Product Details
Lincoln's Dreams

Lincoln's Dreams
By Connie Willis

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Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #162310 in Books
  • Published on: 1992-07
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Mass Market Paperback
  • 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Very disappointed1
So disappointing after all her other books which I have loved. I couldn't engage with any of the sketchily-drawn characters or the plot, or even understand why it was called Lincoln's Dreams when it seemed to be about Lee's. Other than to own the answer-machine Broun seemed pointless and all the characterisation so shallow that the story did not build up any suspense, and fizzled out at the end anyway. Left me feeling more baffled than interested

Moving, tragic tale5
I found this novel immensely moving. Should it be called, 'Lincoln's Dreams' or 'Robert E. Lee's dreams'? The title is puzzlingly at odds with the plot, but I loved the way the modern setting, and the frantic chase through America the main characters were involved in, melded with the Civil War passages. For a British reader for whom the details of the American Civil War are hazy at best, this was hugely enlightening, giving a sense of what the Civil War means to modern Americans, particularly Southerners.

It has its tragic elements, so don't look for a cheery romp such as Ms Willis provides in 'To Say Nothing of the Dog'; but for an intense, gripping tale full of pathos and anguish, yet which is still life-affirming, this is hard to beat.

Character driven, page-turning stuff4
Get a few things out in the open - this isn't "typical" science fiction (no robots, guys), it certainly isn't a war story (no big bangs, guys) but what it is is an intense little story about a small number of people, and primarily just two. And by the end of the book you really feel that you know these people.

Don't get me wrong, this is really page turning stuff, and when the end comes it isn't a nice tidy "all lived happily ever after" ending, but was that ever likely?

If Sci-Fi prizes are awarded for well-written work, it's not hard to see why this (first) book did so well.

It just seems a huge shame that Connie Willis is so little known in the UK.