Shadows of Eternity - Gregory Benford

Shadows of Eternity

By Gregory Benford

  • Release Date: 2021-10-19
  • Genre: High Tech Sci-Fi
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 39 Ratings
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Description

“A fascinating plunge into a new world. I loved the idea of the SETI Library on the moon. Chasing wormholes is also a wild ride!” —Jack McDevitt, bestselling author of Octavia Gone

Shadows of Eternity is legendary author Gregory Benford’s return to interstellar science fiction as a discovery within the SETI library on the moon turns out to be deadly.

Shadows of Eternity is a novel set two centuries from now. Humanity has established a SETI library on the moon to decipher and interpret the many messages from alien societies we have discovered. The most intriguing messages are from complete artificial intelligences.

Ruth, a beginner Librarian, must talk to alien minds—who have aggressive agendas of their own. She opens doors into strangeness beyond imagination—and in her quest for understanding nearly gets killed doing it.

Gregory Benford is one of science fiction’s iconic writers, having been nominated for four Hugo Awards and twelve Nebula Awards. Shadows of Eternity marks Gregory Benford’s return to the sweeping galactic science fiction that readers have been waiting for.

Reviews

  • Amazing Story Two Centuries in Our Future

    4
    By Prairie_Dog
    “Shadows of Eternity” is a 2021 novel by science fiction author and astrophysicist Gregory Benford. He’s a legendary writer, probably best known for his Galactic Center Series. This recent novel is set two hundred years in the future. Humanity has expanded into the solar system. But more importantly, we have learned we are not alone. Many alien civilizations have sent out signals that we received and began deciphering. This is where the novel begins, on the SETI Library on the Moon. Our protagonist is Rachel, who has worked hard to make it to this venerable institution. She makes a case to attempt to decode one of the Library’s more complex messages. Her audacious plan is accepted, and to everyone’s surprise she succeeds. This is only the beginning of the wild ride the author has in store. We then move on to first contact with live aliens, the first of these are a creation of the late great Poul Anderson that he shared with the author. So in a way, this is a posthumous collaboration. Then we meet the ancient intelligent colonial organism beneath the surface of Mars. But that’s not all as they say! The final part of the book is involved in humans and the aliens trying to locate and use a wormhole mouth which the aliens came into our system using, but which moved away when they exited it. This wormhole chasing section takes the reader far into time and space. I enjoyed the book, and liked that the protagonist was a strong and intellectual woman. However, some have criticized the novel as it does show that she is a sexual being. Nothing pornographic, but she isn’t ashamed to have desires and to exercise them upon occasion. I didn’t find this problematic, but some have, so the reader should be aware of this aspect.

  • Excellent Beginning, Sluggish End

    4
    By gdub2019
    Really like this book, but it does lag in the last two hundred pages. Too much tech talk, not enough story. Still, a worthwhile read.

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