A Matter for Men

The War Against the Chtorr, Book 1

By: David Gerrold

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

With the human population ravaged by a series of devastating plagues, the alien Chtorr arrive to begin the final phase of their invasion. Even as many on Earth deny their existence, the giant wormlike carnivores prepare the world for the ultimate violation - the enslavement of humanity for food!

©1983, 1989 David Gerrold (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Entertaining Story

Where does A Matter for Men rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Middle

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Matter for Men?

Do not have one.

What does John Pruden bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Unknown

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

No

Any additional comments?

I found this story very listenable and engaging. A good enjoyable listen.

Great philosophy lessons by his professor.

Decent science fiction story. Good narration. Leaves questions to be answered in sequels. Plan to get next book.

not for me

not for me. not horrible just not me. started slow, middle slow, end OK if you can make it.

Awesome

Glad to see these titles out on audio. A splendid read and an awesome listen.

Audio points out the highs and lows in this title

I've read "A Matter for Men" several times, and always loved it.

.... In listening to it? I think I didn't realize how much of it I must have skipped through a bit.

I thought John Pruden did a fine job, tho maybe not really wading into the emotions as much as could have been done. His voice choice for James the MC was lovely, a nice blend of cocky and clueless.

The thing I did notice is that Gerrold really wrote this one in a very 1960's concept style.

"A Matter For Men"... is SLOW at times, preachy frequently, and I think the narrative and protagonist self-discovery suffer a bit from a desire to be more Orwellian, and also Heinleinian... the result, especially when listening to an audio performance, is times when I really just wished the book would GET ON WITH IT already.

Production values were excellent, Audible Studios did a nice job on this one. Clean, clear and easy to listen to.

Definitely worth a credit, probably won't do a re-listen unless I'm stuck in an airport at some point tho.

Well thought out, planned and written.

I’ve reread this book several times since I read it 30 years ago. I enjoyed it nearly as mist as the first time. I recognize some of the philosophical points used at various parts of the story. Makes me wonder is Mr. Gerrald was exposed to the V-50 lectures or students of it.

Great books- but know it was never finished.

I absolutely loved this book and its 3 sequels. Good, gritty post apocalyptic alien invasion storyline. Interesting and tormented main character. Not much to not like. In the later books the author goes to some dark places and touches on subjects you may wish he would have avoided - but everything feels true to the character and the world the author has created.

You need to know one thing before buying : book 4 ends with an extreme cliffhanger... and fans have been waiting since the early 1990's for a resolution. Mr. Gerrold still says he's working on it - but the fairly imminent release of book 5 has been promised repeatedly, and for about 20 years. The series is supposed to end with a total of 7 books - but again after book 4 there has been nothing.

I still highly recommend the series - but only start it if you can accept the story as unfinished and sadly very likely to remain so.

A pulpy romp with unnecessary lectures

Humans fighting giant worms in a post-apocalyptic setting is a premise that leads you to expect certain things from a book: action, monsters and macho humor. It's all here, but surprisingly there are also some fairly progressive values and unusual character choices, which put this tome way ahead of its times (1983).

The writing is mostly solid, but the author has a soft spot for endless libertarian screeds, which take up such a wide swathe of the book that they can no longer be considered world building. They hold up the plot and are left to hang like some strange, randian appendix from the rest of the story.

Outside of those this is an interesting, pulpy adventure with a solid reader.

Holden Caulfield in Space

Fun story wrapped around an amazing pragmatic philosophical treatise. I read this around 25 years ago and recently listened to the audiobook. It was more meaningful now that I've had time to reflect on what Whitlaw taught and how it actually held up to my experience and it surprised me how insightful Mr. Gerrold was.

20 years and no book 5, be warned

Yes this is an alien invasion post apocalyptic book. However, its not about flying saucers and heat rays. The invader is an alien Eco-system. The concept is know as the Panspermia Theory. So it's less about fighting greys with lasers and more about fighting a deadly invasive ecology. Product of alien evolution or bio engineered? /shrug Join the fun and listen to the book.

The part of the book that might turn some of you off as was mentioned by other reviewers is a main character who is really smart but is also an annoying putz. I don't mind that so much; not all my heroes need be flawless demi gods. And he also goes into some weird interpersonal adventures over the 4 books that can be cringe worthy for some listeners. Being an open-minded sort helps.

Also, in Jim's America, the government is modeled straight out of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. It's an idealized version of Fascism. Individual wants come second to the "states" needs all in the name of efficiency and proper resource allocation. If you watched the movie Starship troopers or read the book, you'll remember the classroom scene where the politic philosophy of this kinder and gentler fascism is explained. Gerrold recreates this for the reader so you'll understand the history, world, and political system Jim must navigate. Also the third world (called the forth world) is portrayed as irrational, greedy, and constantly playing the colonial victim card .

Its fiction, take it for what it is, don't make it personal.

I really loved reading (and now lsitening, thank you, thank you, thank you, Audible Studios) to this and the others over time.

Books 1 through 4 have been a strange and crazy ride through Jim's world. But I don't regret reading the series even if it never is finished.

If you must have closure, you may want to pass. If you believe, like the Great Pumpkin, that fifth book is coming. Then you'll want to catch up with the series and be good to go when the fifth book/audiobook gets released.