Considering that this book was first published in 1959, its amazingly original. Many of the themes and techniques Vonnegut pioneered here have been copied by other authors. For example, I read (and enjoyed) "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" a few year ago. However, I now realize that much of "Hitchhikers Guide" is a blatent knock off of "Sirens". My only criticism is that its really drags in places (like Unk's time on Mars). Despite this, its satire is inspired and the story is incredibly complex, yet coherent. So many of the small details turn out to be important. That Vonnegut did this without benefit of a word processor makes him all the more a genius.