mad_frisbeterian reviewed The wanderer by Fritz Leiber
Review of 'The wanderer' on 'Storygraph'
1 star
I can't believe this painfully tedious book won the Hugo. Perhaps our Science Fiction sensibilities have just changed quite a bit since 1964. This book threatens to derail my plans to read every Hugo Best Novel winner; apparently the award has occasionally been an unreliable yardstick.
On second thought, it must have been a slow year; I have not read [b:Davy|920957|Davy|Edgar Pangborn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1231418156s/920957.jpg|1461307], [b:The Planet Buyer|4340514|The Planet Buyer|Cordwainer Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315159018s/4340514.jpg|4388418], or [b:The Whole Man|872226|The Whole Man|John Brunner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330895316s/872226.jpg|857591], 1965's other contenders, so I can't say. But the previous year the nominees were [b:Cat's Cradle|135479|Cat's Cradle|Kurt Vonnegut|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327867150s/135479.jpg|1621115], [b:Dune|234225|Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1)|Frank Herbert|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389569143s/234225.jpg|3634639], [b:Glory Road|50856|Glory Road|Robert A. Heinlein|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389403992s/50856.jpg|1862679], [b:Way Station|190999|Way Station|Clifford D. Simak|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1326490682s/190999.jpg|348798], and [b:Witch World|462448|Witch World (Witch World Series 1 Estcarp Cycle, #1)|Andre Norton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419022971s/462448.jpg|1171819]. If you've been a science fiction fan for a while, at least one of those is probably a book you enjoyed. So I'm going to hope that the 1965 Hugo …
I can't believe this painfully tedious book won the Hugo. Perhaps our Science Fiction sensibilities have just changed quite a bit since 1964. This book threatens to derail my plans to read every Hugo Best Novel winner; apparently the award has occasionally been an unreliable yardstick.
On second thought, it must have been a slow year; I have not read [b:Davy|920957|Davy|Edgar Pangborn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1231418156s/920957.jpg|1461307], [b:The Planet Buyer|4340514|The Planet Buyer|Cordwainer Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315159018s/4340514.jpg|4388418], or [b:The Whole Man|872226|The Whole Man|John Brunner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330895316s/872226.jpg|857591], 1965's other contenders, so I can't say. But the previous year the nominees were [b:Cat's Cradle|135479|Cat's Cradle|Kurt Vonnegut|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327867150s/135479.jpg|1621115], [b:Dune|234225|Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1)|Frank Herbert|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389569143s/234225.jpg|3634639], [b:Glory Road|50856|Glory Road|Robert A. Heinlein|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389403992s/50856.jpg|1862679], [b:Way Station|190999|Way Station|Clifford D. Simak|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1326490682s/190999.jpg|348798], and [b:Witch World|462448|Witch World (Witch World Series 1 Estcarp Cycle, #1)|Andre Norton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419022971s/462448.jpg|1171819]. If you've been a science fiction fan for a while, at least one of those is probably a book you enjoyed. So I'm going to hope that the 1965 Hugo committee all had the flu, or something, and carry on.
