The Practice Effect

The Goodreads book description is lame. The one on Amazon is better:

Physicist Dennis Nuel is the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds: alternate universes where the laws of science are unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovers seems almost like our own—with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he’s hailed as a wizard, meets a beautiful woman with strange powers, and finds himself fighting a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.

While this novel is couched as sci-fi, it reads like fantasy. Sure, the beginning of the novel takes place in a near future Earth, and there's the zievatron thingee that allows Nuel to travel to another world, but it ends show more there. The rest of the novel is spent in a medieval world, and Nuel must put his wits to use inventing things to gain favor and the upper hand in his struggles with the denizens of this world. There's a princess who needs rescuing, castles and dungeons, and superstitious peasants.

So what is "the practice effect?" Well, you know how you have to practice playing the clarinet to learn a song or get on the ice and skate to improve your hockey skills (maybe not the best examples, but you should get my point)? On this world, that's how you make objects better. The more you use them as they're intended, the better they get. Got a pair of ripped jeans? Wear them a lot and let them practice being jeans and those rips will go away. Got a crude stone axe? Go chop some wood with it, and it'll slowly sharpen on its own accord.

If you remember physics class, you'll know which law has been turned on its head to make worn out things magically like new. Just another element to bolster the case for this being a fantasy novel.

90+% of the story is told from Nuel's POV. Fortunately that 10% exists as it affords the reader a chance to learn that the villainous Baron and Princess Linnora aren't two-dimensional stock characters. The Baron is greedy and lusts for power, but he does have a few principles. It was especially nice to see that, while the princess was in need of rescuing, she carried her own weight as the novel wore on.

None of this is said to infer that this is a bad book. It's definitely not. I enjoyed it. The pacing is good, and the story is entertaining. The characters are fine, though they could've used a little more depth. They're likable, you still root for them to succeed. The story could've devolved into one of those stereotypical square-jawed male heroic fantasy tropes that were so popular decades ago, but it didn't. Not Brin's best work, but still fun. show less

David Brin has made his name writing hard science fiction, but this earlier work (1984) is one of his softer pieces.

The premise of a new world which has slightly different physical laws from Earth, and how those laws affect everyday life, is fascinating. However, the reader should not expect any great depth of insight from this novel, since is it written in the manner of a nonstop action adventure. It is highly readable in the manner of pulp fiction like Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, and science fiction is mixed with traditional fantasy elements such as castles, dungeons, an imprisoned princess who needs rescuing, and an calculating baron who wants to take over the world.

The storytelling is engaging, but the characters could perhaps show more have been developed more fully and the central concept explored in more depth. But on the other hand, it is evident that Brin was not aiming for any great profoundness of meaning when he wrote this work, since a light-hearted humour permeates the whole book.

Although it is an action adventure, it reads more like science fiction than fantasy, and Brin provides a scientific explanation (albeit not a very convincing one) for everything at the end of the novel.

For me it was a light but thoroughly enjoyable read. show less

This book reads like an odd combination of a trite young adult fantasy and a science fiction novel of planetary exploration hung on a truly intriguing concept. A physics experiment gone wrong leaves our protagonist stranded on an earth like planet inhabited by human like people where one important law of physics works quite differently: things that are used don’t wear down, they instead improve towards perfection (i.e., as they get “practice”).

The Practice Effect is a decent yarn, but not really in the same league with Startide Rising or The Uplift War. I found the feudal politics and economics of the world to be superficial, and none of the characters to be particularly compelling (the love-interest princess and the evil villain show more both felt particularly thin). The strategy and tactics of the climactic battle are unconvincing, and completely ignore the profound implications of the planet's reverse entropy physics to boot.

Not a great novel, but I found it moderately satisfying in a guilty pleasure kind of way. show less

i thought this book was very clever. The basis for how things work on this particular world is based on practice and repetition - what if you could really 'practice up' and get better at things, or make tools better by using them or sharpening them over and over? Someone who discovers this and masters it can use it to great effect....

Very much reads like a first-try novel. Interesting premise that could have been engaged with better.

Brin got much, much better at writing after this book.

Sep09: Old school science fiction. I mean that in a kind way.

Characters: Yea, they were likable, but flat as shit. It wasn't about the characters.
Plot: Well, it was a wild romp. Nothing really made much sense; cause and effect were out the window. Exploring the 'practice effect' was pretty much the whole point.
Style: Totally old school sci-fi. Felt just like 'Flash Gordon'. Sometimes that is what you want. And if so, this is a pretty good version of it.

This is absolutely one of my favorite Brin novels - and I have every one he has written to date. The premise is so unique that I (still) think it would make an outstanding movie! Anyone a screen writer out there???