandoned the book halfway through. Other books can sustain a high level of quality throughout a selection of essays by different authors, so why not this one.

This book could have been improved greatly by a slightly rigorous editing or dare I say it commission some essays to fill the gaps where the quality was poor. In the end the book feels like a bit of a cash in on the enormous popularity of the Matrix.

What is the Matrix?, 22 Mar 2004
Having been mesmerised by the films, having seen the parallels the religion, science and philosphy, this book was the obviously the next step for me to take. I was not disappointed. With an eclectic blend of essays from different authors, this book voices some the ideas and worries that beface is all, but especially teenagers (which is probably why the films were so successful). The questionability of reality is something that seems to come up on a daily basis, with science replacing religion as the bible by which man now lives, how long before we are able to control and master the 'avatar' as Neo does in the films? How long will it be before machines do actually begin to do everything for us, or begin to think and realise that we are in fact not needed?

Maybe the films are philosophical and filled with meaning, or maybe it's just a cool action film that pretend to be clever to make people feel better about themselves and rake in cash. Either way, this book gives both sides of the argument and also some startling insights into how we soon could be (if not alrready) living in the Matrix for real.

My advice? Take the red pill and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes ...

Philosophical?, 26 Feb 2004
Deep meaning and depth is within the Matrix films? Get real! This book, a puerile spin-off, tries to make 'The Matrix' sound like a sincrely theological trilogy. I am a fan of the films, but can't anyone see yet that they are action sci-fi thrillers, and just that? The 'scholars' of this book struggle to spin an etchical or philosopical moral out of the trilogy, but fail to convince. I didn't expect idealistic, phony trash. But thats what this book seems to readily offers. It trys to look too deep, and ends up making false and unfounded conclusions on a 'meaningful' film. Is that 'meaningful' with machine guns and car chases?

Almost as mind-bending as the movie, 12 Dec 2003
As a fan of the film, I bought this book to explore some of the themes in ‘The Matrix’ more deeply. I was hoping for some insights into the movie’s motifs and hidden meanings. I was largely satisfied.

A couple of elements in the book took me into various authors' encyclopaedic knowledge of science fiction or philosophy. However, highlights included:

An interesting discussion on ‘Was Cypher Right?’ ie: if you had the choice, and you knew the truth, would you plug back in forgetting the real world, and live out your fantasies in VR? An interesting question.

A bonus revelation in Robert Sawyer’s enlightening explanation of AI and what was really going on in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Peter Lloyd’s explanations of how Matrix technologies could actually exist one day; a nice introduction to Buddhism from James Ford; Ray Kurzweil’s scary proposition that Matrix-type processing power is not all that far away; and Bill Joy’s counter argument that we should think about pulling the plug now.

The book’s real masterpiece, though, is the final essay, and I assume it was placed last intentionally. ‘Are We Living In The Matrix?’ by Nick Bostrum is one of those page turning revelations that just stuns you....

To discover the answer that he proposes, buy this book. It will, literally, "free your mind".

Bland., 13 Dec 2005
This book reads quite fast, managed to finish it in two days (about five hours total), and despite the interesting setting Mr. Gerrold plants us, the story focuses on a single space ship (the Star Wolf, duh!), in a single area of the Galaxy... Naturaly, it would need more pages to develop and expound on the whole setting, but in the end, it is lacking, with cliché'd characters, sequences, and technology (the only imaginative part is the outcome of a missile attack in the first dozen pages, where the ship looses all power). I didn't cared for any of the characters, or what would become of them, and despite a few singular occasions (the previously stated missile attack, or having telepaths aboard a ship when one of them has intercorse (which is totally unnecessary for the story, I might add))), there was nothing that we haven't seen in a million other stories, some of them much better written... This was to be made into a sci-fi show (got axed in the meantime), and I would surely appreciate it, but as it stands in book form, it's short, uncaring, and bland. It manages to stay above 2 stars by a few sequences and the easy read.

Military SF with intelligence and humanity, 20 May 2003
David Gerrold is one of the greats. This space adventure combines brilliant action with thoughtful characterization. Wonderful!

A comedy of manners. , 07 Jul 2007
The whole book is written with great good humour. I enjoyed it from start to finish. One of the best

The Flying Sorcerers, 22 Jan 2004
A very funny book. The misadventures of a visiting spaceman in a primitive society. Lots of puns and veiled references to "established" writers by two "rising stars" (when first published in 1971).

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

Excellent finish to teh series, 01 Jun 2004
Once again while fans wait for the next in the War against the Chtorr series, David Gerrold brings out another great book to keep us going.

This showed how gifted he is for writing great science fiction, and although not a huge saga, the Star Wolf series is good reading and highly enjoyable.

Fascinating ; ), 24 Oct 2006
Some of the chapters go over territiory that may be familiar to dedicated fans like the history of the show, its battles with cancellation and what Gene Roddenbury was trying to accomplish with the original series but for me it was all really informative. I found the other essays in the book with hardly any exception to be very insightfull and really made me think about some of the story lines in detail I had never considered. I already knew the show was important for the civil rights movement and commentary on the vietnam war but this book opened my mind to other aspects such as religion on the show and how much sence the prime directive really makes.

Timetravel with a slant, 25 Jun 2002
I am not very fond of time travel stories, but this one does not go into the usual "what if we changed this" genre and explored something totally different.

The book follows a young man through his life as he discovers the magic about the time travel. Even though there are many advantages to time travel there is several disadvantages too. Like our main character that looses track of his history and do not know which time he is from.

I can't reveal too much of the content of the book or else I will give away the surprise ending of the book.

The book is well written in known Gerrold style and is a must for the collector.

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.

We are all Martians, 16 Jun 2003
I have read several books by David Gerrold (DG), and I had read his first take on this book when it was published on his web page.
The book gives a very touching and personal description on how it is to adopt a kid. Specially when you are alone about it.

Despite the seriousness of the matter the book is also very funny and gives several vivid descriptions of sitations that arises. DG uses a very rich and descriptive language which is very typical for his books.

The book also have many sad moments, as when adoptive son suddenly swings in mood and expect to be sendt away as he never stayed long at a single place.

The prose of the book is easy to read and the story quite captivating. I read the book in about 3 hours in one sitting. Recommended.