Looking Backward vs Son of Man: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Fiction
Looking Backward
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The book tells the story of Julian West, a young American who, towards the end of the 19th century, falls into a deep, hypnosis-induced sleep and wakes up one hundred and thirteen years later. He finds himself in the…
Son of Man
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1972 Locus Poll Award nominee, best SF novel IN THE BEGINNING... there was no Brooklyn, no St. Louis, no Shakespeare, no moon, no hunger, no death... IN THE BEGINNING... there were no real men, no real women, nothing…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Looking Backward highest: Looking Backward 3.7 · Son of Man 3.4.
- Son of Man has the widest readership — 599 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Looking Backward | Son of Man | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.4 (599) |
| Hardcover | 3.2 (18) | 2.6 (5) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (22) | — |
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Reception
| Looking Backward | Son of Man | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 22 | 599 |
| Editions | 21 | 14 |
| Citations | — | 2 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 3230 | 2815 |
| Pages | 188 | 212 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Looking Backward or Son of Man?
Looking Backward has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Looking Backward 3.7/5, Son of Man 3.4/5).
Which is shorter to read: Looking Backward or Son of Man?
Looking Backward is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Looking Backward (188 pages, ≈ 3 h 29 m); Son of Man (212 pages, ≈ 3 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: Looking Backward or Son of Man?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Looking Backward: Moderate; Son of Man: Moderate.