Monkey Business...

This was an excellent book, even if you've enjoyed the original film (and who hasn't?). You can clearly see the inspiration for the classic movie, but the book moves in a slightly different direction. You will find the principle characters of Nova, Cornelius, Zira, and Dr. Zaius. Beyond that, I won't divulge any specifics about the story, as it has its own little twists and turns. For the Planet of the Apes completist, I say quit monkeying around and listen to this one!

10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

You've Seen the Movies, Now Read the Book!

Even if you're very familiar with the classic 1968 Charlton Heston movie, there are a few surprises and plot twists here that make this an interesting and exciting listen. The main character is Ulysse, a French journalist who journeys with two other intrepid astronauts to the distant star, Betelgeuse, where they, of course, come upon the Planet of the Apes, inhabited by primitive humans and technologically advanced chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. The themes are somewhat different from those of the movie, but this is a well written and exciting book with a tightly-constructed plot, which also raises interesting questions about the ethics of animal research and social behaviors which can bring about the death of a civilization. Well narrated.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I have not criticism to offer

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I love this book so much that I was sad that Pierre Boulle had no other books on audible to offer. He does an excellent job of verbalizing the main characters frustration with trying to prove his intellect to the apes without losing his mind.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nova, she's definitely not that bright but I do appreciate that she gets smarter... maybe not smart enough to graduate from the third grade but it's a start.

Which scene was your favorite?

The end... I have nothing left to say about it but it was quite the ending.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I didn't have to work and eat, I would have listened in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I hope more of his writing gets translated into english and become available on audible

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

The Movie was good, but the book is even better

Years ago I saw the planet of the apes movies and thought they were excellent science fiction movies. I stumbled onto this audio book and took a chance on it - so glad I did. I always thought that the original movie had an iconic ending, but honestly the ending of the book is even better. The writing is clever and the story line unique. The characters are interesting and well developed. The narrator does an outstanding job. It is just an excellent book, if you enjoy science fiction I would highly recommend this book. The ending is a complete surprise, very different from the movie.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

ORANGUTANS ARE OFFICIAL SCIENCE

GORILLAS ARE MEAT EATERS
This is a great intelligent read. If you pick this up looking forward to the campy war like gorillas in the movie, you will be disappointed. Gorillas are the physical ones, they do hunt and kill humans, but instead of wearing leather, they wear the clothes of gentlemen.

ORANGUTANS
They are the stogy heads of science. THEY READ BOOKS, THAN WRITE BOOKS, REPEATING WHAT THEY READ. They have little imagination, but lots of power. I am wondering if Boulle was making a statement about a certain group of scientists?

The Chimps
All science advancements come from this group. They are they opened minded ones with imagination.

The story
This is more of an intellectual read with discussions on evolution, devolution, treatment of animals in labs and much more than the movies. The movies are good, but they went they way of more violence to get the ratings. I like the book, much better. The book has it's own twists and turns, that goes one better than the movie. Writing is superb, with plenty of story and intensity.

22 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

It's Pretty Good

It's pretty good but not as great as I remembered from reading it when I was in middle-school. Also, I think the original movie was much better than the book.

magnificent

while I grew up on the movies this book delivered a more compelling and eye opening story. there are many similarities compare to the movie, but the differences outweighs it and makes this story better to me. 5/5 great story

Interesting to finally read the original story.

Well worth reading for Planet of the Apes fans, or just general sci-fi readers. It's interesting to note the differences between this and the film versions, what was kept and what was simplified or just left out altogether. It was well read by the performer aa well.

Very good

I read the book 30 some years ago. They did a great job with the audio book version. I wish that they'd do the other books in audio form as well.

The new franchise should have read this book.

There is a striking theme to this story. A warning? A way to look at our own frailties through the eyes of another species. while the original Franchise did justice to the author's intent, the new franchise used the name to sell their own stories. This remarkable story is an example of the power of good Science Fiction.