Customer Reviews (38)

The Voodoo That You Do So Well
I was looking for a good nanotech SF novel and remember hearing good things about "Queen of Angels" so I picked it up and started reading.A couple pages into it I was thinking, "JAY-sus!Is the whole book going to be like this?"My discomfort came from his style.In the first few pages the reader is exposed to poetry, plus "+" as punctuation, future speak (like "speck" for the verb "suspect," "silky" meaning "got it made," and "tro shink" meaning "very") and maybe a stream of consciousness here and there.I took a look at what the Amazons had to say about it and decided to read on.I'm glad I did!Yes, the style is difficult at first and, yes, the book is very much worth the effort.Tro shink!So what is "Queen of Angels" all about?

It's about crime and punishment.It's about nanotechnology and its effect on justice.It's about poetry, identity, suffering, politics, brutality, man's inhumanity to man, self awareness, what makes you YOU, psychology, race, rape, Los Angeles, Hispaniola, and voodoo.Lots of voodoo.

I'm not kidding.The title has its roots in voodoo.I was expecting a lot of things but I wasn't expecting voodoo.Very cool book!

There are four story lines:
1) Richard Fettle is a sycophant to the acused poet/murderer Emanuel Goldsmith.Richard is kind of a wreck.He has a lot of baggage and he'd like to resolve it if he can.
2) Mary Cho is an (Asian?)-American detective who has changed her body to become black.She is looking for Goldsmith.
3) Martin Burke is a once famous now ousted psychologist.He wants desperately to be back in the saddle of research and scientific progress.
4) A computer (AXIS) space craft is approaching both Alpha Centari and self-awareness.The closer it gets to one the closer it gets to the other.Thebinary millenium (2048) is approaching.Some apocalyptics say that means something.Most dismiss it.

So what do all four story lines have in common?Suffering.Guilt.Pain.This is a story about what makes us human, what makes us individuals.

I started to see the light through Bear's style on about page 30 or so.By page 100 I got it.Around page 200 I looked back to the first couple of pages and the style, the poetry, the crazy punctuation. . .it all made perfect sense.Bear is fantastic.His style in this book is difficult but only in the beginning.If you stick with it and stretch your brain you will be rewarded.It's a great read that makes you stop and wonder and rediscover who you are.It makes you re-ask some important questions.

It's difficult and yet rewarding in the way that "Dune" was difficult and rewarding.

Exciting and strange in the same way as the movie "Angel Heart."

Important to human and computer self-awareness as "2001" or "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"

It's a great read and an important book.Highly recommended!

Female detective in near future and one's innermost soul
In the City of former Los Angeles 2047 AD, Ill-behaving personalities are therapied to restore everyone's capability of productive work. No serious crimes exist. Not until Emmanuel Goldsmith, a famous writer, commit gruesome series of murders. Unheard of. Mary Choy, a transform who has extensively altered her body by nanotechnology, is called to track down the murderer.

The advanced society is divided between those of therapied and untherapied; high naturals and modified. Those that do not subdue to therapic improvements are marginalized from the society. Emmanuel Goldsmith happens to be anomaly: untherapied but highly respected writer -- all the ammunition the society would need to justify therapy for everybody. But is it justice to the families of the murdered to have this disturbed individual simply corrected? The theme of the book runs in parallel with other threads to explore consciousness and the soul. In the laboratory of Martin Burke -- who has developed the technology put brains in test a bench to be debugged with a neuron probe -- are taking us beyond Sigmund Freud of the captured Goldsmith's inordinate behavior. Detective Mary Choy is also facing self-examination of her beliefs when her investigation leaves secure Los Angeles behind to chase eluding ghost of Goldsmith in Caribbean Island Hispaniola that resembles Cuban regime. Elsewhere a deep thinker AI is circling Alpha Centaur in search for extraterrestrial life and negotiating with itself about self-awareness with a light speed link relay to Earth connecting it to another thinker Jill.

Two (2) stars. Written in 1990 this is book 1 in duology, followed by Slant. This is hard scifi and it's amazing that it stays so well grounded on the society. The writer's imagination about nanotechnology and reprogramming of the minds at the year 1990, before World Wide Web, is astonishing. However the disconnectedly feeling star probe and self-ware AI thread cannot be properly understood without reading the followup book where the AI Jill is central to the story. The consequences of making people endure "matrix" treatments to suppress any mental pathogens in order to control society is visionary. For the reader, putting several separate story threads into line is hard and laborious work. Interesting detective character, slightly dystopian world and new angle to psychotherapy are the story's achievements. The book is more like modern art than a digestible piece of story.

slow start, dragging line, little redemption
Wonderful concepts of near-future society... the same society based on Bear's short story Sisters in his collection Tangents. Expansive qualities about the society, person-to-person relationships, country-to-country relationships, etc. It's all good in the like. But, the plot starts slow and confused me. It actually got me angry because of the idiosyncratic typing for some of the characters. It pans out eventually. Another dislike of mine is the inclusion of poetry from characters in the story... and the inclusion of invented fables. If Bear were to stick to technology and sociology, it would have been a good novel (maybe 4 stars).

Not Free SF Reader
Poet killer case for transform detective.


A detective gets assigned the investigation into why a famous poet went whacko and dispatched a few people.

She herself is an animal-human hybrid of sorts, which, in passing some people are not too fond or (and they themselves may not be too fond of normal people).

The whole book itself doesn't gel all that well, maybe because it is something a little different for Bear, perhaps.

Those people who have to have someone they like in a book to read it can avoid this one, too.

An orgy of Originality & Style
This is Greg Bear at his best, a hallucinatory, wild ride through a future murder investigation.Sure it's science fiction but that's like saying the Taj Mahal is a nice building.It is one of those rare works that are all things to all people and yet offending none. It is a police procedural, a mystery, a philosophical tome, science fiction and personal reflection.Philosophical thunderclaps reverberate throughout and Bear employs a catchy technique for getting to the heart of the matter in the use of simultaneous stories that conclude but do not necessarily intertwine.The language is bold, quirky and even startling with tricks galore ("+" for thoughts, new curse words, stream of consciousness at times).I should stress that these tricks "work" as do the descriptions of the wondrous future society of nanotech, AI and robots.Bear does not make the critical mistake of explaining each invention or technology as so many do - they are simply part of the flow.

The story begins with the murder of eight friends by a famous black poet.From this spring several subplots.In the future, culture wars are fought over the use of therapy to "cure" folks of aggressive tendencies.Some want to make it mandatory while others abhor the practice. We meet Mary, the chief investigator (and the voice of the story).She is a transform, that is (as best as one can tell), an individual who has radically changed their appearance. She chose black skin for aesthetic and not political reasons. She wants the killer to get therapy before he is captured by the Selectors, a vigilante group that tortures evil doers neurologically.

The other story tells of a simultaneous exploratory mission to Alpha Centuri by an AI on the verge of self-awareness.On an Earthlike planet the AI discovers evidence of intelligence. The AI in space has a twin on Earth that vividly describes intelligence without awareness (the AI conversations are nothing short of brilliant).Bear tackles all sorts of philosphical questions - punishment, justice, indignation, redemption and consciousness from several points of view - society as a whole, the criminal, the therapied, the untherapied and most important, the AI who can ask deep questions and remain within the flow of the story.A well-designed political story concerning Haiti also plays out and Bear fortunately does not simply extrapolate current events into some aburd parallel future.

My grade - A ... Read more

Product Description
Early one morning, a little bear found a little box.

He looked inside. Then he exclaimed,

"Why, it’s the greatest thing ever! Mouse will love this."

Bear’s friends aren’t so sure of his newfound treasure, however. "That’s notso great," says Monkey. "I’ve seen those before," says Owl. And by the timeBear finds Mouse, his own doubts have grown. But Mouse has the last saywhen he looks inside the little box. "It is the greatest thing ever," he tellshis friend. "Thank you, Bear."

Part mystery, part fable, this deceptively simple story of true friendship isperfect for the very youngest reader. It is sure to tug at your heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Well written and illustrated -- a must have for any little one!
This is the loveliest book with adorable illustrations along with a simple and heartfelt message in these pages.I bought this book for my niece who loves reading along as we turn the pages to discover more of Bear's journey.I highly recommend it for any little one in your life!

"Actually, THANK YOU, Bear..."
This is a great book. Very thoughtful withrefined and inviting illustration and a simple, beautiful narrative.There are two more "Bear" titles thatare equally joyful and sweet.

THANK YOU!!!!
The whole family tremendously enjoy reading all children books by Greg Foley, as well as we love the drawings and the beautiful colours. Can't wait for the next one!

so simple and yet so clever
my daughters worship the entire "bear" series. thank you bear has such a great message, told in a simple, beautiful way.

Beautiful art with a profound message!
The first time I read this book, the elegant simplicity achieved by the author thoroughly impressed me.As the story unfolds, the expressions on the characters' faces along reflect the dialogue exquisitely.I read the book aloud with my nephews, and they too were drawn to the art and the story line.I highly recommend this book for all of your loved ones, young and old! ... Read more

Product Description
Blending fierce, fast plots with vivid characters and mind-bending ideas, Greg Bear has mastered a powerful alchemy of suspense, science, and action in his gripping thrillers. Darwin’s Radio was hailed across the country as one of the best books of the year. His newest novel, Vitals, begins with a harrowing descent to a netherworld at the very bottom of the sea–and then explodes to the surface in sheer terror.

Hal Cousins is one of a handful of scientists nearing the most sought after discovery in human history: the key to short-circuiting the aging process. Fueled by a wealth of research, an overdose of self-confidence, and the money of influential patrons to whom he makes outrageous promises, Hal experiments with organisms living in the hot thermal plumes in the ocean depths. But as he journeys beneath the sea, his other world is falling apart.

Across the country, scientists are being inexplicably murdered–including Hal’s identical twin brother, who is also working to unlock the key to immortality. Hal himself barely eludes a cold-blooded attack at sea, and when he returns home to Seattle, he finds himself walking into an eerie realm where voices speak to him from the dead . . . where a once-brilliant historian turned crackpot is leading him on a deadly game of hide-and-seek . . . and where the beautiful, rich widow of his twin is more than willing to pick up the pieces of Hal’s life–and take him places he’s never been before.

Suddenly Hal is trapped inside an ever-twisting maze of shocking revelations. For he is not the first person to come close to ending aging forever–and those who came before him will stop at nothing to keep the secret to themselves. Now every person on earth is at risk of being made an unsuspecting player in one man’s spectacular and horrifying master plan.

From the bottom of Russia’s Lake Baikal to a billionaire’s bionic house built into the cliffs of the Washington seashore, from the darkest days of World War II and the reign of Josef Stalin to the capitalist free-for-all that is the United States, Vitals tells an astounding tale of the most unimaginable scientific secret of all–exposed by the quest for immortality itself . . .


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Reading Vitals, Greg Bear's dark, suspenseful, paranoid thriller of high-tech bioterrorism, would be terrifying even without real-world anthrax attacks. But the news stories of late 2001 add layers of resonance to the book.

You'd think the secret of eternal life would be an eagerly awaited boon to humanity. Yet when cutting-edge researcher Hal Cousins travels deep below the ocean's surface in a two-man submersible, seeking primitive lifeforms that may hold the key to immortality, his pilot attacks him. Barely surviving, Hal maneuvers the sub to the surface--and finds a fellow scientist has shot up his research ship. Then his lab is destroyed, his twin brother leaves a mysterious message saying they're both being pursued by an unknownforce, and his sister-in-law calls to tell him his twin, who is also researching life extension, has been murdered. Someone or something has already discovered the secret of eternal life. It has immense power and influence, and it will stop at nothing to protect its secret. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (71)

I didn't like this book
Greg Bear is a talented author. But this one was a dud to me. Forgiveable, given all the other thought-provoking books he wrote - esp Darwin's Radio.

Not Free SF Reader
Getting to the guts of eternal life.


A researcher, employing a lot of lateral thinking and investigation of other areas is looking at life extension techniques and methodology.When it appears he is getting close, attempts are made on his life, and the good old shadow conspiracy type of story starts to happen, which also apparently includes his brother.

Here it appears that Bear is turning into some sort of speculative thriller writer, so with half a dozen of one and half a dozen of another, not hat satisfying a book, overall.

Wasted Opportunity
The most damning thing I can say about Vitals is that I actually read it twice without realizing it.Greg Bear has written some really good stuff, so I bought this book and read it but apparently nothing stuck and when I came across it at home I read it again and was almost finished with the story before I realized I knew how it was going to end.

It is an utter waste of excellent ideas.What happens to the world if some people can extend their lives?What if the bacteria in our bodies have ulterior motives?What if someone managed to figure out a perfect form of mind control?Any one of these ideas would make a fine novel, but Vitals tried to incorporate them all and just petered out.

It is as if Mr. Bear just got tired of his story.This was a novel, not a short story, yet it had only one real character and a plotline that was nebulous at best.The writing is competent enough but there was no thought behind the ideas--the author was coasting.

One hopes for better efforts in the future.

You Should NEVER Try to Achieve Immortality.
"Darwin's Radio" was Greg Bear's first novel I've read and I was delighted with it, so after reading its sequel I was eager for more.

Alas! What a let down "Vitals" is!
Everything IS there to generate an outstanding novel. Nevertheless after a promising start it sadly fails.

The story starts with Hal Cousins diving a mile and a half into Pacific Ocean searching for archaic bacteria containing the secret of immortality.
Immediately after reaching the bottom, strange and menacing events starts to occur, growing into a complex tangle that the author seems incapable to manage.

Up to the half of the book the reader is able to keep track of actions after that an improbable Russian scenario is shown. Even more, strange characters continue popping up and vanishing, adding to the general mess.

So confused ends everything that the author two pages before ending tries to order all giving an unconvincing resume.
I can't wholeheartedly recommend this novel yet I keep an open credit for the author and wait for a more pleasant future read.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Mind-blowing, surrealistic landscape
Is an author to be bashed for stepping outside his safe zone? Granted, this is not your typical sci-fi tale of aliens, fabulous nanotechnology, time travel or space exploration. It is a mesmerizing, almost hallucinogenic journey through a world that may or may not exist.What starts out as a tale of science into life-extension evolves into a warning on the pitfalls of trying to fool Mother Nature.

The search for immortality is only useful as an introduction into the REAL story.Ancient bacteria have the power to alter the natural breakdown of DNA and tricking the body into acting young. In Stalinist Russia there was a program to bestow eternal life on the leading henchmen using this bacteria. But with success came madness and the ability to exercise a type of mind control.The rest of the story is the frenzied race (from different points of view) to stop the spread of the bacteria and we are plunged into a world of unknown terror and paranoia leaving us satisfied but with more questions than answers. No one is whom they appear, madeness is rampant and everyone is suspect.

Characterization, usually a weak aspect of sci-fi is strong, action is fierce and both historical and scientific research is evident throughout. Yes it was gruesome but then Stalinist Russia was a hell on Earth. Yes there is a conspiracy but it was not gratuitous (a la The Devinci Code).A good read that deserved a better reception. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (49)

A mildly disappointing sequel
I enjoyed The Forge of God, and although I wasn't a huge fan of that novel, I thought the sequel sounded promising and looked forward to reading it.Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed.Most of the novel deals with the factions and in-fighting that developed in the society of youngsters seeking vengeance (or justice, depending on your point of view) for the Earth's destruction, as well as the training they undergo.A lot of it was repetitive and unnecessary.

More interesting was the joining of the Earth ship with the aliens from another ship on the same mission.The aliens were well-conceived.In both physical description and behavior, they seemed truly alien, and therefore credible--as opposed to television aliens who seem like humans with funny hair, or movie aliens who seem like lizards.

The other interesting aspect of the novel concerns the conflict that developed between those who wanted at all costs to wipe out the species that destroyed the Earth (even in the absence of conclusive evidence of their responsibility) and those who thought they might be destroying innocents--ancestors who did not make the decision to attack the Earth and who may disagree with it, or alien species who had nothing to do with it.That moral dilemma poses no easy solution, and Bear did a good job of portraying both viewpoints fairly.

In the end, the dilemma is resolved in a satisfying manner.I would have enjoyed the novel more if it had arrived at that resolution much more quickly.

Slow start, awesome ending!
As my title suggests, this book started slow and then really picked up.What I didn't like about this book is that there was only one point of view.In most books, the story is written from the perspective of several different characters.The story will typically jump back and forth between characters, with all the subplots converging at the end of the book.The Anvil of Stars is written completely about the children aboard the space ship.It never jumps to other characters, because there is no other characters in the book.So you are constantly with the children.Maybe that was the authors intent to make you feel the longness of the journey that the children had to endure.

Of the positive things, this story has the most interesting and thought-out aliens I have ever read about.Unlike other authors who provide only surface descriptions of the alien species, Bear really delves into the life and nature of these beings (the Brothers) and it is fascinating.

The conclusion of the book was also very satisfying.I hope there is a third in the series.

Children on a mission of retaliation for destroyed Earth
Earth is gone. The children of the rescued have a mission to locate Earth's destroyers and pursue vengeance against their ancestors enemy, The Killers. This is The Law: destruction of all intelligences responsible for or associated with the manufacture of self-replicating and destructive devices. The enigmatic pan-galactic faction called Benefactors have provided a very powerful ship of The Law. The crew drills endlessly and have a chance to attack one of the suspected Killers' home, Wormwood. The fly trap Killers' had left behind turns out to be protected by technologies inconceivable in their advancement. Having their attack repelled by an anti-matter counterattack, make the crew loose confidence on moms -- the robots guides of the ship. They start to question whether the moms have told them everything. And is it truly so that that in order to carry eye for an eye mission they are to eradicate a population of billions in order to finish the Killers?

The Killers mine and consume planets to create more machine probes. Like mosquitos they spread throughout the Galaxy to carry with their horrific plan. The 82 children on the ship were chosen by machines,faceless robots, called momswho train and nurture their development. The crew boy and girl members have divided into two groups called Lost Boys and Wendys and they periodically elect in democratic fashion a leader, Pan, who makes the ultimate decisions. The former Pans form a cadre to consult by standing Pan. As the journey progresses, so do the adolescents. The straightforward missions turns out to engrave the sanity of the missions when they start to doubt that they haven't been told everything. The Benefactors seem to keep them blind as they encounter another Ship with similar mission. The other ship, defeated in their mission, is occupied by Brothers who are composed, aggregate intelligences braided of individuals, snake-like creatures, which wriggle and break up under pressure. Together with humans they join in their efforts. Internal strife, development of a religious sect of The Most High amongst the Wendys, stirs up the missions as they finally arrive to the source of the Killers.

Five (5) stars. Written in 1992 this is book 2 which ends duology started in 1987 The Forge Of God. The book is stand alone and does not require reading the first. There is undeniable similarity to the classic Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card with the group of children being trained to fight. The strained social dynamic, change of character in leadership when new and more autocrat Pan prefers brute force, fortunately makes the book very different from Ender's Game. The story is being told from the point of view of central character, Martin Gordon, a Pan, who is the descendant of Arthur Gordon from first book. Social tension, regrouping, love affairs, loyalty, religion, suicide, moral dilemmas, doubt and erosion of trust against the Benefactors and Moms are growing pains the crew must endure. As the plot is carried out, the ethical basis for genocide by all means start to become a bigger problem. The implications and emptiness of final accomplishment also leave the story very much in the eye of the reader. A very fine decision. The very alien Brothers are equally fascinating and well integrated to the story. The best in the book is that it gathers momentum as it progresses to mete out alleged justice. The ending, a little transcendent, does not provide all the answers. Many would have wanted to know more about the Benefactors and what happened to the split crew. Some of the psychology of the group, religious themes and mass hysteria may feel a little off, but overall very addictive read.

Big letdown from Forge of God
I've read a couple of Greg Bear books, and they seem to follow a similar pattern -- great initial book, crappy sequel.Such was the case with "Anvil of Stars," for the reasons below:

One thing that really gets to me with some of the Greg Bear books is the way he tries a bit too hard to inject personality and quality character interactions into his stories.What unfortunately results is characters pulled straight out of romance novels and pulp fiction -- it makes me wonder if he reads those books to self-teach writing dialogue and characters.In some of his books, this is mildly annoying, or sometimes even works to the extent that you care about the characters.However, in others, like this book, it just really comes off as hokey, sophomoric, contrived, and a waste of a serious sci-fi writers time.

Honestly, I read science fiction for the SCIENCE FICTION, the great ideas based on high-minded scientific concepts, not 90210 or a soap opera in sci-fi wrapping.This book was painful to read because of all of the tangled and contrived, angst-ridden character interactions that got in the way of the plot and the science.The characters' motivations and exchanges could have been drastically simplified with the same overall effect, and the book would have been 50% shorter.

It must be hard for authors like Greg Bear to see how effortlessly authors like Heinlein and Neal Stephenson are able to generate characters that are unique and organic to the story, but generating line after line of teen angst or generic leading man and woman characters isn't going to fill that void.He should probably leave the really deep conversations and attempts at character development to the masters of that genre -- stick with what you know, Greg, the science.The science can write its own story -- use that to create the reactions and personalities of the characters.Sometimes during this book I felt like I was reading two different books.Sadly, neither of them really accomplished what I had hoped out of this sequel.

I'm actually pretty surprised by all of the positive reviews here, but I guess given the contrived crap that passes for sci-fi on Asimov and Analog magazines, I shouldn't be surprised.There's always going to be a segment of the reading population, in any genre, that either lacks literary sophistication (not having been exposed to the classics), or just wants a soap opera with the sci-fi skin.I wish those people would split off into their own genre -- I really just want hard sci-fi with minimalist, realistic, Heinlein-like or Stephenson-like character development.

Thrilling sequel to The Forge Of God!
In The Forge of God, Earth is destroyed by machines.A mysterious race called the Benefactors rescues a few thousand humans.From these, less than 100 children are selected to crew a Ship Of The Law, whose mission is to single-mindedly search for and annihilate whatever intelligence released these civilization-destroying machines on the galaxy.Other civilizations have been destroyed, and the Benefactors have many Ships Of The Law looking for the perpetrators.

This is the story of the children of Earth, searching for Earth's destroyers.

The children are drilled relentlessly.They have but one mission.They are dedicated to that mission, because they know humans survive solely because of the largess of the Benefactors.

But when cracks begin to appear in this dedication, there are consequences.And when the origin of the civilization-destroying machines is found, thousands and thousands of years after the original machines were released, planetary defenses have evolved.

It is no pushover.

Children removed from their parents and trained to fight in space with another civilization?This certainly sounds like the theme from Ender's Game.However, Greg Bear has developed a different story, with weapons, other species, the development of alternative belief systems, and the whole concept of, and debate over, The Law.

Intriguing, exciting, and unpredictable.What more do you want from sci-fi? ... Read more

Product Description
“Three stories with a common theme: the female psyche, multiplied and divided," says Greg Bear in his introduction to this Women in Deep Time. "There's probably something Jungian in common with all three. At any rate, throughout my writing career (and for whatever reason) I've been fascinated by the feminine voice." Featured in this special collection are "Sisters," "Scattershot," in which the inhabitants of many universes meet in limbo, and the Nebula Award-winning "Hardfought," in which engineered warrior ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Hardfought (not by Timothy Zahn)
Both these stories are pretty easy and quick to read, Zahn's Cascade Point being the easier one. Like most of Zahn's stories it takes a single sf idea - the "cascade point" at which you see all possible alternate realities at once - and explores it. I found the idea kind of interesting, but a little contrived.
The other story, Greg Bear's Hardfought, blew my mind. At first the narrative is a little confusing, but once you get used to that it's okay. It deals with an interstellar war in the extreme future of humanity, and the ways our species has evolved and adapted to the war's requirements. I read this a few years ago, so I don't remember specific points too clearly, but I can remember the way Bear wrote it. Bear has never been interested in making his narratives straightforward or simple, either in the complexity of the plot or in the prose he uses, and this is no exception. Some people are probably put off by the narrative not being totally clear, but I loved it (and I'm sure that if you read it a little slower and think a little more, it will all make sense).

Cascade Point
Just Superb! The way Mr. Zahn writes as usual makes me wish for more. Now, the cascade point idea is one of the best in Sci Fi, clever and original. I only regret that the book is not as big as I would wanted it to be, but it makes for an excelent reading for those Sci Fi readers. Highly reccomended!

Um...Greg Bear wrote half of this title...
Seems some of the previous reviwers overlooked the fact that there were two authors involved in this work.Although I like Timothy Zahn a lot, I'm a dyed in the wool Bear fan, and Hardfought is one of the few shorts (ofany author) I re-read over and over again.Shoehorned into this story arecommentaries on the consequences of total war, cloning, social changes overvast periods of time, political back-handedness, speciesism,andmanipulation of popular culture.Plus ripping action and even some tepidsex!The open-ended ending appeals to me too...I'm sure the editors hatedit.Another example of Bear's mastery.Oh, and Zahn's story was good too.

Hardfought classic.
When I looked up reviews for Zahn's Hardfought and found only one, I was surprised. I've read a few other titles by Zahn, but none have stayed with me like this one. I believe this story belongs in the company of Haldeman's The Forever War, Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, in that it is an inspired examination of humanity at war. Zahn has approached his subject from a different angle however, and Hardfought to me feels like a mythological tragedy, as haunting as MacBeth, with humanity as the poor player and interstellar war the stage. I recall that upon finishing the story, perhaps ten years ago now, I flung the book across the room in disgust that we as a race should ever come to such an end. Not for the fainthearted, but definitely worth a read.

A great book, an astounding author.
One of Timothy Zahn's firsts. Read the Conqueror's trilogy. Buy the single book, Cascade Point, and don't bother with Hardfought. ... Read more

Product Description
The star of Thank You Bear returns to make a new friend, as well as a wonderful discovery. When Caterpillar tells Bear that he is making a cocoon, Bear is worried. Will Caterpillar be safe? Will he be warm? Will he stay dry? Throughout the long winter, Caterpillar reassures him that all is fine. But the day comes when Caterpillar’s cocoon is empty and Bear begins worrying all over again. Until a beautiful silk moth lands on his paw. “Don’t worry, Bear,” he says. “I’m right here.”

Incredibly touching in its simplicity, Don’t Worry Bear reveals the very heart of friendship.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Sweet and thoughtful story
I selected this book for a toddler because of its simple, expressive illustrations that will capture her attention. For slightly older readers, the story line about longing and change is one that will provoke contemplation, but also bring about a sense of reassurance and happiness. Don't Worry Bear, along with the other two Bear books by Foley, will be a special part of your child's library.

Beautiful follow up to Thank You Bear
My kids and all of their friends loved Thank You Bear when I bought copies as gifts for everyone...close friends, family and godchildren. This is the next gift everybody is getting because I know they will love it!The books in this series are unique because they are so simple yet deeply expressive.The characters convey a depth of emotion that small children can truly absorb. The amount of text is perfect for a toddler's attention span while conveying an important message about life's transitions and changes.Fabulous book!

Very Sweet
I love this book. Calm and restrainedillustration that is full in Foley's use of color. Intuitive and heart felt narrative about missing a friend. Great book!

truly amazing story
i loved this book and so do my daughters. it is the sweetest story of love, friendship and kindness. the illustrations are inspired - sweet and gentle yet sophisticated.

Highly recommend!
Beautifully illustrated with a simple but profoundly reassuring story for kids.It is a treat to share with the children in my life. ... Read more

Product Description
After twenty years of travel, the first ships bearing humans arrive in the Murasaki system, where they encounter the inhabitants of Murasaki's two mysterious worlds and where they unravel the mysteries of an alien ecosystem. 15,000 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not Free SF Reader
A combination that deals with a literal Japanoyanko space race for land rights, basically. It is focusing on the septics, unsurprisingly, but not ignoring that the whole enterprise contained within the political situation surrounding it.

Then, what happens after they get there. The book is put together by multiple writers, to from a narrative.

There are some illustrations of the 'researcher in the field' type, of the local inhabitants, which are pretty groovy.

Murasaki : The Treasures of Chujo - Frederik Pohl
Murasaki : Genji - David Brin
Murasaki : Language - Poul Anderson
Murasaki : World Vast World Various - Gregory Benford
Murasaki : A Plague of Conscience - Greg Bear
Murasaki : Birthing Pool - Nancy Kress


Racing the Japanese to Murasaki, trolls await.

3.5 out of 5


Japanese expedition arrival, sexual relations of human and aliens, and the odd problem with gravity and such.

3 out of 5


Long term mission gets odd cult group while working on one particular local type.

3 out of 5


Snakehounds helping for herding, trolls battle, and a library.

3.5 out of 5


Bloke not the messiah.

2.5 out of 5


Teenage girls of more than one species, a death, and a new leader.

3 out of 5

A few diamonds in the rough
Murasaki star system contains a duo of inhabitable planets that orbit each other: Genji - a high-gravity world with a dense, soupy atmosphere; and Chujo - an arid, wintry world of canyons and wind-swept plains. Neither is perfect for humans - on Genji they must wear pressure suits in addition to getting used to gravity levels half-again as high as on Earth; Chujo is more forgiving, though it can be intensely cold. Both planets serve home to sapient races: the Ihrdizu of Genji - low-tech amphibians that congregate in small villages; and the humanoids of Chujo - aloof, mysterious beings that ignore the humans entirely. It is here that the first manned interstellar expeditions will arrive, bearing humans of all frames of mind - Earthlings and off-worlders, atheists and philosophers, mystics and iconoclasts...

Instead of being a collaborative novel, "Murasaki" is a mixed bag of science fiction stories that share a setting, each written by a different award-winning author. Mind the fact that the only interesting part is the fairly in-depth world-creation notes (included as appendices), and that the stories are pathetically shallow and lead virtually nowhere...

...That is precisely what I though about this "science fiction novel in six parts" prior to reading the last two parts, which are so refreshingly, profoundly excellent that I almost wept with awe. A mystery of interplanetary proportions is suddenly built up and then revealed in flying colors.

It's really a pity that the rest of Murasaki doesn't follow suit.

An interesting collaberative effort from many authors
I became interested in this book after reading Otherness by David Brin. One of the short stories in Otherness is actually a chapter in Murasaki.The book itself is has a very intruiging storyline and I enjoyed readingmuch of it.The only problam I had was the mental transition I had to makewith each chapter of the book, as they are all written by differentauthors.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book for anyonewho likes the work of Brin, Bear, Anderson, Pohl, Kress etc etc etc..Theyall wrote parts of it.

A good read. ... Read more

Product Description

In a theocratic world far into the future, cities control their own movements and organization. Constantly moving, growing and decaying, taking care of every need their inhabitants might think of, the cities have decided that humans are no longer a necessary part of their architecture, casting them out to wander in the wilderness and eke out a meager subsistence. To the exiled humans, the cities represent a paradisiacal Eden, a reminder of all they cannot attain due to their sinful and unworthy natures.

But things are beginning to change. People are no longer willing to allow the cities to keep them out, choosing instead to force an entry and plunder at will. The cities are starting to crumble and die because they have no purpose or reason to continue living without citizens.

One woman, called mad by some and wise by others, is the only human allowed to inhabit a city. From her lonely and precarious position at the heart of one of the greatest cities ever, she must decide the fate of the relationship between human society and the ancient strongholds of knowledge, while making one last desperate attempt to save the living cities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Sequentially decent stories with Bear's originality
Rather than a collection of short stories concentrated on one subject matter, these three stories are sequential. All take place upon the planet God-Does-Battle where empty cities the size of mountains crawl across the landscape.

The first, and the original, takes place after all the giant, rolling cities have banished all the citizens of its hold. One man is banished from his hometown and finds entry into one of these forbidden cities where he finds self-truth.

The second story unfolds well after the first. A poor woman finds her way into a city after being injured. She becomes a caretaker for the city, yet an army have similar ideas in mind. She wants to care for sick children while the army wishes to conquer the planet.

The last story combines both story lines, in which the past comes to the future so that a saviour canbring good to the planet which had honest beginnings yet has waned in its goal. Can the partnership be strong enough to bring peace and prosperity?

Overall, an orignal idea well carried out with Greg Bear's character driven plot and novel thoughts about future technology, speech and customs.

Not his best
Very difficult to get into.Throughout the book, but particularly in the first section (53 pages,) the author shows how divergent language has become between groups.The difficulty of trying to figure out what the characters are saying may help us understand how the main character feels, but did not allow me to immerse myself in the story.
That alone might have set the tone for me and I never got into the story.Part of the problem was developing a whole new world, covering hundreds of years of new history and tying it together with new scientific advancements all in fewer than 300 pages.New characters and concepts are introduced and developed only in the most superficial way.Great ideas, poor development.

Cities Give Us The Boot
On the planet God-Does-Battle, colonists from Earth settled more than 1300 years ago.The colonists were all religious refugees, escaping from the chaotic and politically inhospitable Earth to their new-found home amongst the stars.To support these colonists, more than a hundred highly sophisticated cities were constructed under the auspices of architect Robert Kahn.These cities were designed with every possible comfort...and then some. From advanced medical and educational facilities to legions of robotic servants tending to every citizen's beck and call.The cities were even capable of breaking themselves down and moving to entirely new locations.But, a mere century after God-Does-Battle's colonization, the cities revolted, the artificial minds that oversaw the cities kicked its citizens out, forcing them to eke out a meager existence in makeshift villages called expolises.

The reasoning behind this banishment, and how to correct it, provides the central story arc in Bear's novel.Having read some of Bear's work in the past, the author's "fingerprint" is clear.A novel full of strong chracterizations that come in a very close second to the hard science background of the story.Combined, these two components compose a rather fine novel that is easy to read and keeps things moving...until a weaker than expected, and somewhat confusing, ending.However, the ending is still solid enough to make this story worth reading.

Worth reading but flawed
This book is definitely worth reading, as it has a great concept and Bear's prose is nice and uncluttered. Some salient points:

* The concept is very engaging and unique
* Very readable prose, especially for the SF/F genre
* Somewhat reminiscent of Asimov's Foundation, in that it covers a world across several characters and a span of years
* Spelling errors in this version get progressively worse toward the end of the book, suggesting poor copy editing
* The ending is a complete "Huh?", going in a totally different direction from the rest of the book, and suggesting a master plan that is completely unrelated to everything that has come before. It's as if it was pulled from a different book entirely.

Another reviewer suggests that Bear cannot seem to properly finish a book, and while this is my first book of his, I can definitely see that problem here. It's a shame because it's a nice, quick read that never bogs down, and has some great ideas. It would be four stars if it had a satisfying ending. I will try other Greg Bear books, and hope that some of them end more convincingly.

A discussion of sin against a backdrop of sentient cities
Greg Bear's "Strength of Stones" focuses on the development of planet God-Does-Battle, the self-elected exile of Christians, Muslims and Jews from a secularised earth. The planet's habitats are living, sentient, mobile cities designed as a paradise of coalition between the world religions, but they slowly grow disgusted by human sin and cast out all their inhabitants to fend for themselves on a more primitive level. The novel charts what follows as the plot develops, on both philosophical and individual levels, with the backdrop of the cities supporting a spare, but engaging set of characters. In some ways, this is just another planetary-development novel, but it is written and structured well and provides enough surprises to lift it clearly above the throng.
To me, Bear's "Blood Music" remains the most enjoyable, original and unusual of his novels, but "Strength of Stones" is well worth a read nonetheless. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first published collection of short stories by one of the foremost voices in science fiction today. This significant volume contains many characters and situations that later evolved into their own novels. "Mandala" features technologically perfect cities that eject their sinful human occupants, a premise that can be found at the root of Bear's later novel, Strength of Stones. In "Hardfought", Bear brilliantly handles the classic science fiction dilemma of human communication with aliens. Other stories include "The Wind From a BurningWoman" in which a woman holds the world hostage by controlling a giant asteroid; "Scattershot", in which the inhabitants of many universes meet in an undefined limbo space; and "Petra", a story of a world where chaos rules, stone moves and the mind controls reality. Hailed by readers and critics alike, The Venging has been described as "an excellent collection" and its author praised as "one of the freshest writers to break into the science fiction field in many a year". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

almost Bearable
Greg Bear is one of the most interesting fiction and scifi writer of the decade.This collection, however, is rough.Many of the stories are predictable and feel like test pilots for a better book.I read about half the collection and put it aside for Grimm's fairy tales.

Not Free SF Reader
A short fantasy and science fiction collection of reasonable quality, with a 3.40 average.From crazy astronomical objects to nasty monsters.

Venging : The Wind from a Burning Woman - Greg Bear
Venging : The White Horse Child - Greg Bear
Venging : Petra - Greg Bear
Venging : Scattershot - Greg Bear
Venging : Mandala - Greg Bear

Floating megaboom backdown refusal.

3.5 out of 5


Son story sins.

2.5 out of 5


Gargoyle boys and girls.

3.5 out of 5


There's a bear in there, and a chair as well. Really, if you get hit by a probability disruptor enough times you might berry likely pick up anything, girly.

4 out of 5


Psyche death.

3.5 out of 5

awesome collection of short stories from Bear
Wind from a Burning Woman: This story is sort of a prelude to Eon, perhaps set many years before the opening of The Way. The to-be hollowed out asteroid (Psyche) is in orbit around the moon waiting to have seven chambers created within by nuclear devices. While in orbit, a Geshel extremist makes her way to Psyche and threatens to ram it into earth unless her conditions are met. (33 pages)

A lot of terminology from Eon is used in this sort of prelude, including the Hexamon, Geshel, Naderites and Beckmann drives. Political bureaucracy is still alive and kicking this far into the future and is a theme presented in this short story. Can the Hexamon lose face and admit to a crime to save Pschye and planet earth?
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White Horse Child: A boy meets two old storytellers who tell him strange tales. This concerns his parents, who are familiar with the doings of the couple and set out to condone the two to protect their son from their mind tricks. (23 pages)

This is a strange tale in itself, with a number of odd stories involving animals and morals. However logic weary it may be to read, it's still an entertaining read.
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Petra: Statues have come to life in a post-apocalyptic cathedral. The stone beings, flesh beings and flesh/stone beings are separated in different vertical strata within the cathedral. The story follows a gargoyle type child through the cathedral in search of the Stone Christ and self-fulfilling a prophecy. (20 pages)

This is an odd idea to wrap one's head around - it's impossible to nail down a time and place for the story setting. Why are all the statues alive and why is everyone held in the church? These questions are left unanswered as we follow the difficulties of a half-flesh & half-stone gargoyle child.
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Scattershot: A spacefarer, Geneva, is "disrupted" by aliens and becomes part of a hodgepodge of aliens and alien craft, which have previously been disrupted by another alien species (the Aighors). With her fellow disrupted teddy bear sidekick Sonok, they try to find others on the ship that may know how to go back home to earth. (36 pages)

A lot of ideas are thrown together in this short story. It is like a stack of ideas on Greg Bear's desk fell into this story. This doesn't make the story bad, just random. The ending is as random as some of the aliens are, too. I appreciate the strong female lead character, too.
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Mandala: An outcast villager, Jeshua, seeks solace and surgery at an ancient, myth-ridden walking city left from an earlier, more tech-savvy generation. The planet where the story takes place was colonized with giant walking cities inhabited by people of various religions. They wanted habitats with pure individuals. When the cities saw that people's thoughts were tainted by ill will, the cities cast them out tens of generations ago. (30 pages)

This is an easy to follow story with an interesting history. One man becoming ostracized for a birth defeat, one man seeking justice and one man's adventure into the pit of the walking city of Mandala. Thoughts linger into the simple 30 pages of story, such as "Why was he selected to enter?" and "Will he return to his village?" Pretty gripping story.
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Hardfought: A story about warfare in space with a very different alien species, the Senexi. Using rapidly maturing children as "Hawks" or attackers, the children are bred from superior genes from previous generations of Hawks. Prufax is the another strong female main character attempting to find the understanding in warring with an alien species they know so little about. Aryz is the alien character, which we can view the story at with a skewed angle. (75 pages)
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By far, this is an epic short story. Many fantastic ideas are brought about here and applied in numerous inventive ways. The Senexi are a mind-bending, fantastically novel species with a completely different evolution, culture, sense configuration, hierarchy, technology and mindset. This is all considered and explored though the pages of Hardfought.
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The Venging: Disjohn Fairchild has made an alien species, the Aighors (same species as the Disrupting aliens in Scattershot) very angry. He is tainting their religion with the science of black holes, which leaves the sick and dying of the Aighors unable to use the black hole for funeral purposes. Kamon, an Aighor, takes a personal vendetta against this blasphemy and chases Fairchild's ship to an area rich with black holes. This story uses much terminology and physics about black holes. (32 pages)

Yes, this is the hardest, shortest hard sci-fi, which I've found. The descriptions set up about the scenarios of chasing starships, black hole physics, and alien customs are phenomenally well done. The story is engrossing from page 1 to page 30. Short, but terribly sweet and perfect.
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Perihesperon: A space cruiser is hit by a meteor and is disabled with one passenger aboard (Karen), who had no idea what had happened. Another character, Alista, found his way onto the ship soon after the disaster and comforts the girl though the inevitable destruction of the craft. (14 pages)

Here is another very short but moving piece of work. This is probably one of the most sentimental pieces of sci-fi I've read, by Bear and by others. This story has a small tie-in with a character from The Venging, as the preface tells you. ... Read more

Product Description
Researchers at Ice Pit Station are conducting two experiments, during which they attempt to reach Absolute-Zero temperature and record the memories cryogenically frozen human heads, but a bizarre Earthborn cult will resort to anything to end the research. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Nor head neither tail
A member of powerful trade pact, William, has set a laboratory on the Moon to explore mystery of absolute zero. He needs very expensive equipment. He aims to cool hydrogen atoms to zero degrees to see what happens. A good business opportunity of cryogenically frozen human heads need permanent cooling and are shipped to the Moon to benefit from the residue energy from William's experiment. There are 3 heads that are unknown and tapping the memories could provide even more profitable. All in thesudden the trade pact family is politically attacked from all directions. What are they afraid of?

For hard SF reader, the story has interesting gadgets like quantum logic computer -- self-aware AI thinkers with mental aberrations --, post-Boolean three-state logic invented by Chinese and singularity applied to politics(?). The Moon in the 22nd century is very libertarian: business is the driving force behind everything. The trade clicks seldom interfere to each others' businesses and prefer to deal schisms behind the curtains.

One (1) star. Written in 1990 this an old-fashioned tale about human soul. There are two parallel stories that should somehow connect at the, but the end is forced. The search for absolute zero that is supposed to pluck scientific speculation as well as religious and moral questions in contrast to frozen heads is more like a jab at Scientology. The limited hard science content embedded in the story, as good as it is, cannot do marvels to the thin plot. Abruptly switching from trade politic clicks to hard SF content and family bonds is like rumbling in the forest. A novel that had potential, but lacked leverage.

LIKE A SUGAR CUBE IN WARM WATER

At 125 pages, BEAR'S HEADS, is a, short, crisp story.One very creative idea shaped the story --the struggle to reach absolute zero. His answer was the formation of crystallized spacetime.Of course current doctrine is that matter can never attain absolute zero -- Heisenberg's theory doesn't allow it.But Bear knew that advances in science often emerge from previously discarded theories.

To take this story seriously is foolish.It was an amusing parody both of religious cults, based on man's stupidity and scientific theories likewise stemming from ignorance.He accomplishes his parody of science by throwing in terms like the super conductivity of crystallized spacetime in which information previously composed of matter and cells dissolved in crystallized space like sugar in warm water.His parody of secular religions, no doubt with Scientology in mind, is accomplished by translating the last words of the frozen, preserved brain of the founder of his Church of Logology.This revealed him to be just another greedy bastard.However, in the end Bear sucked too many of man's simple illusions dry.Bear postulates the Quiet place awaiting those who would transcend obvious human limits.His Quiet place, where all information, has lost its form, sounded a lot like a void prior to the earth's mythical Genesis.

Something Different from Greg Bear
I've become quite a Greg Bear fan lately--for Christmas I got both The Forge Of God and Anvil of Stars, and I'd finished both of them by Jan. 5.Delighted with them, I picked up Heads at a local bookstore, although I admit having some doubts about the book after looking at the blurb.It seemed an awful lot to juggle in such a small space--410 cryogenically stored disembodied heads, along with Moon colony politics and an attempt to reach absolute zero which might change the nature of matter and of time itself, all within about 150 pages.At the same time, I've ocasionally thought Bear was a bit too drawn-out, so I decided I'd give it a try.

Curiously enough, spacetime wasindeed apparently affected by Heads, because I must have seen the future--I was right, and it was all a bit much to handle in such a short book.By necessity, Bear's writing was much more expository than usual, and I didn't find that very satisfying.The story was promisingly offbeat, but behind the story was a blatant parody of Scientology--now, I'm not a Scientologist, nor do I know any Scientologists and I have a healthy skepticism of any religion founded by a science fiction writer, especially one that espouses Body Thetans--ghosts of an alien civilization--as the source of physical illness.It's a valid target, but somehow I'd like a touch more subtlety, a soupcon of sophistication about it...perhaps that's a bit much to ask of a book titled after decapitated noggins...

At any rate, it's a good story, with an effective and creepy climax...it's merely the baldness of Heads that detracts.

Excellent extrapolative science fiction.
Super-engaging, idea rich novella with all of Bear's characteristic strengths.

What's the point....
Don't waste your time.I can't believe I wasted my money...had a lot ofpotential but got half way through and decided to go mow the lawn which isa lot more enjoyable. ... Read more

Product Description
Greg Bear’s Nebula Award–winning novel, Darwin’s Radio, painted a chilling portrait of humankind on the threshold of a radical leap in evolution—one that would alter our species forever. Now Bear continues his provocative tale of the human race confronted by an uncertain future, where “survival of the fittest” takes on astonishing and controversial new dimensions.

DARWIN’S CHILDREN

Eleven years have passed since SHEVA, an ancient retrovirus, was discovered in human DNA—a retrovirus that caused mutations in the human genome and heralded the arrival of a new wave of genetically enhanced humans. Now these changed children have reached adolescence . . . and face a world that is outraged about their very existence. For these special youths, possessed of remarkable, advanced traits that mark a major turning point in human development, are also ticking time bombs harboring hosts of viruses that could exterminate the “old” human race.

Fear and hatred of the virus children have made them a persecuted underclass, quarantined by the government in special “schools,” targeted by federally sanctioned bounty hunters, and demonized by hysterical segments of the population. But pockets of resistance have sprung up among those opposed to treating the children like dangerous diseases—and who fear the worst if the government’s draconian measures are carried to their extreme.

Scientists Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson are part of this small but determined minority. Once at the forefront of the discovery and study of the SHEVA outbreak, they now live as virtual exiles in the Virginia suburbs with their daughter, Stella—a bright, inquisitive virus child who is quickly maturing, straining to break free of the protective world her parents have built around her, and eager to seek out others of her kind.

But for all their precautions, Kaye, Mitch, and Stella have not slipped below the government’s radar. The agencies fanatically devoted to segregating and controlling the new-breed children monitor their every move—watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike the next blow in their escalating war to preserve “humankind” at any cost.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Darwin's Children, Greg Bear's follow-up to Darwin's Radio, is top-shelf science fiction, thrilling and intellectually charged. It's no standalone, though. The plot and characters are certainly independent of the previous novel, but the background in Darwin's Radio is essential to nonbiologists trying to understand what's going on. The next stage of human evolution has arrived, announced by the birth of bizarre "virus children." Now the children with the hypersenses and odd faces are growing up, and the world has to figure out what to do with them. The answer is evil and all too human, as governments put the kids in camps to protect regular folks from imagined dangers. Mitch and Kaye, scientists whose daughter Stella is swept up in the fray, become unwillingly involved in the politics that erupt around the issue of the new humans. Harrowing chases, gun battles, epidemics, and tense meetings about civil rights ensue, all brilliantly narrated. But just when you think you've got the book figured out, Bear throws a massive curveball by introducing... religion. That's right, a good old-fashioned epiphany, plopped down in the middle of a hard science fiction novel. But even skeptical readers will be swept along with Kaye as she tries to deal with what's happening to her and how it relates to the fate of her daughter's species. Keep reading past the words that make you uncomfortable--the hot science, the cool spirituality--and you'll be rewarded with a story of complete and moving humanity. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (74)

As affective and touching as the first one
I enjoyed this sequel to Darwin's Radio. It was as touching and affective (and suspenseful) as the first novel. I also appreciated the hard-science plot and the definitions and sources in the back of DC. I had spent a fair amount of reading time wondering how much of the whole genomic story could possibly ever happen.

Not much, apparently, though Bear makes clear that molecular biologists aren't all that sure. (Somehow I had overlooked the genetic origin of viruses and that explication, alone, was worth the price of admission.) I also liked the blending of science and belief. It was surprising and well done.

I could have done without the villainy attached to the Republicans and Foxnews. As I recall, when SF masters like Heinlein blamed pols, they did not specify party and used fictitious journalists as stand-ins for the industry. I wonder why writers like Bear (and Stross, to name another who does it) feel the need to push their personal politics in their readers' faces. Sign of the times, I suppose, or maybe their editors/publishers require it. Still, despite this flaw (neither book wallows in it), both were worthy, absorbing tales I recommend to all, whether hard SF fans or not. Bring a hanky.

Borderline Awful
I have read a lot of reviews discussing how Greg Bear's prose is smooth and flowing, and that this book is full of biology, intriguiging, etc. Bull. Every other sentence is full of over-strained hyperbole, struggling to get attention with poor, over-stated comparisions like "the rain... drummed like a million bored fingers" (not an exact quote). This style added nothing to the plot and was so distracting to the point that I found my self not paying attention. Afetr about 1/3 of the way through I put it down and could not finish it.

There are too many outstanding sci fi books out there to waste your limited time on books like this.

OK sequel, too technical on genetics theory
After reading Darwin's Radio, I quickly picked up the sequel. The story itself takes place about 10 years later, and has 3 main sequences. The first and last part of the book is entertaining, and definitely a page turner. The problem lies in the middle portion of the book.Bear goes into a detailed discussion concerning genetics theory and ethics, but for this reader - way too much detail. I found myself skimming quickly through a good 150 pages, waiting for the story to pick up the pace.
Overall, it's good to find out what has happened to Mitch, Kate and their daughter Stella (who is now a teenager), but I was hoping for more...

The virus children reach adolescence
Scientists Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson are on the road. They flee and hide to keep their daughter safe. They need to keep ahead of the bounty hunters and the hysterical general public who are ready to turn them in. Their daughter Stella, product of SHEVA virus outbreak, is quickly maturing in the Virginia they are hiding. But Stella disappears, is caught by an informer, and transferred to camp run by Emergency Action (EMAC), with deprived of human rights. Fear and hatred of the virus children have made the 'Shevite' children quarantined by the government.The agencies fanatically devoted to segregating and controlling the new-breed children.A new disease begins killing SHEVA children in the special schools and camps. The public opinion becomes increasingly intolerant and EMAC even more powerful which leads to Mitch being jailed without trial. They get separated from their daughter permanently. Will the government's draconian measures be carried to their extreme?

In order to get into the book, the reader must have read the prequel Darwin's Radio. The retrovirus that caused mutations in the human genome and heralded the arrival of a new wave of genetically enhanced humans is continued in this book to show how the new children are reaching adolescence. The genetics and evolution viewpoint has been lessened since the first book to make room for more character development of Kaye, Mitch and Stella. Is is clear that the author has put lot more effort to make reader engage and feel the emotions of the tragedy. The new ways of communication by using complex verbal tricks, enhanced facial expressions, psychoactive chemical scents is well executed. Depicting the government as intolerant, gullible, complacent or savage to the point of attempting genocide is looming deliciously at the background. The book ends in a tragedy and brings out the first Shevite baby from their 16 year old parents.

Three (3) stars. Written in 2003. The virus threats -- we meet a woman whose pig's kidney transplant start producing horrific SHEVA mutations -- are technically very realistic. Although the book has focus shift to characters compared to the first book, it is still heavy on the medical jargon; there is an appendix to explain the many used acronyms. The disturbing thing in the story, also in the previous book, is the constant shifting of viewpoint. In one moment the reader is immersed into the thoughts of Stella and then suddenly ripped off to somewhere else. In some places these shifts take only 1-3 pages which is too little to be justified; they disconnect and make one feel frustrated. There are also side tracks, like an archaeological excavation that reveals Homo Erectus and Homo Sapiens being together, which are superfluous to the story (already explained in the first book). The ending is a little short and the reader is left wishing he would have seen more about the progress of the new society. This book is like an ice cream that melted before you could eat it. If the book had focused on the three lead characters and their survival the book would have been solid 5, because one genuinely starts to care for the people. Promising, but not necessarily satisfying read.

Mixing science and religion
I read Greg Bear expecting stories based on reality, on science and the cutting edge of biology. Unfortunately, "Darwin's Children" reads more like an extended epilogue to "Darwin's Children," and while offering a little in the way of scientific suggestion -- mostly speculation of what the next phase of human evolution would be -- it instead drops in a load of religion. To place a religious epiphany on the same level as a serious exploration and extrapolation of scientific principles is, to me, completely unacceptable. The religious elements of the story have little to no attachment to the actual story of "Darwin's Children." As a result, the addition of a religious epiphany feels less like an exploration of the ramifications of the existence of God and more like proselytizing by a religious convert who wants to place the existence of God on the same level of fact as the existence of evolution.

In a better context, an exploration of religious belief and how it can be reconciled with science and nature would be fascinating. But in the context of Greg Bear's hard-science reputation, "Darwin's Children" comes across more like malpractice. ... Read more

Product Description
Captured by aliens hundreds of years ago, Yoshio Kawashita is left stranded on a prison planet when they suddenly leave without warning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Enjoyable easy read
This definitely shows the signs of being an early novel, but it is still quite enjoyable, employing some nice literary touches. As another reviewer remarked, the book had some poor editing. Lines of dialogue were obviously missing. There were also some continuity issues in terms of the book's tone, but it is very clear that beneath these surface glitches is a strong story and a strong budding writer.

Skips huge sections of plot indiscriminately
This was a good story but it was not fully developed. There are many plots in this story that were just abandoned and that left me with a strange feeling of dissatisfaction with the novel overall. (Example, when the main characters explore a new region of space, and they find nothing but a piece of a toilet...and then nothing else happens in that entire multi-page part of the novel). The ending was ridiculous and similarly cut short. Perhaps this book suffers from terrible editing, or perhaps the paperback was just badly typeset which damaged the story, but there were many grammatical errors and whole missing paragraphs. I liked the premise of the story, but it was not developed and left me extremely dissatisfied, as if the climax has been edited out.

Not bad for an early book
This is one of Greg Bear's early work.The reader can already see that Bear is great at developing both an intriguing story and well defined characters.The problem with this book is that it leaves the reader feeling unfinished.Compared to his later works "Darwins Radio" and "Queen of Angels", this is unfinished work.It is not bad, just not finished.Much of the underlying society study that he has become so familiar for developing is missing, although there are hints of it in this book.This is both enjoyable and an easy read.It is also a great book to start with for Bear.It is certainly not one of his best, but it does show his early start and that is not bad.

annoying production issues
There's something wrong with the text of this edition of the book.I think they dropped some lines in the production process.There are many places where one character speaks twice in a row, and the second is a response to some question or statement by another character, which was dropped.I also found a couple of sentences that just end in mid-sentence.It doesn't make the story too hard to follow, but it's definitely annoying.Not recommended (and I'm going to be very hesitant about buying other books published by "ibooks").

Beyond Heaven's River not quite...
Firstly this book is not out of print - my edition is a 2000 edition by Millenium (a Gollancz brand) and is available on amazon.co.uk.
The premise/promise of this story is typical of Bear in that you get completely wrapped up in this new universe across which the human race roams.The two key characters are real enough and both face serious challenges on a personal basis, and along the way you see a future with nicely painted in technologies and alien artifacts (in fact two of the characters live in a giant alien spaceship picked up at an apparent bargain). The story line passes from WWII to well into the 26th century while remaining true to the reader.
I picked up this book after enjoying Darwin's Radio which is a great read - that novel is complete in that it allows Greg Bear to really complete his story.Unfortunately Beyond Heaven's River is a much shorter story and leaves me with the feeling that "it had to be wound up" for want of a solid ending.

After all that I should say that it is still a good read, just not Bear's best. ... Read more

Product Description

The planet Hegira is the universe's melting pot. Hundreds of tribes in dozens of cities intermingle in the vast uncharted territory. The only thing holding the people together are the massive Obelisks, the chronicles of the all the truths and falsehoods each tribe has brought to Hegira. Young Bar-Woten is in search of knowledge and he knows the key to the truth about his homeland is contained in the writings of the Obelisks. With his fellow companions, Bar-Woten must travel through Hegira's exotic cities to discover the lies within the words of thousands.

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Customer Reviews (7)

Interesting but left me unsatisfied
It's a shame the three characters didn't really spring to life until the final quarter of the book. Before then I just couldn't connect with their emotions and motivations. Maybe because only one of the three characters acts on motive at all (though still very vaguely hinted to the reader), the two others are merely dragged behind. So the characters failed to immerse me for the most part of the book, which leaves the story. Unfortunately there's nothing happening much. Although it's mainly a story about a long journey, there's very little of chase and evade. Which leaves the frequent and detailed depictions of landscapes and cultures. Interesting, but just not enough.

fantasy with a splash of sci-fi
While I greatly enjoy most of Greg Bear's other works, this book I only enjoyed to a certain degree. Being labeled a "sci-fi" book I naturally expected sci-fi to be the main gist of the book, however, Hegira's focus was more upon fantasy. It was only towards the end of the book when the hardy sci-fi made its appearance.

I enjoyed the characters, plots, and the philosophy behind the dialogue. I must say I'm not a fan of "sex in sci-fi" as its often unnecessary but the sex mentioned in this book leads the reader to a closer understanding with the characters and, ultimately, the conclusion.

Splendid Early Novel by Greg Bear
Without question, Greg Bear has been one of science fiction's best writers and prose stylists for decades. He has successfully written everything from hard core space opera to cyberpunk and fantasy. Here in "Hegira", he successfully combines elements of fantasy and space opera in a terse, riveting tale about the life-long search of the secrets behind the obelisks and the enormous world that is Hegira, inhabited by several intelligent civilizations, including humans, who have forgotten their interstellar space travel origins. Bear's prose is as finely crafted as an early Samuel Delany novel in this little gem of a novel. "Hegira" was well worth reading; without a doubt it is a splendid example of Greg Bear's early work.

Awesome!
I absolutely loved reading this book. It was a mesmerizing and fantastic story with implications that blew my mind (read it about 10 years ago, as a matter of fact, and glad to see new printings coming out). The obelisks are a fascinating idea, how the civilizations of the planet will only discover the higher technology inscribed on the obelisk when they are able to reach the "higher" levels of the obelisk to read what is written on it. I was shocked and dismayed when one of the obelisks fell, crushing an entire civilization! This is as fascinating a sci-fi story as you will ever find, and it is storytelling that will stay with you.

Read it or die
Wow. I was amazed by Greg Bear's brilliant sense of literary artistry. Every chapter evolved into an eloquent journey, enticing the reader into the quilt that is being knit before your eyes by this author. This work is nothing short of amazing. For too long has conceptual writing been avoided. Even for non-regulars, this work contains the rare ability to capture a once wary wanderer and find himself wandering down a gloomy alley in one of Hegira's elegant cities. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book, now. ... Read more

Product Description
Fifty years after professor Challenger’s discovery of the Lost World, America’s last dinosaur circus has gone bankrupt, leaving a dozen avisaurs, centrosaurs, ankylosaurs, and one large raptor abandoned. Now a daring expedition plans to do the impossible: return the Jurassic giants to the wild. Two filmmakers, a circus trainer, a journalist, and a young Peter Belzoni must find a way to take the dinosaurs across oceans, continents, rivers, jungles, up a mountain that has been isolated for 70,000 years... TheAmazon.com Review
Remember Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World,in which an expedition led by Professor George Edward Challenger discovered anAmazonian plateau where dinosaurs still roamed? In Dinosaur Summer, Greg Bear assumes that Challenger's expedition really took place, and thatfor nearly 50 years dinosaurs have been relatively commonplace in zoos andcircuses throughout the world. But the beasts are not easily kept incaptivity, and slowly but surely their numbers are dwindling. Now thereis only one dinosaur circus left, and it's shutting down. The dinosaurtrainer wants to return his animals to the wild, so an expedition isorganized to return the dinos to their nearly inaccessibleplateau. Accompanying the group (which includes special-effects master RayHarryhausen) is 15-year-old Peter Belzoni, the son of the NationalGeographic photographer covering the story. The boy is about tohave the adventure of a lifetime. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Dinosaur Summer
Good story. Slow to start but pace picks up. Nice addition to have Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien in story. Do not know why this was never made into a film. Steven Spielberg, where are you?

A return to Doyle's Lost World
A half century after Professor Challenger and his team of explorers discovered "The Lost World," with its isolated population of dinosaurs and other living fossils, the last dinosaur circus has finally gone bankrupt.The show can no longer go on, but what will happen to the animals?Why not return them to their home, releasing them to their native habitat?And, as a bonus, film the expedition, turning it into a money-making theatrical event?

This book follows from the premise of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World", where Challenger discovers his dinosaurs, and like Doyle's work, it is an adventure story.Fully half the story is about the journey, as the expedition faces challenges both phyiscal and political as they embark on their quest.The prose here isn't as flowery as Doyle's, but the story is equally compelling, as the story builds to a dramatic climax on the plateau.Greg Bear also shows a better developed understanding of evolution, providing an array of animals that might be plausible evolutionary descendents of the original dinosaurs that found themselves isolated in this Lost World.Fans of adventure stories and of dinosaurs should all find this book satisfying.

A fun book
I enjoy this book, even though it's juvenile fiction.I love the premise, and wish that it were true...

A remote tepui in South America is home to creatures from the past...the way past.This lost world is a dangerous one, yet a wondrous place for a boy and a returning group of dinos that have spent years in a traveling Dinosaur Circus.

It would make a fantastic movie, something done like "The Valley of Gwangi" with lots of cool dinos.Sure, CGI could do it, but I like the vintage look of stop-motion, and it has that B-movie sense to it.

If you like this one, move to the adult section and get Eric Flint's collaborative effort, "Boundary," which is another specimen of Dinosauria literature.

Cute, but hardly compelling
I picked this book out as an easy summer read; just something to have on hand by the pool. I was hoping for something with a bit of excitement along the lines of Jurrasic Park or the original The Lost World, but this book was a disappointment. It had its moments, but for the most part it'spredictable. Some of the action bits were confusing, the timeline was baffling (should have been established far better and earlier) the narrative got sloppy once or twice (non-sequiters introduced like they were valid responses to whatever just happened) and the characters' motivations were pretty murky at times. (I recall one instance where Pete notes his father looked 'empty' for no reason at all, and I couldn't figure that one out.) Still, there were a few moments of good, entertaining storytelling and some genuinely tense action scenes. I think the trouble with this story is that there's no way it could live up to anything by Conan Arthur Doyle. It was a poor premise to choose; the style was too different and it seemed derivative rather than a clever homage.

A love letter to the thunder lizards
A departure from Bear's usual hard sf, Dinosaur Summer is a love letter to the thunder lizards and to those who brought them to life in literature and on the silver screen.Bear posits an alternate reality where Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger actually did visit The Lost World in 1912, bringing dinosaurs back to the outsideworld.The result?Boredom, as the novelty of these strange creatures quickly fades.In the end the great dinosaurs,removed from their ecological niche in Venezuela, are relegated to sideshow status.

The book chronicles the adventures of Peter Balzoni, a young man on the cusp of adulthood.It's 1947, and Peter's photojournalist dad Anthony has been hired by National Geographic to record the efforts of Circus Lothar to return their dinosaurs to the Venezuelan plateau of El Grande.Also filming this extraordinary event are Willis O'Brien (who did the special effects on a box office flop called King Kong) and his protégé, Ray Harryhausen.

Bear sets a leisurely pace, taking his time getting his cast to El Grande, but, once they arrive, the book moves very fast.Peter and friends are trapped on the plateau and have to find their way out before they are devoured by the saurians and other creatures stalking them.The last third of the novel is non-stop action, as its stalwart heroes hurtle from one peril to the next, on their way towards a (mostly) happy ending.

The book pays homage to pulp fiction and the action/adventure genre in general, with particular reference to writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Rice Burroughs.What seems like a straightforward adventure story conceals some deeper points, however.Bear brings a nineties' sensibility to his text, indirectly commenting on man's tendency to exploit lesser beasts, and questioning the rights of superpowers to interfere in the political affairs of smaller nations.Bear also delves into the spiritual lives of the Amazon tribesmen, giving them more depth than they would have received if this story had been written several decades ago.The closed environment of El Grande also allows Bear to speculate on what might have evolved there.Doing so, he updates and justifies Doyle's science, and carries it so far as to create his own species, among them lizard-monkeys and the hive dwelling communisaurs.

For an adventure story, the book's pace was almost unforgivably slow--at times I found myself wishing that the expedition would finally reach Venezuela so the real action could begin.Also, except for Peter and Anthony, there was little depth to the characters in the novel;Bear, for the most part, ignores the rest of his cast. Still, I was willing to overlook these faults and indulge the eight year old dinosaur lover in me, the kid who thrilled to movies like King Kong, The Lost World (the Irwin Allen version) and Journey to the Center of the Earth.Displaying an utter lack of pretension, Bear delivers an enjoyable yarn that ultimately satisfied both that eight year old and his older, stodgier incarnation. ... Read more

Product Description
Bear and Mouse are looking for luck. Four-leaf clover luck. Will they find it? Monkey says thereÂ’s no such thing. Turtle thinks itÂ’ll take too long. And Groundhog wonders if theyÂ’ll be unlucky if they canÂ’t find one! Suddenly Bear isnÂ’t sure if he should keep looking or give up . . . until Mouse sees something unusual.

“Does it have four leaves?” asks Bear.

“No . . .” says Mouse. Maybe Bear and Mouse’s luck has changed. But which way?

Greg Foley gives us another wonderful, heartwarming surprise with Good Luck Bear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful, simple, but beautiful book
This is a terrific book.My 18 month old loves it almost as much as I do.I don't have Foley's other books yet, but I will definitely get them aftering seeing how much she loves this one.The books are wonderfully illustrated and just sweet in an unique way.I highly recommend.

Highly recommend this charming book, good for young toddlers as well as pre-schoolers
Don't wait for the minimum recommended age (4) to get the books in this series for your child. I started reading Thank you Bear when my kids were around a year old. My children's love of it evolved throught their different developmental phases...first they listened, then talked about the animals and colors, then asked questions about the story. With the series of 3 now available, the kids are asking for the different ones by title, excited to hear again and again about what Bear is doing in each.

beautifully written, beautifully illustrated!
I read this book to my daughter every night for months. she could not hear it enough.

FOLEY DOES IT AGAIN
GREG FOLEY CONTINUES TO INSPIRE AND ENCOURAGE WITH THIS STORY - A GREAT BED TIME READER FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES - SWEET DREAMS

Hurray for Good Luck Bear!
I love this book as much as the other two in the bear series by Greg Foley.It puts a smile on my face whenever I read it to my son and he loves it too.It is refreshingly simple and touches my heart. ... Read more

Product Description
With his acclaimed novels Darwin’s Children and Vitals, award-winning author Greg Bear turned intriguing speculation about human evolution and immortality into tales of unrelenting suspense. Now he ventures into decidedly more frightening territory in a haunting thriller that blends modern technology and old-fashioned terror, as it charts one man’s inexorable descent into a world of mounting supernatural dread.

For the last two years, Peter Russell has mourned the death of one of his twin daughters—who was just ten when she was murdered. Recent news of his best friend’s fatal heart attack has now come as another devastating blow. Divorced, despondent, and going nowhere in his career, Peter fears his life is circling the drain. Then Trans comes along. The brainchild of an upstart telecom company, Trans is (as its name suggests) a transcendent marvel: a sleek, handheld interpersonal communication device capable of flawless operation anywhere in the world, at any time. “A cell phone, but not”—transmitting with crystal clarity across a newly discovered, never-utilized bandwidth . . . and poised to spark a new-technology revolution. When its creators offer Peter a position on their team, it should be a golden opportunity for him. If only he wasn’t seemingly going mad.

Everywhere Peter turns, inexplicable apparitions are walking before him or reaching out in torment. After a chilling encounter with his own lost child he begins to grasp the terrifying truth: Trans is a Pandora’s box that has tapped into a frequency not of this world . . . but of the next. And now, via this open channel to oblivion, the dead have gained access to the living. For Peter, and for humankind, a long, shadowy night of the soul has descended, bringing with it the stuff of a horrifying nightmare from which they may never awaken.

By turns spine-tingling, provocative, and heart-wrenching, Dead Lines marks a major turning point in the consistently dazzling storytelling career of Greg Bear. Alongside its hero, Dead Lines peers into the darkest place we can imagine and wonders—fearfully—what might be peering back.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Unbelievably Bad
This is a very poorly written book. It's supposed to be somewhat of an homage to the horror genre, as the book is dedicated to various scary authors, but it fails utter at being even remotely scary. The plot plods and is confusing, there is absolutely no suspense, and the ending is confusing and leaves one wondering what happened in the book. I am actually surprised this book was allowed to be published. Bear tries certain tricks--one of which is to write something, and then have a line in italics, as if that line is supposed to bring home the horror or the creepiness or whatever. But Bear fails laughably at this. He writes something, and then, as if he's just counting the lines between italicized lines, he'll put a line in with italics. Bear has written a scary book before--Psychlone--but I don't what he was thinking here. It just fails on pretty much every level.

Towards the end I couldn't wait for it to end!
I'll start by saying that Greg Bear is a fantastic
and gifted writer.The first book I ever read by him
was Eon some years back and it blew. me. away.
This was followed by Forge of God and Darwin's Radio.
To my mind, Mr. Bear typically offers excellent
characterization, a fast pace and a solid plot. He
offers big insightful ideas that tend to stay with
me long after I have finished the book. Well, most
of the time.
Dead Lines was the 4th book I've read by Greg Bear and
I don't know what happened.he didn't just switch genres,
but seemed to alter the way in which he tells a story.
Its not a very scary book, nor suspenseful.We don't get
to know the characters that well, nor to care about them.
I also don't get the feeling that Mr. Bear has spent much
time considering the horror genre or the exploring the
supernatural, two things which would have helped this book
immensely.
Dead Lines is not a 'horrible book' but I was always
waiting for the 'it' moment, waiting for the 'hook' which
would redeem those doleful pages - and when all was said
and done, it was just 50 weak chapters of "eh."Thats just
my two cents(and you know, due to the economic downturn my
two cents is actually only worth .5 cents).
But you know what?I won't count Mr. Bear out.Horror
as such just doesn't seem to be his forte, while hard
sci-fi most definitly is!

Interesting Conception
The plot wasn't bad, nor the main character. The story flowed, but was lackluster towards the end. The plot and feel of the book just takes a dive 2/3 of the way through. Although the very end wasn't bad, the conclusion of the 'situation' was terrible. Hard to follow at the end, and understand what was going on.

I'd give this book 2 1/2 stars instead of 3.

Greg Bear's Worst?
This is possibly Greg Bear's worst book.All I can say is well conceived and extremely poorly executed.Read the other reviews for plot points.This review is a general one saying this work is very poorly developed.Also, as a person who has resided in the Bay Area for 40 years and who's also worked in the adult entertainment industry, I must say that it is dangerous and stupid for writers to try to write about things they do not understand or have no experience of (e.g. Bay Area life/culture and the adult entertainment industry).If you want a truly meaty and errie story about the Dead, try Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn books.Starts with The Reality Dysfunction.

Creepy - and not in a good way
I can't really explain why, but this book bothered me in a not good way.I kept waiting to have some emotional investment in the characters, but it felt more like a train wreck that you just can't look away from - very emotionally detached but determined to see it to the end.

Then again, the clown from the Stephen King novel "It" creeps me out in a bad way as well..... ... Read more

Product Description
A journey takes place three years after the events of The Phantom Menace. It stretches from the farthest reaches of known space to the battlefield of a young boy's heart, where a secret struggle is being waged that will decide the fate of millions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Star Wars - Rouge Planet
I thought this book was very good. I hope to purchase more in the series. ... Read more