L. Neil Smith Resident Scholar Profiles TOP SCHOLAR: Christie Robnett SCHOLARS:
Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review?
Click here to submit a review!
Review Summaries
"Captain Bernie Gruenblum, Texas Jew and time-machine pilot, gets kidnapped by a torture-loving megalomaniatrix and her incompetent subordinates. In the process of escaping, he and the villians get kicked into the same parallel universe as in Smith's earlier novel, THE PROBABILITY BROACH. To recover his stolen flying saucer/timeship, he makes alliance with a talking coyote, a teenaged female gorilla, and other interesting characters, including three small aliens who think he's God. On top of that, his vehicle falls in love with him and must endure torture in virtual reality while Bernie hunts down the saditrix and her yet more evil romantic interest."
Brian R. Hughes, Resident L. Neil Smith Scholar
Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!
Overall Review
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 30% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- alternate history
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- dimension travel
Tech./$$$/Info hunt
Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying
- method of transportation
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- explorer
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- scholar
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
- wild
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Terrain
- Mountains
- Forests
Earth setting:
- 20th century
Spaceship setting:
- one or two man fighter/scoutship
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Takes place in spaceship?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a moderate amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- descript of touching personal anatomy
- use of artificial tools
- description of breasts
- descript. of private male anat.
- descript. of non-breast female anat.
- rape/molest (yeech!)
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog