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Read Eon (1991)

Eon (1991)

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Series
Rating
3.84 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0812520475 (ISBN13: 9780812520477)
Language
English
Publisher
tor science fiction

Eon (1991) - Plot & Excerpts

----------------------------------------------I've been amazed at the number of readers that have been so underwhelmed by Eon. This astounding book was published in 1984 and did not anticipate the end of the Cold War, only half a decade away. Some say, with self-righteousness nurtured by hindsight, that this is a major flaw in this book. But most sleepwalking Americans, at the time, had no clue of the Eurasian (and Eastern European) realities of the times. This is not Greg Bear’s fault. It was, and is, the result of the political propaganda, still alive, fed to the public in large doses. What is forgotten is that from the Cold War assumptions seen by the average, contemporary, 1984 world citizens--however blind to the evident realities of Russian/Soviet internal decay and near collapse—-the times still presented a very, very real global threat of planetary atomic annihilation. Some folks today, still argue that very similar, very real threats of atomic annihilation, fueled by other multi-polar realities (oil shortages, water shortages, cultural chauvinism, etc.), still exist and never really went away. And, for that reason alone, this book is still very contemporary. In fact, one can intelligently argue that mankind is still very, very close to destroying itself in a number of frighteningly different ways. The Cold War itself is immaterial to that threat of self-destruction.The near collapse of mankind, in the very near future, is the premise of this book by Greg Bear. This "Hard Science" Fiction, or "New Space Opera" speculates along the lines where mathematics and physics intersect with time and alternate realities. Greg Bear is not the superb master of characters and political speculation in which Ursula Le Guin - Left Hand of Darkness excels, nor is he a smooth story teller such as Ray Bradbury. But Greg Bear has followed the more traditional science fiction of Arthur C. Clarke. And on that path he excels.And in Eon he goes past Arthur C. Clarke. He shows us who this guy, Greg Bear really is. This book pulls the rug out from under the reader about 25% of the way into the reading; and I will not spoil that reality shift for you.And then you are taken places you have never been.

This book represents many interesting ideas; not least of which , how (as readers) do we react to a “future vision” that is wrong?This novel is set in 2005, and it takes it a little getting used when reading this in the modern day (2014).On the whole, I usually like Greg Bear, but reading this reminded me of how limited his vision of the future is. He never foresaw the rise of technology and networked communications in the way that Clarke or Asimov did, and as a result there were some key descriptions that suffered.That quibble aside, this is a page turner of a book… up to a point. The prose is good, and there are plenty of cliffhangers. The air of intrigue as a mysterious hollow meteorite orbits our world is comparable with Rendezvous with Rama, and there is plenty of tension as one crisis leads to another.However, some of the concepts feel underdeveloped. On many occasions, it felt that we were going to be hit with a revelation, akin to understanding the true nature of the Monoliths (2001), only for a whimpered “it’s too advanced to comprehend.” This was disappointing because it means that either Bear never had a fully formed idea, or doesn’t credit his readership with the intellect to understand.There are some saving details, albeit granular. Computer files are transferred in "memory blocks" - not far off from flash drives. And “slates” are used to interface with computers, just like tablets now. However the political vision remains mired in the 80’s, and it struggles for it.Perhaps the biggest problem is that this book touches (but does not fully explore) the idea of an infinite number of universes, and therefore an infinite number of “you’s”. Whilst ok in principle, it renders the actions of the characters pointless. Their victory or failure is utterly devoid of meaning, and resulted in me disengaging about two-thirds of the way through.In short, lots of good ideas that are never fully realized. Whilst it makes for compulsive reading, there is ultimately little pay off.Read once.

What do You think about Eon (1991)?

Review – ReduxThere should be a picture of Eon in the dictionary: right next to “Sense-of-wonder-SF”.Reading this book was like listening to a complicated symphony. Eon opens as a near future artifact, or big-dumb-object, tale largely inspired by Rendezvous With Rama. The novel then progresses through a number of movements, each more mind-numbing and awe-inspiring than the previous. It is therefore no great surprise that the book eventually evolves (or devolves, depending on your point of view) from Hard Science Fiction to a form of Space Opera. Then, of course, there is the grand finale, which is really something else.Like the early Uplift novels by David Brin Eon seems to be a bridge between old school and the new as far as Science Fiction is concerned. I am by no means a buff. Anyway, I really enjoyed the novel. It embodies what I have come to love about Sci-Fi. There was a lot about the novel I didn't understand at all, but I was awed. Another work I was reminded of while reading this was Ringworld (Larry Niven). It was a challenge to envision what I was reading, but getting there is part of the thrill.Despite the dated cold war politics, which seems to be a grievance to some reviewers, this book did not seem dated at all. Considering the alternate universes and time-lines being casually tossed about here, that kind of thing shouldn’t even be an issue. The focus did shift unexpectedly between characters from time to time, but I felt that this was in tune with the way the novel was constructed. Each new discovery leads to a new focus, until the discoveries spiral out of control and the reader is left breathless and stunned.A novel as ambitious and complicated as this is bound to draw negative criticism. I would never expect different. However, I would urge you to form your own opinion. So, if you enjoy artifacts in Science Fiction, this is mandatory reading. I have to agree with another reviewer - there are moments when you have to put the book down and just stare into space, assimilating. This is an experience, not a read.RecommendedFavourites
—Dirk Grobbelaar

EON.Not really sure how I feel after reading this. It certainly is full of some very good sci-fi ideas. Hard Sci-Fi for sure. I like the idea of the infinately long linear universe, 'The Way', created by man kind's future descendents. Within this 'corridor' universe, humanity has evolved into several different kinds of entity; some humanoid, some completey abstract and exist as recorded memories. A whole new social structure exists, strange and complex.The book deals with how our current mankind deals with his future, and his tragic past. The tragedy at the start of the book is of the worst order. The future is uncertain.The technology throughout the book is beyond understandable science, but within the acceptable level of imagination. My problem with the book is that Greg Bear has not created any characters whom I feel any affinity to. None of the characters have much depth beyond what is required to allow the plot. It is with some sadness that I can say that after reading this, I couldn't care what happened to any of them!The universe is described in a purely scientific method. I understand the size of everything in metres; I can visualize the shape of everything in terms of poygons, discs, spheres etc.. But I did not feel any atmospheric description of any of the locations. All a bit cold and sterile.The book took a while to get through because I just could not stay hooked long enough. The book left me a little underwhelmed.Although... I have thought about it a lot in my mind since, which is a good thing!In my humble opinion.. quite good.
—Bill Wellham

If you like your space epics meaty - Greg Bear offers you possibly one of the meatiest epics of all. Eon takes a cast of heavyweight characters, a grand stage, and a complex space-time problem that'll make your nose bleed every other chapter.The stage for the story is "The Stone", a large asteroid in Earth's orbit. The Stone is hollowed out and devised into a number of chambers, each chamber serving a specific purpose. A multi-national group of scientists and forces are responsible for researching the Stone, but the political set-up and secrecy around the project is responsible for serious political tensions that has repercussions throughout the story.All this seems relatively pedestrian, until a discovery is made which transforms the story along a completely different line, bringing in elements of time travel, alternative universes, advanced beings and some heavyweight relativity.It's brilliant.It's stitched together amazingly well, throwing bucket loads of science-fiction at the reader whilst maintaining a cohesive narrative. The characters are well fleshed out, and there's some excellent development of those characters as the story progresses. It's a great effect, and makes for quite a pacey story, while still having real meat to it. The world-building is effective, from the Stone itself to the cities revealed later in the book.Eon is the first book in "The Way" trilogy. I have only read this one, and it stands well enough alone, but there is plenty of material here which makes the idea of a full trilogy perfectly feasible.Worth every page - but read while either awake or caffeinated. It is not dry, but it is most certainly heavy reading, in concept if not in verse.
—Kian

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