Subject: FORGE OF GOD

From: [email-masked] (Mark R. Leeper)
Date: 11 Dec 87 13:43:55 GMT

FORGE OF GOD by Greg Bear
			 Tor, no ISBN number, $17.95.
		       A book review by Mark R. Leeper
			Copyright 1987 Mark R. Leeper

     There is a curse that says, "May you live in interesting times."  If
you look back at what were the interesting eras in history, you will
understand why you want to live in the dullest times possible.  Well, you
can tell that you are in for an interesting time when Europa, one of the
moons of Jupiter, suddenly goes AWOL.  You can guess that something is
happening that is pretty unusual.  What is happening is that our world is
being invaded, not by one, but by two alien races at the same time.  Or
maybe it is just one race.  In any case, it is darn hard to tell what we've
been invaded by, but part of it is something that ate Europa, and that
cannot be a good sign.

     Unfortunately, it is a little tough to say much about FORGE OF GOD
without giving away too much of the plot.  It is quite likely that you have
not read an invasion novel in which the Earth has been invaded in quite this
way before.  This is certainly not a standard "interstellar gunship" sort of
invasion.  This is very much an alien invasion novel of the 1980s and it has
1980s concerns.  It concerns itself with questions like the Fermi Paradox,
which asks, with all the possible intelligent races out there, why haven't
we been contacted--it in fact comes up with a neat if not entirely pleasant
solution to this paradox.  It also deals with Von Neumann machines--the
cybernetic equivalent of viruses.  They do little in life but reproduce
themselves.

     It has been suggested that because FORGE OF GOD deals with these
concepts it is a very realistic science fiction novel.  I doubt that myself.
It contains up-to-date ideas, but there is a certain pomposity to saying
that in the 1960s we didn't know how really advanced aliens would be likely
to attack us but in the 1980s we do.  About the best I could say is that
FORGE OF GOD is a better guess than many we have seen before.  And still
there is a lot about the invasion technique that Bear leaves unexplained and
other parts that seem out-and-out wrong.  But overall, it is a novel that
keeps the reader guessing and turning pages.  That and some decent ideas to
chew on make this a well-above-average invasion novel.

					Mark R. Leeper
					ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
					[email-masked]


From: [email-masked] (Duane Morse)
Organization: Anasazi Inc., Phoenix AZ
Subject: _The_Forge_of_God by Greg Bear (no spoiler)
Date: 28 Nov 88 16:30:21 GMT

Time: near future

Place: Earth

SF elements: First Contact

Introduction: Europa disappears. Later, aliens land in Australia and in
California. The ones in Australia are robots and seem to have friendly
intentions. The one in California is a biological organism and announces
that the Earth is doomed to destruction.

Main storylines: the first contact, trying to figure out which story is
real and what action to take.

Critique: After the first few pages of this book you realize that you're at
the uppermost point of a rollercoaster ride and that you'd better get a
good grip on the safety bar. The story is a wonderful blend of hard
science (the main characters are scientists and science writers), action,
and drama. It's thrilling, exciting, and moving. My thanks to the person
on the net who first recommended this one.

Rating: 4.0 out of 4.0 - one of the best I've ever read.
-- 

Duane Morse	...!noao!{asuvax or nud}!anasaz!duane
(602) 861-7609