my Major, a young astronomer at the observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii,
discovers a strange new object in space that appears to emit gamma ray bursts at
13-hour intervals. She presents her data to her supervisor, Benjamin
Knowlton, who enlists his friends at
observatories around the world to track the object. It's not long
before his old friend and rival, Kingsley Dart, shows up at Mauna Kea to
involve himself in the investigation.
Soon it becomes apparent that the object is much stranger than
first imagined. For one thing, it's a lot closer than the astronomers originally guessed,
closer even than the Oort Cloud. Channing Knowlton, Benjamin's wife and a
former astronaut turned astronomer, calculates that the object is actually
quite small, but has a mass equal to that of the moon. And as it passes
into the outer solar system, they observe it changing directions to
intercept tiny asteroids. Channing dubs it "The Eater of All Things." However, this display of possible intelligence clearly demonstrates that
the object is no mere astronomical phenomenon.
Partly through the machinations of Dart, the U.S. government, led by a mysterious group called the U Agency, takes over operations at Mauna Kea. This creates a significant culture clash with the scientists. More importantly, though, the Eater begins communicating with the scientists. Although it evades many questions, it does reveal that it is seven and a half billion years old and
was originally a black hole that passed through the planet of an ancient
civilization. The civilization managed to save remnants of itself as
data in the black hole's magnetic fields, and now the black hole travels through space searching for other civilizations. It first asks for uploads of Earth's cultural works, but its demands soon become much more ominous.
A realistic alien visitation
Gregory Benford has built a reputation for his realistic depictions of how
scientists act and work as well as for accurate science, and
Eater exhibits these very strengths. Although there are some peripheral
personal issues between the main characters (for example, the complex history of the relationships between Benjamin, Channing and Kingsley), everyone in the book mainly focuses on understanding what the Eater is and what it wants. Benford deftly shows the process of scientific investigation without overexplaining the science itself. But the science overwhelms the characterization. This is particularly true in the interactions between the U Agency bureaucrats and the scientists, whose conflicts mostly take place offstage. Even so, Benford is able to create a very convincing story of what might well happen if Earth were visited by such a being, including a plausible depiction of the political
reactions.
The Eater itself is fascinatingly portrayed, and Benford creates a
situation complex enough that the decisions to be made in dealing with the
creature are agonizingly difficult. Part of the dilemma stems from the
Eater's selectiveness in answering questions, but the Eater is a solitary
being, and it's not clear to the scientists whether social concepts and
reactions have much meaning for it. Benford exploits this effectively, creating an alien that's not only intelligent and
unpredictable, but which has a viewpoint that makes sense to itself, even if the implications are menacing for the civilizations it contacts.
Eater is a fine science fiction novel. While it may have a few
minor flaws, overall Benford creates a fresh, convincing and entertaining
first contact story that raises some interesting philosophical questions
and remains true to the scientific process as well as to the science.
Though I've always thought that Benford is the most literary of the hard
science fiction writers, in his last two novels I think he's backtracked a
little toward more traditional hard SF techniques. But he still does hard
SF better than almost anyone else around.
-- Clint
he Confederation is made up of diverse alien races, all of whom have
outgrown militaristic pasts. Now they are so evolved that none of their
members is able to commit murder, even in self-defense. This happy state of
affairs is disrupted, however, when an aggressive race called the Others
begins expanding into Confederation territory. Faced with extinction, the
peace-loving races recruit new Confederation members: younger species,
including humans, who are still battle-capable. These younger species form
an army to hold the Others at bay.
Torin Kerr is a member of this army, the staff sergeant of a platoon of
marines composed of three species: humans, Taykan and Krai. She and the
soldiers under her care have just seen action against the Others, and are on
leave, attempting to recover from physical injuries and emotional
exhaustion. Unfortunately, the Confederation is hoping to recruit a fourth
aggressive species to its cause, and the potential ally--reptilian aliens
known as the Silviss--will respect the diplomatic team only if it arrives
complete with a combat-seasoned honor guard. Kerr's platoon finds its leave
turned into a working vacation.
At first the mission proceeds exactly to plan--the diplomatic duties are
boring but restful, and the Silviss, though profoundly violent, appear
compatible with the Confederation armed forces. Then a terrorist attack
strands Kerr's platoon in a wildlife preserve. In this preserve, young
Silviss warriors hone their combat skills on anything and everything that
moves. Outnumbered and responsible for a group of pacifist civilians--not to
mention several wounded marines--Kerr must hold her platoon together and
keep the young Silviss at bay. The question is--can they survive long enough
to be rescued?
Violent, yet upbeat
Readers who enjoy military SF will love Tanya Huff's Valor's
Choice. Based loosely on the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift, one of the early battles of the Zulu War, the
adventures of Torin Kerr offer a multi-faceted view of infantry warfare. The
level of detail is intricate, and as the platoon's situation goes from bad
to desperate, the blow-by-blow of combat is delivered with a focus on
character as well as with lots of empathy and humor.
The novel's greatest strength is its mix of alien races, among both the
marines and the civilian diplomatic mission. The aliens themselves are less
than original--one race is essentially elven; another is giant spiders--but
the overall mix of cultures creates interesting
tactical situations during the battle. Clearly, the mixed marines are
stronger than the homogeneous Silviss. This is an optimistic worldview, and
an upbeat counterpoint to the bloodshed which takes place
over the course of the novel. Also balanced against the high body count is
Huff's dialogue, which is snappy and humorous, enmeshed in the racial
diversity of the platoon.
As a heroine, Kerr shines. She is cut from the same mold as Ellen Ripley
of the Aliens films: tough but humane, fiercely protective of her
charges, and utterly determined to prevail. Readers who prefer protagonists
with feet of clay may have trouble warming up to Kerr. Indomitable, she
never puts a foot wrong, and the whole platoon knows it can count on
her.
Like her heroine, Huff delivers the goods. Valor's Choice does not
make light of war, but at the same time it is incredibly fun to read.
Howlingly funny and very suspenseful. I enjoyed every word.
-- Alyx
my Major, a young astronomer at the observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii,
discovers a strange new object in space that appears to emit gamma ray bursts at
13-hour intervals. She presents her data to her supervisor, Benjamin
Knowlton, who enlists his friends at
observatories around the world to track the object. It's not long
before his old friend and rival, Kingsley Dart, shows up at Mauna Kea to
involve himself in the investigation.
he Confederation is made up of diverse alien races, all of whom have
outgrown militaristic pasts. Now they are so evolved that none of their
members is able to commit murder, even in self-defense. This happy state of
affairs is disrupted, however, when an aggressive race called the Others
begins expanding into Confederation territory. Faced with extinction, the
peace-loving races recruit new Confederation members: younger species,
including humans, who are still battle-capable. These younger species form
an army to hold the Others at bay.