Must have Books - The Forge of God

The Forge of God by Greg Bear

When Jupiter’s sixth moon Europa suddenly vanishes, the media plays the disappearing act for a few weeks, but as usual that fades from their blip screen as they believe the public is apathetic towards some obscure moon. Scientists come up with numerous theories, but each have gigantic holes as no one knows what really happened. Most astronomers remain astounded that a relatively large object is missing sort of like a cosmic David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear.

In Death Valley, three Texas geologists find what seems as the first error of US Geological Survey charts they have ever come across. A very large unmarked mound not shown on the maps rises from the desert. The trio agrees that there is no way that this “mountain” could have been missed. Next they find an ailing alien who needs darkness to live who bears very bad news.. How will the human race react to what appears to be an encounter of a negative kind.

Though THE FORGE OF GOD is well written with an engaging premise, the book falls short because talented Greg Bear never decides between a classic invasion tale and a psychological reaction plot. Instead, readers are left with pieces of both, but neither is complete. The story line is fast-paced and entertaining and fans of invasion earth novels will find overall enjoyment. However, this reviewer was left with the disappointment of feeling shorted. Exploring the different mindset of how earthlings and the aliens respond to the end days of human life would have been unique and captivatingly refreshing, something that the audience will keep expecting until the novel is finished....

Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear

Eighty-two mortal exiles ride through space in the Ship of the Law, a ship constructed from the fragments of Earth's corpse, determined to punish those responsible for their planet's destruction.

I read two or three science novel a year and am usually disappointed. This book is one of the reasons I keep on looking. This book uses the setting of 80 odd juveniles without parental or moral guidance to explore both the morality of war and the contradictions inherent in any belief system founded on following another's command. It is to the science fiction interstellar war genre what Saving Private Ryan is to conventional war movies. There are no easy answers to the dilemmas posed, and Bear thankfully does not suggest that there are, he merely explores the depths of the problem. Along the way, Bear pushes to their limits two science fiction conventions: interstellar war by advanced civilization and alien intelligence. In this novel, war technology is so advanced that supernovas can be engineered by combatants. And the aliens are so alien that humans are able to communicate with them at all only with help. The implications of both concepts are daunting, but! Bear pushes them through to their natural conclusions.