- Hardcover: 343 pages
- Publisher: Time Warner International (May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0446529834
- ISBN-13: 978-0446529839
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15 x 3.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 510,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
Longing for nothing more than his simple trading life, Second-Best-Sailor unwittingly teams up with Servant-of-Unity XIV Samuel and another unlikely ally to help stave off an invasion by a Cosmic Unity mission fleet.
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Identifying with other creature's feelings is only one part of the problem. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Identifying with other creature's feelings is only one part of the problem. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Riot of Ideas, 29 Jun 2004
By Michael Gunther - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)
"Heaven," by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, is a science-fiction novel of ideas. Its philosophical themes include the mimetics of religion, quantum-mechanical entanglement, and the ecology of mind. But this is no dry academic exercise: it takes the reader on a wild ride with an exciting plot, psychologically plausible characters, and a galaxy full of truly amazing aliens. If you are looking for well-written speculative fiction that tickles your brain cells, you'll really love this book!
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
science fiction at its best, 12 May 2004
By Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)
HEAVEN is about religion & ecology. Reminiscent of how the Spanish conquerors of the Incas & Aztecs decided that it was much to the Indians' benefit to be killed to save their immortal souls. Stewart's & Cohen's far distant future saga is the story of one such war, & how the parts are definitely fragments of a greater wholeness.Rebeccasreads recommends HEAVEN as a riveting & enthralling science fiction story & like no other place you've ever imagined!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
interesting ideas presented in a clunky manner, 8 Feb 2007
By Rachel Thern "kiravae" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)
At the beginning of Heaven, a group of characters of various species are about to confront an unknown threat, a religion that presents itself as benevolent but leaves clues that it may not be. The religion, Cosmic Unity, with its centralized authority and its emphasis on the sacrifice of individual comfort for the greater good, has some similarities to both the Catholic Church and Communism. In Cosmic Unity's zeal to convert all sentient species in the galaxy, they have on occasion commited huge acts of violence against species that resist. Their version of the Golden Rule involves inflicting what they "know" to be in other's best interest, rather than what others would want for themselves. The authors blame these acts on church members' adherence to a virulent and flawed "memeplex" (as they call it), rather than on personal ethical failings, which could be argued either way.
The characters are likeable but not much time is spent on character development. The authors' strength is imagining the biology of many different species that could exist in the galaxy. Their weakness is in imagining different kinds of psychology. It doesn't make sense that a religion started in part by humans would appeal across such a wide spectrum of life forms while humans' closest relative, Neanderthals (rescued from Earth by sentient ships) would be the strongest holdouts. It is also not believable that so many beings would tolerate a religion where they are kept in the dark as to what the central authority is doing. The authors want to present the idea that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" when it could as easily be in this case "power corrupts".
Despite a failure of believability it's hard to totally dislike a book which has, halfway through the story, a scene in which a squid lost in a desert meets a sentient pond and they discuss the mind-body problem.
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