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The Terranauts
A powerful, affecting and hilarious deep-dive into human behavior in an intimate and epic story of science, society, sex, and survival, set in the early 1990s, from one of the greatest American novelists today.
It is 1994, and in the desert near Tillman, Arizona, forty miles from Tucson, a grand experiment involving the future of humanity is underway. As climate change threatens the earth, eight scientists, four men and four women dubbed the “Terranauts,” have been selected to live under glass in E2, a prototype of a possible off-earth colony. Their sealed, three-acre compound comprises five biomes—rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh—and enough wildlife, water, and vegetation to sustain them.
Closely monitored by an all-seeing Mission Control, this New Eden is the brainchild of eco-visionary Jeremiah Reed, aka G.C.—“God the Creator”—for whom the project is both an adventure in scientific discovery and a momentous publicity stunt. In addition to their roles as medics, farmers, biologists, and survivalists, his young, strapping Terranauts must impress watchful visitors and a skeptical media curious to see if E2’s environment will somehow be compromised, forcing the Ecosphere’s seal to be broken—and ending the mission in failure. As the Terranauts face increased scrutiny and a host of disasters, both natural and of their own making, their mantra: “Nothing in, nothing out,” becomes a dangerously ferocious rallying cry.
Told through three distinct narrators—Dawn Chapman, the mission’s pretty young ecologist; Linda Ryu, her bitter, scheming best friend passed over for E2; and Ramsay Roothorp, E2’s sexually irrepressible Wildman—The Terranauts brings to life an electrifying, pressured world in which connected lives are uncontrollably pushed to the breaking point. With characteristic humor and acerbic wit, T. C. Boyle indelibly inhabits the perspectives of the various players in this survivalist game, probing their motivations and illuminating their integrity and fragility to illustrate the inherent fallibility of human nature itself.
It is 1994, and in the desert near Tillman, Arizona, forty miles from Tucson, a grand experiment involving the future of humanity is underway. As climate change threatens the earth, eight scientists, four men and four women dubbed the “Terranauts,” have been selected to live under glass in E2, a prototype of a possible off-earth colony. Their sealed, three-acre compound comprises five biomes—rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh—and enough wildlife, water, and vegetation to sustain them.
Closely monitored by an all-seeing Mission Control, this New Eden is the brainchild of eco-visionary Jeremiah Reed, aka G.C.—“God the Creator”—for whom the project is both an adventure in scientific discovery and a momentous publicity stunt. In addition to their roles as medics, farmers, biologists, and survivalists, his young, strapping Terranauts must impress watchful visitors and a skeptical media curious to see if E2’s environment will somehow be compromised, forcing the Ecosphere’s seal to be broken—and ending the mission in failure. As the Terranauts face increased scrutiny and a host of disasters, both natural and of their own making, their mantra: “Nothing in, nothing out,” becomes a dangerously ferocious rallying cry.
Told through three distinct narrators—Dawn Chapman, the mission’s pretty young ecologist; Linda Ryu, her bitter, scheming best friend passed over for E2; and Ramsay Roothorp, E2’s sexually irrepressible Wildman—The Terranauts brings to life an electrifying, pressured world in which connected lives are uncontrollably pushed to the breaking point. With characteristic humor and acerbic wit, T. C. Boyle indelibly inhabits the perspectives of the various players in this survivalist game, probing their motivations and illuminating their integrity and fragility to illustrate the inherent fallibility of human nature itself.
508 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2016
About the author
T. Coraghessan Boyle
150 books2,871 followersT. Coraghessan Boyle (also known as T.C. Boyle, is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Since the late 1970s, he has published eighteen novels and twleve collections of short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner award in 1988 for his third novel, World's End, which recounts 300 years in upstate New York. He is married with three children. Boyle has been a
Professor of English at the University of Southern California since 1978, when he founded the school's undergraduate creative writing program.
He grew up in the small town on the Hudson Valley that he regularly fictionalizes as Peterskill (as in widely anthologized short story Greasy Lake). Boyle changed his middle name when he was 17 and exclusively used Coraghessan for much of his career, but now also goes by T.C. Boyle.
Professor of English at the University of Southern California since 1978, when he founded the school's undergraduate creative writing program.
He grew up in the small town on the Hudson Valley that he regularly fictionalizes as Peterskill (as in widely anthologized short story Greasy Lake). Boyle changed his middle name when he was 17 and exclusively used Coraghessan for much of his career, but now also goes by T.C. Boyle.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 860 reviews
February 13, 2020
I know a lot of people didn't like this book but I actually enjoyed it a lot. The writing was really good and the suspense built up well and the plot unfolded over the course of the book in a way that made me want to keep reading. I understand that a lot of the characters weren't likable but I think it's only because he wrote them so realistically that you got to see all their faults and weakness but I could still empathize and see where each one was coming from. These are people who are also basically in a cult looking for approval or fame or meaning so you have to take that into account, they're going to be insecure individuals that do things you may not agree with. Also I guess it isn't that exciting to read about people just living in the "wild" basically because it really just is a lot of drudgery but I mean it's realistic. Everyone's entitled to their opinion but I personally really liked the things that everyone was complaining about, the characters were complex and the story was real and it really made me get into the story.
October 21, 2016
I went into this book knowing nothing about it - great for some novels but not for this one.
The interesting:
- The novel is about a futuristic thing that's happening in 1994. They've pushed the technology of the time but it's more mechanical and biological instead of information age stuff.
- That's all I have for interesting. Let that be a warning to you.
The interesting (to me):
- Many of the characters, especially the narrators, are unlikable. No one is a saint, and some people are downright slimy. I don't mind this kind of thing but if you don't, now you know.
The not-so-interesting:
- This novel is about a futuristic thing that actually happened in the early 90s. Real events are expanded on, of course, but for the first half of the book Boyle sticks closely to reality. Here's the thing - life is rarely paced at novel speed. After the first exciting intro of characters the action drops off until there's a Happening, but by then it's such a wreck I didn't care what went down.
- People can get bitchy, I know, but women's looks come up a LOT. It feels genuine when (the only) person of color notes that all the chosen ladies have light-colored hair, but the rest of the time it's just petty. And not even petty in the way women (in my experience) can be, but petty in the way men think we are. 'Why did he sleep with her, I'm prettier', 'She's not even pretty', 'They picked the pretty girls even though I'm smarter'. I mean, just look at this part of the extended synopsis:
- Continuing with gender stuff, there are four women in this crazy calorie restricted environment and there's not one joke about it being the best diet ever. Instead, one woman (already skinny) worries about "losing her figure". What.
- The science, while not insignificant, fails to satisfy. I had a lot of unanswered questions - why aren't there more fail safes and redundant systems? How did you expect people to survive on a 1500 calorie/day diet when they're doing manual labor day in and day out? And why the hell would you put all single people in there? If someone is married they would have someone to call when things get rough, a built in psychological safety valve.
- You kinda know why people are doing this experiment, but not really. A couple of people seem to care about the science. Another about money and fame. But everyone else? Who knows. Because:
- Minor characters are underdeveloped. There are eight people in the biosphere - two main characters, three characters to help with plot points, and three characters I forgot existed.
- Most of the action reads like an overblown soap opera. 'He was sleeping with me but now he's sleeping with her', 'so and so is cheating on that other person and I know because I followed them around all sneaky-like', 'you can't do that for a Halloween costume I already called it how dare you'. I wanted to yell "who cares?", "grow up!", and "move on, already!" in turns.
So yeah, not a fan.
Thanks to Ecco and Edelweiss for providing a review copy.
The interesting:
- The novel is about a futuristic thing that's happening in 1994. They've pushed the technology of the time but it's more mechanical and biological instead of information age stuff.
- That's all I have for interesting. Let that be a warning to you.
The interesting (to me):
- Many of the characters, especially the narrators, are unlikable. No one is a saint, and some people are downright slimy. I don't mind this kind of thing but if you don't, now you know.
The not-so-interesting:
- This novel is about a futuristic thing that actually happened in the early 90s. Real events are expanded on, of course, but for the first half of the book Boyle sticks closely to reality. Here's the thing - life is rarely paced at novel speed. After the first exciting intro of characters the action drops off until there's a Happening, but by then it's such a wreck I didn't care what went down.
- People can get bitchy, I know, but women's looks come up a LOT. It feels genuine when (the only) person of color notes that all the chosen ladies have light-colored hair, but the rest of the time it's just petty. And not even petty in the way women (in my experience) can be, but petty in the way men think we are. 'Why did he sleep with her, I'm prettier', 'She's not even pretty', 'They picked the pretty girls even though I'm smarter'. I mean, just look at this part of the extended synopsis:
Told through three distinct narrators—Dawn Chapman, the mission’s pretty young ecologist; Linda Ryu, her bitter, scheming best friend passed over for E2; and Ramsay Roothorp, E2’s sexually irrepressible Wildman...
- Continuing with gender stuff, there are four women in this crazy calorie restricted environment and there's not one joke about it being the best diet ever. Instead, one woman (already skinny) worries about "losing her figure". What.
- The science, while not insignificant, fails to satisfy. I had a lot of unanswered questions - why aren't there more fail safes and redundant systems? How did you expect people to survive on a 1500 calorie/day diet when they're doing manual labor day in and day out? And why the hell would you put all single people in there? If someone is married they would have someone to call when things get rough, a built in psychological safety valve.
- You kinda know why people are doing this experiment, but not really. A couple of people seem to care about the science. Another about money and fame. But everyone else? Who knows. Because:
- Minor characters are underdeveloped. There are eight people in the biosphere - two main characters, three characters to help with plot points, and three characters I forgot existed.
- Most of the action reads like an overblown soap opera. 'He was sleeping with me but now he's sleeping with her', 'so and so is cheating on that other person and I know because I followed them around all sneaky-like', 'you can't do that for a Halloween costume I already called it how dare you'. I wanted to yell "who cares?", "grow up!", and "move on, already!" in turns.
So yeah, not a fan.
Thanks to Ecco and Edelweiss for providing a review copy.
Read
February 6, 2017I was so bored by this book... And the characters: straight out of the stereotype-factory. Oh dear...
December 18, 2016
Eight scientists, four of each gender and most with the maturity of 8th graders, live locked in a 3.15-acre terrarium for two years. Reading this you'll have a hard time figuring out who is more bored, you or them.
The back of the book has a complimentary blurb by Ron Charles, who proclaims T.C. Boyle "one of the greatest storytellers in the country." Talk about cherry picking! His WaPo review complains, "how a writer as exciting as Boyle could produce such a dull novel remains a mystery."
February 24, 2018
The "meh" rating on Goodreads gave me pause, but the premise. It was just too good to pass up.
Am I the only one who has zero recollection of the actual Biosphere 2 project in Arizona, where an eco-dome was built in the early 90s for a group of scientists to survive in—sealed—for two years, with the intent of mimicking survival on another planet? The premise then was simple: "No one in; no one out" until "closure" was over. But of course, only a few weeks into the [real] project, a woman is injured, "closure" is breached, and not only does the woman receive treatment on the outside, she is let back in a few days later with two duffel bags full of "stuff,” the contents of which are never revealed to the public. ...This is probably why I don't recall this time in history. It’s lame. ...they couldn’t pull that shit on Mars.
Well, TC Boyle felt the same way and his book examines what would happen if “no one in, no one out" actually held true. And what a picture he paints. The audiobook—brilliantly narrated by three separate performers portraying the scientists in the running for the second mission (yes, they reference the first real one)—is filled with pettiness, naked ambition, jealousy, sprinkled with the occasional low oxygen emergency or galagos brawl. Do I wish there was more Robinson Crusoe and less Real World in the 20+ hours? Sure. But then it wouldn't be the story Boyle set out to tell. And it surely is a fascinating one.
For the better part of this novel, I wondered why the rating here wasn’t higher. Toward the end, I could see how some controversial crew decisions (and maybe how unlikable most of them were) may have polarized readers, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. I found the crew delightfully catty and egotistical.
This marks my third Boyle and I'm astounded at how adept he is at changing his style, tone and voice. I haven’t been able to get to 5 stars with his books yet, but all have been highly readable and entertaining.
4 stars. Maybe 4.5.
Am I the only one who has zero recollection of the actual Biosphere 2 project in Arizona, where an eco-dome was built in the early 90s for a group of scientists to survive in—sealed—for two years, with the intent of mimicking survival on another planet? The premise then was simple: "No one in; no one out" until "closure" was over. But of course, only a few weeks into the [real] project, a woman is injured, "closure" is breached, and not only does the woman receive treatment on the outside, she is let back in a few days later with two duffel bags full of "stuff,” the contents of which are never revealed to the public. ...This is probably why I don't recall this time in history. It’s lame. ...they couldn’t pull that shit on Mars.
Well, TC Boyle felt the same way and his book examines what would happen if “no one in, no one out" actually held true. And what a picture he paints. The audiobook—brilliantly narrated by three separate performers portraying the scientists in the running for the second mission (yes, they reference the first real one)—is filled with pettiness, naked ambition, jealousy, sprinkled with the occasional low oxygen emergency or galagos brawl. Do I wish there was more Robinson Crusoe and less Real World in the 20+ hours? Sure. But then it wouldn't be the story Boyle set out to tell. And it surely is a fascinating one.
For the better part of this novel, I wondered why the rating here wasn’t higher. Toward the end, I could see how some controversial crew decisions (and maybe how unlikable most of them were) may have polarized readers, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. I found the crew delightfully catty and egotistical.
This marks my third Boyle and I'm astounded at how adept he is at changing his style, tone and voice. I haven’t been able to get to 5 stars with his books yet, but all have been highly readable and entertaining.
4 stars. Maybe 4.5.
May 21, 2021
Imagine being in close quarters, eating, working, and sleeping in the same environment day after day, with the same eight people. Imagine them, if you will, as family, or your closest friends, people you think you know well. No respite, no place for real solitude. Now change those people who you think you would potentially choose to be in this situation with, and change them to yourself plus seven random people you think you know, on a surface level, but who are really complete strangers to you.
These people may all be a variation of scientists, they have skills they bring to the table to make inhabiting your carefully constructed world something physically survivable, given all the “right” circumstances, but then they are, after all, human. They all have faults, which will begin to show all too soon. You can’t leave this “bubble” when you are fed up, have had enough of them; you’re just stuck there for at least two years. Four men. Four women.
The Terranauts takes place in the year 1994, but the year almost doesn’t come into play. These eight people are as isolated from the rest of the planet as they can be. They can have visitor contact, but not physical contact. Visitors must come to a glass wall and speak through a phone system, like visiting a prisoner. They are prisoners of their own choice, to be part of this grand experiment to create these mini-worlds, self-contained, a prototype for future colonies elsewhere – other planets.
Their three acres under this Ecosphere, E2, is comprised of a rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh. There is wildlife, water and vegetation necessary to sustain them. Told through the perspectives of three narrators, all primed to be the crew for the second attempt to make two full years with no compromise, no break in the seal as was the case with the first crew. Once the seal is closed, nothing goes in, nothing comes out. Dawn, one of the narrators, is an ecologist. Ramsey Roothorp, the man most likely to charm the media and screw all the women, another narrator. Linda Ryu, Dawn’s best friend and the person voted most likely to stab Dawn in the back, is the third of the primary narrators.
Everyone’s faults are on full display here, and this really is a great look at what happens when everything and everyone is placed into a high-pressure environment. Who will break, and who – if anyone - will thrive?
Published: 25 October 2016
Many thanks to Ecco Press, Edelweiss, and author T.C. Boyle for providing me with an advance copy to read.
February 9, 2017
(First of all, a PSA: this book is nothing like The Martian, which is about a generally likable person using hard science to survive and solve seemingly insurmountable problems alone, and the general likable people around him that support him for the betterment of science and mankind.)
Ugh, this book. It's awful. I stuck with it in hopes that it something worthy and life-firming and original would happen at the end, but I was only disappointed. The three main characters in this book are among the most self-obsessed people I've ever read about. All of the supporting characters are really caricatures, complete with the aging, cackling witch-archetype and the Sharon-Stone-movie-mashup-wronged-woman and the dumb-but-cute-cowboy-singer. Where we supposed to like Dawn? I never did; her holier-than-thou selfishness may be the worst of the three.
About the writing: Boyle needs an editor; it's overly-long and repetitive. It's supposed to be told from three separate first-person-points-of-view, but the tone and syntax of every section is exactly the same. I seriously wonder if he's a misogynist after reading this book, as he talks constantly about the bodies of the females (including that virtual starvation makes Dawn radiant and beautiful) and yet never mentions what the men look like. He has one of the characters point out that only Caucasians are chosen for this "mission," and then promptly drops it without any thoughtful discussion. The scientific details about the mission annoyed me, too. Not because of what they were - I loved The Martian! - but because they are so out of place here. This is really a soap opera, and Boyle's occasional forays into science are distracting, not necessary for his plot or theme, and the science ends up suffering as a result. Were they added just to push this novel into science fiction territory? Then why not write a science fiction book? It feels very half-hearted and half-assed.
Ugh, this book. It's awful. I stuck with it in hopes that it something worthy and life-firming and original would happen at the end, but I was only disappointed. The three main characters in this book are among the most self-obsessed people I've ever read about. All of the supporting characters are really caricatures, complete with the aging, cackling witch-archetype and the Sharon-Stone-movie-mashup-wronged-woman and the dumb-but-cute-cowboy-singer. Where we supposed to like Dawn? I never did; her holier-than-thou selfishness may be the worst of the three.
About the writing: Boyle needs an editor; it's overly-long and repetitive. It's supposed to be told from three separate first-person-points-of-view, but the tone and syntax of every section is exactly the same. I seriously wonder if he's a misogynist after reading this book, as he talks constantly about the bodies of the females (including that virtual starvation makes Dawn radiant and beautiful) and yet never mentions what the men look like. He has one of the characters point out that only Caucasians are chosen for this "mission," and then promptly drops it without any thoughtful discussion. The scientific details about the mission annoyed me, too. Not because of what they were - I loved The Martian! - but because they are so out of place here. This is really a soap opera, and Boyle's occasional forays into science are distracting, not necessary for his plot or theme, and the science ends up suffering as a result. Were they added just to push this novel into science fiction territory? Then why not write a science fiction book? It feels very half-hearted and half-assed.
November 3, 2016
A fictional take on the Biosphere 2 experiments of the 1990s, Boyle's The Terranauts re-imagines a project whose scientists have a cult-like devotion to the work and who must endure a cutthroat selection process. Billed as a pre-cursor to off-planet missions, this project relies on not breaking containment for 2 years. Readers old enough to remember Biosphere 2 may recall the criticisms the first team received for breaking containment and in Boyle's novel the fictional first group has made the same error with disastrous PR results. It is the fear of repeating this failure that drives the new crew of 8 terranauts selected for mission 2, and it is these 8 upon whom the novel focuses as well as one who was not selected but has stayed on as an assistant for meager pay in the hopes of being selected for mission 3.
Is the novel well written? Indeed it is. Boyle has taken a topic that could easily cross the line into preaching and managed to make it a story about people more than it is about the science they are there to perform. While this may disappoint readers who were hoping for a more scientific read, with a perhaps stronger environmental message, it is the human elements of the mission which are most broadly interesting and he's chosen to focus on these.
While there is a crew of 8 and a competent and jealous "reject", the reader really only gets to know 3 of them very well. It could be argued that a fourth is also developed as she is an early love interest of one of the main three. The novel is narrated by those main 3 characters, two of them terranauts and the third the woman rejected but who elects to stay loyal to the project. I'm not sure whether it would have helped to have had each of the terranauts take a turn at narration, but I did feel that by mainly focusing on the three, the others were underdeveloped in comparison. For a project in which 8 scientists live together for 2 years, I didn't feel like I got to know them well enough.
Boyle imagines a project that inspires the nation. A project where people show up and cheer in large crowds and pay to observe the scientists as they go about their important work. I had no trouble buying into the terranauts' belief in the value of their own project, but I had to suspend my disbelief quite often when the popularity of the project was described. I am old enough to remember Biosphere 2, and I just don't remember it inspiring much more than initial curiosity and subsequent criticism. Did it inspire much more than a Pauly Shore movie? If it did, I don't recall it.
As time passes, the terranauts fall into factions (I believe this was a criticism of the original projects) and their important teamwork and devotion to the project begins to feel like reality television with personal popularity outside the dome becoming a key factor in decision making.
Perhaps Boyle is making the point that a project like this should be immensely popular but that even if it were, humanity just might find a way to screw it up. Whether it has the popularity of the '60s space program or it isn't able to generate interest from anyone but the staunchest of environmentalists is probably beside the point. In the end, human beings are probably their own worst enemy, and Boyle has managed to find an interesting project to make his points.
Note: ARC received free from publisher via Edelweiss.
Is the novel well written? Indeed it is. Boyle has taken a topic that could easily cross the line into preaching and managed to make it a story about people more than it is about the science they are there to perform. While this may disappoint readers who were hoping for a more scientific read, with a perhaps stronger environmental message, it is the human elements of the mission which are most broadly interesting and he's chosen to focus on these.
While there is a crew of 8 and a competent and jealous "reject", the reader really only gets to know 3 of them very well. It could be argued that a fourth is also developed as she is an early love interest of one of the main three. The novel is narrated by those main 3 characters, two of them terranauts and the third the woman rejected but who elects to stay loyal to the project. I'm not sure whether it would have helped to have had each of the terranauts take a turn at narration, but I did feel that by mainly focusing on the three, the others were underdeveloped in comparison. For a project in which 8 scientists live together for 2 years, I didn't feel like I got to know them well enough.
Boyle imagines a project that inspires the nation. A project where people show up and cheer in large crowds and pay to observe the scientists as they go about their important work. I had no trouble buying into the terranauts' belief in the value of their own project, but I had to suspend my disbelief quite often when the popularity of the project was described. I am old enough to remember Biosphere 2, and I just don't remember it inspiring much more than initial curiosity and subsequent criticism. Did it inspire much more than a Pauly Shore movie? If it did, I don't recall it.
As time passes, the terranauts fall into factions (I believe this was a criticism of the original projects) and their important teamwork and devotion to the project begins to feel like reality television with personal popularity outside the dome becoming a key factor in decision making.
Perhaps Boyle is making the point that a project like this should be immensely popular but that even if it were, humanity just might find a way to screw it up. Whether it has the popularity of the '60s space program or it isn't able to generate interest from anyone but the staunchest of environmentalists is probably beside the point. In the end, human beings are probably their own worst enemy, and Boyle has managed to find an interesting project to make his points.
Note: ARC received free from publisher via Edelweiss.
November 11, 2016
What happens when a disparate group of people are thrown together and have to figure out how to make communal life work? That’s a perennial plot, and generally allows for good character studies and psychological insight into relationships. Boyle’s cast includes eight terranauts, stuck in a geodesic dome for two years, and their mission control staff on the outside. Thankfully, he doesn’t try to give us everyone’s perspective, but chooses two representatives from the inside (Dawn and Ramsay) and one who’s external but still knows all thanks to telephone chats at the portal and video surveillance (Linda). Linda was my favorite character. As with the other two, she definitely has her own agenda and is using her account to defend her actions, but she doesn’t come off as holier-than-thou.
My main problem with the book was its length. It’s very slow to start with but picks up when the terranauts are closed in, and then picks up again about halfway through. But overall it’s a lot to wade through. At more like 300 pages, it would have been a taut story of machinations and mistakes. Incorporating environmental philosophy and (for the time) advanced technology contributes to the novel dragging by taking focus away from the people.
Favorite line: (Dawn) “there were all sorts of invisible sensors here, feelers and tentacles that made the human sphere as mysteriously interconnected as the wild ones, and you had to be careful, very careful—with everyone, all the time.”
My main problem with the book was its length. It’s very slow to start with but picks up when the terranauts are closed in, and then picks up again about halfway through. But overall it’s a lot to wade through. At more like 300 pages, it would have been a taut story of machinations and mistakes. Incorporating environmental philosophy and (for the time) advanced technology contributes to the novel dragging by taking focus away from the people.
Favorite line: (Dawn) “there were all sorts of invisible sensors here, feelers and tentacles that made the human sphere as mysteriously interconnected as the wild ones, and you had to be careful, very careful—with everyone, all the time.”
November 26, 2021
4.5 stars A comedy of scientific hubris.
To start out with, 2 facts:
1. Closed-groups reduce people to the level of warring monkey tribes. That's been proven numerous times in real life.
2. Writing a compelling "siege" story is very tough because, well, nothing much beyond slow starvation and mounting anxiety happens during sieges. Like, zilch. Find drama and engaging action in that!
So, what would a novel that combines these two facts be like if you threw in some ecology and media hype as spice? Probably a novel in which not a whole lot happens, until fatigue sets in and the characters start to show their true personalities and self-serving interests with petty infighting. War time on Planet of the Apes!
Boyle chooses not to show us heroes, but to demonstrate how privileged, intelligent and highly educated men and women ( = the scientific elite) are just as vain, self-absorbed and illogically emotional as the rest of us, despite all their diplomas, wealth and high ideals. The class act here is that he also makes them flawed, but understandable, humans... not monsters.
For those looking for a scientific read, this isn't it.
Oh, some of the ecology facts are there, but not in abundance (unlike the bananas). More, Boyle focuses on the psychological breakdown of the participants in the Earth 2 biodome while exploring the shadow side of ecology science, i.e. as tourist side-show and rather like a new form of cultish religion...even down to the Terranauts' red Star Trek-esque jumpsuits and salute. (Not just a little criticism there.)
For my money, Boyle's done an admirable job with the "siege" story.
Is is long? Yep. Do the characters sometimes seem to have the same "voice". Yep. Do you sometimes question the decisions of the E2 management, oh you bet you do! (and that's part of the point)
The best Boyle for me remains "Drop City", but this one is up there with his better ones. (Outlier opinion it might seem)
To start out with, 2 facts:
1. Closed-groups reduce people to the level of warring monkey tribes. That's been proven numerous times in real life.
2. Writing a compelling "siege" story is very tough because, well, nothing much beyond slow starvation and mounting anxiety happens during sieges. Like, zilch. Find drama and engaging action in that!
So, what would a novel that combines these two facts be like if you threw in some ecology and media hype as spice? Probably a novel in which not a whole lot happens, until fatigue sets in and the characters start to show their true personalities and self-serving interests with petty infighting. War time on Planet of the Apes!
Boyle chooses not to show us heroes, but to demonstrate how privileged, intelligent and highly educated men and women ( = the scientific elite) are just as vain, self-absorbed and illogically emotional as the rest of us, despite all their diplomas, wealth and high ideals. The class act here is that he also makes them flawed, but understandable, humans... not monsters.
For those looking for a scientific read, this isn't it.
Oh, some of the ecology facts are there, but not in abundance (unlike the bananas). More, Boyle focuses on the psychological breakdown of the participants in the Earth 2 biodome while exploring the shadow side of ecology science, i.e. as tourist side-show and rather like a new form of cultish religion...even down to the Terranauts' red Star Trek-esque jumpsuits and salute. (Not just a little criticism there.)
For my money, Boyle's done an admirable job with the "siege" story.
Is is long? Yep. Do the characters sometimes seem to have the same "voice". Yep. Do you sometimes question the decisions of the E2 management, oh you bet you do! (and that's part of the point)
The best Boyle for me remains "Drop City", but this one is up there with his better ones. (Outlier opinion it might seem)
October 25, 2016
It’s hard to believe that T.C. Boyle waited so long to write a novel about Biosphere 2. After all, the environmental impetus behind the project reflects his long-held concerns about our ailing planet. And it offers just the kind of sweaty isolation he’s drawn to: a high-tech steel-and-glass version of the sanitariums and communes he’s written about in “The Road to Wellville,” “Riven Rock,” “A Friend of the Earth,” “Drop City” and other entertaining novels.
Boyle follows the plight of Biosphere 2 fairly closely, drawing on news reports and books by several participants, but, of course, he transforms the history with his own creative vision. Unfortunately, that vision is shockingly uncompelling. Thwarted by culty alliances, administrative paranoia and a dollop of charlatanism, the real Biosphere 2 failed for reasons that now seem clear. But how a writer as exciting as Boyle could produce such a dull novel remains a mystery. As it drags on for more than 500 pages, “The Terranauts” inspires a sense of tedium that could only be matched by being trapped in a. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
And watch The Totally Hip Video Book Review here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/...
Boyle follows the plight of Biosphere 2 fairly closely, drawing on news reports and books by several participants, but, of course, he transforms the history with his own creative vision. Unfortunately, that vision is shockingly uncompelling. Thwarted by culty alliances, administrative paranoia and a dollop of charlatanism, the real Biosphere 2 failed for reasons that now seem clear. But how a writer as exciting as Boyle could produce such a dull novel remains a mystery. As it drags on for more than 500 pages, “The Terranauts” inspires a sense of tedium that could only be matched by being trapped in a. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
And watch The Totally Hip Video Book Review here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/...
August 16, 2021
Es kann Spoiler geben.
Inspiriert zu diesem Roman wurde Boyle von einem in den 90ern stattgefundenen Experiment - "Biosphere 2", wobei mit "Biosphere 1" die Erde gemeint war. Nun könnte man annehmen, der Autor hat vor, einen wissenschaftlich-technischen Roman a la Michael Crichton zu schreiben. Die Basis in Form des Experiments ist ja schon vorhanden. Er braucht die Geschichte nur noch literarisch umzusetzen. Doch das ist nicht der Fall. So kann jeder, der befürchtete, mit technischen Termini überfordert zu werden,sich entspannt zurück lehnen. Dieser Roman hat, wenn überhaupt, dann nur mit viel Wohlwollen soziologische Aspekte. Wissenschaftlicher wird es nicht.
Es gibt drei Protagonisten, die jeweils abwechselnd aus der Ich-Perspektive erzählen. A und B wurden erwählt, in einem abgeschlossenen, sich selbst versorgende Habitat zu leben. C muss draußen bleiben. Das klingt sehr vielversprechend. Leider hat Boyle das Potential dieser Geschichte zugunsten einer reißerische Story verschenkt. Stattdessen bekommt der Leser Zickenkriege, Schlammschlachten und die testosterongeschwängerten Probleme der männlichen Akteure wie in der übelsten Nachmittags-Seifenoper. Und natürlich gibt es Klischees wie 'die Frau ist schuld, wenn "man" schwanger wird... "Hast du nicht die Pille genommen?"' zuhauf.
Was waren die Auswahlkriterien, an denen die Bewerber für dieses Experiment gemessen wurden? Alleine das lässt einen schon zweifel. Strähnchen? Lippenstift? Kurzer Rock? Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass die NASA so ihre Kosmonauten auswählen würde. Und hier sollten doch ähnliche Bedingungen imitiert werden! Ich hatte nie den Eindruck, es mit ernsthaften Wissenschaftlern zu tun zu haben, eher mit Fanatikern, die aus den umliegenden Kneipen zusammengesucht worden waren.
Es wird auch keinen Augenblick wissenschaftlich. Selbst an dem Ziel dieses Projektes zweifelt man irgendwann. Denn was es wirklich ist, ist ein vermarkteter Menschenzoo. Es geht um Besucherzahlen, Umsätze, Merchandising wie Puppen. Insofern ist der Titel unpassend. Leider war Menschen-Zoo schon an Desmond Morris vergeben:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Wie finde ich Boyles Schreibstil noch? Es ist effekthascherisch bis hin zu ordinär. So finde ich bestimmte Bedürfnisse wie z.B. das Männer sich selbst befriedigen völlig normal und gesund und gehört somit in den Bereich ihrer Intimsphäre. Aber wie der Autor damit umgeht, eine entsprechende Situation ans Tageslicht zerrt, steht sehr für seinen Schreibstil.
Interessant an den unterschiedlichen Perspektiven war, dass man einen Einblick bekam, ob und wie Selbstreflexion funktioniert. Und was und wie man beim anderen ankommt! Sollte da nicht endlich mal die Illusion vom Traumprinzen zerplatzen, sowie die, dass 'ich als nächste Partnerin' bei einem bad boy das Ruder rumreißen werde. Da ist Boyle ehrlich bis hin zum Verräter an seinen Geschlechtsgenossen.
Was die Vorhersehbarkeit angeht, würde ich sagen: Hat man erkannt, wie die Prioritäten bei diesem Projekt gelagert sind, kommt man schnell darauf, wie gewisse Probleme sich lösen lassen.
Nach diesem Roman weiß ich, dass ich nie wieder etwas von Boyle lesen werde. Er hat mich nicht unterhalten. Aber ich sehe auch nicht Dschungelcamp oder Big Brother. Das unterhält mich auch nicht. Ich habe scheint's nicht ausreichend voyeuristischen Neigungen, die ich befriedigen könnte. Ob nun Seelenstrippties oder realer Sex, Boyle hält sich gerne unterhalb der Gürtellinie auf.
Von solchen Büchern halte ich mich lieber fern.
Inspiriert zu diesem Roman wurde Boyle von einem in den 90ern stattgefundenen Experiment - "Biosphere 2", wobei mit "Biosphere 1" die Erde gemeint war. Nun könnte man annehmen, der Autor hat vor, einen wissenschaftlich-technischen Roman a la Michael Crichton zu schreiben. Die Basis in Form des Experiments ist ja schon vorhanden. Er braucht die Geschichte nur noch literarisch umzusetzen. Doch das ist nicht der Fall. So kann jeder, der befürchtete, mit technischen Termini überfordert zu werden,sich entspannt zurück lehnen. Dieser Roman hat, wenn überhaupt, dann nur mit viel Wohlwollen soziologische Aspekte. Wissenschaftlicher wird es nicht.
Es gibt drei Protagonisten, die jeweils abwechselnd aus der Ich-Perspektive erzählen. A und B wurden erwählt, in einem abgeschlossenen, sich selbst versorgende Habitat zu leben. C muss draußen bleiben. Das klingt sehr vielversprechend. Leider hat Boyle das Potential dieser Geschichte zugunsten einer reißerische Story verschenkt. Stattdessen bekommt der Leser Zickenkriege, Schlammschlachten und die testosterongeschwängerten Probleme der männlichen Akteure wie in der übelsten Nachmittags-Seifenoper. Und natürlich gibt es Klischees wie 'die Frau ist schuld, wenn "man" schwanger wird... "Hast du nicht die Pille genommen?"' zuhauf.
Was waren die Auswahlkriterien, an denen die Bewerber für dieses Experiment gemessen wurden? Alleine das lässt einen schon zweifel. Strähnchen? Lippenstift? Kurzer Rock? Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass die NASA so ihre Kosmonauten auswählen würde. Und hier sollten doch ähnliche Bedingungen imitiert werden! Ich hatte nie den Eindruck, es mit ernsthaften Wissenschaftlern zu tun zu haben, eher mit Fanatikern, die aus den umliegenden Kneipen zusammengesucht worden waren.
Es wird auch keinen Augenblick wissenschaftlich. Selbst an dem Ziel dieses Projektes zweifelt man irgendwann. Denn was es wirklich ist, ist ein vermarkteter Menschenzoo. Es geht um Besucherzahlen, Umsätze, Merchandising wie Puppen. Insofern ist der Titel unpassend. Leider war Menschen-Zoo schon an Desmond Morris vergeben:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Wie finde ich Boyles Schreibstil noch? Es ist effekthascherisch bis hin zu ordinär. So finde ich bestimmte Bedürfnisse wie z.B. das Männer sich selbst befriedigen völlig normal und gesund und gehört somit in den Bereich ihrer Intimsphäre. Aber wie der Autor damit umgeht, eine entsprechende Situation ans Tageslicht zerrt, steht sehr für seinen Schreibstil.
Interessant an den unterschiedlichen Perspektiven war, dass man einen Einblick bekam, ob und wie Selbstreflexion funktioniert. Und was und wie man beim anderen ankommt! Sollte da nicht endlich mal die Illusion vom Traumprinzen zerplatzen, sowie die, dass 'ich als nächste Partnerin' bei einem bad boy das Ruder rumreißen werde. Da ist Boyle ehrlich bis hin zum Verräter an seinen Geschlechtsgenossen.
Was die Vorhersehbarkeit angeht, würde ich sagen: Hat man erkannt, wie die Prioritäten bei diesem Projekt gelagert sind, kommt man schnell darauf, wie gewisse Probleme sich lösen lassen.
Nach diesem Roman weiß ich, dass ich nie wieder etwas von Boyle lesen werde. Er hat mich nicht unterhalten. Aber ich sehe auch nicht Dschungelcamp oder Big Brother. Das unterhält mich auch nicht. Ich habe scheint's nicht ausreichend voyeuristischen Neigungen, die ich befriedigen könnte. Ob nun Seelenstrippties oder realer Sex, Boyle hält sich gerne unterhalb der Gürtellinie auf.
Von solchen Büchern halte ich mich lieber fern.
February 8, 2017
Gestern nach dem Lesen habe ich noch zwei großzügige Sterne vergeben - aber je länger ich über dieses Buch nachdenke, umso schlechter kommt es dabei weg.
Statt sich mit der Gruppendynamik einer isolierten Gruppe von Menschen unter harten Bedingungen zu beschäftigen, liest man ein lächerliches Sexgeplänkel, notdürftig bemäntelt durch die "Mission".
Schade.
Statt sich mit der Gruppendynamik einer isolierten Gruppe von Menschen unter harten Bedingungen zu beschäftigen, liest man ein lächerliches Sexgeplänkel, notdürftig bemäntelt durch die "Mission".
Schade.
December 9, 2016
T C Boyle’s new novel is all about the plot, with the author is at his acerbic best. You would not be blamed for thinking he has no faith at all in humanity until you get to the end. I can’t tell you about that because it would be the final spoiler of all the spoilers I will not reveal.
In case you were living under a rock like I was in 1991, one of the major science experiments of all time called Biosphere 2 put a crew of eight scientists into an artificial glass-enclosed ecological environment for the purposes of demonstrating its ability to support human life leading to the successful colonization of planets. Located in Oracle, AZ, it was a 3.14-acre facility stocked with animals, seeds, trees, and five biomes. The carefully selected four women and four men were committed to remain sealed in for two years with phone lines to headquarters and a viewing window for visitors as the only contact with the outside.
These men and women were called Terranauts but they were human beings with many of the strengths of young, highly educated adults and all of the weaknesses. It is just the sort of story that an author like T C Boyle would be attracted to as a novelist. The publisher calls it “A deep-dive into human behavior in an epic story of science, society, sex, and survival.” It has all of that though Mr Boyle is always and forever mainly interested in human behavior. He does not miss one quirk or forgo any chance to take such behavior to the limit.
The day that the Terranauts go into the biosphere is called Closure. In Part 1, Pre-Closure, we meet the sixteen hopefuls as they vie for the eight spots available and then are chosen much like the sorting ceremony in Harry Potter. Three of the16 tell the story in alternating chapters. Dawn, nickname Eos, is a blonde beauty designated as Manager of Domestic Animals, strong in purpose and loyalty to the project. Ramsay, known as Vodge, will be Water Systems Manager with a second hat of Communications Officer. In addition to his scientific skills he is the consummate PR guy, as well as a ladies man. Linda is passed over, full of rage, and though she had been Dawn’s best friend before closure she turns traitor. Her chapters give the view from outside as she hangs on hoping to be chosen for the second team two years hence.
Included in the cast of main characters are the visionary who had conceived of the project (GC, short for God the Creator, is his nickname, known only to the Terranauts) and his chief aide Judy, nickname Judas. In order for GC to keep his investors happy, all manner of media events and spin must be created, another stress and strain on the outcome.
Reading along, one wonders how such dedicated, trained scientists could possibly be so venal, self-involved, hateful, and scheming. But isn’t that what we have been wondering for the last two years as we suffered through the Presidential campaign and its aftermath? It made for some queasy reading hours.
A good amount of science permeates the novel, though not as much as in The Martian or Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, but the focus is on interpersonal drama, personal motivation, and the very real physical/psychological hardships inside Biosphere 2. Combine that with the fact that these longsuffering candidates, who have worked for years at low pay, will emerge as celebrities when they successfully complete the two year enclosure. Whether they will prevail or not, a whiff of cult essence permeates the mindset of every person involved in the experiment from GC on down through the Terranauts themselves, the 16 upcoming candidates for the next two year enclosure, to all the support staff. It is the classic visionary and his loyal minions scenario that T C Boyle has explored in earlier novels like The Women and The Inner Circle.
Through every shift of loyalties, every emergency, and the many twists of plot, he keeps you hanging by threads of hope and anxiety. Though everyone stays in character, some admirable, some despicable, none of them are without complexity. If you have ever had experiences with cultish groups, you will be fully invested in the novel. If you haven’t, you might not be. Either way, expect some shifts in your own worldview. This is one of his best.
In case you were living under a rock like I was in 1991, one of the major science experiments of all time called Biosphere 2 put a crew of eight scientists into an artificial glass-enclosed ecological environment for the purposes of demonstrating its ability to support human life leading to the successful colonization of planets. Located in Oracle, AZ, it was a 3.14-acre facility stocked with animals, seeds, trees, and five biomes. The carefully selected four women and four men were committed to remain sealed in for two years with phone lines to headquarters and a viewing window for visitors as the only contact with the outside.
These men and women were called Terranauts but they were human beings with many of the strengths of young, highly educated adults and all of the weaknesses. It is just the sort of story that an author like T C Boyle would be attracted to as a novelist. The publisher calls it “A deep-dive into human behavior in an epic story of science, society, sex, and survival.” It has all of that though Mr Boyle is always and forever mainly interested in human behavior. He does not miss one quirk or forgo any chance to take such behavior to the limit.
The day that the Terranauts go into the biosphere is called Closure. In Part 1, Pre-Closure, we meet the sixteen hopefuls as they vie for the eight spots available and then are chosen much like the sorting ceremony in Harry Potter. Three of the16 tell the story in alternating chapters. Dawn, nickname Eos, is a blonde beauty designated as Manager of Domestic Animals, strong in purpose and loyalty to the project. Ramsay, known as Vodge, will be Water Systems Manager with a second hat of Communications Officer. In addition to his scientific skills he is the consummate PR guy, as well as a ladies man. Linda is passed over, full of rage, and though she had been Dawn’s best friend before closure she turns traitor. Her chapters give the view from outside as she hangs on hoping to be chosen for the second team two years hence.
Included in the cast of main characters are the visionary who had conceived of the project (GC, short for God the Creator, is his nickname, known only to the Terranauts) and his chief aide Judy, nickname Judas. In order for GC to keep his investors happy, all manner of media events and spin must be created, another stress and strain on the outcome.
Reading along, one wonders how such dedicated, trained scientists could possibly be so venal, self-involved, hateful, and scheming. But isn’t that what we have been wondering for the last two years as we suffered through the Presidential campaign and its aftermath? It made for some queasy reading hours.
A good amount of science permeates the novel, though not as much as in The Martian or Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, but the focus is on interpersonal drama, personal motivation, and the very real physical/psychological hardships inside Biosphere 2. Combine that with the fact that these longsuffering candidates, who have worked for years at low pay, will emerge as celebrities when they successfully complete the two year enclosure. Whether they will prevail or not, a whiff of cult essence permeates the mindset of every person involved in the experiment from GC on down through the Terranauts themselves, the 16 upcoming candidates for the next two year enclosure, to all the support staff. It is the classic visionary and his loyal minions scenario that T C Boyle has explored in earlier novels like The Women and The Inner Circle.
Through every shift of loyalties, every emergency, and the many twists of plot, he keeps you hanging by threads of hope and anxiety. Though everyone stays in character, some admirable, some despicable, none of them are without complexity. If you have ever had experiences with cultish groups, you will be fully invested in the novel. If you haven’t, you might not be. Either way, expect some shifts in your own worldview. This is one of his best.
August 4, 2016
One thing that I think is universal among first world citizens, a fascination with life in space.
If you believe that we will learn how to colonize other planets, this book is for you.
I'm not fond of reviews that recap the synopsis or worse, essentially tell you the entire plot of the book. The synopsis is very thorough for Terranauts.
My reactions. Fascinating as a study of humanity. Especially for the interpersonal relations between members of a small group. After all, isn't that why society is fascinated with reality shows like Survivor, Big Brother, Real World?
Only this time, there's merit to it. It's much more than a social experiment. We need to figure out how to build a self-sustaining colony if we're going to go off planet.
Of particular interest was the ecology aspects. Botany & biology. It rarely got too technical for me but those were easy to skim over anyways.
If you loved The Martian for Mark Watney's struggle to survive on Mars with less than the bare minimum, you're likely to enjoy this one too.
Recommended.
Thanks to the publisher for the early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
If you believe that we will learn how to colonize other planets, this book is for you.
I'm not fond of reviews that recap the synopsis or worse, essentially tell you the entire plot of the book. The synopsis is very thorough for Terranauts.
My reactions. Fascinating as a study of humanity. Especially for the interpersonal relations between members of a small group. After all, isn't that why society is fascinated with reality shows like Survivor, Big Brother, Real World?
Only this time, there's merit to it. It's much more than a social experiment. We need to figure out how to build a self-sustaining colony if we're going to go off planet.
Of particular interest was the ecology aspects. Botany & biology. It rarely got too technical for me but those were easy to skim over anyways.
If you loved The Martian for Mark Watney's struggle to survive on Mars with less than the bare minimum, you're likely to enjoy this one too.
Recommended.
Thanks to the publisher for the early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
February 6, 2017
Ich habe mich sehr auf T.C. Boyle's Roman gefreut, der 8 Menschen bei dem Versuch begleitet, 2 Jahre in einem geschlossenen Ökosystem zu verbringen, unter einer Kuppel im heißen Tuscon.
Begleitet wird der Leser durch die Geschichte von der Terranautin Dawn (Spitzname in der Kuppel E. ), Terranaut Ramsay alias "Vaj" und Linda, Dawn's beste Freundin und ebenfalls Anwärterin auf den Terranautenposten, die es dann leider aufgrund mangelnden Aussehens nicht hinein geschafft hat und die Crew deshalb von außen unterstützen darf.
Boyle spart nicht mit zynischen Kommentaren und lässt keinen seiner Protagonisten gut wegkommen. Allerdings lässt er dem Leser auch keine Zeit und Möglichkeit Sympathie zu irgendeinem der Truppe aufzubauen. Alle Terranauten blieben bis zuletzt für mich undefinierbare, jammernde Egozentriker, die immerzu ihren Standpunkt verteidigen wollten, ob es nun jemand hören oder lesen wollte oder nicht.
Gerade zu Anfang, wenn die Gruppe das Ökosystem betritt und die Kolonie bildet, flogen die Zeilen nur so dahin und ich las und las mit Begeisterung. Früh merkt man, dass Boyle den Leser in die Irre führen will, denn manche Protagonisten waren nicht das, was sie zu sein schienen und widersprachen sich in ihren Aussagen doch vehement.
Diese Charakterstudie und die Spannungen die sich innerhalb des Teams aufbauten, boten Stoff für einen unterhaltsamen Roman und doch gab es etwas, woran das Buch für mich ab einer gewissen Zeit krankte und das war nämlich die Länge.
Alles las sich nach einer gewissen Zeit zähflüssig (bei mir ab Seite 400) und ich musste es immer wieder zur Seite legen und ein paar Tage ruhen lassen. Der Geschichte fehlte es in meinen Augen einfach und eindeutig an Story.
Mein Fazit
Ein anfänglich spannender Roman, der jedoch ab der Hälfte langatmig wird und deutlich an Spannung verliert.
Begleitet wird der Leser durch die Geschichte von der Terranautin Dawn (Spitzname in der Kuppel E. ), Terranaut Ramsay alias "Vaj" und Linda, Dawn's beste Freundin und ebenfalls Anwärterin auf den Terranautenposten, die es dann leider aufgrund mangelnden Aussehens nicht hinein geschafft hat und die Crew deshalb von außen unterstützen darf.
Boyle spart nicht mit zynischen Kommentaren und lässt keinen seiner Protagonisten gut wegkommen. Allerdings lässt er dem Leser auch keine Zeit und Möglichkeit Sympathie zu irgendeinem der Truppe aufzubauen. Alle Terranauten blieben bis zuletzt für mich undefinierbare, jammernde Egozentriker, die immerzu ihren Standpunkt verteidigen wollten, ob es nun jemand hören oder lesen wollte oder nicht.
Gerade zu Anfang, wenn die Gruppe das Ökosystem betritt und die Kolonie bildet, flogen die Zeilen nur so dahin und ich las und las mit Begeisterung. Früh merkt man, dass Boyle den Leser in die Irre führen will, denn manche Protagonisten waren nicht das, was sie zu sein schienen und widersprachen sich in ihren Aussagen doch vehement.
Diese Charakterstudie und die Spannungen die sich innerhalb des Teams aufbauten, boten Stoff für einen unterhaltsamen Roman und doch gab es etwas, woran das Buch für mich ab einer gewissen Zeit krankte und das war nämlich die Länge.
Alles las sich nach einer gewissen Zeit zähflüssig (bei mir ab Seite 400) und ich musste es immer wieder zur Seite legen und ein paar Tage ruhen lassen. Der Geschichte fehlte es in meinen Augen einfach und eindeutig an Story.
Mein Fazit
Ein anfänglich spannender Roman, der jedoch ab der Hälfte langatmig wird und deutlich an Spannung verliert.
October 20, 2020
En fin. Boyle, ¿qué ha sido de ti? Mira dónde te ves por tu mala cabeza, por meterte a narrar una historia ¿transcendente? (que ya me río yo) y no seguir en otra onda. Párrafos y más párrafos sin ningún interés (al menos para mí), párrafos y más parrafos entre paréntesis de otros párrafos y más párrafos. Párrafos y más párrafos entre guiones de otras frases inacabables llenas de párrafos y más párrafos. ¿Para qué? ¿Qúe interés tienen tantas explicaciones y sucesos para describir unos personajes planos y típicos, sin atractivo alguno, dentro de una historia que tampoco lo tiene? 150 páginas. Ahí dije basta. Pará qué seguir leyendo algo que no me ofrece nada... Después hice algo que odio/odiaba hacer, aunque sólo hago cuando estoy completamente seguro de que no voy a retomar el libro: avanzar bloques de páginas y ver qué pasa a lo largo de la historia. Y, eso, que lo que viene después es todavía más coñazo, tópico y poco interesante que lo anterior. Con lo cual, adeu, y a otra cosa mariposa, que la vida es corta y aún queda mucho por leer.
March 8, 2017
Not one of my favorite T. C. Boyle books, but held me to the end. Boyle likes to take diverse characters and plop them into challenging situations (think Drop City, a more successful effort). Told from three points of view, the fictionalized story of the Biosphere experiments of the 1990's gives human foibles free rein. Could have been trimmed a bit.
September 25, 2020
"Aunque Los Terranautas bien pudiera parecer una obra de ciencia ficción, la realidad, por sorprendente que sea, es que está inspirado en hechos reales: en la década de los 90, una serie de científicos se embarcaron en un experimento que quería emular la colonización del espacio. Es decir, se introdujeron en la conocida como “Biosphere 2”, un ecosistema artificial cerrado, construido en el desierto de Arizona, que debía ser perfectamente autosuficiente. Durante varios meses, estos científicos debían ser capaces de sobrevivir en un entorno que contenía un pequeño océano, una selva, un desierto, parcelas para cultivar alimentos… Todo lo necesario, pues, para subsistir durante su encierro.
En Los Terranautas, este grupo de científicos, compuesto por cuatro hombres y cuatro mujeres, deberá permanecer durante dos años encerrados. Un encierro que, además, será televisado como si de un reality show actual se tratara: una experiencia, pues, que se mueve por el pantanoso terreno de la ciencia y el espectáculo. La narración de T. C. Boyle sabe desplazarse por esas arenas movedizas gracias a un sentido del humor ciertamente irónico. Mediante la narración en primera persona de sus protagonistas, Boyle no sólo es capaz de realizar un retrato psicológico absolutamente magistral de cada uno de ellos, sino de ahondar en las relaciones sociales que se establecen entre sus participantes, de las implicaciones científicas que resultan de este experimento científico y mediático y de cómo un, aparentemente, espacio idílico puede convertirse en un auténtico infierno. Boyle ha escrito una monumental tragicomedia donde las pasiones humanas son capaces de desarticular, de manera lenta pero inexorable, las más altas aspiraciones científicas." Alberto Martín
En Los Terranautas, este grupo de científicos, compuesto por cuatro hombres y cuatro mujeres, deberá permanecer durante dos años encerrados. Un encierro que, además, será televisado como si de un reality show actual se tratara: una experiencia, pues, que se mueve por el pantanoso terreno de la ciencia y el espectáculo. La narración de T. C. Boyle sabe desplazarse por esas arenas movedizas gracias a un sentido del humor ciertamente irónico. Mediante la narración en primera persona de sus protagonistas, Boyle no sólo es capaz de realizar un retrato psicológico absolutamente magistral de cada uno de ellos, sino de ahondar en las relaciones sociales que se establecen entre sus participantes, de las implicaciones científicas que resultan de este experimento científico y mediático y de cómo un, aparentemente, espacio idílico puede convertirse en un auténtico infierno. Boyle ha escrito una monumental tragicomedia donde las pasiones humanas son capaces de desarticular, de manera lenta pero inexorable, las más altas aspiraciones científicas." Alberto Martín
May 9, 2017
Puhhhh, wo fange ich hier nur an...
Als erstes der Schreibstil:
Ich mag T.C.Boyles flüssigen und intelligenten Schreibstil. Dieser Roman strotzt nur so vor Sarkasmus und Satire, was der einzige Grund war, es nicht abzubrechen.
Die Charaktere:
Es gibt drei Protagonisten aus deren Sicht die Ereignisse geschildert werden. Jeder einzelne von ihnen ist so dermaßen unsympathisch, dass ich teilweise mit den Augen rollen musste. Ramsay verhält sich wie ein triebgesteuerter Teenie. Dawn ist so unfassbar naiv, dass es schon als Dummheit durchgeht. Und Linda ist eine abgefuckte Alkoholikerin mit Minderwertigkeitskomplexen.
Die Story:
Ich hatte mir eine Art wissenschaftlichen Roman erhofft, der sich zusätzlich mit der Gruppendynamik auseinandersetzt. Was man bekommt ist eine Telenovela, die mit Big Brother konkurriert. Unfassbar viel Drama, unfassbar viel "wer mit wem", unfassbar wenig interessante Fakten zum Experiment.
Die Protagonisten präsentieren sich als realitätsfremde und unreife Vollidioten.
Zudem sind die Initiatoren des Projekts die reinsten Marketinggurus, die die Terranauten als Stars vermarkten und dabei um jede Schlagzeile bemüht sind, dass ich das Ganze nicht mehr ernst nehmen konnte.
Fazit: Nur für Big Brother Fans zu empfehlen.
Als erstes der Schreibstil:
Ich mag T.C.Boyles flüssigen und intelligenten Schreibstil. Dieser Roman strotzt nur so vor Sarkasmus und Satire, was der einzige Grund war, es nicht abzubrechen.
Die Charaktere:
Es gibt drei Protagonisten aus deren Sicht die Ereignisse geschildert werden. Jeder einzelne von ihnen ist so dermaßen unsympathisch, dass ich teilweise mit den Augen rollen musste. Ramsay verhält sich wie ein triebgesteuerter Teenie. Dawn ist so unfassbar naiv, dass es schon als Dummheit durchgeht. Und Linda ist eine abgefuckte Alkoholikerin mit Minderwertigkeitskomplexen.
Die Story:
Ich hatte mir eine Art wissenschaftlichen Roman erhofft, der sich zusätzlich mit der Gruppendynamik auseinandersetzt. Was man bekommt ist eine Telenovela, die mit Big Brother konkurriert. Unfassbar viel Drama, unfassbar viel "wer mit wem", unfassbar wenig interessante Fakten zum Experiment.
Die Protagonisten präsentieren sich als realitätsfremde und unreife Vollidioten.
Zudem sind die Initiatoren des Projekts die reinsten Marketinggurus, die die Terranauten als Stars vermarkten und dabei um jede Schlagzeile bemüht sind, dass ich das Ganze nicht mehr ernst nehmen konnte.
Fazit: Nur für Big Brother Fans zu empfehlen.
October 30, 2016
I got eight hours into this 20 hour audiobook and gave up. These people were just awful. After training for 2 years, 8 out of 16 people were to be selected to live in an ecosphere to study the ability to colonize another planet. While the original astronauts were selected for having the "right stuff", these terranauts seem to have been selected for having the wrong stuff, unless being shallow, petty and sex-obsessed is deemed to qualify you for a scientific project.
The book is told in alternating chapters by two of the selected terranauts, Dawn Chapman and Ramsay Roothoorp and by one of the rejects, the bitter Linda Ryu. They were like the most obnoxious kids in high school, constantly talking about who's prettier and who's sleeping with whom. I understand this book is being turned into a TV series. A combination of Survivor and the Bachelor - how can it fail?
The three narrators of the audiobook sounded appropriately petulant and immature.
I received a free copy of the e-book from the publisher, however I wound up borrowing and listening to the audiobook.
The book is told in alternating chapters by two of the selected terranauts, Dawn Chapman and Ramsay Roothoorp and by one of the rejects, the bitter Linda Ryu. They were like the most obnoxious kids in high school, constantly talking about who's prettier and who's sleeping with whom. I understand this book is being turned into a TV series. A combination of Survivor and the Bachelor - how can it fail?
The three narrators of the audiobook sounded appropriately petulant and immature.
I received a free copy of the e-book from the publisher, however I wound up borrowing and listening to the audiobook.
Read
September 14, 2016Set in 1990’s Arizona, this novel is set around a biosphere experiment. Eight people are chosen to take part in a mission, in which they will live inside a sealed, artificial environment for two years. There are to be four men and four women and it soon becomes clear that physical attraction is as important as skill or accomplishments. Dawn Chapman and Linda Ryu are natural rivals for one of the places and, although Dawn considers them to be friends, Linda feels bitter and angry when Dawn is chosen over her.
Both Dawn and Linda are narrators in this book, along with one of the male ‘Terranauts,’ the charming womaniser, Ramsey Roothorp. We see the candidates going through the selection process, being chosen and, eventually, being sealed inside. The first attempt at this mission broke closure after a medical emergency and the eight Terranauts are determined that there will be, “Nothing In, Nothing Out.” However, what begins as a euphoric mission full of hope and team spirit, gradually breaks down. There is hunger, moments of crisis, arguments, depression, lack of privacy and intimacy. In fact, all of the gamut of human emotion , and all of the fallout which results from this.
Overlooking everything is Mission Control, who have their own interest in events – including keeping enough press interest in the project. This book looks at some interesting issues. Can you recreate a self-replicating environment? Can you recreate nature? The experiment intends to look at the ways man could create such environments on other planets and the experimental environment contains rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh, as well as 3,800 different species of plants and animals.
More interesting, though, are the human relationships and the way those inside are manipulated by those in charge. None of the main narrators are particularly sympathetic or pleasant, but they are all fascinating in their own way. There is the selfish, immature Ramsey, the manipulative Linda and Dawn, who is determined that the mission will succeed; along with the other members of the group . I really found this a very interesting read and it would be ideal for book groups, with so much to discuss. Of course, the behaviour of the group is intensified by the circumstances they are living in, but there is much those in charge cannot control – from unwanted visitors, such as cockroaches, to human relationships… I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
Both Dawn and Linda are narrators in this book, along with one of the male ‘Terranauts,’ the charming womaniser, Ramsey Roothorp. We see the candidates going through the selection process, being chosen and, eventually, being sealed inside. The first attempt at this mission broke closure after a medical emergency and the eight Terranauts are determined that there will be, “Nothing In, Nothing Out.” However, what begins as a euphoric mission full of hope and team spirit, gradually breaks down. There is hunger, moments of crisis, arguments, depression, lack of privacy and intimacy. In fact, all of the gamut of human emotion , and all of the fallout which results from this.
Overlooking everything is Mission Control, who have their own interest in events – including keeping enough press interest in the project. This book looks at some interesting issues. Can you recreate a self-replicating environment? Can you recreate nature? The experiment intends to look at the ways man could create such environments on other planets and the experimental environment contains rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh, as well as 3,800 different species of plants and animals.
More interesting, though, are the human relationships and the way those inside are manipulated by those in charge. None of the main narrators are particularly sympathetic or pleasant, but they are all fascinating in their own way. There is the selfish, immature Ramsey, the manipulative Linda and Dawn, who is determined that the mission will succeed; along with the other members of the group . I really found this a very interesting read and it would be ideal for book groups, with so much to discuss. Of course, the behaviour of the group is intensified by the circumstances they are living in, but there is much those in charge cannot control – from unwanted visitors, such as cockroaches, to human relationships… I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
May 27, 2017
Selten ist mir eine Sterne-Bewertung so schwer gefallen. Das Setting finde ich großartig und es hat mich über weite Teile des Buches irre fasziniert. Dabei beruht das Experiment auf wahren Begebenheiten! Ganz toll gelungen ist auch der Wechsel zwischen den Erzählern, man merkt allein am Stil, wer erzählt und bräuchte nach einer Weile wohl fast keine Namensüberschriften mehr, was ich beachtlich finde. Allerdings habe ich mich mit dem Buch nach und nach auseinander gelebt, weil die soziale Dynamik in dem Buch irgendwann ein wirklich blödes Eigenleben annimmt und aus dem spannenden Experiment irgendwann ziemlich viel Zickenterror resultiert. Gut, wenn es eben nach der wahren Begebenheit ist, sei das so, aber ich stelle mir eine andere Entwicklung für das ganze spannender vor, es hätte deutlich psychomäßiger werden können, aber je nach dem, wie realitätsnah das Buch gehalten sein sollte, war das vielleicht nicht im Bereich des Möglichen. Nichtsdestotrotz hat es leider genervt. Außerdem ist die Story sehr zentriert auf einen Bruchteil der Akteure, manchmal denkt man sich nach 200 Seiten ein "Ach, der ist ja auch noch da" und dadurch hat man das Gefühl, nicht das ganze Geschehen mitzubekommen, was schade ist. Dennoch bin ich sehr froh, die Terranauten gelesen zu haben und würde sie auch wieder lesen, was ich nur bei wenigen Büchern behaupten kann, denen ich nur 3 (vielleicht hier auch 3,5) Sterne gebe.
September 18, 2017
Gad. Utterly painful to read. Contra the advertising blurb, I did not find this novel to be powerful, affecting, OR hilarious. Rather, it felt a lot like something that might have been written by a bright high school student employing a variety of stereotypes and without a clear vision of where he wanted the story to go.
Everything about this novel lacked depth, including the science, and I found myself hoping that something-- ANYTHING-- would happen to provide some level of excitement. Sadly, most opportunities were squandered in a shorthand approach to exposition. For instance, one scene in the book entailed a power outage that could have not only ended the project but potentially killed off some of the Terranauts. Wrapped up within a few pages. Barely a blip in the plot.
As well, the "development" of the characters was essentially absent. Our acquaintance with them began with a focus on appearance and fascination with competing sexual motivations, lingered there throughout the course of the book, and barely provided anything of importance to the book other than occasional prurient tangents that have probably been better handled in run of the mill romance novels.
Plodding through this thing has given me a newfound determination to cut my losses in the future, rather than slogging it out to the inevitable disappointing conclusion of sub-standard novels.
Everything about this novel lacked depth, including the science, and I found myself hoping that something-- ANYTHING-- would happen to provide some level of excitement. Sadly, most opportunities were squandered in a shorthand approach to exposition. For instance, one scene in the book entailed a power outage that could have not only ended the project but potentially killed off some of the Terranauts. Wrapped up within a few pages. Barely a blip in the plot.
As well, the "development" of the characters was essentially absent. Our acquaintance with them began with a focus on appearance and fascination with competing sexual motivations, lingered there throughout the course of the book, and barely provided anything of importance to the book other than occasional prurient tangents that have probably been better handled in run of the mill romance novels.
Plodding through this thing has given me a newfound determination to cut my losses in the future, rather than slogging it out to the inevitable disappointing conclusion of sub-standard novels.
February 22, 2019
*3.5
An sich fand ich die Idee, die ja auf einer wahren Begebenheit beruht, wirklich interessant. Vor allem war ich überrascht, wie aufwendig die ganze Mission war. An welche Dinge man alles denken musste. Das Buch hatte jedoch von Anfang an seine Längen, was das Lesen erschwert hat. Und zum Ende hin hat es mir immer weniger gefallen.
An sich fand ich die Idee, die ja auf einer wahren Begebenheit beruht, wirklich interessant. Vor allem war ich überrascht, wie aufwendig die ganze Mission war. An welche Dinge man alles denken musste. Das Buch hatte jedoch von Anfang an seine Längen, was das Lesen erschwert hat. Und zum Ende hin hat es mir immer weniger gefallen.
February 7, 2017
I love T.C. Boyle and he's at his best in Terranauts. The title refers to a group pseudo astronauts who are taking part in an experiment in an environment that mimics the conditions on Mars only they're actually eight people locked in such a simulated terra housed in the Arizona desert. Not only do they go about caring for animals, their environment, an grow and harvest their own food but they're on lock down for two years, two years of not leaving this compound or getting any kind of aid or sustenance from the outside world.
The work is grueling and the food isn't plentiful but nerves fray being trapped with only their small group. It's as much a social experiment as it is a scientific one. The story is told in alternating chapters of the key personalities point of view and they hold back nothing. Boyle is excellent at getting inside each person's head and he takes the reader along as they fall in love, lust, friendships, both sincere and competitive sometimes in equal measure. These folks hate with the same vehemence that they love.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ebook.
The work is grueling and the food isn't plentiful but nerves fray being trapped with only their small group. It's as much a social experiment as it is a scientific one. The story is told in alternating chapters of the key personalities point of view and they hold back nothing. Boyle is excellent at getting inside each person's head and he takes the reader along as they fall in love, lust, friendships, both sincere and competitive sometimes in equal measure. These folks hate with the same vehemence that they love.
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ebook.
December 19, 2017
Ein Roman, der tiefsinniger ist als seine reine Handlung vermuten lässt - denn aktuelle Themen wie Überbevölkerung sowie Umweltverträglichkeit schwingen zu jeder Zeit mit und sind eng mit der Umgebung des Buches, einer riesigen Glaskuppel, verbunden.
March 13, 2017
Es war durchgängig spannend und interessant :D
June 2, 2023
3.5 stars. An okay read about an experiment in the desert in Arizona in 1994 where 8 scientists, 4 men and 4 women, dubbed the ‘terranauts’, have been selected to live under glass in E 2, a prototype of a possible off-earth colony. Their sealed 3 acre compound comprises 5 biomes - rainforest, savanna, desert, ocean and marsh and enough wildlife, water and vegetation to sustain them for two years. There are three narrators, Dawn Chapman, the mission’s pretty young ecologist, Linda Ryu, her bitter scheming best friend passed over for E 2 and who works on the outside providing support work for E 2, and Ramsay Roothorp, E 2’s sexually irrepressible wildman scientist. A few things do not go to plan over the course of the two years, causing tension and complications.
I preferred the second half of the novel as the plot momentum picks up. The first half of the novel drags with a fair amount of ‘stage setting’.
I have read six T.C. Boyle novels. Readers new to T.C. Boyle should begin with ‘The Tortilla Curtain’, ‘Drop City’, or ‘The Women’.
This book was first published in 2016.
I preferred the second half of the novel as the plot momentum picks up. The first half of the novel drags with a fair amount of ‘stage setting’.
I have read six T.C. Boyle novels. Readers new to T.C. Boyle should begin with ‘The Tortilla Curtain’, ‘Drop City’, or ‘The Women’.
This book was first published in 2016.
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