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Product Description
Product Description
Set in a world of lunar colonies, cybernetic miracles, fanatic cults, deadly pollution and famine, the first story in the GALACTIC CENTRE CYCLE. This world of social decay is facing hardship, but not far beyond the shores of space comes a mystery, which one man, astronaut Nigel Walmsley is about to touch. From the author of TIMESCAPE.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Gregory Benford (1941 - ) A leading writer of 'Hard SF', Gregory Albert Benford was born in Alabama in 1941. He received a BSc in physics from the University of Oklahoma, followed by an MSc and PhD from the University of California, San Diego. His breakthrough novel, Timescape, won both the Nebula and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards, and he has been nominated for the Hugo Award four times and the Nebula twelve times in all categories. Benford has undertaken collaborations with David Brin and Arthur C. Clarke among others and, as one of the 'Killer Bs' (with Brin and Greg Bear) wrote one of three authorised sequels to Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. He has also written for television and served as a scientific consultant on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Gregory Benford lives in California, where he is currently Professor of Plasma Physics and Astrophysics at the University of California, Irvine, a position he has held since 1979.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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He found the flying mountain by its shadow. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
He found the flying mountain by its shadow. Read the first page
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Format:Hardcover
THis inaugurates an extremely ambitious series of scifi novels, which reached six in all. There are many mysterious references that are explained in later volumes, which serve to whet the appetite. Benford maintains a sense of mystery and wonder quite masterfully. In later volumes, it gets deeper and much better.
The plot is that a space pilot, Nigel Walmsley, an iconoclastic Brit. He discovers a remnant of an extremely ancient space vessel, which he disobeys orders to explore. What ensues is a wonderfully enigmatic encounter with an alien intelligence, whose intentions are not clear, though at times it seems menacing. The novel leaves many questions unanswered, in such incidents as a beam of energy that affects the way the Nigel can think, somehow changing the organization of his brain; there is also a signal of a change in the human genome.
The characters are what makes this writing exceptional, even if their sexual predilections (2 f's and one m) are a bit much after a while. Benford is a very good writer, one of the best at hard sci fi, but you do feel at times that he is straining to think up what happens next.
The plot is that a space pilot, Nigel Walmsley, an iconoclastic Brit. He discovers a remnant of an extremely ancient space vessel, which he disobeys orders to explore. What ensues is a wonderfully enigmatic encounter with an alien intelligence, whose intentions are not clear, though at times it seems menacing. The novel leaves many questions unanswered, in such incidents as a beam of energy that affects the way the Nigel can think, somehow changing the organization of his brain; there is also a signal of a change in the human genome.
The characters are what makes this writing exceptional, even if their sexual predilections (2 f's and one m) are a bit much after a while. Benford is a very good writer, one of the best at hard sci fi, but you do feel at times that he is straining to think up what happens next.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The author keeps you spellbound all of the time, making you want to continue reading non-stop. He has an excellent kmowledge of science fiction and knows exactly how to use it. I would reccommend his books to any serious sci-fi fanatic!
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the 3rd edition of this novel I've purchased! In The Ocean Of Night is easily my favourite novel, despite the fact that it started life as a series of novelettes published over several years in various American fiction magazines.
Benfords protagonist, Nigel Walmsley, is perhaps the most believable and richly drawn character in all of science fiction. Impulsive, independent, sometimes arrogant, occasionally wrong, but always capable of great leaps of imagination and faith.
The language and quality of the writing in this novel are way beyond what I've read in any book, in any genre written in the last five years. Somehow, even in the early and mid-1970's Benford identified a 1990's and early Millennium world of "dumbing-down", religious fanaticism, twisted morality, and even managers Gary Larson would have been proud to write about!
The story is richly drawn, slowly paced and takes a great deal of concentration to read. The reward though is worth it. Although he didn't win any awards with it, 'Ocean remains in print across more than two decades, and remains a thoroughly recommended read.
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