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Old Twentieth
Old Twentieth
Author: Joe Haldeman
The passengers aboard the starship Ad Astra spend most of their time on the thousand-year journey to Beta Hydrii within the virtual reality of twentieth-century Earth. There, they can experience nostalgia for the hardship of a life they've since evolved beyond. — But when people inside the virtual reality chamber start to die, engineer Jacob Brew...  more »
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PBS Market Price: $8.09 or $4.19+1 credit
ISBN-13: 9780441013432
ISBN-10: 0441013430
Publication Date: 7/25/2006
Pages: 304
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 25

3.5 stars, based on 25 ratings
Publisher: Ace
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Zylyn avatar reviewed Old Twentieth on + 48 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Surprise ending. Haldeman, as always very good.
GeniusJen avatar reviewed Old Twentieth on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
OLD TWENTIETH is the first book I've read by Joe Haldeman, and although I'm glad I read the book, I just can't help but be disappointed by the ending. It's hard to write a comprehensive review without giving away spoilers, but I'll try my best. That said, I gave the book 4 Stars due to the fact that it WAS an exciting sci-fi read, with a wonderful balance of scientific facts, dialogue, virtual reality, and human emotion.

The discovery of immortality led, inevitably, to the Immortality War. People who could not afford the high-priced Becker-Cendrek Process, which causes humans to become immortal, struck out against those who manufactured it, and in 2047 Earth found itself in the middle of a full-scale war. It ended with Lot 92, a biological agent that within five minutes killed off 7 billion mortal humans, leaving Earth with a much more manageable number of 200 million immortals.

In 2188, humans discovered the existence of Beta Hydrii, which was circled by at least one planet with free oxygen and water. Determined to discover if this planet, which would take at least 1,000 years to reach, could sustain a human population, a convoy of research ships takes off to check out its viability.

The main character of the book, Jacob Brewer, serves alternately as a chef on the convoy of ships and the chief engineer of the "time machine"--a full-scale virtual reality machine that can take people back into the past and immerse them in the culture of their chosen year. Inevitably, things start to go wrong during the journey to Beta Hydrii, specifically with those people who take trips in the time machine. What follows is probably the logical conclusion to such a tale, and really is an entertaining story--until the last couple of chapters.

I probably should have seen it coming. The logical series of events that leads up to the ending of OLD TWENTIETH isn't far-fetched if you've paid attention to the chapters preceding it. That said, however, I hated the ending. Like the movie(s) THE MATRIX, the beginning of the book started off with a bang; the middle was enjoyable; and the ending left me screaming in frustration.

For sci-fi fans, you'll enjoy this book. The trips back to the twentieth century via the time machine, although violent in nature and description, were truly interesting. As long as you know in advance that the ending is bound to dissapoint you, you'll be able to take the book for what it truly is--a story about human's obsession with death and technology, and how the two don't always mix.
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reviewed Old Twentieth on + 495 more book reviews
One of Haldeman's most intriguing
knightreader avatar reviewed Old Twentieth on + 92 more book reviews
ONE OF SCIENCE FICTION's reliable practitioners,solidl;y entertaining
the twentieth century lies hundreds of years in humanity's past.but the
newr-emmortal citizens of the furure yearn for the good old days.
jacob brewer is a vitual reality engineer,overseeing the time machine's operation avoarad the starshep aspera.but on the thousand-year voyage to beta hydril, the eight-hundread-member crew gets more reality than they expct when people entering the machine start to die.
BE READY TO READ THIS IN ONE NIGHT--GREAT GREAT GREAT


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