shrikekali's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this sequel to THE FORGE OF GOD. It was even better than the first one, which isn’t usually the case. Better character development this time around.
gullevek's review against another edition
4.0
Much better than the first part. And the best thing is, they are only loosely connected, so you can actually skip the first one and read this one instead.
While it starts of a bit weak and whiney it really gets good after about 1/4 of the book. I was utterly impressed because the first part read like a mediocre hollywood trash b-sci-fi-movie. I would recommend this one.
While it starts of a bit weak and whiney it really gets good after about 1/4 of the book. I was utterly impressed because the first part read like a mediocre hollywood trash b-sci-fi-movie. I would recommend this one.
faase's review against another edition
2.25
There are some great ideas and concepts in Anvil of Stars. I loved the alien races, especially the "brothers". Some of the described technologies are great too. But that's about it. The premise makes no sense, the motivation of the benefactors stays unclear, the character development, though existent, wasn’t really believable to me.
Anvil of Stars is far to long. The pacing is of by a mile, especially in the first 50-60% of the book. I only didn't DNF this, because I already had invested too much time in this book and its predecessor (Forge of God) and I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion. Admittedly, it's a good conclusion. Morally ambiguous in its message. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to outweigh all the negatives.
All in all, The Forge of God duology was a let down for me. While the first part at least had the popcorn movie "let's rip the world to pieces" ending going for it, the overly long second part leaves me unsatisfied. It's too little, too late and honestly, I didn't really care much about the characters anymore. That's kind of a death sentence for a book.
Anvil of Stars is far to long. The pacing is of by a mile, especially in the first 50-60% of the book. I only didn't DNF this, because I already had invested too much time in this book and its predecessor (Forge of God) and I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion. Admittedly, it's a good conclusion. Morally ambiguous in its message. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to outweigh all the negatives.
All in all, The Forge of God duology was a let down for me. While the first part at least had the popcorn movie "let's rip the world to pieces" ending going for it, the overly long second part leaves me unsatisfied. It's too little, too late and honestly, I didn't really care much about the characters anymore. That's kind of a death sentence for a book.
johnwillson's review against another edition
4.0
Great sci-fi. A simple mandate turns into a monumental moral dilemma. Actions are driven by personalities as much as reasoning. A great depiction of how personality conflicts and irrationality can derail a mission.
It's a little slow at times, and I grew tired of the politicking between characters. The science gets stretched thin by the end.
It's a little slow at times, and I grew tired of the politicking between characters. The science gets stretched thin by the end.
seereeves's review against another edition
1.0
I should have known this wasn't likely to be good, as the first one wasn't. However, this was a truly terrible book that I was unable to even finish.
bobreturns's review against another edition
2.0
This is a hard book to review. So I'm going to go with the "good, bad and the ugly" system.
The Good:
Cracking science fiction elements. Interesting aliens (especially the "brothers"), awesome technology, cool big space object stuff. All great.
The Bad:
Religious bollocks. We have a hand picked crew going out on a mission into space. So why does someone always go mental and try to start an insane religion? Another science fiction trope which needs to die a fiery death.
And why, oh why, do Science Fiction authors insist on having their characters be children? It makes for melodramatic, incompetent, naive interpersonal nonsense. It's lazy, implausible, and crap to read. It would only have made sense in context if the book had followed up on the possibility that they were being manipulated by the benefactors to use as a destructive catspaw (sadly this is not the case, the book is not that clever). Now on the one hand, Greg Bear seems to indicate that they're technically young adults (~20?) but he continually has them act childlike, emphasising their innocence and naivety. They call themselves children, refer to the boys as "lost boys" and girls as "wendys", which makes it all the more creepy when...
The Ugly:
The sex scenes. Dire sex scenes are a science fiction trope. And it's a bad one. But it's a lot worse when the author describes all the characters as children and has them refer to it as "slicking". That's gross Greg Bear, and it's unecessary. The first third of the book is almost unreadable as a result. I don't care that they're "technically adults", I'm on to you Bear, you creep.
Oh also, a tonne of casual misogyny and implied sexual coercion. Yuck.
The Good:
Cracking science fiction elements. Interesting aliens (especially the "brothers"), awesome technology, cool big space object stuff. All great.
The Bad:
Religious bollocks. We have a hand picked crew going out on a mission into space. So why does someone always go mental and try to start an insane religion? Another science fiction trope which needs to die a fiery death.
And why, oh why, do Science Fiction authors insist on having their characters be children? It makes for melodramatic, incompetent, naive interpersonal nonsense. It's lazy, implausible, and crap to read. It would only have made sense in context if the book had followed up on the possibility that they were being manipulated by the benefactors to use as a destructive catspaw (sadly this is not the case, the book is not that clever). Now on the one hand, Greg Bear seems to indicate that they're technically young adults (~20?) but he continually has them act childlike, emphasising their innocence and naivety. They call themselves children, refer to the boys as "lost boys" and girls as "wendys", which makes it all the more creepy when...
The Ugly:
The sex scenes. Dire sex scenes are a science fiction trope. And it's a bad one. But it's a lot worse when the author describes all the characters as children and has them refer to it as "slicking". That's gross Greg Bear, and it's unecessary. The first third of the book is almost unreadable as a result. I don't care that they're "technically adults", I'm on to you Bear, you creep.
Oh also, a tonne of casual misogyny and implied sexual coercion. Yuck.
genetsbastard's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps less tight in terms of structure than Forge of God, this sequel has at its center a deeply moral conundrum: How far do we take the Law? What does vengeance do to our souls? Vibrant, detailed and believable psycho-sexual social milieu and of course, dizzying hard sci-fi exposition, plus a moving, powerful theme, maybe even more relevant now post-9/11 than it was in 1991. Highly recommended.