 |
EUROPE'S MOST VISITED SF/F WEB SITE |
|
Beyond Infinity by Gregory Benford check out website: www.OrbitBooks.co.uk
Some billion years in the future, where there is a diversity of humans, there is a lot of experimental tribes resurrecting old human types by the Supras, the most advanced humans. The female Cley is the result of all this work although with her enhancements, I'd hardly call her human even if her official designation is ur-human.
This results in a race across the world and eventually off planet as a space-going species rescues her. If anything, this book is a demonstration of Clarke's Law: If anything is too advanced, it will look like magic. Indeed it does. Everything from bio-engineering to moving the planets into closer orbit to the sun are passed off as matter-of-fact as though they should be expected. That far into the future, why should anything not be expected and even the moving of planets doesn't seem that much of a surprise. The opening sequence of the book also seems somewhat distant as Benford himself appears to be finding himself while writing in this reality. It's also problematic of Willmetts' Law: If you're that far into the future, how do you bring things to a level that the 21st century reader can understand. The time of a billion years into the future is immaterial. It could be a 100 centuries for all the difference it makes. Neither Cley or Seeker really interact with anyone other than themselves to really see what is going on. We know the enemy, some of the time, but they ain't us. The story overall seems far too experimental in some respects and undeveloped in others. The setting is an interesting backdrop but doesn't seem to be exploited enough to appreciate this reality, although I suspect a lot of this is due to lack of interaction. Only seeing Cley and Seeker's point of view doesn't really present much for the Supras actions other than portraying them as the 'bad guys'. That's not to say it isn't an interesting read if not an odd curio demonstration of Clarke's Law, but I suspect this will be more an acquired taste reading. GF Willmetts
|
OTHER REVIEWS - April 2004
Other reviews: April 2004 Lucifer's Dragon by Jon Courtenay Grimwood The Companions by Sherri S. Tepper Beyond Infinity by Gregory Benford Sunshine Patriots by Bill Campbell The Skies Of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Eight Keys to Eden by Mark Clifton The Adam Strange Archives Volume 1 Wit'ch Gate: Immortal Magic - Infinite Vengence by James Clemens Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong Deep Space Nine: Rising Son by SD Perry Absolution Gap (The Inhibitors series book 3) by Alastair Reynolds Alchymist (The Well Of Echoes book 3) by Ian Irvine Hal Spacejock: Second Course by Simon Haynes Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris The Dancers At The End Of Time by Michael Moorcock The Crow: The Story Behind The Film by Bridget Baiss British Summertime by Paul Cornell The Year Of Our War by Steph Swainson April 2004: Hardback to Paperbacks The Chesley Awards: A Retrospective by John Grant and Elizabeth Humphrey with Pamela D. Scoville
|
||||||||
This
is a rather odd book, resulting from author Gregory Benford's co-authoring
of two books, 'Against The Fall Of The Night' and 'Beyond The Fall
Of The Night', with Arthur C. Clarke which I have to confess to
not reading yet. 
She
has a small on-board computer, one of her fingers can be turned
into a selected of tools and has latent telepathy. Another group
is determined to kill her but only decimate the tribe who was bringing
her up. An advance design racoon called Seeker After Pattern becomes
her companion and protector as they evade the Supras who want to
use Cley to solve a problem of reality. 
 |
|
| nest home | search engine | site directory | shop | library | tools | about us | | |
|
|
... www.sfcrowsnest.com © 2004 CWant a ? Then send an e-mail to: hologramtales-subscribe@topica.com