An easy read and mildly entertaining. I didn’t really connect with the characters, which was a shame, and I wish there had been more time spent exploring the time travel aspect of things. But hey, can't complain about mammoths! If you're looking for a light science fiction novel, John Varley's "Mammoth: A Novel" might be worth checking out. For me, it was a decent, but not outstanding, addition to the mammoth-related book reviews I've read.

Mammoth: A NovelBy John VarleyI was absolutely captivated by Mammoth: A Novel! It's got everything I look for in a book! We're talking an incredible archaeological discovery – a perfectly preserved mammoth – a guy with a modern wristwatch, a mysterious metal case (is it a time machine?), and a coded message. Then there's a billionaire obsessed with using mammoth sperm to impregnate an elephant (paying top dollar, naturally) and getting that metal case to work, whatever it is.Mammoth: A Novel is ...

Multi-billionaire Howard has a "thing" for elephants and mammoths. When he gets his hands on a frozen, excavated mammoth, he hires elephant trainer Susan to help impregnate an elephant to create an elephant-mammoth hybrid. Also found with that frozen mammoth was a Stone Age man—with a wristwatch! And a box. Howard figures the box is a time machine and hires genius mathematician Matt to figure it out. I really liked *Mammoth: A Novel* by John Varley. It started off fast-paced, and there were ple...

3.5 stars [Review forthcoming.] (I'm working on it! I promise this review of *Mammoth: A Novel* by John Varley will be here soon. Check back!)

Picture this: A quirky billionaire needs a mammoth for cloning. They find one in Canada. But during the dig, they discover something else: the perfectly preserved body of a Stone Age man, about 12,000 years old, huddled next to the beast. He's wearing a wristwatch. Dun dun duuuun!!! I actually squealed a little when I read that. Cue *The Twilight Zone* music! Did *Mammoth: A Novel* live up to that wild premise? Well, kind of... The characters felt like cardboard cutouts, and the book could h...

I really enjoyed this time-traveling adventure, and I'm still debating what star rating it truly deserves. Is *Mammoth: A Novel* really a four-star read, or was it just infinitely more entertaining than my current book club selection, which is putting me to sleep? I think I'll settle on 4 stars. The story kicks off with a billionaire, obsessed with prehistoric creatures, who's having a frozen mammoth excavated from the remote wilderness of Nunavut with the intention of cloning it. As the excava...

[7/10] This is a good story that reads more like a thriller than a straight-up sci-fi book. It does touch on time travel and the nature of reality, but those elements feel a little forced into the narrative. I enjoyed the main characters: the slightly eccentric mathematician, the feisty elephant handler, and the nerdy billionaire. I mainly picked up "Mammoth: A Novel" to read about mammoths, and the book delivered on that in an entertaining way. The storytelling is functional, lacking major 'wo...

I hadn't realized how much I've missed reading John Varley until diving into *Mammoth: A Novel*. The title and the premise, as described on the book jacket, didn't exactly grab me. But since I've always enjoyed John Varley's books, I decided to give this one a shot, and I'm so glad I did! Varley has a real knack for engaging the reader, pulling us right into his stories instead of keeping us at arm's length as mere observers. Now, this isn't Varley's absolute best work... I had a few "probl...

This book started out with GREAT potential! I was hooked early on, but the story lost a bit toward the end. I would have given it 3.5 if possible, just because the beginning was so good.

This book is probably better suited to a young teenager into mammoths and time travel. Easy holiday read but no depth to the characters and more holes in the plot than a fishing net. Basically multimillionaire business man, funds mammoth dig project, man with watch found next to mammoth... therefore time travel must exist. Millionaire then starts funding 2 parallel programmes, one into cloning mammoths and the other into time travel. Boy meets girl, strange things happen, and predictably everyon...