Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: I am a big fan of Sawyer, having read pretty much all his novels now. I started with the more recent stuff(the fantastic FlashForward for one!) and worked my way back. I didn't have great expectations for this book since it is one of his oldest sci-fi books. Actually, I think its his oldest book still in print. Anyhow, the book itself is very, very good. It takes the tired theme of space travel and manages to make it enjoyable. There are some definate parallels to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Sawyer manages to keep the pace quick and the storyline gripping. It's hard to explain exactly why I like it so much except to say that I could not put it down when it hit the stretch run. I HAD to finish it. Unfortuantely, that is not something that I can always say about books I've read.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good
Review: I am a big fan of Sawyer, having read pretty much all his novels now. I started with the more recent stuff(the fantastic FlashForward for one!) and worked my way back. I didn't have great expectations for this book since it is one of his oldest sci-fi books. Actually, I think its his oldest book still in print. Anyhow, the book itself is very, very good. It takes the tired theme of space travel and manages to make it enjoyable. There are some definate parallels to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but Sawyer manages to keep the pace quick and the storyline gripping. It's hard to explain exactly why I like it so much except to say that I could not put it down when it hit the stretch run. I HAD to finish it. Unfortuantely, that is not something that I can always say about books I've read.
Rating: 
Summary: The first novel from the heir apparent to Clarke
Review: I can't believe the (one) negative review below! It cites no facts to back up its case. Sawyer's science is impeccable, and he is clearly the heir to Clarke (more so than to Asimov or Clement, the other two authors the negative guy below cites), in that he writes REAL science fiction, and also deals with shall we say metaphysical issues. This is a remarkable novel, one of the best SF/mysteries ever (perhaps not as good as Asimov's THE CAVES OF STEEL but certainly better than Niven's LONG A.R.M. OF GIL HAMILTON). But don't believe me, or the negative guy below. Believe ORSON SCOTT CARD, who named this book the best SF novel of its year! Five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mix of sci-fi and mystery
Review: I thought this was a terrific book, really well done with good characters and good plot, and lots of nifty speculations about A.I. Sawyer has clearly read Minsky and other A.I. theorists, and does a great job creating his thinking computer, JASON.
Rating: 
Summary: Aurora Award-winning novel, back in print at last!
Review: My first novel, long out of print, reissued in a fabulous new (and revised) acid-free--paper trade-paperback edition from Tor, with a terrific cover by Hugo-winning artist Bob Eggleton. I'm really thrilled about this reissue!HONORS FOR THIS BOOK * Named Best SF Novel of 1990 in Orson Scott Card's Year-End Summation in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION. * Winner of the Aurora Award for Best Novel of the Year. * Winner of the CompuServe SF&F Forum's HOMer Award for Best First Novel of 1990. * Finalist for the Seiun Award, Japan's top honor in SF. * Included on the LOCUS Recommended Reading List. * A selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. REVIEW EXCERPTS ORSON SCOTT CARD, Hugo and Nebula winning author of ENDER'S GAME, in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION (Connecticut): "Sawyer gives us something rare in this age of the quotidian hero: a genuine tragedy. It is no accident that he invokes Greek myth in the title of the book. Sawyer is willing to play on the same field as Aeschylus and Euripides, and he proves himself equal to the task. JASON is, in my opinion, the deepest computer character in all of science fiction. And Aaron is, in my opinion, one of the most well-drawn, fallible, _human_ detectives I've encountered in mystery fiction -- in a league with, say, [Ruth] Rendell's Inspector Wexford. You might as well buy two copies in the first place -- one to read and keep, and one to shove at your friends, saying, `Read this! Now!' How good is GOLDEN FLEECE? A friend of mine -- an English professor -- used to ask, whenever he saw me, `Why are you still writing that spaceship stuff?' Now I can answer. Because _this_ is possible." AMAZING STORIES (Wisconsin): "A compelling thriller. There's more than enough suspense to pull readers briskly through the pages." ANALOG (New York): "The writing is smooth and the reading effortless. The characters -- even JASON -- evoke your sympathy. I'm looking forward to what Sawyer does next." BAKKA BOOKS in-store review (Toronto): "Sawyer returns us to the Science Fiction of ideas and does so with a clarity of prose seldom seen these days. Well done and highly recommended." BOOKS IN CANADA (Toronto): "Surprisingly poignant. Sawyer carries it off with wit and imagination." THE BOOKWATCH (The Midwest Book Review): "A thrilling science fiction adventure told from the viewpoint of a murderous computer." Physicist ROBERT W. BUSSARD, inventor of the Bussard ramjet: "It reads grandly. Good, interesting, and entertaining, too." CIRCULAR OF JANUS, Circle of Janus SF Club of Central Indiana: "One of the best new SF novels of 1990. The humor is refreshingly offbeat, the sequence of events anything but trite. Recommended." THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada's national newspaper: "A wonderful science fiction novel, better than the movie _2001_." COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE (Wisconsin): "JASON is excellent, and his fast-paced and sometimes witty, sometimes naive narration keeps you turning the pages all the way to the end." CHARLES DE LINT in SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW (Oregon): "The prose, characterization, pacing, speculation and storyline are so assured, it's hard to believe that this is a first effort." ANDREW WEINER: "Echoes both Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl, but in a voice that is distinctly Sawyer's own. Sawyer's murderous AI, JASON, is one of the most memorable creations in contemporary SF." Prof. David Ketterer in CANADIAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY (Indiana University Press): "Sawyer, via his well-drawn detective, Aaron Rossman (ex-husband of the victim), resolves this SF mystery (coupled with Greek myth) in a thoroughly satisfying manner that is all his own." LAN'S LANTERN (Michigan): "A very interesting first novel, worthy of close attention by SF readers." LIBRARY JOURNAL (New York): "Expertly combines mystery and sf in a fast-moving thriller. Recommended." LOCUS: THE NEWSPAPER OF THE SCIENCE FICTION FIELD (California): "Surprising and ingenious." MYSTERY SCENE (Indiana): "With JASON, Sawyer's created one of the most interesting characters in years. Suspenseful, entertaining, inventive, thought-provoking, and funny. I enjoyed this one a lot. Highly recommended." THE NIAGARA GAZETTE (Niagara Falls, New York): "Like reading _Jaws_ from the shark's point of view. GOLDEN FLEECE is a refreshingly different science-fiction mystery" with "a double-wham conclusion in the style of _Twilight Zone_." QUILL & QUIRE: CANADA'S MAGAZINE OF BOOK NEWS AND REVIEWS (Toronto): "A well-paced page-turner replete with hard science." READING FOR PLEASURE (Maryland): "This is one of the best written books I've read this last year, both in style and inventiveness. Go now and search for the GOLDEN FLEECE; it may be your most fulfilling quest of 1991." SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE (New York): "Fascinating" with a "double surprise ending." SIDETREKKED, Science Fiction London (London, Ontario): "Reminiscent of Heinlein at his best." THE TORONTO STAR: "An elegant spacecraft mystery. A compelling tale of deception that relies more on sociology than technology." TORUS: "SF mysteries are particularly difficult to write but Sawyer pulls this one off with elan. It's a solid, intelligent and entertaining novel -- one that many more-experienced authors would be proud to have written."
Rating: 
Summary: Blecch!
Review: Robert Sawyer seems like a parody of what the world generally thinks about hard sf writers: boring, pedantic, with leaden prose, the psychological insight of a backward 11-year-old, and, at all times, an obviously greater concern for the intricacies of the science he's lecturing about than for the demands of story or character. That last is a mixed blessing, as he writes in LOTS of science detail to show off his research, BUT he feels free to break the laws of physics when they get in the way of how he wants things to turn out. This tends to weaken the solitary strength he commands. Despite the awards he's been nominated for and won, I feel strongly that Sawyer is the James Fenimore Cooper of our time. I just wish that someone with the verbal acuity and wit of Mark Twain were around to as carefully elucidate Sawyer's literary offenses. And, it is important to remember, there are folks who love the fantasies of Cooper. I read Sawyer's "Starplex" because it was nominated for a Hugo. I read this one because a number of folks told me I was off the mark on Sawyer, and should try something else he'd written. I should have been warned by the title of this one--I certainly felt I'd been fleeced. If you like the works of such writers as Hal Clement, Arthur C. Clarke, or Isaac Asimov: AVOID THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: science fiction at its best
Review: Science fiction is supposed to be a genre that uses real science to tell a good story with morals, lessons and ideas. Sawyer does exactly that in The Golden Fleece (no Greek mythology fans, the title is not coincidental). It explores AI, ET and human psychology, the only three forms of consciousness in a very interesting and profound but scientific way. One of those good books that gets you asking yourself certain moral questions for days after having finished it. A great read, my personal favorite of Sawyers after reading almost all his other great books.
Rating:
Summary: AI Murder Mystery...
Review: The best and brightest (and youngest) of Earth have boarded the 'Argo,' a colonization ship bound for Eta Cephei IV. A city in space that is blasting toward this new earth-like planet, the people have their world turned upside down when one of them dies in an accident that might not be an accident after all. Told in a winning 1st-person narrative style from the point of view of the AI that runs the ship (JASON), "The Golden Fleece" is a great read, and a murder mystery to boot. As always, Sawyer has blended more than one plot into one here: Was the crewmember killed or was it an accident? Why was she killed, if it indeed was murder? Coupled with the exploration of the AI as a character, the grief and confusion of the murder victim's ex-husband, and a strong Science Fiction overtone, you've got a great read ahead of you. With echoes of 2001, "The Golden Fleece," reads somewhat straightforwardly at times, but it still a remarkably entertaining book from the Canadian master of SF. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: AI Murder Mystery...
Review: The best and brightest (and youngest) of Earth have boarded the 'Argo,' a colonization ship bound for Eta Cephei IV. A city in space that is blasting toward this new earth-like planet, the people have their world turned upside down when one of them dies in an accident that might not be an accident after all. Told in a winning 1st-person narrative style from the point of view of the AI that runs the ship (JASON), "The Golden Fleece" is a great read, and a murder mystery to boot. As always, Sawyer has blended more than one plot into one here: Was the crewmember killed or was it an accident? Why was she killed, if it indeed was murder? Coupled with the exploration of the AI as a character, the grief and confusion of the murder victim's ex-husband, and a strong Science Fiction overtone, you've got a great read ahead of you. With echoes of 2001, "The Golden Fleece," reads somewhat straightforwardly at times, but it still a remarkably entertaining book from the Canadian master of SF. 'Nathan
Rating: 
Summary: An A.I. with an attitude
Review: The narrator of this book is the artificially intelligent computer running a huge starship, and the first thing it says (prior to killing a character who has uncovered some uncomfortable facts regarding the mission,) is "I love that they trusted me blindly." I felt like telling it "Well of course they trust you blindly! What else can they do but trust you blindly? To not trust you completely they would have to exist all the time in a state of great and paranoid fear! Would that be preferable to you?" Despite the fact that I thought the A.I. (which the author calls a "Quant-Con,") manipulative and not a very good psychologist, (plus it says of the researcher it kills with intense radiation, "Her face was a mask of horror...(Her's) would have an interesting death to watch." Very off-putting...) I found this story worth buying and reading. I was confused by the author's seeming to acknowledge that FTL travel was impossible and then later revealing that it is after all possible. I kept expecting Jason (the A.I.,) to say something like, "Ah, But we Quant-Cons have found a loophole in Einstein's law...", but he never did. This and a problem with Bussard ramjets were never addressed, but physics problems in sci-fi books I don't find iinherently disqualifying, (as long as they're handled right,) because it seems to me that to be too nit-pickey about this would be to instantly discard about 99.5% of the genre, and also because we might not know everything yet.
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