2024 the best prison in the world review

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(as of Nov 18, 2024 22:23:08 UTC - Details)

The sound came swiftly nearer, rising in pitch and swelling in volume. Then it broke through the clouds, tall and black and beautifully deadly, the Gern battle cruiser, come to seek them out and destroy them.

Humbolt dropped inside the stockade, exulting. For two hundred years his people had been waiting for the chance to fight the mighty Gern Empire with bows and arrows against blasters and bombs!

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An excellent survival sci-fi book
Review: I realize this work is a bit old, but Tom Goddard's novel is an excellent read. Essentially it chronicles a group of humans stranded on a hostile planet by a bunch of evil aliens called the Gern. The planet Ragnarok, is filled with elements, creatures, and an oppressive gravity that is deadly to humans.The beauty of this book is how the humans utilize their ingenuity and the world in order to master the planet. Goddard realistically goes through each problem, solution, and mistake that these people make on Ragnarok. I won't ruin it for you, but there were times I thought the entire group would die within the next couple of pages, they were that close to the end. There are some really interesting creatures that these humans come across and learn to master. Two of the most notable are the Prowlers, who are a feline race that hunt humankind on Ragnarok. And the other are a group of semi-intelligent ferret creatures called Mockers, that can telepathically communicate with their masters. How the humans master these creatures is as interesting as it is ingenious.A word of caution however. This book is brutally realistic, meaning that in every phase of the human evolution on Ragnarok, you have more people die. Every character in the first half of the book dies in some way, leaving the next chapters to their decedents. Sometimes the deaths are sad like a child succumbing to fever in the night, while others are completely brutal. One guy I really liked in the first twenty pages got trampled at the end of a chapter by a herd of Unicorns (Not what you're thinking).This is an excellent scifi novel and a real classic, a perfect fit for your library.

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Entertaining listening 🎧
Review: I listened to this as part of the Eigtht Science Fiction Megapack. All the books were interesting. 2023I listened to this again and found it very interesting and would recommend to readers of Space Opera novels 2024

Reviewer: Erin Penn
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Still amazing worldbuilding after 60 years
Review: For a long while, after I got old enough to read big words for myself, my mother would pass books she thought were good to me - Robert Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars, for example. Eventually she approved me going into the collection directly and I worked my way through her shelves which included this gem from HER college years - first published in 1958. A book she loved enough to transport from one end of the country to another through at least four different moves.I loved it too. Massive worldbuilding, MacGyvering, action. I reread it again and again. Now a group of sci-fi classic lovers have uploaded the book for free viewing on Kindle.Note for the formatting - this is free, the page numbers are included in the text and there are a couple-few transcription issues. The overall result is fine though - especially free for a book which only had a 5,000 first run.Rereading the book in 2017, the worldbuilding still remains amazing. The ecology of Ragnarok from its climate to its animals is breathtaking. Originally titled "The Survivors", this book makes you feel the hell planet a group of colonists are dumped on by their enemies. The MacGyvering to survive and then thrive remains really cool - gems always have worth.Downside for 2017 - no female characters of note. The women and children are a background group - dying but essential to survival. Mr. Godwin does show them working along side the men, doing the same sacrifices and more; much more, there are no old child-bearing women. On a 1.5 gravity world where reproduction is as essential as exploration, the explorers will be limited to the men - and those are the ones Mr. Godwin follows. The women stay home and die in childbirth. Not the exciting part of the story for the 1950's readers. The author never demeans women or says they can't do what the men can do, but because they can do something the men cannot do they are not a part of the story.The story follows the colonists and their descendants for 200 years.The main lacking in this story is character attachment, you sympathize with the characters but don't empathize. Consider how many people die, not feeling each death personally is a plus. The initial two nights after the colonists arrival on the hell world makes George R.R. Martin's Red Wedding look sedate.Still a great worldbuilding story even after 60 years; definitely worth the space on your kindle if you like classic sci-fi.ADDITIONAL NOTE: Eric Flint, in conjunction with Baen Books, has collected many of Tom Godwin's works into "The Cold Equations" (published 2003), including The Survivors/Space Prison and his famous short story "The Cold Equations". While not free, like this particular "Kindle Edition", it's available in paperback so you can have it for your shelves. ... Side amusement, the cover is for "Space Prison" with a person standing holding a crossbow and unicorn goggles (should be black), with a mocker on the shoulder and two prowlers - but, typical of early sci-fi, the person is a scantily garbed woman.

Reviewer: ArcadeAddict
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Is it Deep? No. But Still, Darn Good Reading...
Review: I think the title says it all. This is not a story with a lot of rich, fleshed out characters, or deep conflicts, but it is a good read.The basic plot is simple: a group of colonists is stranded on a Hellish world after trying to evade the evil Gern Empire. Most of them die, but a few survive and plot their revenge.Just read it. It sounds almost stupidly simple, but is well written and is fairly short. It is a good story and if you have some time to kill, read it.

Reviewer: Ron Johnson
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Book was severely damaged when received

Reviewer: MNV
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It’s a classic where a group of humans is stranded on an inhospitable planet by evil aliens. The story follows their trials and tribulations over an approximate 200 year period. TheI really enjoyed this book. The story follows the trials and tribulations of a group of humans stranded on an inhospitable planet by evil aliens ( who else?). It covers the approximate 200 year period between the stranding and the aliens returning.The sequel to this book was the first SF book I ever read, so I admit to a soft spot for this author, however, it’s still a good read.

Reviewer: Scott Bristowe
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Recommended to me by my father as one of the first scifi books he read. This book blew me away, amazing story. Hard to believe it was written in 1958!

Reviewer: Rachael Ryan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great story, not the best style of writing but the story carries through. A great look at the possibilities of natural selection at work. If you're new to sci-fi its a great place to start. A fantastic look at the indestructible nature of humanity.

Reviewer: D A Walton
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Quaint old fashioned sci-fi Swiss Family Robinson nonsense that is unafraid of interbreeding for galaxy domination. We will take our women and conquer .....