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Manhattan Transfer
Manhattan Transfer
Manhattan Transfer
Audiobook15 hours

Manhattan Transfer

Written by John E. Stith

Narrated by Kevin T. Collins

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

When aliens abduct New York City, carrying it into space inside a huge dome, the citizens trapped inside must find out why, what they can do to save themselves . . . and to save the dozens of other cities which the aliens have stolen from other planets. Manhattan Transfer is a stunning tour-de-force of science fiction storytelling, with gripping action, believable characters, and a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 5, 2018
ISBN9781977379634

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Reviews for Manhattan Transfer

Rating: 3.825082557095709 out of 5 stars
4/5

303 ratings9 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    John Stith's "Manhattan Transfer" was first published in 1993 and has been reissued this year by ReAnimus Press. My copy was a free copy for review. The basic plot is fairly straightforward: Manhattan is abducted by aliens and those living in Manhattan decide to do something about it. Or, as the jacket says, "Aliens just kidnapped Manhattan. They messed with the wrong city".Stith's take on this is pretty straight up if not downright overly technical. Consequently, the book seems to plod along until about the two thirds way point when it picks up speed and begins to move along with some excitement. The twists and turns are coming fast and furious providing some pace, but often with such speed that development of plot or character that would explain the events is lost.Probably not on my top 10 list of what I would like to see brought back into print, but ReAnimus Press should be applauded for bringing back into print older sci fi
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Manhattan has been stolen! Not a person named Manhattan, nor the drink, nor some objet d?art with that unlikely name. No, the island ? the whole freaking island of Manhattan ? has been sealed in a transparent dome, dug up, and lifted off the earth.When it reaches its destination (?), the people inside the dome can see other domes containing other cities. Then begins a frenetic effort to survive, determine their circumstances, and hopefully, escape. John E. Stith?s Manhattan Transfer is science fiction in the epic style. With aliens aplenty, mind-boggling technology, and puny humans who must somehow prevail against impossible odds. Told from multiple points of view, Manhattan is a story shown primarily from the point of view of Matt Sheehan, a former soldier, who was riding the subway to his new job when the train was sliced up. He finds himself taking the lead in efforts to get out of the predicament the city?s residents find themselves in. After some searching, they find the abducting aliens, an arachnid-like race they call Archies. The question then becomes, are the Archies the dangerous predators they appear to be, or is there something else at work.You?ll have to read the book to find out, and, I assure you that you?ll be shocked. This is sci-fi as sci-fi was meant to be. A story told on a grand scale through the efforts of individuals to make sense of their environment. Heroic deeds; and some acts that are less than heroic. The characters, even the aliens, are believable; the technology is described in a way that makes you want to believe; and, the action is consistent with the environment Stith has created.If you like science fiction, don?t miss this book. If you?ve never read science fiction before, make this your introduction to this genre. You won?t be disappointed.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I won this book through Member Giveaways.I'm slowly working my way through this book but am having trouble staying interested long enough to keep reading it. I'm currently about halfway through, and will do my best to finish it. There are so many characters and the point of view keeps switching between them that it's a bit dizzying at times. Some of the threads that are becoming clear are either not interesting to me at all (a romance! but no, they can't be together under these circumstances!) or are completely unappealing (a religious zealot who will mess things up at the 11th hour but the day will be saved by the aforementioned romantic couple who will get together after saving the day!).I'm really, really interested in the exploration and alien life aspects. I would find this book much more interesting if it spent more time on those areas. I've also found myself thinking about how I'd react if my city were taken, and what we could do to make life easier for ourselves, like turning all of the available green spaces into food gardens. I don't think our mayor would do very well at all though, so I hope if we do get taken that it's after the next election. ;)I'm also a fan of how we're kept in the dark, and know as much as the characters do. We don't have any clues or insights in regards to why the city was taken, and that means that the reader is taken along, too, as the people of Manhattan respond to this crisis.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At about a third of the way through I was sure that this was going to be a favourite. The writing was cinematic, New York of the early 20th century was vibrant and pulsed from every page. Then the scope narrowed, Ellen and Jimmy Herf took centre stage, and the pacing dropped. Still, a wonderful read and a gorgeous depiction of big city life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The ferry-slip. A ferry, and a newborn baby. A young man comes to the metropolis and the story begins. It is a story of that metropolis: "The world's second metropolis." But it is really the latest in a line that extends backward in time to "Nineveh . . Athens . . . Rome . . . Constantinople . ." and others since.John Dos Passos presents stories of some of the people who call this metropolis, Manhattan, home near the beginning of the twentieth century. The novel is about New Yorkers and their stories -- numerous characters whose commonality is only their status as New Yorkers brought them together, impersonally and randomly. He does so with an engaging style that encompasses the sights, sounds, feelings, and excitement encountered by those who peopled this island metropolis. Each chapter begins with passages comprising observations of city life, newspaper headlines, bits and pieces of dialogue, and phrases from advertisements. All these passages emphasize that "Manhattan Transfer" is a collective novel about the city of New York, about its shallowness, immorality, and grinds of the urban life. The characters' lives only depict some of them.There are the dreams of new parents whose daughter, Ellen, is born at the opening of the novel. Her life and career will be one of two that span the course of the novel. But there are also young lovers, young men, down-and-outers, immigrants, swells, and others on the make with little but their dreams to keep them going. Some stories are about dreams shattered or those whose lives are stillborn,limited by poverty or lack of vision. The angry rebels are present as well -- those found on the street corner protesting for better treatment, better pay, or mimicking the ideas of radicals and anarchists of the day.Among the many stories some stand out. There is James Merivale who is born to wealth and a prosperous future and John Harland who has seen better days and lives on the verge of losing it all. There is the family man Ed Thatcher with his wife and newborn daughter Ellen (mentioned above). There is also the other character whose story will span the novel, Jimmy Herf, whose path will cross that of Ellen. Jimmy Herf works with the "Times" in a job that he finds unfulfilling eventually leaving this job. Jimmy's search for his dream will form another arc that provides a link for all the stories bringing the reader ultimately back to the ferry with which the book began. This arc is not unfamiliar in the sense it is similar to the arc of young Nicholas Rostov in War and Peace and many other young men since.Dos Passos' style is mesmerizing and fits perfectly with the story he tells. The characters form a mosaic that blends with the sights and sounds of Manhattan to create a world that is alive with all the possibilities, both successes and defeats, that humanity may experience. British novelist D. H. Lawrence wrote Manhattan Transfer is "the best modern book about New York" because it "becomes what life is, a stream of different things and different faces rushing along in the consciousness, with no apparent direction save that of time".The historical references include discussion of the "bonus marchers" of veterans requesting their military bonuses, references to Sarajevo, and other events; all of which provide a background that provides context for these peoples' lives. I found this book an exciting read that gripped my attention and did not let it go. I would highly recommend this modern classic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I learned the hard way that it is probably not a good idea to read this book if you are already feeling restless.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a book I recommend only to readers I know to patient. For the patient reader it is a treasure trove, a gem, and if a gem it must be emerald because it there ever was a book with a signature color it would be this one. At one point I began counting how many time the color green was mentioned, then any shade of green was mentioned. This is not to suggest that this book needed games such as mine to make it absorbing. Between the incisive character development, modern tough-sweet lyricism, the rhythmic pulse of the story Manhattan Transfer had style and substance to spare. Here is my review from when I read it in 2009 I had avoided Dos Passos novels for fear that they would be deadeningly political. Was I ever wrong? This book is wonderfully enjoyable. Told in impressionistic vignettes the book moves quickly as stars on the Manhattan stage rise and fall. Dos Passos indictment of the materialism and soulessness of turn of the century New York is told with neither sentiment nor heartlessness, but falls in a middle ground-dispassionate. The time frames can be confusing. For instance, in the beginning the book,the child Ellen is born, and carries her to a school- age. However,in the same section, the time lapse for Max, a wanderer hoping to find a job in the city, is only a few days elapse. Some characters are followed from childhood to adulthood, the two most promnient are Jimmy Herf and Ellen. Others appear briefly and then are never heard from again leaving a tantalizing void. On a peculiar note, I have never read a book where color is used in such an effective way. At times it seems as if colors shine dimly on the story, rather like gels have been but in can lights. And the color green is forever popping up. I have no idea if it was intentional. Very odd and intriguing. Really a fantastic book, and I am now going to search out more of dos Passos's books. Certainly my favorite book by a "one-eyed Portuguese bastard."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a dense read, but well worth the time. Dos Passos' language and metaphors are brilliant, and his characters as entertaining as they are realistic. It's a book that you need to spend time with because, fair warning, there are dozens of characters to keep track of, but the atmosphere of early twentieth century New York is flawlessly portrayed, and the book as a whole is a masterpiece of careful portrayal and interpretation. This is a book that bears up under reading and rereading, and it's worth the time to explore. It's not an easy read, but I highly recommend it when you have the time to fully escape into a piece of literature for a few days.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Dos Passos is an American writer I'm coming to appreciate more and more. This book originally published in 1925--is very experimental in nature following a variety of threads occuring often simultaneously and which more often than not resemble an impressionistic and cinematic style reliant on newspaper headlines and tin pan alley popular musical lyrics to fill the gaps between scenes and/or to flesh the scenes out. Dos Passos has a very good eye for detail and is very keen on showing the gap between the rich and the poor--those who are defeated far outweighing in numbers the success stories. The two main characters of Jimmy Herf--an orphan brought up in well to do circumstances by his mothers' wealthy family who somewhat to their chagrin rejects the opportunity to join the family business--and becomes a newspaper man instead and Elaine Thatcher an aspiring actress on Broadway being chased by a whole host of would be suitors--and both of whom over the course of events eventually hook up to raise the child of the man Elaine really loved--who had accidentally killed himself. There are however no real happy endings here. The marraige is doomed from the start and as the book ends the penniless Mr. Herf is to be seen hitchhiking out of New York out to what one would hope to be a new and better horizon.Anyway liked it very much.