Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Ace Hardcover (2005), Edition: 1st, 272 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML:The twentieth century lies hundreds of years in humanityâ??s past. But the near-immortal citizens of the future yearn for the good old daysâ??when peopleâ??s bodies were susceptible to death through disease and old age. Now, they immerse themselves in virtual reality time machines to explore the life-to-death arc that defined existence so long ago. Jacob Brewer is a virtual reality engineer, overseeing the time machineâ??s operation aboard the starship Aspera. But on the thousand-year voyage to Beta Hydrii, the eight-hundred member crew gets more reality than they expect when people entering the machine start
User reviews
LibraryThing member Radaghast
Old Twentieth was a very pleasant surprise. I wanted to pick a book in the library I had heard nothing about, in addition to reading those off my very long "must read" list. I was aware that Joe Haldeman had written the famous Forever War (that's on the must read list) , so I decided to check it
Old Twentieth is the story of a future Earth where a new drug has been developed that grants virtual immortality, save from a violent death. This drug is very expensive, and a movement soon arises among everyone who is not super rich to stop sale of the drug, or make it more widely available. This breaks out into Civil War, resulting in the development of a gas that kills nearly everyone who is not immortal. All of this is told from the perspective of the main character, who was a teen during the war, and whose father was killed by the anti-immortals. Fast forward several years, and you see that a group of ships have been built to venture to the closest star. Though the trip will take a few thousand years, since everyone is immortal, it is a more realistic goal. The main character chooses to join the voyage. He is in charge of the virtual reality machines, which, it is hoped, will mitigate the psychological effects of the trip.
With me so far? The plot is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I had no trouble following Haldeman's premise, which is a mark in favor of his writing ability. What plays out is a novel that deals with the effects of being turned immortal versus being born immortal, time travel (essentially virtual reality set in the past is a form of time travel), artificial intelligence, and human nature.
Be warned, up until the very end, you will think you see the finish coming. You will believe the ending is cliched down to the second to last page. If the ending I felt coming had been Haldeman's ending, I would have been disappointed, and the book probably would have only gotten three stars. Luckily, Haldeman leaves the reader with a poignant and melancholy finish. The last book that left me with such a feeling was the brilliant
(rest of the review coming)
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out. Old Twentieth is the story of a future Earth where a new drug has been developed that grants virtual immortality, save from a violent death. This drug is very expensive, and a movement soon arises among everyone who is not super rich to stop sale of the drug, or make it more widely available. This breaks out into Civil War, resulting in the development of a gas that kills nearly everyone who is not immortal. All of this is told from the perspective of the main character, who was a teen during the war, and whose father was killed by the anti-immortals. Fast forward several years, and you see that a group of ships have been built to venture to the closest star. Though the trip will take a few thousand years, since everyone is immortal, it is a more realistic goal. The main character chooses to join the voyage. He is in charge of the virtual reality machines, which, it is hoped, will mitigate the psychological effects of the trip.
With me so far? The plot is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I had no trouble following Haldeman's premise, which is a mark in favor of his writing ability. What plays out is a novel that deals with the effects of being turned immortal versus being born immortal, time travel (essentially virtual reality set in the past is a form of time travel), artificial intelligence, and human nature.
Be warned, up until the very end, you will think you see the finish coming. You will believe the ending is cliched down to the second to last page. If the ending I felt coming had been Haldeman's ending, I would have been disappointed, and the book probably would have only gotten three stars. Luckily, Haldeman leaves the reader with a poignant and melancholy finish. The last book that left me with such a feeling was the brilliant
(rest of the review coming)
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LibraryThing member clark.hallman
Hundreds of year in the future, humanity is nearly immortal and they immerse themselves in virtual reality times machines to explore explore the past. During a thousand-year voyage to Beta Hydrii the 800-member crew begin to die as the time machine becomes sentient. Very interesting, like all of
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Joe Haldeman's novels. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Locus Award (Nominee — Science Fiction Novel — 2006)
Locus Recommended Reading (2005)
Language
Original language
English