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The Hollow Man
Jeremy Bremen has a secret. All his life he's been cursed with the ability to read minds. He knows the secret thoughts, fears, and desires of others as if they were his own. For years, his wife, Gail, has served as a shield between Jeremy and the burden of this terrible knowledge. But Gail is dying, her mind ebbing slowly away, leaving him vulnerable to the chaotic flood of thought that threatens to sweep away his sanity.
Now Jeremy is on the run--from his mind, from his past, from himself--hoping to find peace in isolation. Instead he witnesses an act of brutality that propels him on a treacherous trek across a dark and dangerous America. From a fantasy theme park to the lair of a killer to a sterile hospital room in St. Louis, he follows a voice that is calling him to witness the stunning mystery at the heart of mortality.
Now Jeremy is on the run--from his mind, from his past, from himself--hoping to find peace in isolation. Instead he witnesses an act of brutality that propels him on a treacherous trek across a dark and dangerous America. From a fantasy theme park to the lair of a killer to a sterile hospital room in St. Louis, he follows a voice that is calling him to witness the stunning mystery at the heart of mortality.
342 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1992
About the author
Dan Simmons
230 books12.4k followersDan Simmons grew up in various cities and small towns in the Midwest, including Brimfield, Illinois, which was the source of his fictional "Elm Haven" in 1991's SUMMER OF NIGHT and 2002's A WINTER HAUNTING. Dan received a B.A. in English from Wabash College in 1970, winning a national Phi Beta Kappa Award during his senior year for excellence in fiction, journalism and art.
Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years—2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York—one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher—and 14 years in Colorado.
ABOUT DAN
Biographic Sketch
His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.
Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."
Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado—in the same town where he taught for 14 years—with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker—their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike—a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels—was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.
Dan received his Masters in Education from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971. He then worked in elementary education for 18 years—2 years in Missouri, 2 years in Buffalo, New York—one year as a specially trained BOCES "resource teacher" and another as a sixth-grade teacher—and 14 years in Colorado.
ABOUT DAN
Biographic Sketch
His last four years in teaching were spent creating, coordinating, and teaching in APEX, an extensive gifted/talented program serving 19 elementary schools and some 15,000 potential students. During his years of teaching, he won awards from the Colorado Education Association and was a finalist for the Colorado Teacher of the Year. He also worked as a national language-arts consultant, sharing his own "Writing Well" curriculum which he had created for his own classroom. Eleven and twelve-year-old students in Simmons' regular 6th-grade class averaged junior-year in high school writing ability according to annual standardized and holistic writing assessments. Whenever someone says "writing can't be taught," Dan begs to differ and has the track record to prove it. Since becoming a full-time writer, Dan likes to visit college writing classes, has taught in New Hampshire's Odyssey writing program for adults, and is considering hosting his own Windwalker Writers' Workshop.
Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."
Dan has been a full-time writer since 1987 and lives along the Front Range of Colorado—in the same town where he taught for 14 years—with his wife, Karen, his daughter, Jane, (when she's home from Hamilton College) and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Fergie. He does much of his writing at Windwalker—their mountain property and cabin at 8,400 feet of altitude at the base of the Continental Divide, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. An 8-ft.-tall sculpture of the Shrike—a thorned and frightening character from the four Hyperion/Endymion novels—was sculpted by an ex-student and friend, Clee Richeson, and the sculpture now stands guard near the isolated cabin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
April 25, 2008
Let me begin by saying that for the most part, I LOVE Dan Simmons. I was very excited when this book arrived and dug right in. That's when my disappointment hit... I couldn't wait for this book to end. Within the first 3rd of the book I caught myself skimming, throughout the rest of the book I struggled with the fact that I was not enjoying the story and had to force myself to read.
This was a book that should have been about telepathy and mind reading, should have been a very exciting read, and could have been brilliant. Instead Simmons spends large parts of the book dropping the plot and spending page after page explaining the physics behind mind reading, and it doesn't make a whole lot of rational sense. Jumping back and forth between a plot that could have been entertaining, and a lecture on the physics of mind reading wore out my brain... especially since the physics part was completely unnecessary to the story. Then you throw in the completely out of nowhere idea that a mind reader would end up in all the different situations that occur in this book from serial killers to gun wielding Mafioso none of it came together. I struggled with this book, not because it was overly difficult, but because it was completely un-engaging to me
This was a book that should have been about telepathy and mind reading, should have been a very exciting read, and could have been brilliant. Instead Simmons spends large parts of the book dropping the plot and spending page after page explaining the physics behind mind reading, and it doesn't make a whole lot of rational sense. Jumping back and forth between a plot that could have been entertaining, and a lecture on the physics of mind reading wore out my brain... especially since the physics part was completely unnecessary to the story. Then you throw in the completely out of nowhere idea that a mind reader would end up in all the different situations that occur in this book from serial killers to gun wielding Mafioso none of it came together. I struggled with this book, not because it was overly difficult, but because it was completely un-engaging to me
September 13, 2019
This is the first time I see the ideas of Karl Pribram's holonomic model of the brain explored in fiction (in oversimplifying terms, what if the human mind is both a multitude of holograms and an instrument for interpreting the holograms of the vaster reality around us?), and the result is fairly inspiring. The story wades across some very dark places but ultimately reaches for the light. The main characters demonstrate surprising amounts of emotion--but then, this is Dan Simmons, who later gave us Aenea and Raul Endymion.
I take out one star for gratuitous violence and body horror in the second third of the story. Until the very end I hoped for some justification for the arc with Miz Morgan, but I found none.
Three moments that I'd like to keep for as long as possible:
~ a moment of passion and sharing:
~ a moment of compassion and caring:
~ a triumph of empowerment:
I take out one star for gratuitous violence and body horror in the second third of the story. Until the very end I hoped for some justification for the arc with Miz Morgan, but I found none.
Three moments that I'd like to keep for as long as possible:
~ a moment of passion and sharing:
Jeremy kisses the gentle curve of her lower belly. (...) Gail giggles, then stops giggling and takes a deep breath. The rain starts again, gentle but insistent on the nylon above, driving away the insects, the noise, and the smells of cooking. For a while there is nothing in the universe but Gail’s body, Jeremy’s body … and then a single body owned totally by neither.
They have made love before … made love that first night after Chuck Gilpen’s party … but it is never less wonderful or strange, and this night, in the tent in the rain, Jeremy truly loses himself, and Gail loses herself, and their flow of thoughts becomes as joined and intermingled as the flow of their bodies. Eventually, after aeons of being lost in one another, Jeremy feels Gail’s enfolding orgasm and celebrates it as his own, even while Gail rises on the growing wave of his impending climax, so different from the seismic inward intensity of her own, yet hers now, too. They come together, Gail feeling, for a moment, the sensation of her body cradling itself in his body as he relaxes in her mind while her arms and legs hold him in place.
When they roll apart on the flattened sleeping bags, the air in the nylon tent is almost foggy with the moisture of their exhalations and exertions. It is full dark out now as Gail undoes the tent flaps and they slide their upper bodies out into the soft drizzle, feeling the gentle spray on their faces and chests, breathing the cooling air, and opening their mouths to drink from the sky.
They are not reading each other’s minds now, not visiting the other’s mind. Each is the other, aware of each thought and sensation as soon as he or she feels it. No, that is not accurate: there is no he or she for a moment, and that gender consciousness returns only gradually, like a morning tide receding slowly to leave artifacts on a fresh-washed beach.
~ a moment of compassion and caring:
“Hi, Goofy!” called Sestina, the six-year-old black girl from Bethesda. She was very beautiful, her large eyes and sharp cheekbones emphasizing her fragility. Her hair was her own and set in precise cornrows; she wore blue, green, and pink ribbons. She had AIDS.
“Say something, Goofy!” whispered Lawrence, the thirteen-year-old with the brain tumor. Four operations so far. Two more than Gail had had. Lawrence, lying in the dark of postop and hearing Dr. Graynemeir telling Mom in the hallway that the prognosis was poor, three months at the most. That had been seven weeks ago.
Seven-year-old Melody said nothing, but stepped forward and hugged Bremen until her wig was askew. Bremen—Goofy—hugged her back.
The children surged forward in a single movement, an orchestrated motion, as if choreographed far in advance. It was not humanly possible, even for Goofy, to hug them all at once, to find room in the circle of his arms for them all, but he did. Goofy embraced them all and sent a message of well-being and hope and love to each of them, firing it in laserlike telepathic surges of the sort he had sent to Gail when the pain and medication made mindtouch the hardest. He was sure they could not hear him, could not sense the messages, but he sent them anyway, even while encompassing them with his arms and whispering soft things in each of their ears—not Goofy-like nonsense, although in Goofy’s voice as best as he could imitate it—but secret and personal things.
“Melody, it’s all right, your mother knows about the mistake with the piano music. It’s all right. She doesn’t care. She loves you.”
“Lawrence, quit worrying about the money. The money’s not important. The insurance isn’t important. You’re important.”
“Sestina, they do want to be with you, little kitten. Toby’s just afraid to give you a hug because he thinks you don’t like him. He’s shy.”
~ a triumph of empowerment:
“Jacob thought that there were a few people in history—he called them ultimate perceptives—a few people whose new vision of physical laws, or moral laws, or whatever was so comprehensive and powerful that they essentially caused a paradigm shift for the entire human race.”
But we know that paradigm shifts come with big, new ideas, Jerry.
No, no, kiddo. Jacob didn’t think this was just a shift in perspective. He was convinced that a mind that could conceive of such a major shift in reality could literally change the universe … make physical laws change to match the new common perception.
Gail frowns. “You mean Newtonian physics didn’t work before Newton? Or relativity before Einstein? Or real meditation before Buddha?”
Something like that. The seeds were all there, but the total plan wasn’t in place until some great mind focused on it.…
February 20, 2023
„Кухият човек“ е много силна и емоционална книга... Дан Симънс е създал докосваща и изпълнена с меланхолично настроение история, която напълно си заслужава четенето!
Главни герои в нея са двама влюбени, които притежават уникални телепатични способности. Обаче, телепатията се оказва не толкова дар, колкото тежко бреме, тъй като в съзнанието на човек с такъв талант непрестанно нахлуват чужди мисли и емоции... След като любимата му Гейл умира, Джереми остава сам и отчаян на този свят. Търсейки усамотение и бягство от заливащите го потоци от мисли, той се забърква в големи и страховити опасности...
Главни герои в нея са двама влюбени, които притежават уникални телепатични способности. Обаче, телепатията се оказва не толкова дар, колкото тежко бреме, тъй като в съзнанието на човек с такъв талант непрестанно нахлуват чужди мисли и емоции... След като любимата му Гейл умира, Джереми остава сам и отчаян на този свят. Търсейки усамотение и бягство от заливащите го потоци от мисли, той се забърква в големи и страховити опасности...
October 14, 2016
Vídeo Reseña <3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFiXb...
Este libro comenzó siendo algo aburrido y cursi, algo que hablaba de matemáticas y no entendía nada, poco a poco se fue transformando en una lectura increíble, impresionante, una obra maestra. Habla sobre el caos, el vacío, dios, DIOS, esto es hermoso <3
Este libro comenzó siendo algo aburrido y cursi, algo que hablaba de matemáticas y no entendía nada, poco a poco se fue transformando en una lectura increíble, impresionante, una obra maestra. Habla sobre el caos, el vacío, dios, DIOS, esto es hermoso <3
May 15, 2016
Дан Симънс е сред тримата най-умели разказвачи на нашето време. Всеки негов роман е история, която бърка в сърцето, размества аорти и причинява душевен ступор.
Когато прочетох „Хиперион”, казах си, че това е магнум опусът на Симънс и едва ли не съжалих, че съм започнал запознаването си с този дълго пренебрегван от мен писател тъкмо оттук. „Хиперион” е съвършена психологическа научна фантастика, брутално навлизаща в територии табу на теологията и къде ли още не – книга, в която Симънс показва как се спояват класически конструктори, теми и литературни влияния само за да ги взриви посредством прокълнатите да (свръх-)умеят, (свръх-)разбират и (свръх-)чувстват свои герои.
Крехкият, недостижим баланс между душа и съзнание е ярко търсене в текстовете на Симънс. Тема необятна, която авторът виртуозно някак винаги успява да заключи между страниците на (привидно) така различните жанрово ориентирани творби. Необятен е и писмовният дар, с който разполага американският писател. Години след „Хиперион” прочетох „Ужас” и се убедих, че някои творци не се нуждаят от рамките на някакви си магнум опуси. Някои творци създават паралелни вселени с лекотата, с която редови гимназист получава ерекция при вида на навеждаща се за изпуснат тебешир учителка по литература.
„Ужас” е съвършен приключенски роман с метастази в топоси на характерните дълбинни симънсови проникновения. Маскиран като пътешественически разказ за корабокрушенци по пътя към неизследвани морски пътища накрай света, „Ужас” е не по-малко провокация за нереализируемостта на човешките дирения, за плаващите пясъци, в които задължително затъваме, за онова ценно нещо, което сме готови да заменим срещу подарена последна глътка въздух. Сурово-депресивен, нихилистичен и развенчаващ митове от зората на дните, в едва блещуката си сърцевина „Ужас” пулсира с пронизителна любов към човека в отчаян, но премислен, опит да надвика гласовете в главите ни, за да се опитаме да чуем песента отвъд.
И тъкмо когато си мислех, че няма с какво повече да ме изненада, Симънс конфискува две нощи, изпочупи градени с години мои си виждания за литературата и живота, и ми подари внушения от главата на „Кухия човек”. Апокрифно издание на български език от „Галактика” в буреносните, гладни години от средата на последното десетилетие на миналия век, книгата идва с невероятния превод на Юрий Лучев и днес се намира твърде рядко в пропити с мирис на мухъл кашони на антикварни прекупвачи срещу скромните десетина евро. Но нищо са 20 лева за безценна история без аналог в съвременната литература, поне според скромното ми мнение на професионален филолог. Обвеяна в хипнозата на стихове на Т. С. Елиът и „Ад” на Данте, „Кухия човек” е разголената душа на Дан Симънс. Поетична в безкомпромисната си проза, смилаща сюжети до едно съвършено цяло, всичко в този роман подбужда съпричастие. Съпричастие, изискващо цялостна деконструкция на собственото. Емпатия, повеляваща маргинализиране на „аз”-а.
„Кухия човек” свежда четящия до куп разпиле��и атоми, които Симънс с бързо бръсване на четката си пръсва по епично платно, изобразяващо единствено интимност. Дълбаещо интимността. Превземащо потисканите късове забравено, защото няма друг път към себепознанието.
Какво ли няма тук!
Когато бях много малък, не ходех на училище още, татко ме ядосваше с невъзможни гатанки преди заспиване. Една от тях е познатата на всички ни ограниченост на човешкото съзнание да си представи необятността на безкрайно разширяващата се Вселена.
Очевидно, в случая със Симънс, някои деца имат повече въображение от други. И могат да опишат отговора си години по-късно върху лист.
Да се разкаже „Кухия човек” е като да опишеш вяра. Не го ли съпреживее другият, всяка твоя дума звучи недостойно. А сетне, повярвали заедно, свободни сте да обменяте мисли безсловесно. Тъкмо както правят главните герои в романа – Джереми, брилянтният математик и Гейл, изследователката на душата. Докато не ги разделя смъртта. Грозна и заради безвременното си настъпване, и в контраста на незаинтересувания залез, сменящ нощ, сменящ изгрев, сменящ утро, сменящ съдба, сменяща глас, сменящ писък, и друг, и още смъртта е начало на историята, нейна циклична кулминация, не единствено забрава.
Мъртъв отвътре, Джереми поема спускането си сред жилавите пипала на спиралата на душегубната корозия. Симънс е категоричен. За да познаеш Небесата, трябва да пребродиш дъното на Океана.
Смазваща, неочаквана, интелигентна, математически точна, но пъстро-художествена, провокативна, меланхолична и оптимистична, книгата е безнадежден мехлем за влюбените в литературата, безпътно взрените, страдащите, вярващите, влюбените, за теб.
Някак логично между страниците примлясват дори бръснарските ножчета-зъби на богоравния Шрайк – съществото-повелител на Ужаса, Болката и Смъртта, сравнимо с литературната си тежест и емоционално-смислова натовареност единствено с лъвкрафтовия Ктхулу. Невинен easter-egg, заключаващ теми, внушения и вярвания на Симънс.
Някак логично „Кухия човек” се нарежда сред най-изящните творения на литературата изобщо, преминавайки собствените си граници, докато докосва по рамото вгледания в привидно абстрактната картина непознат, който още търси проявлението ти върху платното.
Частици или вълни…
Когато прочетох „Хиперион”, казах си, че това е магнум опусът на Симънс и едва ли не съжалих, че съм започнал запознаването си с този дълго пренебрегван от мен писател тъкмо оттук. „Хиперион” е съвършена психологическа научна фантастика, брутално навлизаща в територии табу на теологията и къде ли още не – книга, в която Симънс показва как се спояват класически конструктори, теми и литературни влияния само за да ги взриви посредством прокълнатите да (свръх-)умеят, (свръх-)разбират и (свръх-)чувстват свои герои.
Крехкият, недостижим баланс между душа и съзнание е ярко търсене в текстовете на Симънс. Тема необятна, която авторът виртуозно някак винаги успява да заключи между страниците на (привидно) така различните жанрово ориентирани творби. Необятен е и писмовният дар, с който разполага американският писател. Години след „Хиперион” прочетох „Ужас” и се убедих, че някои творци не се нуждаят от рамките на някакви си магнум опуси. Някои творци създават паралелни вселени с лекотата, с която редови гимназист получава ерекция при вида на навеждаща се за изпуснат тебешир учителка по литература.
„Ужас” е съвършен приключенски роман с метастази в топоси на характерните дълбинни симънсови проникновения. Маскиран като пътешественически разказ за корабокрушенци по пътя към неизследвани морски пътища накрай света, „Ужас” е не по-малко провокация за нереализируемостта на човешките дирения, за плаващите пясъци, в които задължително затъваме, за онова ценно нещо, което сме готови да заменим срещу подарена последна глътка въздух. Сурово-депресивен, нихилистичен и развенчаващ митове от зората на дните, в едва блещуката си сърцевина „Ужас” пулсира с пронизителна любов към човека в отчаян, но премислен, опит да надвика гласовете в главите ни, за да се опитаме да чуем песента отвъд.
И тъкмо когато си мислех, че няма с какво повече да ме изненада, Симънс конфискува две нощи, изпочупи градени с години мои си виждания за литературата и живота, и ми подари внушения от главата на „Кухия човек”. Апокрифно издание на български език от „Галактика” в буреносните, гладни години от средата на последното десетилетие на миналия век, книгата идва с невероятния превод на Юрий Лучев и днес се намира твърде рядко в пропити с мирис на мухъл кашони на антикварни прекупвачи срещу скромните десетина евро. Но нищо са 20 лева за безценна история без аналог в съвременната литература, поне според скромното ми мнение на професионален филолог. Обвеяна в хипнозата на стихове на Т. С. Елиът и „Ад” на Данте, „Кухия човек” е разголената душа на Дан Симънс. Поетична в безкомпромисната си проза, смилаща сюжети до едно съвършено цяло, всичко в този роман подбужда съпричастие. Съпричастие, изискващо цялостна деконструкция на собственото. Емпатия, повеляваща маргинализиране на „аз”-а.
„Кухия човек” свежда четящия до куп разпиле��и атоми, които Симънс с бързо бръсване на четката си пръсва по епично платно, изобразяващо единствено интимност. Дълбаещо интимността. Превземащо потисканите късове забравено, защото няма друг път към себепознанието.
Какво ли няма тук!
Когато бях много малък, не ходех на училище още, татко ме ядосваше с невъзможни гатанки преди заспиване. Една от тях е познатата на всички ни ограниченост на човешкото съзнание да си представи необятността на безкрайно разширяващата се Вселена.
Очевидно, в случая със Симънс, някои деца имат повече въображение от други. И могат да опишат отговора си години по-късно върху лист.
Да се разкаже „Кухия човек” е като да опишеш вяра. Не го ли съпреживее другият, всяка твоя дума звучи недостойно. А сетне, повярвали заедно, свободни сте да обменяте мисли безсловесно. Тъкмо както правят главните герои в романа – Джереми, брилянтният математик и Гейл, изследователката на душата. Докато не ги разделя смъртта. Грозна и заради безвременното си настъпване, и в контраста на незаинтересувания залез, сменящ нощ, сменящ изгрев, сменящ утро, сменящ съдба, сменяща глас, сменящ писък, и друг, и още смъртта е начало на историята, нейна циклична кулминация, не единствено забрава.
Мъртъв отвътре, Джереми поема спускането си сред жилавите пипала на спиралата на душегубната корозия. Симънс е категоричен. За да познаеш Небесата, трябва да пребродиш дъното на Океана.
Смазваща, неочаквана, интелигентна, математически точна, но пъстро-художествена, провокативна, меланхолична и оптимистична, книгата е безнадежден мехлем за влюбените в литературата, безпътно взрените, страдащите, вярващите, влюбените, за теб.
Някак логично между страниците примлясват дори бръснарските ножчета-зъби на богоравния Шрайк – съществото-повелител на Ужаса, Болката и Смъртта, сравнимо с литературната си тежест и емоционално-смислова натовареност единствено с лъвкрафтовия Ктхулу. Невинен easter-egg, заключаващ теми, внушения и вярвания на Симънс.
Някак логично „Кухия човек” се нарежда сред най-изящните творения на литературата изобщо, преминавайки собствените си граници, докато докосва по рамото вгледания в привидно абстрактната картина непознат, който още търси проявлението ти върху платното.
Частици или вълни…
September 26, 2017
Este libro no es recomendable para iniciar en la ciencia ficcion ya que te puede parecer que el autor esta algo muy loco sin estar acostumbrado a leer sobre el genero.
La forma en que este libro toma esa sensancion de vacio que puede sentir una persona al perder un ser querido sumado a aplicar la ciencia en la telepatia lo hacen una historia interesante por partes para una persona abierta ademas de esto tiene escenas muy locas que toca leer dos veces para saber que estas leyendo bien.
La forma en que este libro toma esa sensancion de vacio que puede sentir una persona al perder un ser querido sumado a aplicar la ciencia en la telepatia lo hacen una historia interesante por partes para una persona abierta ademas de esto tiene escenas muy locas que toca leer dos veces para saber que estas leyendo bien.
March 9, 2024
What if paradigms do not shift as we understand the world conceptually different. What if such new concepts, if universally comprehensive, produce switch points that force a branching path into an alternate world in the world tree. Yeah, enough of that 🤣
Just Imagine you are a mind reader. And as improbable as this sounds, the improbability to find a lover that is a mind reader too is calculated by multiplying both improbabilities. Jeremy Bremen is in luck as he meets his equal in his mind reading bride Gail.
However, after having reached the apogee of his life, things go quickly downhill for Jeremy Bremen.
Life changes for Jeremy and he changes with it. For the harsh reality of day to day survival is a harsh mistress for an arrogant, self-assured former Mathematics professor.
Dan Simmons' Hollow Man tells a deliciously unpredictable story through which we follow a dynamic main character whose pain is all too palpable.
This work hasn't got as positive a critique as some of Dan Simmons' other novels. This reader begs to differ. The Hollow Man might be slightly different in style and plot from what you would expect from Dan Simmons, yet it is by no means of any lesser quality.
Just Imagine you are a mind reader. And as improbable as this sounds, the improbability to find a lover that is a mind reader too is calculated by multiplying both improbabilities. Jeremy Bremen is in luck as he meets his equal in his mind reading bride Gail.
However, after having reached the apogee of his life, things go quickly downhill for Jeremy Bremen.
Life changes for Jeremy and he changes with it. For the harsh reality of day to day survival is a harsh mistress for an arrogant, self-assured former Mathematics professor.
Dan Simmons' Hollow Man tells a deliciously unpredictable story through which we follow a dynamic main character whose pain is all too palpable.
This work hasn't got as positive a critique as some of Dan Simmons' other novels. This reader begs to differ. The Hollow Man might be slightly different in style and plot from what you would expect from Dan Simmons, yet it is by no means of any lesser quality.
Read
November 4, 2013I'm a big fan of Dan Simmons and keen to read his fairly extensive back catalogue, rather than just pick up the new releases as they come out. I was therefore excited to find this (imported from the USA) on the shelf in a local book store.
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THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY
See the complete review here:
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April 24, 2017
Postajem gunđavi starac, ali super je počelo da bi knjiga postala dosadna, nečitljiva i bez ikakvog smisla. Kraj malo izvlači cijeli prazni hod i fizikalna naklapanja gdje ih treba i ne treba... Ne znam...
November 17, 2007
Sometimes brilliant, often irritating, in sum, disconnected, this novel can't decide what it wants to be: soft SF (the travails of a telepath in a non-telepathic world), hard SF (an attempt to explain life, the universe, and everything through standing wavefronts, chaos theory, and higher mathematics), horror (about a serial-killer woman rancher who has dentures with razor blade teeth and a cold storage room full of her victims' bodies), a tragic love story (by way of Erich Segal). At the level of syntax, the writing is always decent and sometimes excellent, vivid, and convincing. Yet the plot is rife with deus ex machina and the actions of the protagonist often make little sense, even in retrospect. The conclusion is pure sunshine fantasy and also hard to buy. Simmons can be a wonderful writer, but I think he let this one get away from him. Yet all in all, despite its many faults, it is an interesting read.
June 22, 2020
A very original and interesting tale of a professor with telepathic abilities. Three tales mixed up in one, the scientific theories about existence and life with his telepathic wife; the life on the road after her death; and what happened when he stopped running. Amazing scientific theory and pretty interesting read. 7 out of 12.
July 23, 2007
Perhaps the best love story about the pain of telepathy, mass murders, crack addiction, and the mathematics of consciousness that I have ever read.
September 24, 2013
This surely is a book that will stay in your memory forever, so dark, deep and emotional. This is no ordinary book and Dan Simmons is such a great writer!
March 9, 2013
A nightmare descent through madness. Another 5 stars for Dan Simmons who is one of my favourite authors. This man has such a diverse body of work and everything I have read from him has been of a very high quality: the man knows how to write.
The use of telepathy as a main basis for a novel is nothing new, but what Simmons does here is inherently different from anything I have come across before. After Bremen loses his wife and telepathic mindshield - She also has the telepathic ability and is able to protect Bremen from all the thoughts of anyone he encounters - he sets out on a journey of aimless self destruction, leading to some truly mind warping set pieces including a Goofy suit at Disney World.
The writing here is top notch and it is really infused with that nauseous nightmare feeling that things are starting to get out of control for Bremen. But through this there is also the very sad story of Robby the deaf, blind and retarded boy whose drug addict mother puts through such neglect it really does break your heart (especially if you have children of your own).
Now even though I am giving the novel 5 stars there is a side story involving chaos mathematics and waveforms and such. While this explains with scientific and mathematical theory how Bremen and Gail have their abilities, gives backstory to the couple and really builds the foundations for why you should care about these characters it is also rather wordy and expository. But I found it all quite interesting and it really gave me something to ponder on, especially the idea that by being able to view the universe at work we force it to chose the path it takes (you will have to read the novel to really understand what I mean there).
All in all another great novel by Simmons and highly recommended.
The use of telepathy as a main basis for a novel is nothing new, but what Simmons does here is inherently different from anything I have come across before. After Bremen loses his wife and telepathic mindshield - She also has the telepathic ability and is able to protect Bremen from all the thoughts of anyone he encounters - he sets out on a journey of aimless self destruction, leading to some truly mind warping set pieces including a Goofy suit at Disney World.
The writing here is top notch and it is really infused with that nauseous nightmare feeling that things are starting to get out of control for Bremen. But through this there is also the very sad story of Robby the deaf, blind and retarded boy whose drug addict mother puts through such neglect it really does break your heart (especially if you have children of your own).
Now even though I am giving the novel 5 stars there is a side story involving chaos mathematics and waveforms and such. While this explains with scientific and mathematical theory how Bremen and Gail have their abilities, gives backstory to the couple and really builds the foundations for why you should care about these characters it is also rather wordy and expository. But I found it all quite interesting and it really gave me something to ponder on, especially the idea that by being able to view the universe at work we force it to chose the path it takes (you will have to read the novel to really understand what I mean there).
All in all another great novel by Simmons and highly recommended.
December 19, 2018
A rather boring, totally unremarkable book.
There is an interesting premise here that fades after the first twenty pages when you realize the author isn't concerned with pursuing it at all.
The initial conceit, presented on the first page or two of the novel, is that the main character is a telepath who shares a very strong (and unique) telepathic connection with his wife, who is the only author telepath the characters have ever encountered. She's sick, and she dies within the first few pages of the novel. It seems at first like the novel will pursue the interesting question of: OK, can the main character *continue to hear her thoughts*? But by page 20, it's clear that the author wants nothing to do with this.
Most of the book is so far removed from the initial, interesting premise of the book that, in fact, the character's telepathy hardly matters at all. It is used to sparingly that it hardly even functions as a plot device, except for at a few key points, but it's never used to muster some interest on the part of the reader. It's so boring and such a slog that I had trouble remembering that the author had started with an interesting idea! The story hardly even seems interested in the main character's telepathy.
The questions of the afterlife do rear their head maybe only 300+ pages into the book, but by that point, the damage has been done: the book is too much of a slog, and if you had told me how boring it was going to be after when the main idea can be described so compellingly, I wouldn't have believed you.
I am a really big Dan Simmons fan, but there's just not much here to love, despite that there's too much here in the first place.
There is an interesting premise here that fades after the first twenty pages when you realize the author isn't concerned with pursuing it at all.
The initial conceit, presented on the first page or two of the novel, is that the main character is a telepath who shares a very strong (and unique) telepathic connection with his wife, who is the only author telepath the characters have ever encountered. She's sick, and she dies within the first few pages of the novel. It seems at first like the novel will pursue the interesting question of: OK, can the main character *continue to hear her thoughts*? But by page 20, it's clear that the author wants nothing to do with this.
Most of the book is so far removed from the initial, interesting premise of the book that, in fact, the character's telepathy hardly matters at all. It is used to sparingly that it hardly even functions as a plot device, except for at a few key points, but it's never used to muster some interest on the part of the reader. It's so boring and such a slog that I had trouble remembering that the author had started with an interesting idea! The story hardly even seems interested in the main character's telepathy.
The questions of the afterlife do rear their head maybe only 300+ pages into the book, but by that point, the damage has been done: the book is too much of a slog, and if you had told me how boring it was going to be after when the main idea can be described so compellingly, I wouldn't have believed you.
I am a really big Dan Simmons fan, but there's just not much here to love, despite that there's too much here in the first place.
January 14, 2012
For me, Dan Simmons is a safe bet. He's such a good writer that, even if I'm not on board with the plot and characters, the writing itself is strong enough to keep me reading to the end.
This particular novel is one that is extremely well-written, filled with haunting images and scenarios that stayed with me for hours, but has a weak concept. Simmons doesn't seem to know whether to make this book horror or science fiction, so it ends up straddling the line between the two genres and not serving either one particularly well. As this book was the sophomore effort between Song of Kali, which was creepy as all get out, and Hyperion, it's easy to tell that Simmons hadn't chosen his favorite genre yet. (And looking at his most recent offerings -- Drood, The Terror and The Black Hills -- it seems that favorite genre turned out to be... historical fiction horror. Fun!)
This particular novel is one that is extremely well-written, filled with haunting images and scenarios that stayed with me for hours, but has a weak concept. Simmons doesn't seem to know whether to make this book horror or science fiction, so it ends up straddling the line between the two genres and not serving either one particularly well. As this book was the sophomore effort between Song of Kali, which was creepy as all get out, and Hyperion, it's easy to tell that Simmons hadn't chosen his favorite genre yet. (And looking at his most recent offerings -- Drood, The Terror and The Black Hills -- it seems that favorite genre turned out to be... historical fiction horror. Fun!)
Read
January 28, 2017As always, this is a (not-so) big book of ideas. As always, I appreciated the way Simmons communicated these ideas. I felt like I learned a lot, and I came away with a lot to think about. This one felt kinda personal to the author, too. Right or wrong, it seemed like there was a lot of Dan Simmons on the page here.
Story notes: um, wow. Okay, so Simmons always puts a lot of literary references into his books and this one is no exception. This is a journey into Hell and the parallels with Inferno and Huck Finn are very clear. As noted above, there is a lot of what I perceived as personal commentary in this one. At first it made me sad. It's a very bleak outlook. Understandable, really, but still not the optimistic point of view I personally favour. But there is light in the love between Jeremy and Gail, in the mathematic possibilities, and in the final chapters.
Story notes: um, wow. Okay, so Simmons always puts a lot of literary references into his books and this one is no exception. This is a journey into Hell and the parallels with Inferno and Huck Finn are very clear. As noted above, there is a lot of what I perceived as personal commentary in this one. At first it made me sad. It's a very bleak outlook. Understandable, really, but still not the optimistic point of view I personally favour. But there is light in the love between Jeremy and Gail, in the mathematic possibilities, and in the final chapters.
February 10, 2015
I don't care for Simmons when he does the Sci-fi thing. I love his horror, particularly the historical horror like The Terror and The Abominable. I didn't dig his Hyperion books either so take that for what it's worth.
February 29, 2016
Abandonado. Y una pena porque la premisa y el primer capítulo parecían interesantes. Hubiera sido un buen relato corto pero no funciona como novela de 300 páginas.
July 8, 2021
Solipsismo destructor de mundos... Trinidad de carne intangible, creadora. Filosofía del caos redentor.
Una novela profunda y sísmica; muy recomendada. Su máxima: Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate.
"Nosotros somos, todos nosotros, los ojos del universo".
Una novela profunda y sísmica; muy recomendada. Su máxima: Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate.
"Nosotros somos, todos nosotros, los ojos del universo".
July 11, 2010
Je ne m’étendrai pas sur l’absurdité du titre qui ne veut rien dire (décision arbitraire de l’éditeur et non de la traductrice d’après ce que j’ai compris). Ce n’est ni la première fois ni la dernière que des titres se voulant racoleurs passent à coté du sens profond qui leur a été donné au départ. Il faut croire que « L’homme nu » c’est plus accrocheur que « L’homme creux » …
Bref, nous voilà avec un roman d’une grande originalité, qui n’a d’égal que la profondeur du propos. Que sont que la conscience, l’esprit, l’âme ? Peut-on les visualiser, leur donner corps ? Survivent-ils après la mort ?
Autant de questions fascinantes que l’auteur pose. Tellement fascinantes et profondes que ce dernier nous perd un peu avec de nombreux passages un peu ardus à suivre pour la non-scientifique je suis. J’ose même le dire : à la limite du compréhensible. Si on ne se bloque pas sur ces épisodes d’un hermétisme certain, on peut profiter du reste du livre, pendant lequel je me suis souvent demandé où Simmons voulait en venir.
Jeremy Bremen se retrouve non pas seul, mais sans sa femme, son alter ego télépathe, avec laquelle il pouvait se prémunir contre la neuro-rumeur du monde. Sa télépathie ne lui permet pas le luxe de la solitude. Bremen va commencer une longue errance à travers le pays, se laissant porter par les événements, trop paralysé par le chagrin et l’invasion de son esprit par la neuro-rumeur. Ses aventures sont complètement rocambolesques, pour ne pas dire invraisemblables. On navigue entre le thriller débridé, le road-movie et la hard-science, le tout ponctué par des passages narrés par on ne sait qui. Ce narrateur mystérieux accentue le mystère déjà épais du don de Jeremy et Gail. Il nous révèle des éléments importants du passé du couple, alternant ainsi la fuite désespérée de Jeremy et sa vie commune avec Gail.
Durant la lecture j’ai trouvé ce personnage bizarrement assez absent, peu concerné par ses mésaventures, en retrait de sa propre histoire, et cet aspect trouve tout son sens à la fin du livre. Des explications partielles nous sont enfin données et concluent brillamment cette histoire d’amour sur fond de thriller scientifique.
Un roman étonnant, qui peut déstabiliser le lecteur de prime abord mais qui se révèle une belle aventure métaphysique.
Bref, nous voilà avec un roman d’une grande originalité, qui n’a d’égal que la profondeur du propos. Que sont que la conscience, l’esprit, l’âme ? Peut-on les visualiser, leur donner corps ? Survivent-ils après la mort ?
Autant de questions fascinantes que l’auteur pose. Tellement fascinantes et profondes que ce dernier nous perd un peu avec de nombreux passages un peu ardus à suivre pour la non-scientifique je suis. J’ose même le dire : à la limite du compréhensible. Si on ne se bloque pas sur ces épisodes d’un hermétisme certain, on peut profiter du reste du livre, pendant lequel je me suis souvent demandé où Simmons voulait en venir.
Jeremy Bremen se retrouve non pas seul, mais sans sa femme, son alter ego télépathe, avec laquelle il pouvait se prémunir contre la neuro-rumeur du monde. Sa télépathie ne lui permet pas le luxe de la solitude. Bremen va commencer une longue errance à travers le pays, se laissant porter par les événements, trop paralysé par le chagrin et l’invasion de son esprit par la neuro-rumeur. Ses aventures sont complètement rocambolesques, pour ne pas dire invraisemblables. On navigue entre le thriller débridé, le road-movie et la hard-science, le tout ponctué par des passages narrés par on ne sait qui. Ce narrateur mystérieux accentue le mystère déjà épais du don de Jeremy et Gail. Il nous révèle des éléments importants du passé du couple, alternant ainsi la fuite désespérée de Jeremy et sa vie commune avec Gail.
Durant la lecture j’ai trouvé ce personnage bizarrement assez absent, peu concerné par ses mésaventures, en retrait de sa propre histoire, et cet aspect trouve tout son sens à la fin du livre. Des explications partielles nous sont enfin données et concluent brillamment cette histoire d’amour sur fond de thriller scientifique.
Un roman étonnant, qui peut déstabiliser le lecteur de prime abord mais qui se révèle une belle aventure métaphysique.
January 18, 2010
This is a Dan Simmons I had missed, and have been looking for for a while. It's got the very best blurb by Steven King on the back jacket, calling "The Hollow Man" an "un-put downable book" - as indeed it is. Simmons ventures far into the extremely difficult aspects of chaos theory and its attendant math. This was written in 1992, and this fact alone makes most of the computer references obsolete - still, descriptions and mathematical formulae continue to hold their locked doors. This is all a foreign language to this reader, but Dan Simmons does make this accessible to the ordinary reader by his characters, particularly the main one.
It is a fascinating book and, for one that deals is such esoteric facts, one that resonates emotionally and deeply.
I loved it.
It is a fascinating book and, for one that deals is such esoteric facts, one that resonates emotionally and deeply.
I loved it.
December 13, 2018
The Hollow Man was different from other Simmons books that I've read. I'm not used to his shorter works.
This was not an easy read, which I think is why the ratings for this book is on the low side. I had to take my time in some spots and really pay attention to what was being said, especially when Gail and Jeremy go to meet Jacob Goldmann. They delve pretty deep into some abstract, challenging scientific and mathematical concepts.
This was also a thriller, and I thought a couple of the suspense scenes were really good! Scary, even! Simmons created a few nasty people that Jeremy Bremen was unlucky to enough to encounter. Luckily he had his special ability, or else he would not have survived these situations.
This was not an easy read, which I think is why the ratings for this book is on the low side. I had to take my time in some spots and really pay attention to what was being said, especially when Gail and Jeremy go to meet Jacob Goldmann. They delve pretty deep into some abstract, challenging scientific and mathematical concepts.
This was also a thriller, and I thought a couple of the suspense scenes were really good! Scary, even! Simmons created a few nasty people that Jeremy Bremen was unlucky to enough to encounter. Luckily he had his special ability, or else he would not have survived these situations.
July 17, 2018
Essentially, the only thing that recommends The Hollow Man is the one quick reference to a much better novel in Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination.
I am an avid fan of Dan Simmons, but this is likely the worst of his novels. I was quite excited to read it, given the content being similar (per description) to Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside... but, The Hollow Man leaps all over the place. While Dying Inside is a fairly continuous downward slide into an awful depression, Hollow Man instead tries to fiddle with all kinds of genres, fails, and then ends on a weird note.
I get it - but it's not great. There's definitely a reason it took me so long to read this one.
I am an avid fan of Dan Simmons, but this is likely the worst of his novels. I was quite excited to read it, given the content being similar (per description) to Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside... but, The Hollow Man leaps all over the place. While Dying Inside is a fairly continuous downward slide into an awful depression, Hollow Man instead tries to fiddle with all kinds of genres, fails, and then ends on a weird note.
I get it - but it's not great. There's definitely a reason it took me so long to read this one.
January 28, 2020
Kvantová mechanika, teorie chaosu, matematika. Zároveň filosofické pojednání i milostný román. Thriller i horor. Paralelní světy i prolínání myslí. Račte si vybrat, co z toho je vám milé? Pokud aspoň něco, stačí sáhnout po Pusté duši Dana Simmonse. Vše z výše zmíněného v ní je. A nejspíš ještě víc. Stačí číst a hledat. A občas koukat s pusou dokořán. Často možná i nechápat, ale vědět, že to vlastně zas tak nevadí. Občas hltat a hnát se knihou co nejrychleji a pak zase zvolnit a zůstat možná i chvilku stát. Semtam lapat až po dechu, jak je u toho smutno. A pak se zase nadechnout a pohlédnout do dáli, kde vychází nadějeplné slunce. A na konci? Na konci tušit, že nezapomenete. Zvláštní kniha.
June 10, 2019
I've read a bunch of Dan Simmons... The Hyperion/Endymion series, Carrion Comfort, Summer of Night. You don't hear much about this book, but it totally knocked my socks off.
There's a cool math and science premise having to do with quantum physics that the author has obviously researched pretty well.
I wouldn't call this a romance exactly but there's a decent romantic sub-plot around the protagonist and his wife. As a married guy I appreciate fictional married-couple romance. The typical fictional romance ending with the characters making that commitment 'and they lived happily ever after' offers nothing for me to really relate to.
There's a reasonable amount of action.
The ending is a little disturbing. I wouldn't hand this book to someone I knew to be unstable.
There's a cool math and science premise having to do with quantum physics that the author has obviously researched pretty well.
I wouldn't call this a romance exactly but there's a decent romantic sub-plot around the protagonist and his wife. As a married guy I appreciate fictional married-couple romance. The typical fictional romance ending with the characters making that commitment 'and they lived happily ever after' offers nothing for me to really relate to.
There's a reasonable amount of action.
The ending is a little disturbing. I wouldn't hand this book to someone I knew to be unstable.
May 27, 2022
Despite the, at times, dizzying use of mathematical jargon and concepts The Hollow Man remained a joy to read and very hard to put down as well. A fascinating journey that combines fantastical elements with the field of neuroscience and weaves a thrilling tale full of heart, mystery, utter despair and beauty.
Simply put it's another amazing novel from Dan Simmons, a writer which I've had limited exposure to so far but is quickly becoming one of my authors.
Simply put it's another amazing novel from Dan Simmons, a writer which I've had limited exposure to so far but is quickly becoming one of my authors.
December 10, 2010
I just finished reading Dan Simmon's The Hollow Man. I know, it's 17 years after it first came out, but I feel compelled to recommend this book to anyone who has a soul (or a holographic wavefront).
This book tells the story of the telepath and math professor, Jeremy Bremen, as he copes the death of his wife, Gail (the only other telepath he has ever met). His journey of grief and loss sends him across a suffering and depraved American landscape. There are many twists and turns, and there may be many times the reader thinks, 'I can't take anymore of this', but in the end I can only say that the journey is worthwhile and the outcome is, too. The story has such pathos and heart, that it never surrenders to a cynicism seemingly demanded by the nature of the individuals that cross Mr. Bremen's path; nor does Mr. Bremen surrender.
I am in awe of Dan Simmons. Once in a while, as a writer myself, I like to find a book of his I haven't read and humble myself before the work of true master. He has earned a place as one of my top five favorite authors of all time. This is for many reasons. He writes with heart, while exploring scientific concepts that rearrange my view of the world. He evokes terror and beauty with his masterful style.
Finally, Dan Simmons has written a book that will haunt my memory for the rest of my life. That's not faint praise. This book just entered the list of the very best I have ever read. Enough said.
This book tells the story of the telepath and math professor, Jeremy Bremen, as he copes the death of his wife, Gail (the only other telepath he has ever met). His journey of grief and loss sends him across a suffering and depraved American landscape. There are many twists and turns, and there may be many times the reader thinks, 'I can't take anymore of this', but in the end I can only say that the journey is worthwhile and the outcome is, too. The story has such pathos and heart, that it never surrenders to a cynicism seemingly demanded by the nature of the individuals that cross Mr. Bremen's path; nor does Mr. Bremen surrender.
I am in awe of Dan Simmons. Once in a while, as a writer myself, I like to find a book of his I haven't read and humble myself before the work of true master. He has earned a place as one of my top five favorite authors of all time. This is for many reasons. He writes with heart, while exploring scientific concepts that rearrange my view of the world. He evokes terror and beauty with his masterful style.
Finally, Dan Simmons has written a book that will haunt my memory for the rest of my life. That's not faint praise. This book just entered the list of the very best I have ever read. Enough said.
June 9, 2017
There are several of Dan Simmons’ books that I love; others, not so much. If at all. This one falls in the second category.
A book ostensibly about telepathy, in many ways would have been a better book without it. Because, rather than really focusing on the telepathy, Jeremy Brennen goes from one adventure to the other (many of which I thought, “what a coincidence,”) with his telepathy of little to no use. Has he lost the knack of reading people after so many years of having his late wife, who was also telepathic, as a buffer, or is something else going on? We never actually find out.
On top of being psychic, Brennen is also a genius, and time after time we’re given short lessons in physics just so we can see just how much of a genius he is. Brennen almost seems to revel in his intellect…which does him little good because he’s positively clueless when it comes to other people, while at the same time making the book truly boring in parts.
Either way, it’s hard to care if Brennen manages to survive all his trials. Which turns out not to matter at all, because “the mystery at the heart of mortality” seems to make the matter moot, while at the same time only seeming to apply to him and his wife.
A book ostensibly about telepathy, in many ways would have been a better book without it. Because, rather than really focusing on the telepathy, Jeremy Brennen goes from one adventure to the other (many of which I thought, “what a coincidence,”) with his telepathy of little to no use. Has he lost the knack of reading people after so many years of having his late wife, who was also telepathic, as a buffer, or is something else going on? We never actually find out.
On top of being psychic, Brennen is also a genius, and time after time we’re given short lessons in physics just so we can see just how much of a genius he is. Brennen almost seems to revel in his intellect…which does him little good because he’s positively clueless when it comes to other people, while at the same time making the book truly boring in parts.
Either way, it’s hard to care if Brennen manages to survive all his trials. Which turns out not to matter at all, because “the mystery at the heart of mortality” seems to make the matter moot, while at the same time only seeming to apply to him and his wife.
July 22, 2012
If you love extremely well-written, thoughtful, literary science fiction, you must read Dan Simmon's "The Hollow Man". Besides being a talented wordsmith, Simmons also knows how to tell a great story. This book is one of those hard-to-put-down novels, as you never quite know where Simmons will take you, and the places he takes you are never anywhere you could even imagine. "The Hollow Man" is the story of Jeremy Bremen, a man with powerful psychic abilities. He has lived happily for forty-odd years with his wife, who was also gifted with psychic abilities. Together, they have been able to control and manage their abilities. Unfortunately, when cancer takes his wife from him, Jeremy is left alone and "un-anchored" with psychic abilities too powerful for him to handle. What transpires is an Odyssey-like journey across the landscape of the United States and the troubled mind of the novel's protagonist as he seeks to find meaning and purpose in a meaningless world. As always, Simmons incorporates literary references, deep philosophical concepts, and even hard science to make "The Hollow Man" a science fiction novel that transcends the genre.
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