I suppose it's because of the translation, because I can't believe that an entire Science Fiction Master has written such a bad novel.

There are sentences that don't make sense and the narration seems to be done by a small child. It simply throws at you a series of actions that the characters do, rather than telling you a story, so the reading lacks rhythm.

It's a novel that is completely not recommended.

Perhaps the translator didn't do a good job in conveying the true essence and style of the original work. Or maybe the author had an off day when writing this particular novel.

Whatever the reason, it's a disappointment for fans of science fiction who were expecting a great read from a supposed master.

Hopefully, in the future, either the translator will improve their skills or the author will return to their former glory and produce a novel that lives up to their reputation.

A Bit of Familiar Plot:

They call themselves The Four Horsemen! Four academics, after engaging in teaching and researching activities at the local university in Portales, New Mexico, gather for a poker game. While checking out some satellite images, they discover a curious gate-like structure in the middle of the Sahara Desert, buried deep under a significant amount of sand. [Nope, they never journey to England to see Stonehenge! Oh well!]

They make the decision to combine their resources and set off to reach that mysterious place!

Comments:

In some aspects, the plot is similar to that of Stargate. However, these four individuals are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime without any assistance from the military or anything of that nature. The very incredibility of the situation serves as its best safeguard.

Now, the first half of the book progresses at a somewhat leisurely pace as the author focuses on developing the characters. The story is mostly narrated from the perspective of Will Stone, a teacher and researcher who is not entirely prepared for such a grand adventure.

Yes, here it comes: The gate they uncover turns out to be a teleportation device leading to other planets. It appears that the builders of this device once constructed a magnificent civilization but somehow perished in a forgotten war several millennia ago.

The entire story has a rather familiar feel, with a weak character, a reluctant hero, a touch of light romance, and a prominent aspect of racial tension and war between the Whites and the Blacks. It seems as if they are reliving the myth of their gods: a black god and a white woman who married and then engaged in war.

Writing Style: The story does not reach a definitive conclusion. We gain more knowledge about the builders, but not much else. The racial storyline is not bad, yet it fails to reach a conclusion that resolves the war to my satisfaction. I am pleased to report that the slavery issue in that other world is eventually resolved.

Also, the expression “he grabbed my arm” is used repeatedly, which can be rather annoying!

Ram is the reluctant hero whom Williamson develops quite well. Indeed, he is the only character with whom one can truly identify!

Bottom Line: Jack Williamson is a part of the Golden Age pulp fiction writers. He penned The Stonehenge Gate at the young age of 97. He passed away in 2006, making this his final novel! It is a pulpy adventure featuring aliens, robots, and heroes who are unaware that they are actually heroes. Recommended for pulp readers!

I really enjoyed it.

It was an intelligent read that skillfully blended fact and fiction within the industry of craft.

The way it was presented made you wonder if such scenarios were possible.

It truly held my attention throughout the entire piece.

The author's use of both real elements and imaginative storytelling created a unique and engaging experience.

It made me think deeply about the possibilities and limitations within the craft industry.

I found myself constantly intrigued and eager to see how the story would unfold.

This intelligent combination of fact and fiction is what made this read so enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Overall, it was a great piece that I would highly recommend to others interested in the intersection of fact and fiction within the world of craft.

Great book!

This was my first encounter with a Jack Williamson story, and it truly left a lasting impression on me.

The plot was engaging, filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

The characters were well-developed, each with their own unique personalities and motives.

Williamson's writing style is流畅 and easy to follow, making it a pleasure to read.

After reading this book, I am now a firm believer in his talent as a writer.

I will definitely be checking out more of his work in the future.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction or just a good story in general.

An adventure!! In the vast and desolate desert, there is a mysterious circle of stones. This circle has the astonishing ability to provide instant travel to other planets. Four brave adventurers embark on this extraordinary journey, not knowing what awaits them.

As they reach different planets, they encounter a plethora of challenges. They face the complex emotions of love, which blossoms in the most unexpected ways. War also looms large, as they find themselves in the midst of conflicts between different civilizations. Prejudice rears its ugly head, testing their beliefs and values.

Traveling to other planets seems almost effortless with the power of the stone circle. However, coming home is a whole different story. They soon realize that the path back is filled with obstacles and uncertainties. Will they be able to overcome all the difficulties and find their way back to their own world? Only time will tell.

This book had a distinct charm that made it feel as if I was delving into the literature of decades past.

For me, this wasn't necessarily a negative aspect, especially considering it was written relatively recently. As a child, I devoured a plethora of old sci-fi classics, and this book had a similar flavor.

It presented the reader with captivating and wondrous concepts and ideas, much like those adventure stories of yore. In the end, everyone returned home with amazing treasures or something of the sort, which was a wonderful blast of nostalgia for me.

However, I deducted a star due to the dragging plotline set on a jungle world. Here, a race of white people from a northern continent were engaged in a conflict with a race of black people from a southern continent, and the protagonist seemed to be merely along for the ride.

The story just went on and on without much progress, until it was almost miraculously resolved with little effort from the narrator. Honestly, the resolution seemed quite bizarre to me.

I should mention that I listened to the audiobook version of this, which was narrated in an outstanding manner by the late Harlan Ellison. I had previously listened to his narration of A Wizard of Earthsea and was thoroughly impressed.

I doubt I would have been able to endure the middle "jungle planet" segment without his engaging narration.

I embarked on this as an audio-book mainly due to the fact that Harlan Ellison was the narrator. Initially, it indeed started off interestingly. The characters, though they all seemed a bit one-dimensional, the premise was distinctively unique enough.

However, I simply couldn't bring myself to finish it. I SWEAR that they had the same conversation not just once or twice, but a half a dozen times. Amidst the strange tribal politics, I found it extremely difficult to keep everyone straight in my mind. I made an attempt once more to go back and complete it, but ultimately decided, nope, I had made the right choice in giving up.

So, I came here to Goodreads in search of a synopsis of how it concludes. I just can't force myself to finish it, yet I am still curious about where the story is headed.

Abandoned on December 28, 2010, I was extremely disappointed. This was yet another instance of a gate (appearing rather primitive, despite its power, when compared with the gate in "Stargate") that transports people to other places in the universe. This was the first novel by Williamson that I had read. Perhaps it was just his style, but I was truly put off by the poor plot development of this book. Important details were simply glossed over. The transitions from one scene or locale to another made it seem as if the book itself was going through gates! I had to give up after just the first 30 pages. To be fair, it appears that this novel, which was published a year before Williamson's death in 2006 at the age of 98, was his very last. It is highly likely that it is not representative of the work of this award-winning science fiction author.

Williamson's earlier works might have been more engaging and better developed. Maybe this final novel was a bit of an anomaly. However, based on this reading experience, I was left with a rather negative impression. I hope to explore some of his other works in the future to see if they can change my perception of his writing.

It's always a shame when a book fails to live up to expectations, especially when it's by an author with such a reputation. But as with any art form, there are bound to be some misses among the hits. I'll keep an open mind and continue my search for great science fiction novels.

Jack Williamson's final novel, which was written when he was well into his nineties, is truly a remarkable piece of work.

I had the pleasure of experiencing it and found it to be a fine and solid, fast-paced adventure story that is filled with a sense of wonder. It is written in the style of the classic pioneer SF writer that Jack Williamson was, which gives it a unique charm and authenticity.

The audiobook version, read by Harlen Ellison, is also very well done. Ellison's competent reading brings the story to life and adds another layer of depth to the already engaging narrative.

Overall, Jack Williamson's final novel is a must-read for any fan of science fiction or adventure stories. It is a testament to Williamson's talent and creativity, and a fitting end to his long and illustrious career.

This was a rather challenging book to rate. It possessed most of the elements that could potentially make it a major success. However, there was one significant drawback - I simply didn't care about any of the characters.

The main character, in particular, lacked cleverness, skill, and interest. As another reviewer had pointed out, he was solely reactive, a follower rather than a leader. While I do believe that given the events of the book, he could have fared much worse, he simply seemed to be there, like a fly on the wall. Truth be told, he could have easily been replaced by a third-person omniscient narrator. (Again, someone else had first suggested that a third-person narrator would have been more successful, and I wholeheartedly agree.)

Overall, there were perhaps too many characters, and none of them underwent any significant character development.

Moreover, around the halfway point of the book, the author abruptly delved into some detailed world-building. In my opinion, it wasn't particularly original. For context, I've read numerous other books in the same genre that were even longer, such as "Dune," "Dune: Messiah," and half of the "Ender's Game" series, and they managed to hold my attention throughout. Detail, in and of itself, doesn't pose a problem for me - it can be highly entertaining, creative, and immersive. But in this book, it felt as if the detail was included for its own sake.

The plot also had a stop-and-start nature. (Initially, it moved at a reasonable pace, but then it took an extremely long time to progress further. Then, around the halfway mark, a deluge of new events and information was thrown at us. After that, the plot stagnated once again, and I grew tired of all the new names of rather unimportant people and details. Then, suddenly, everything started moving again - and then the author wrapped up the book - in a rather anticlimactic manner, in my view.)

Upon further reflection, I think there might not actually be a climax. Instead, there is just an initial conflict followed by a series of events. To be fair, that's not necessarily a bad thing. A book doesn't have to adhere to a specific template. However, regardless of what's fair or not, not having a climax or having an ending with open-ended elements and unanswered questions is likely to have an impact on the reader nonetheless.

I almost suspect that this book was written纯粹 for the author's own entertainment, much like daydreaming. If that's the case, then I do support it. But I'm rating based on my own experience, rather than something less relevant like "whether I should have enjoyed it" or "whether this type of book is valid," etc. I will say that it did offer some rather well-detailed "escape" (which is great for those of us who are escapists), despite all my other complaints.

So, with some regret, I award this long and slow-to-complete book 3 stars.

~

P.S. Harlan Ellison, a successful science fiction/speculative fiction author in his own right, narrated the audiobook, and he did an excellent job. I don't particularly love the sound of his voice, but I got used to it.

The story initially began in a highly interesting manner. The plot seemed to hold great promise and captured my attention right from the start. However, as it progressed, something seemed to change. In my personal opinion, it just kind of dragged. The pacing slowed down, and the excitement that was initially there started to wane. It felt as if the story was losing its momentum and becoming a bit tedious. There were parts that could have been more concise or developed in a more engaging way. Despite the good start, the overall experience was somewhat dampened by this dragging feeling. I was left hoping that the story would pick up again and recapture the magic that it had at the beginning.

I'm truly sorry to have to assign such a poor rating to this book.

The characters in it are so stereotypical that they lack any real depth or individuality.

Moreover, there are numerous technical errors that constantly disrupt the reading experience.

The plot is also highly erratic, jumping from one improbable situation to another without any logical coherence.

Sadly, there were indeed certain parts of the book that initially showed some promise.

However, these glimmers of potential were completely overwhelmed by the implausible action scenes that seemed more like something out of a bad B-movie.

The stilted dialogue further detracted from the overall quality of the story.

It's quite clear that a thorough and competent developmental edit would have been able to flag and address these numerous issues, potentially transforming this book into a much more enjoyable and engaging read.

As it stands now, unfortunately, it fails to meet even the most basic standards of good literature.