Rating: 
Summary: More than just a sci-fi story
Review: What is this book? A fascinating hard sci-fi story, a philosophical novel, an ode to mathematics, a celebration of a futuristic, amazingly complex winter city- it is all that. But all this complex scenery is , I think, just a background - for a process of growing, of vastening, of one very complex man called Mallory Ringess. This angry and ambitious pilot is the most vivid, growing, evolving character that I've ever encountered in Sci-fi literature. I warmly recommend this thought-provoking book. It is one of my all-time favorites; I must have read it dozens of times - my copy is nearly falling apart now.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Dune
Review: You can tell that you're in trouble when the publishers compare the book to Dune. Put it down ! I struggled to pick it up. I don't often fail to finish a book, but this was one. Pretentious, not half. I bought my copy in a clearance book shop which means that the publisher countn't shift all their copies at the normal price. How old are the other reviewers ?
Rating: 
Summary: a great start
Review: Zindell's first novel, and it is epic SF in the grand tradition. Epic? Yes. It is long (552 pages in the paperback edition), set on a grand scale (the main character works his way up from an initiate star pilot to godhead), full of esoteric musings on the nature of mathematics, life and love. Gee, sounds a bit like Dune, doesn't it? The comparison is apt. Each chapter here starts with a quote, mainly from a fictitious book; the plot involves both personal mysteries as well as scientific mysteries; the plot centers around the only son of a "ruling" dynasty; and there are guilds and trades with strange and bizarre powers. But Zindell, for all these similarities, has not copied Herbert. He's also thrown in quite a bit of Aldiss, Heinlein and Sturgeon. This is not a novel for a first-time SF reader. It's like modern jazz, in which the latest work is composed of variations on previous themes, and while the new listener might be able to enjoy it, chances are that they will have a difficult time understanding it.The real problem with Neverness, however, is in its pacing. Some episodes seem to drag on interminably, while others fly past at the speed of light. Part of this is due to the fact that at least one section had been published previously as a stand-alone short story, and it may be true that other sections were written to stand alone as well. But, even given the above, this is an impressive achievement as a first novel. There's a lot of imagination here in world- and culture-building, and the writing, while not spectacular, isn't dry or stilted either. With some more maturity as a writer, Zindell could be a major contender.
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