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Loading... Al servizio di TB II (all my sins remembered, 1977) (1977)by Joe Haldeman
Work InformationAll My Sins Remembered by Joe Haldeman (Author) (1977)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I always like books by Haldeman and will try any I find. That said this was one of his less impressive efforts. It started good and but by the end I was losing interest. Then it ended badly. ( ) Grim, episodic SF depicting a largely unwilling operative for a shadowy government agency performing acts of varying awfulness while disguised as someone else. There are three scenarios, leading me to believe the book began as short stories and was assembled into a novel. The writing style is lean, and has that matter-of-factness that, coupled with the outlandish SF scenarios on various planets, makes it pop. The ending is foretold almost from the beginning, but still carries a terrible sadness. The guy can write, and I'm looking forward to another book of his, as this was my first. Already have The Forever War on my Kindle so that will be it. I think this book woule make a compelling, if depressing miniseries. I want to be able to give this a 5-star review. The book is episodic in structure, with intervals between each episode. The main episodes of the book... they're good, but not great. The intervals, though - they fascinate me! The character that comes to life in them, the mental and emotional effect of committing violence under orders (Haldeman's central obsession) are brilliantly focused into these small sections. Being so focused, these interval sections are powerful! I actually prefer to go back and just re-read the intervals, and ignore the main episodes completely. Otto McGavin works as a peacekeeper in space making sure alien rights are respected. In order to do so he has to take on the personality and body formation of those aliens. Often he has to kill in order to protect the rights. When his jobs are complete and he returns to his original self he remembers all his sins. Interesting premise, disappointing storytelling. This is a book begging for a further fleshing out of characters and plot and instead gets a cursory treatment of both. It's hard to care about the protaganist because all we get is a few pages up front describing what he believes, we never get to understand the character and he's drawn very one dimensionally. Overall a very uninspiring read. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesAlpha science fiction (1979) Gallimard, Folio SF (244) Knaur Science Fiction (702) Présence du futur (267) Science Fiction Book Club (1847) Contains
In this powerful, provocative SF classic from the award-winning author of The Forever War, a young man of peace is transformed into an intergalactic killer. Once Otto McGavin was a kind and gentle soul; then he was recruited by the all-powerful Confederación. An ultrasecretive, government-linked organization, the Confederación's stated mission of protecting threatened life, both human and alien, throughout the galaxy greatly appeals to the Anglo-Buddhist McGavin as he eagerly prepares to embark on a career of diplomacy and selfless works. But Otto's new masters have other plans for the idealistic young recruit. Through a process of immersion therapy and hypnosis, and by encasing him in temporary bodies of plastiflesh, scientists can overlay Otto's true persona with other ones, transforming him completely--body, mind, and soul--into the ruthlessly effective prime operator the Confederación wants him to be. But decades of interstellar subterfuge and violence, and years spent wearing the personae of spies and cold-blooded killers, must ultimately take their toll--and before he leaves behind the lives that have been cruelly thrust upon him, Otto McGavin will have to somehow come to terms with who he really is and the monstrous things he has done. One of the most powerful and thought-provoking stories from the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Worlds and The Forever War, Joe Haldeman's All My Sins Remembered is a stunning work of speculative fiction. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Joe Haldeman including rare images from the author's personal collection. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813Literature English (North America) American fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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