Gateway

Executive Summary: I had low expectations coming into this considering it was “classic” sci-fi and ended up enjoying it more than I expected. 3.5 Stars

Audiobook: I thought Oliver Wyman did a good job with the book, but nothing spectatular. She spoke clearly and the volume was good.

If you're a purist, I should warn that this is apparently not the full text despite it be listed as unabridged. I don't know exactly what's missing, but I've been told that it's some kind of supplement “documents” that offer additional world building.

For me personally, had I not known they were missing, I wouldn't have suspected. I can't say for certain since I haven't read them, but I didn't feel like the book was incomplete. Your mileage may vary however.

Full Review
So if you read my reviews, you'll probably know I read a lot more fantasy than Science Fiction. I love Sci-Fi, but I tend to prefer Space Opera or Space Fantasy to nearly anything else. I also have a pretty bad track record with older Sci-Fi.

This book has won a lot (all?) of awards. That often doesn't mean much to me with regards to how much I like it. Some books I love wouldn't even sniff a nomination. Some award winning books I've been very bored by. This one fell somewhere in between. I enjoyed it, but it's not going to be something I rush out and recommend to others.

I was also a bit concerned because it was published 40 years ago. It definitely shows it's age at certain points. For me that was less about the science that may not hold up than it is about the social things. In particular the attitudes towards domestic abuse. However I guess for a book written in the 1970s, the attitude toward homosexuality while not exactly great, seemed far more progressive than I would have expected. Still the parts dealing with these things definitely pulled me out of the story.

At the start of the book I wasn't thrilled by the framing device. Our protagonist is seeing a robot psychiatrist and discussing his issues of guilt. Through this we learn what happened to him and about the place they call Gateway. As the book went on however, I warmed up to this device, and found it a pretty good mechanism for “info-dumping” to the reader.

I struggled to like the protagonist, especially later in the story, but I found his journey fairly enjoyable. I probably would have given this book another half of a star had I liked him better.

It's my understanding that this was originally conceived as a stand alone novel, and only after it was so successful was it expanded into a series. I'm content to stop here. I'm glad I read this, because I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own, so another thanks goes to Sword & Laser