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by Alan F Geyer
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by J. C. Oates
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by Daniel Hearn
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by John Wesley Howard
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Berserker (Berserker, Bk. 1)
by Fred Saberhagen
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Ace (1986-09-15)
ISBN: 0441054951
EAN: 9780441054954
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Paperback
SKU: mon0000047039
Condition: Good
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Customer Reviews
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A review of the audiobook
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-10-26
I just stumbled upon "Berserker", not realizing that there is an entire series of these books. I'm not terribly surprised, the structure of the first book lends itself to sequel after sequel.
The premise of the book is that giant intelligent killing space machines are out to destroy all of the life they discover. Why? We are never told, but we assume that they are by-products of a long-ended war by a long-forgotten people.
This first volume was written in the late 1960s. The only reason I point this out is that I believe that the 1960s was an especially fertile time for science fiction, especially sci-fi that wanted to discuss big issues and themes. For example, TV's "Star Trek" and "Twilight Zone" are often more than a creepy story or a space alien story - they explore deep themes, such as "What is beauty?" and "What does it mean to be human?". Saberhagen openly explores these themes and more.
Saberhagen bounces around from one episode in humankind's struggle against these machines to another, giving the reader (in my case, listener) a bit of the flavor of the struggle as a whole. There are minor battles, major battles, backroom political struggles, stories of prisoners, accidental encounters and attempts to make peace. All stories are told by an alien historian in short story format. Some characters overlap from story to story but many do not.
Abuse of power, treason, forgiveness, revenge and what it means to be human are themes that Saberhagen explores. The quality of the stories vary. The first one is particularly weak in my opinion, so don't let it deter you from continuing on.
The audiobook is well read, with Aaron Lustig and Henry Strozier sharing the work - one acts as the historian narrator that introduces each short story while the other reads the main body of the book.
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Not Free SF Reader
Rating (4)
Date: 2007-09-03
The Berserker groups function as Von Neumann machines. They are leftovers from a war between some aliens many years and the past, and are now on a quest to get rid of all that nasty smelly organic life stuff.
This is a bit of a problem for humanity, being humans are nasty smelly organic life stuff. War ensues between machines, humans and allies.
A classic collection of man vs machine space war, as the intelligent Berserker machines decide that organics are 'badlife' and want to exterminate or at least change some they keep into 'goodlife' to be more like them.
Some stories of the overall commanders of parts of this conflict, and some that are just isolated incidents.
Berserker : Without a Thought [Fortress Ship] - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : Goodlife - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : Patron of the Arts - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : The Peacemaker [The Life Hater] - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : Stone Place - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : What T and I Did - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : Mr. Jester - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : Masque of the Red Shift - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : Sign of the Wolf - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : In the Temple of Mars - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker : The Face of the Deep - Fred Saberhagen
Berserker fancies a game.
3 out of 5
Life is evil, need to experiment on it a bit.
4 out of 5
Berserker no critic, more of a collector.
3.5 out of 5
Love cancer removal machine.
3.5 out of 5
High Command faction Berserker fleet action decision.
4 out of 5
Facing prison brain surgery.
3 out of 5
Levity defense exile return politics.
4 out of 5
Big star leadership freeze out massacre revival.
3.5 out of 5
Planetary defense shepherd.
4 out of 5
Big new ships and Berserker kults.
3.5 out of 5
Hypermass falling engagement rescue.
3.5 out of 5
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Good premise but I found it kind of dry.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2005-06-08
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I liked the idea of the man versus machine, but felt that none of the characters were really developed. Although it was competently written, it seemed more like an outline than a finished book.
I like some of Saberhagen's Berserker short stories, and bought this book on the basis of those, but the book just didnt hold my interest. About halfway through I found myself skimming through it, and realized I just wasnt connecting with the book. I found the premise more compelling than the actual reading. Some good moments, but it just didnt grab me emotionally. Saberhagen's style is terse and dry, and I prefer writers with a more poetic style.
Like Asimov's 'Foundation', it is really a collection of separate stories, so it lacks the continuity and plot threads of a fully realized novel. Not bad, but I wouldnt rate it a classic.
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Mutually Assured Destruction on a cosmic scale
Rating (4)
Date: 2004-05-17
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
If, somewhere in this universe two interstellar enemies assumed the trait humanity demonstrated during the 20th Century, took 'I'd rather be dead than Red' to the ultimate logical extreme, killed one another off entirely after having set their killing machines on autopilot, just to make certain, you'd have the 'other side' in the Berserkers series. Mankind innocently encounters the machines somewhere in his future and finds himself at war with them.This series appears on the surface to be a relatively simple, fairly shallow-but-entertaining set of stories. Maybe that's the way it was intended. But if you scrape off the surface and consider the implications I believe you'll appreciate it more. This book and all those in the Berserker series are worth reading for their intertainment value. If you pause afterward and ponder what the author might have been saying about humanity, so much the better.
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Mutually Assured Destruction on a cosmic scale
Rating (4)
Date: 2004-05-17
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
If, somewhere in this universe two interstellar enemies assumed the trait humanity demonstrated during the 20th Century, took 'I'd rather be dead than Red' to the ultimate logical extreme, killed one another off entirely after having set their killing machines on autopilot, just to make certain, you'd have the 'other side' in the Berserkers series. Mankind innocently encounters the machines somewhere in his future and finds himself at war with them.This series appears on the surface to be a relatively simple, fairly shallow-but-entertaining set of stories. Maybe that's the way it was intended. But if you scrape off the surface and consider the implications I believe you'll appreciated it more. This book and all those in the Berserker series are worth reading for their intertainment value. If you pause afterward and ponder what the author might have been saying about humanity, so much the better.
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