OC.TREI@CU20B.ARPA (08/20/85)
From: Peter G. Trei <OC.TREI@CU20B.ARPA>
One of the little advantages of living in New York is The Science
Fiction Shop, run by Baird Searles, who reveiws books for IASFM. When
he finishes a reveiw he hangs a copy in the store, where fen can read
it 5-6 months before it appears in print. On the basis of this, I
bought:
EON
by Greg Bear
Bluejay Books, 0-312-94144-7, $16.95, August 85'
Micro-review (non-spoiler):
Excellent hard-SF novel, truly evokes the Sense of Wonder so
beloved by us fen. A strong contender for the Hugo in Atlanta next
year. BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: (**** QUASI-SPOILER ****, but little more than on the fly leaf).
In the very near future a large, modified asteroid enters the
Solar System from deep space, and inserts itself into orbit around the
Earth. It appears dead and makes no attempt to communicate. At this
time the US is pre-eminent in space, and international research teams
sent to investigate 'The Stone' are under tight (US) security. The
Stone turns out to have seven hollow chambers hewn out of the rock,
with spin giving them gravity (ala Rendevous with Rama). The first six
are deserted, some containing cities. There are some very troubling
findings:
**** MEDIUM SCALE SPOILERS FOLLOW ****
(1) The Stone was definitely built and inhabited by humans, and
appears to be over a thousand years old. (2) The libraries in the
cities contain books in English, some with printing dates hundreds of
years in the future. (3) A history book in the library describes
current events almost, but not quite, accurately, and indicates that a
full scale, nuke-'em-till-they-glow nuclear war is due in a few weeks.
As you can imagine, this is all rather unsettling. The final
mystery concerns the fate of the builders. The seventh chamber does
not have an end: it appears to go on forever. Like the Tardis, The
Stone is bigger on the inside than on the outside. The builders of
The Stone apparently packed their bags and trekked off down the
seventh chamber into the far distance.
The central character is Patricia Vasquez, a theoretical
mathematician summoned up to The Stone to figure out (1) how the
seventh chamber ticks, and (2) if the future history described in the
library is advoidable.
This is the opening scenario. The tension builds as the time
moves towards the predicted Armagedeon and contact is finally made with
the builders. More I cannot tell you without major spoilers.
**** END OF SPOILER ****
This one is a real page turner, I was constantly wondering what
would happen next. There are enough new ideas and plot potential here
for three books (there is the potential for sequels, but this does not
detract from the present volume).
Overall rating: +5 on the -6 to +6 scale. I LIKED THIS BOOK!
Peter Trei
oc.trei@cu20b
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