The Hollow Man was distinct from the other Simmons books that I have perused. I am unaccustomed to his shorter pieces.

This was by no means an effortless read, and I surmise that is the reason why the ratings for this book tend to be on the lower side. There were certain parts where I had to proceed slowly and truly focus on the content being presented. This was particularly the case when Gail and Jeremy went to meet Jacob Goldmann. They delved rather deeply into some abstruse and challenging scientific and mathematical concepts.

This was also a thriller, and I found that a couple of the suspenseful scenes were truly excellent! They were even quite terrifying! Simmons fabricated a few rather unpleasant individuals whom Jeremy Bremen was unfortunate enough to come across. Fortunately, he possessed his special ability; otherwise, he would not have survived these perilous situations.

Overall, while The Hollow Man had its difficulties, it also had its moments of excitement and intrigue. It was an interesting departure from Simmons' typical style, and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

In "El hombre vacío", Simmons tells us about Jeremy Bremen, a prodigious mathematician who shares with his wife the ability to hear others' thoughts. At first, everything seems rosy.

However, when his wife dies due to a brain tumor, Bremen's curious gift turns into a curse: the mental chatter of everyone around him infiltrates his own head in a hostile way. As a result, Bremen ends up getting in the way of some rather undesirable people.

Parallel to this, Simmons enlivens the plot a bit through flashbacks that allow us to know more deeply, among other things, the type of neuronal connection that the protagonist had with his wife or the far-fetched metaphysical theories (Schrödinger's stuff is beginner level compared to what is cooking in this book) that Bremen develops to fully understand the origin, the consequences, and the hypothetical applications of his telepathy.

It is an enjoyable and interesting read, yes, but a bit uneven for my taste.

I had high expectations for this book, and that's why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5. For me, Dan Simmons is a brilliant writer, so I expect a masterpiece from each of his books, although I understand the absurdity of such an expectation. The writer cannot meet the standard I imagined in every book. Some books fit better into a niche and taste, while others do not. "The Hollow Man" is not Simmons' strongest book, in my subjective opinion, but it is still interesting and multi-faceted, with deep messages and thoughts hidden between the lines. Simmons never writes superficially.

I will not retell the plot. I will only write that after reading the annotation, I thought it would be a long (perhaps boring) narrative about the feelings, thoughts, and sufferings of the main character named Jeremy, who has just lost his beloved wife. His torments are compounded by the fact that he is a telepath and can hear the thoughts of every person on the planet (including his wife who is dying of cancer), constantly being in this tiring and killing information noise. However, it turned out to be an exciting and dynamic novel with many different characters. For example, the scene with the ranch and its owner is just amazing, so unexpected and impressive that I was simply shocked during the plot twist.

The book itself is very depressing, filled with negativity, hopelessness, and decay. Literally every page immerses you in a pool of sadness and horror, and it seems that there is no salvation and everything around is bad. That's why I think that a person in a depressed state should definitely not read it. I think the author wanted to show all the darkness and depth of the hero's despair. Literally from the first to the last page, we observe the hero's self-destruction. After the death of his wife, he no longer sees the meaning in life and existence. Mentioning the wife is not a spoiler as it is a known plot setup. However, after all the bad things, a bright moment of hope comes, which Jeremy grasps.

After finishing reading, I was still impressed for several days and thought a lot about the theme of death and the meaning of existence. In general, the book has depth, although it may not seem so at first glance. It is very sad. Not a masterpiece, but I recommend reading it.

I don't typically have the habit of walking away from books, especially those that are so short. However, when I was around 80% done (having mostly skimmed the last 20% or so), I decided to call it a day. It's not that I think the book is so terrible that I have to stop. Instead, it's more about the fact that I would rather read something that I'm eager to start than force myself to get through this one.

The premise of the book is indeed interesting. A telekinetic has spent many years living with his wife, who also has similar abilities. After her death, he abandons his old life and simply walks around.

Nevertheless, there isn't really a proper plot. Something crazy will occur and then he just moves on. It seems as if the story isn't going anywhere.

I absolutely adored the first Simmons book that I read, but this one wasn't as impressive. It didn't capture my attention and hold it in the same way. I was left feeling a bit disappointed, as I had high expectations based on my previous experience with Simmons' work.

As always, this is a (not-so) big book of ideas.

As always, I truly appreciated the way Simmons communicated these ideas. I felt as if I had learned an abundance, and I came away with a plethora of things to think about. This particular work seemed to have a rather personal touch for the author as well. Whether it was right or wrong, it appeared that there was a significant amount of Dan Simmons on the page here.

Story notes: um, wow. Okay, so Simmons has always incorporated a great many literary references into his books, and this one is no exception. It is a journey into Hell, and the parallels with Inferno and Huck Finn are extremely clear. As noted above, there is a great deal of what I perceived as personal commentary in this one. At first, it made me feel rather sad. It presents a very bleak outlook. Understandable, really, but still not the optimistic point of view that I personally favour. However, there is light in the love between Jeremy and Gail, in the mathematic possibilities, and in the final chapters.

Overall, this book is a complex and thought-provoking read that delves into deep themes and ideas. It challenges the reader's perception and makes them think about life, love, and the afterlife in a whole new way. While it may not be for everyone, those who are willing to take the journey will be rewarded with a unique and unforgettable experience.

I must preface this by saying that Dan Simmons is my favorite author. I have absolutely loved every novel I've read of his, and liked most of his short stories as well. However, this novel presented a challenge for me.

The first chapter was brilliant. In fact, it was originally one of his better short stories. But from there, the story plodded on at a slow pace, moving from one implausible scenario to the next. There were also some WTF asides from a secondary character who was yet to be fully understood.

Towards the middle, the pace started to pick up, and the rhythm of the story drew me in. But then, towards the end, some truly disturbing scenes took place. I usually avoid spoilers like the plague, but I have to say that one such scene was the most fucked up thing I've ever read. It felt completely unnecessary and out of place.

This really bothered me, and I don't understand why such a brilliant writer would make such a serious misstep. The ending of the book, while it didn't tie everything together in the neat bow that I'm used to with Simmons's work, did conclude satisfactorily.

Overall, despite the implausible twists and turns in the story, they were still entertaining. That, along with the ending, is enough for me to give this book three stars. However, I must say that this story in any other author's hands would have been simply unbearable.

I don't ever plan to read this one again, but I will have to keep it as it is a signed copy. I don't recommend this book unless you are a die-hard Simmons fan. To anyone else, I highly recommend Hyperion, which is my favorite novel.

Dan Simmons is an author who holds a special place in my literary heart. He wrote one of the very first books that I ever classified as an all-time favorite. Since then, I have delved into and relished a number of his other works. So, when I chanced upon a book of his that I had never before encountered, my excitement knew no bounds. The premise of this particular book sounded not only cool but also incredibly interesting.

However, as I began to read, I soon found myself facing a rather unexpected challenge. This book had me on the verge of adding it to my DNF (Did Not Finish) shelf on several occasions. The flashback chapters, in which Simmons delved into extremely technical details regarding his mind reading abilities, were excruciatingly difficult to get through. I simply could not, even in the vaguest sense, wrap my brain around the complex concepts he was presenting.

And then, as I neared the end, the final few chapters completely lost me. While I did enjoy certain parts of the story, in the grand scheme of things, they didn't amount to much. It's almost as if I liked them all as individual pieces of separate stories, but when combined into one cohesive whole, they felt strange and disjointed.

In the end, this book was a bit of a disappointment for me, despite my initial high hopes.

I've never been so extremely divided in my opinion about a book before.

On one hand, Jeremy and Gail's relationship was truly captivating. The closeness they shared through their telepathy and the ability to "mindtouch" was deeply moving in a way that will stay with me for a long time. It's rare for a story to bring me to tears within just the first few passages.

However, on the other hand, the effort to explain their ability, along with aspects of human personality, reality, and the universe, seemed completely不协调 with the tone of the rest of the book. All the mentions of math and neuroscience, combined with long and meandering passages that connected the world to quantum mechanics, it gave the impression of a jumble of words similar to what I've seen in places like r/iamverysmart.

Perhaps I'm just more like Gail. *shrugs*

Simmons in his prime was truly untouchable. Even this work, which might be considered relatively middling by his standards, still far surpasses that of his contemporaries.

The vividness of the prose, the authenticity of the characters and locations, and the expert interleaving of points of view all contribute to making it a highly propulsive read.

However, the novel does have its shortcomings. At first glance, it may seem that the events in the second act are not truly necessary or connected to those in the first and third acts. But the trials and tribulations that Simmons subjects Bremen to are what ultimately teach him the lessons he needs.

People also seem to misunderstand the ending, which is not as optimistic as they assume. Additionally, one of the main flaws of the novel is that one of the story threads, specifically the German physicist plot, is rather blatantly schlocky in its execution.

Simmons also makes the common mistake of having his scientist characters not speak or act like scientists at all. Some of the novel's ideas don't quite mesh together perfectly either.

But aside from these minor criticisms, this is an excellent work, far more than the sum of its parts. There is a profound depth of poetic insight that runs throughout the novel, especially in the elegiac third act.

And when Simmons wants to instill fear in the reader, he does so with great ease. The sense of near-panic practically oozes from the words.

This is a solid early work by one of the all-time greats in the field of speculative fiction.

Audiobook notes: Mark Boyet does an excellent job of reading this. He may very well be one of the best narrators I've ever heard. He varies the voices with great subtlety and conviction.

He takes a bit of liberty with the speed of his delivery, and I would have preferred it if the audio engineers had inserted some pauses to indicate paragraph breaks. But overall, it's excellent. Oh, and one of the chapters plays twice in a row, which is rather strange.

This book is not advisable for those who are starting in science fiction.

As it may seem to you that the author is a bit crazy if you are not accustomed to reading about this genre.

The way this book takes that sense of emptiness that a person may feel when losing a loved one and adds the application of science in telepathy makes it an interesting story in parts for an open-minded person.

In addition to this, it has very crazy scenes that you have to read twice to make sure you are reading them correctly.

However, despite these drawbacks, the book does have its redeeming qualities.

The author's imagination is truly remarkable, and the story does have some engaging moments.

If you are willing to overlook the initial strangeness and give the book a chance, you may find that it has more to offer than you initially thought.

Overall, while this book may not be the best choice for beginners in science fiction, it could still be an interesting read for those who are more experienced in the genre and are looking for something a little different.

Jeremy is a telepath. When his wife passes away, he is plunged into a state of total depression. He is constantly bombarded with the evil thoughts of mankind, which only serves to deepen his despondency. Then, he embarks on an odyssey filled with quite unlikely events.

The story is quite uneven. The different parts seem to be disjointed and do not work together cohesively. It combines elements of a serial killer story, a mob story, a tragic love story, and a science story. The science story, in particular, appears to be quite superfluous. Simmons seems to be intrigued by the idea that the human mind could be like a standing wave. However, 30 years later, we know that there is no basis for this claim. As a result, I had no inclination to read this material. It mixes real physics with speculation and what I consider to be B.S. I simply don't like that.

Big portions of the book are rather depressing. The character development is also choppy. The motivation of the main protagonist is not truly understandable. He transitions from being a mathematician to a hobo, then to a cowboy, and finally to a gambler. He doesn't seem to plan or think.

At the end, it becomes really silly, which led me to downgrade it from a rating of 3/5 to 2/5.

Let me begin by saying that for the most part, I LOVE Dan Simmons. I was very excited when this book arrived and dug right in.

That's when my disappointment hit. I couldn't wait for this book to end. Within the first third of the book, I caught myself skimming. Throughout the rest of the book, I struggled with the fact that I was not enjoying the story and had to force myself to read.

This was a book that should have been about telepathy and mind reading, should have been a very exciting read, and could have been brilliant. Instead, Simmons spends large parts of the book dropping the plot and spending page after page explaining the physics behind mind reading. And it doesn't make a whole lot of rational sense.

Jumping back and forth between a plot that could have been entertaining and a lecture on the physics of mind reading wore out my brain. Especially since the physics part was completely unnecessary to the story. Then you throw in the completely out of nowhere idea that a mind reader would end up in all the different situations that occur in this book, from serial killers to gun-wielding Mafioso. None of it came together.

I struggled with this book, not because it was overly difficult, but because it was completely un-engaging to me. I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, it just didn't deliver.