Player Piano vs The Monikins: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Utopias, Classic Literature, Fiction
Player Piano
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Vonnegut's first novel spins the chilling tale of engineer Paul Proteus, who must find a way to live in a world dominated by a super computer and run completely by machines. Paul's rebellion is vintage Vonnegut -…
The Monikins
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Described in the introduction as a manuscript sent to the author in Geneva, Switzerland, by a Viscount Householder in gratitude for the author's having saved the Viscount's beautiful wife from accidental death, this…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Player Piano highest: Player Piano 3.9 · The Monikins 3.5.
- Player Piano has the widest readership — 65751 ratings behind its score.
- Player Piano runs the darker storyline; The Monikins stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Player Piano | The Monikins | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (65751) | 3.0 (14) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (235) | — |
| Google Books | 4.0 (3) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (172) | — |
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Reception
| Player Piano | The Monikins | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 65751 | 14 |
| Editions | 70 | 56 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 54732 | 57 |
| Reading it now | 3260 | 6 |
| Written reviews | 3994 | 2 |
| Wikipedia attention | 6373 | 102 |
| Pages | 322 | 361 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Player Piano or The Monikins?
Player Piano has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Player Piano 3.9/5, The Monikins 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: Player Piano or The Monikins?
Player Piano is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Player Piano (322 pages, ≈ 5 h 58 m); The Monikins (361 pages, ≈ 6 h 41 m).
Which is harder to read: Player Piano or The Monikins?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Player Piano: Challenging; The Monikins: Demanding.