Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Tor Science Fiction (2009), Edition: First, 512 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction & Fantasy. HTML: In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and was never resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical physicist girlfriend, Sharon, become interested. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't. Why? What was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago? In 1348, as the Black Death is gathering strength across Europe, Father Deitrich is the priest of the village that will come to be known as Eifelheim. A man educated in science and philosophy, he is astonished to become the first contact between humanity and an alien race from a distant star when their interstellar ship crashes in the nearby forest. Tom, Sharon, and Father Deitrich have a strange and intertwined destiny of tragedy and triumph in this brilliant novel by the winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award..… (more)
Media reviews
Booklist, 103 (2): 33
"Flynn credibly maintains the voice of a man whose worldview is based on concepts almost entirely foreign to the modern mind, and he makes a tense and thrilling story of historical research out of the contemporary portions of the tale."
Kirkus Reviews 74 (16): 815.
"Another meticulously researched, intense, mesmerizing novel (based in some part on a 1986 short story) for readers seeking thoughtful science fiction of the highest order."
User reviews
LibraryThing member Meredy
What do you think of an author who
- writes "the cries of joy he wrang from God's presence,"
- misspells "delirium" as "delerium" (where was spellchecker? where was the editor?),
- misuses "nexus" (which means a system of connections or connected things, as in a network or series of links) as if it
- misspells one of his own fictitious place names (which is also the title of the book),
- drops suddenly and without warning from a third-person omniscient narrative into a first-person POV ("Tom once told me") and then drops back out of it again, with no explanation,
- switches POV from one character to another in the middle of a paragraph, without cuing the switch, so that suddenly the character is seeing himself in the third person,
- invents coy little linguistic devices such as referring to a height in "shoes" instead of in feet,
- partway in, starts delivering characters' speeches in quasi-German syntax, as if they were all speaking English with a German accent, instead of giving us a normal-sounding English equivalent of their German utterances--but not even from the beginning; only starting well along in the story,
- includes some German text that's wrong (Dorp instead of Dorf for "village"),
- has a medieval character recognize a computer as a machine, invent language to describe it that just happens to match 20th-21st-century technological language, and also allude to a "screen" with no prior explanation,
and
- delivers quantities of labored, pretentious-sounding sentences using a vocabulary that seems to be just a little bit beyond him, as if he had been picking words out of a thesaurus for their impressive sound without quite having a full command of their meaning, connotations, and usage?
Right. That's why I'm abandoning Eifelheim on page 92.
(not rated)
- writes "the cries of joy he wrang from God's presence,"
- misspells "delirium" as "delerium" (where was spellchecker? where was the editor?),
- misuses "nexus" (which means a system of connections or connected things, as in a network or series of links) as if it
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meant "crux of the matter,"- misspells one of his own fictitious place names (which is also the title of the book),
- drops suddenly and without warning from a third-person omniscient narrative into a first-person POV ("Tom once told me") and then drops back out of it again, with no explanation,
- switches POV from one character to another in the middle of a paragraph, without cuing the switch, so that suddenly the character is seeing himself in the third person,
- invents coy little linguistic devices such as referring to a height in "shoes" instead of in feet,
- partway in, starts delivering characters' speeches in quasi-German syntax, as if they were all speaking English with a German accent, instead of giving us a normal-sounding English equivalent of their German utterances--but not even from the beginning; only starting well along in the story,
- includes some German text that's wrong (Dorp instead of Dorf for "village"),
- has a medieval character recognize a computer as a machine, invent language to describe it that just happens to match 20th-21st-century technological language, and also allude to a "screen" with no prior explanation,
and
- delivers quantities of labored, pretentious-sounding sentences using a vocabulary that seems to be just a little bit beyond him, as if he had been picking words out of a thesaurus for their impressive sound without quite having a full command of their meaning, connotations, and usage?
Right. That's why I'm abandoning Eifelheim on page 92.
(not rated)
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LibraryThing member jbdavis
Briefly: imagine that in the 14th century a little village in the depths of the Black Forest has an alien space ship crash nearby. The aliens look like giant grasshoppers. Naturally, many of the local peasants think they are demons. Others, however, especially the village priest who was educated in
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Paris, take into consideration what makes a creature "a man." In other words, what constitutes a soul and therefore makes it incumbent upon us to treat aliens as we would wish to be treated? Flynn does an excellent job of recreating the 14th century mindset so this is not simply a story told with modern sensibilities in a long ago setting. As well, there is a brief modern-day story investigating the village of Eifelheim that seemed fairly superfluous until the very end of the book. Likewise, a seemingly extraneous character, Judy, is the one that gives the long-dead villagers and aliens their final humanity. I immediately requested another of Michael Flynn's books from the library. This did take me a while to finish as it might be called "cerebral science fiction" but it is well worth it, especially to those who enjoy seeing Christianity treated with respect in such a setting. Show Less
LibraryThing member Course8
A captivating book, which posits that an alien spacecraft, filled with scientists, tourists and crew, crash lands in the woods near a medieval village. As they struggle to repair the craft, the aliens also try to survive in a strange world. The village pastor leads the villagers to assist the
There are lots of discussions of theology and philosopy along with technology as interpreted by a 14th century perspective. Is it magic or natural science or the work of demons? I found this novel to be interesting for the depth of medieval lore. As well, I was intrigued by the way stranded aliens, named Krenken, are gradually introduced to a German feudal village. The cognitive dissonance is telling in that it is not dissimilar to how some present day communities respond to outsider groups of different culture or ethnicity. This book reminds me of Children of God by Mary Doria Russell in the way that it shows how difficult it is to communicate concepts. As well, it shows how difficult it is to communicate theology and religious beliefs.
Flynn tries to unpack the idea of genetic destiny. The Krenkens, who evolved from insectile, colony-based ancestors, have a fundamentally different psychology and social structure than humans. As they become more human/humane I wonder what would have happened in a scenario where human travelers become stranded in a pre-industrial Krenken world.
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aliens even as he struggles to understand whether they are creatures with souls and therefore like people, or they are without souls and therefore like intelligent animals. Meanwhile, others believe they are demons. A parallel story in modern times finds a cliologist trying to unravel why the site of the village has never been repopulated after the decimation of the plague while his wife is exploring multi-dimensional physics. There are lots of discussions of theology and philosopy along with technology as interpreted by a 14th century perspective. Is it magic or natural science or the work of demons? I found this novel to be interesting for the depth of medieval lore. As well, I was intrigued by the way stranded aliens, named Krenken, are gradually introduced to a German feudal village. The cognitive dissonance is telling in that it is not dissimilar to how some present day communities respond to outsider groups of different culture or ethnicity. This book reminds me of Children of God by Mary Doria Russell in the way that it shows how difficult it is to communicate concepts. As well, it shows how difficult it is to communicate theology and religious beliefs.
Flynn tries to unpack the idea of genetic destiny. The Krenkens, who evolved from insectile, colony-based ancestors, have a fundamentally different psychology and social structure than humans. As they become more human/humane I wonder what would have happened in a scenario where human travelers become stranded in a pre-industrial Krenken world.
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LibraryThing member kd9
I've always thought that Michael Flynn has some of the best concepts in science fiction. I particularly liked the first half of In the Country of the Blind, but felt that although he had good ideas, he really didn't know where he was going with them. In Eifelheim I kept holding my breath. Would he
I am pleased to report that this mix of high physics and deep history does make sense. The historian delves into the history of an abandoned German village while his roommate investigates the possibilities of an abandoned Variable Light Speed Theory of Everything. In a parallel tale of the historian's village, a well educated village priest discovers and befriends a group of aliens who have used the physics investigated by the twenty-first century physicist to project themselves, unfortunately, into our twelfth century world.
Now my problem is choosing how to vote for the competing Hugo nominated novels. I am still very fond of Glasshouse by Charles Stross, but I am glad to have found this novel as well.
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find a satisfactory conclusion or would this fascinating twin tale of physics, first contact, and twelfth century philosophy and culture simply whimper to a close?I am pleased to report that this mix of high physics and deep history does make sense. The historian delves into the history of an abandoned German village while his roommate investigates the possibilities of an abandoned Variable Light Speed Theory of Everything. In a parallel tale of the historian's village, a well educated village priest discovers and befriends a group of aliens who have used the physics investigated by the twenty-first century physicist to project themselves, unfortunately, into our twelfth century world.
Now my problem is choosing how to vote for the competing Hugo nominated novels. I am still very fond of Glasshouse by Charles Stross, but I am glad to have found this novel as well.
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LibraryThing member delphica
(#5 in the 2008 book challenge)
This was fun and adventuresome -- a medieval German village is visited by travelers from space, a bit like The Name of the Rose meets Alien Nation, which is obviously a win-win right out of the gate. I do not read a lot of this type of story, so I don't know if it's a
Grade: A
Recommended: I'm not sure people who never enjoy science fiction would like this, but it would be perfect for those who like the occasional foray into science fiction, especially if it is contemplative. If you like books like Connie Willis's Doomsday Book and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, you will probably like this.
This was fun and adventuresome -- a medieval German village is visited by travelers from space, a bit like The Name of the Rose meets Alien Nation, which is obviously a win-win right out of the gate. I do not read a lot of this type of story, so I don't know if it's a
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very unique idea, but I got a huge kick from the premise of science fiction happening to people in the past. While we see most of the alien contact from the perspective of the earnest and open-minded village priest, I came to feel fondly about most of the villagers and became very invested in their stories. There are also parts of the book that take place in the present day, where modern scholars are studying this village -- and those parts I could have lived without. They make up a very small portion of the book overall (they are interspersed throughout), and don't give much information, and much of the information they do manage to convey is about the annoying personality quirks of the researchers, about whom I cared nothing. They're not around enough for me to get attached to them. I understand why the author wanted to include that kind of present day perspective, but this was not a great method of accomplishing that goal. On the plus side, those segments are brief enough that the reader is quickly back with the interesting villagers and aliens without too much harm.Grade: A
Recommended: I'm not sure people who never enjoy science fiction would like this, but it would be perfect for those who like the occasional foray into science fiction, especially if it is contemplative. If you like books like Connie Willis's Doomsday Book and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, you will probably like this.
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
This novel will become one of the very few I keep to savor again, along with titles such as "The Eqyptologist" by Arthur Phillips and "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. The multiple layers of history, science, linguistics, philosophy and plot would all benefit from a second reading.
As the plague
And here lies the depth of the book, because the villagers have their own cosmology to describe the world they perceive, and several members of each group attempt to understand the other, the villagers to understand what’s happening and the visitors to find a way to go home. The visitors have technology which allows them to learn the local language, but only to a point. Abstractions prove the foundering point, as with the priest’s assertion that the Lord rises to heaven (the skies) at Easter, which leads some travelers to be baptized so they can get home by going with Him. William of Ockham visits at one point, on his way to make peace with the Pope (historically, he disappeared on the way), and the priest has a past which brings up various historical events of the time.
Interspersed through this story is that of a present-day couple working through separate scientific projects (one on variable light speed and the other on population anomalies) which are destined to collide head-on and bring the village’s story into a new perspective. There is a nice building of suspense and dread throughout the story, and generally the author leaves it to the reader to decipher German, Latin and scientific terms, making the read dense and enveloping. The only complaint I had was with the priest’s choice of pointedly modern terminology to describe some of the travelers’ technology (e.g., their fotografik devices which render pictures for them) – just a bit too jarring for the reader enmeshed in the medieval.
For all the alien travelers and modern interpretations by the scientists, this did not read like science fiction but as a story of cultures and languages colliding. Most of the tale takes place in the village and is told from the priest’s learned viewpoint. Very compelling, especially coming hard on the heals of reading "A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos".
As the plague
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approaches through the Black Forest of Germany in 1348/49, a group of wayfarers appears in a lightning storm near a tiny village deep in the woods. The travelers, who resemble more than anything giant grasshoppers, awaken diverse reactions among the villagers. Some decide demons have descended on them, others that these are people from an unexplored part of the world. The more thoughtful among the inhabitants, including the priest, a visiting monk, and the lord of the manor and his sergeant, take a more nuanced approach, giving the newcomers a chance to act and explain themselves before drawing conclusions. The visitors are, of course, interstellar travelers, but they have crashed into a world which thinks the stars circle the earth nearby and which has no sense of modern physics, cosmology, or time theory. And here lies the depth of the book, because the villagers have their own cosmology to describe the world they perceive, and several members of each group attempt to understand the other, the villagers to understand what’s happening and the visitors to find a way to go home. The visitors have technology which allows them to learn the local language, but only to a point. Abstractions prove the foundering point, as with the priest’s assertion that the Lord rises to heaven (the skies) at Easter, which leads some travelers to be baptized so they can get home by going with Him. William of Ockham visits at one point, on his way to make peace with the Pope (historically, he disappeared on the way), and the priest has a past which brings up various historical events of the time.
Interspersed through this story is that of a present-day couple working through separate scientific projects (one on variable light speed and the other on population anomalies) which are destined to collide head-on and bring the village’s story into a new perspective. There is a nice building of suspense and dread throughout the story, and generally the author leaves it to the reader to decipher German, Latin and scientific terms, making the read dense and enveloping. The only complaint I had was with the priest’s choice of pointedly modern terminology to describe some of the travelers’ technology (e.g., their fotografik devices which render pictures for them) – just a bit too jarring for the reader enmeshed in the medieval.
For all the alien travelers and modern interpretations by the scientists, this did not read like science fiction but as a story of cultures and languages colliding. Most of the tale takes place in the village and is told from the priest’s learned viewpoint. Very compelling, especially coming hard on the heals of reading "A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos".
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LibraryThing member byroade
Two storylines thread through this novel, one set in the present, the other in 1348-1349. In the "now" storyline a historian comes to wonder why the site of the village of "Eifelheim" was never resettled after the Black Death depopulated the area, and so he starts to dig. The majority of the novel
This is a story of first contact, because the lost wayfarers are aliens. The village priest is a Parisian scholar, banished to the obscure village, familiar with the leading cosmological thinkers of his day: Buridan, Bacon, and Occam. This priest realizes that the aliens are not supernatural and is open enough to the rational thought of his own day to undertake to communicate with them and aid them. For the reader, and for the village's people, there is the ever-looming specter of the Plague to come. We know our friends are doomed.
Flynn demands your attention and intelligence as he realizes the daily life of a 14th-century German village and calls upon us to understand the worldview of its inhabitants. In some ways we, the 21st century readers, have more in common with the aliens than with these medeival humans whose understanding of the universe is so different from our own. (The storyline in the present is relatively thin and gets a little irritating at times, just stick with it.) The book is beautifully written, extremely intelligent, and engaging, but it is not a light read. Read this when you are wide awake.
(This is an expansion of a Hugo-nominee novella from over a dozen years ago, and that provided the basis for the "now" storyline.)
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is spent in the doomed village during the last year of its life when its populace offered succor to a group of lost wayfarers, demonlike in their appearance, who arrived with a great fire in the nearby woods.This is a story of first contact, because the lost wayfarers are aliens. The village priest is a Parisian scholar, banished to the obscure village, familiar with the leading cosmological thinkers of his day: Buridan, Bacon, and Occam. This priest realizes that the aliens are not supernatural and is open enough to the rational thought of his own day to undertake to communicate with them and aid them. For the reader, and for the village's people, there is the ever-looming specter of the Plague to come. We know our friends are doomed.
Flynn demands your attention and intelligence as he realizes the daily life of a 14th-century German village and calls upon us to understand the worldview of its inhabitants. In some ways we, the 21st century readers, have more in common with the aliens than with these medeival humans whose understanding of the universe is so different from our own. (The storyline in the present is relatively thin and gets a little irritating at times, just stick with it.) The book is beautifully written, extremely intelligent, and engaging, but it is not a light read. Read this when you are wide awake.
(This is an expansion of a Hugo-nominee novella from over a dozen years ago, and that provided the basis for the "now" storyline.)
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LibraryThing member KingstonUCA
Can a non-human creature have a soul? That is one of many questions Father Dietrich, pastor of a German village, has to ask himself when he encounters creatures whose spaceship has crashed in the nearby Black Forest in the year 1348. In many ways the medieval mind, steeped in gargoyles and other
Though not an overtly Christian novel (you won’t find it at Koorong), Eifelheim is a terrific realisation of the lost world of Middle Ages Christendom, and Father Dietrich is one of the most inspiring Christian characters I have ever seen portrayed in fiction. A deeply rational man, he applies his considerable powers of reason to follow the logical consequences of a faith that is deeper still, to their ultimate, quite moving conclusion.
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fantastical creations, may well have been better prepared for a first alien contact than the modern. Despite instinctive revulsion at the aliens’ disturbingly demonic appearance, Dietrich soon recognises them as ‘neighbours’ in the New Testament sense. The other villagers, however, need a bit of convincing...Though not an overtly Christian novel (you won’t find it at Koorong), Eifelheim is a terrific realisation of the lost world of Middle Ages Christendom, and Father Dietrich is one of the most inspiring Christian characters I have ever seen portrayed in fiction. A deeply rational man, he applies his considerable powers of reason to follow the logical consequences of a faith that is deeper still, to their ultimate, quite moving conclusion.
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LibraryThing member dulac3
An interesting take on the First Contact story. This one takes place in the Middle Ages, as an alien ship crash lands in the Black Forest of Germany near the small village of Oberhochwald. Tied in to this tale of the past is one that takes place in the present as two researchers (and lovers) try to
I found the tale in the past to be the more compelling of the two, though they do work well together as a whole. Flynn does an excellent job of bringing to life a realistic Middle Ages that doesn't look sneeringly down on the "superstitious savages" of that age. All of the characters we meet in Oberhochwald are fully developed people, none of whom are simply "good" or "bad". In many ways it is actually they, and not the extra terrestrials, who are the real aliens to the modern reader as we struggle to comprehend the worldview that they take for granted. Despite this I found them all to be ultimately sympathetic, human characters. We primarily follow the story of Father Dietrich, the intelligent and sympathetic pastor of the Oberhochwald church as he first investigates, and then befriends the benighted starfarers, but all of the other people from his village whom we see cover tha gamut of human experience and become more than just placeholders for "character type X".
The Krenk, the insect-like aliens from another world, are by turns humorous and frightening in their interactions with the humans of the small village and Flynn again does an excellent job of making even these non-human pseudo-hivemind creatures into fully fleshed-out "people" (without falling into the trap of making his aliens simply humans in rubber suits).
As the story in the past builds up from a mystery into a full-blown tragedy that both we and the characters of the story see as the almost inevitable outcome of the circumstances in which they find themselves, we can do little but watch in fascinated horror. Despite this tragedy Flynn does not leave us without hope: we see in the heroic actions of the characters of this tale (both human and alien) an acknowledgment that goodness can cross all boundaries and we are given examples of selflessness and love that are truly inspiring.
Next to this tragedy of life, love and death it perhaps isn't surprising that the story of two modern researchers grappling with the intellectual enigma of a lost medieval village and the secrets it may hold pales somewhat in comparison. The modern portions of the story still do hold some interest and are ultimately able to bring the tale full circle to a point of completion that is elegant in its resolution.
Highly recommended.
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solve the mystery of the disappearance of the village of Eifelheim (once called Oberhochwald) from recorded history and the implicatiosn this may have on their separate fields of study. I found the tale in the past to be the more compelling of the two, though they do work well together as a whole. Flynn does an excellent job of bringing to life a realistic Middle Ages that doesn't look sneeringly down on the "superstitious savages" of that age. All of the characters we meet in Oberhochwald are fully developed people, none of whom are simply "good" or "bad". In many ways it is actually they, and not the extra terrestrials, who are the real aliens to the modern reader as we struggle to comprehend the worldview that they take for granted. Despite this I found them all to be ultimately sympathetic, human characters. We primarily follow the story of Father Dietrich, the intelligent and sympathetic pastor of the Oberhochwald church as he first investigates, and then befriends the benighted starfarers, but all of the other people from his village whom we see cover tha gamut of human experience and become more than just placeholders for "character type X".
The Krenk, the insect-like aliens from another world, are by turns humorous and frightening in their interactions with the humans of the small village and Flynn again does an excellent job of making even these non-human pseudo-hivemind creatures into fully fleshed-out "people" (without falling into the trap of making his aliens simply humans in rubber suits).
As the story in the past builds up from a mystery into a full-blown tragedy that both we and the characters of the story see as the almost inevitable outcome of the circumstances in which they find themselves, we can do little but watch in fascinated horror. Despite this tragedy Flynn does not leave us without hope: we see in the heroic actions of the characters of this tale (both human and alien) an acknowledgment that goodness can cross all boundaries and we are given examples of selflessness and love that are truly inspiring.
Next to this tragedy of life, love and death it perhaps isn't surprising that the story of two modern researchers grappling with the intellectual enigma of a lost medieval village and the secrets it may hold pales somewhat in comparison. The modern portions of the story still do hold some interest and are ultimately able to bring the tale full circle to a point of completion that is elegant in its resolution.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member seanvk
I just finished reading Eifelheim by Micahel Flynn. This book is a captivating story. Firstly, it reveals life in 14th century Germany at the time of the Plague. The Christianity practiced in that time period was more inquisitive and distinct. It was also the time of invention and inquiry into the
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natural sciences. Within that earthy realm between philosopher and pastor, the story unfolds about stranded travelers from another place. Interpretations of faith, body, and spirit among philosophers and monks of the time present an opportunity to look at faith anew as well as life and death in the time of the Plague. This story is one that I will long remember, not from the novelty of the premise, but rather the ideas and questions it brings about in terms of ones own faith and reconciling that with life that is human in ability but not in nature. Show Less
LibraryThing member TerriBooks
I was intrigued at the idea of "first contact" in medieval times, just now realized. This could have been a better novel than it was. Lots of it was great fun. But the author ruined the story by inserting pages of discussion about every theological, scientific and philosophical question of the
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fourteenth century. It got in the way of the movement of the story. But he redeemed himself at the end - I thoroughly enjoyed how he wrapped it all up. I wish that maybe a bit more work and editing had gone into this novel; it's on the verge of doing something really fascinating. Show Less
LibraryThing member stacyinthecity
Wow, what a book! This is a book that really gives you a lot to chew on.
It has 2 main storylines, one taking place in the present and one in the past. In the present a historian is trying to figure out why a particular medieval village in the Black Forest was never resettled after the the plague.
In the past, we learn of the last inhabitants of the village. They are minding their own business when aliens appear in the nearby forest. The village people, to varying degrees, interact with the aliens, learning from them, teaching them, befriending them, and in some cases, even converting them to Christianity.
What results is a very complex story. The conversations between the priest and the aliens reveal medieval attitudes on religion, philosophy and science. Intertwine this with the descriptions of day to day medieval German village living, the humans and aliens meeting for the first time, and the modern time lines and description of science and you find every sentence is packed with nuance and meaning.
In fact, it is so packed, that I need to read it again. I know I missed important bits and pieces. I know I picked up the book and read it when I was too tired or distracted to fully concentrate. This is a book that demands undivided attention.
The tension in this novel comes from the fact that we know aliens land just a year before the village is deserted, and though we assume that the aliens have something to do with the villages abandonment and later taboo status, we don't know exactly what happens. It definitely kept me turning pages quickly. When we discover the full reason at the end, it almost seems like a bit of a let down as there is no big A-HAH moment. I wish it had tied up everything a little differently, but this is not a major criticism.
It has 2 main storylines, one taking place in the present and one in the past. In the present a historian is trying to figure out why a particular medieval village in the Black Forest was never resettled after the the plague.
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All of his models indicate it should have been, so he begins researching the village at its final year. His girifriend is a theoretical physicist, concerned with her own complex theories that revolve around the speed of light and the multi-dimensional universe.In the past, we learn of the last inhabitants of the village. They are minding their own business when aliens appear in the nearby forest. The village people, to varying degrees, interact with the aliens, learning from them, teaching them, befriending them, and in some cases, even converting them to Christianity.
What results is a very complex story. The conversations between the priest and the aliens reveal medieval attitudes on religion, philosophy and science. Intertwine this with the descriptions of day to day medieval German village living, the humans and aliens meeting for the first time, and the modern time lines and description of science and you find every sentence is packed with nuance and meaning.
In fact, it is so packed, that I need to read it again. I know I missed important bits and pieces. I know I picked up the book and read it when I was too tired or distracted to fully concentrate. This is a book that demands undivided attention.
The tension in this novel comes from the fact that we know aliens land just a year before the village is deserted, and though we assume that the aliens have something to do with the villages abandonment and later taboo status, we don't know exactly what happens. It definitely kept me turning pages quickly. When we discover the full reason at the end, it almost seems like a bit of a let down as there is no big A-HAH moment. I wish it had tied up everything a little differently, but this is not a major criticism.
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LibraryThing member revslick
I'll I can say right now is Wow!! I haven't read a good Sci-fi/theology book since the Mistborn series. This would make an excellent book club read. The story involves aliens stranded in a medieval German town experiencing the onset of the plague. The novel moves back and forth from the 21st to the
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14th century creating a slight hard-scientific element and a possibility of a second novel. Ultimately, the novel asks two thematic questions: can aliens convert to Christianity and where is God amidst tragic suffering. I won't give it away, but let's just say as soon as I finished the novel I placed it back in my stack of books to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Eifelheim by Michael Flynn opens in modern times with a historical mathematician and a physicist, a husband and wife, Matt and Sharon, who study a medieval German settlement called Eifelheim trying to find out why this town disappeared after the outbreak of the Black Death in the 14th century. They
This was an intriguing and interesting story with it’s main focus on the village priest, who at first thinks that these creatures are demons but soon realizes that they are living beings. As a Christian scholar, it is hard for him to grasp the concept that they are from another world. He learns to communicate with the Krenken and these philosophical, religious and scientific conversations are of things nearly beyond his comprehension and at times he wonders what God’s purpose in this can be. As the Black Death strikes at their village, the Krenken, who are immune to the disease, are also dying from a lack of an amino acid essential to their diet but not found on Earth.
This was a quiet, thoughtful read that although becomes a tragedy, leaves us with an uplifting message of hope as promises are made toward a peaceful future. I much preferred the story-line that was set in the past over the one in the present which I found somewhat tedious but the two stories did blend well and helped to explain the science. The author’s research was rich and detailed, and I loved how the aliens were so very non-human yet approachable.
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are excited about the implications their findings will have on each of their fields of study. The story then jumps back in time to allow the reader to find out what happened when in actuality aliens crashed near this village in 1349. This was an intriguing and interesting story with it’s main focus on the village priest, who at first thinks that these creatures are demons but soon realizes that they are living beings. As a Christian scholar, it is hard for him to grasp the concept that they are from another world. He learns to communicate with the Krenken and these philosophical, religious and scientific conversations are of things nearly beyond his comprehension and at times he wonders what God’s purpose in this can be. As the Black Death strikes at their village, the Krenken, who are immune to the disease, are also dying from a lack of an amino acid essential to their diet but not found on Earth.
This was a quiet, thoughtful read that although becomes a tragedy, leaves us with an uplifting message of hope as promises are made toward a peaceful future. I much preferred the story-line that was set in the past over the one in the present which I found somewhat tedious but the two stories did blend well and helped to explain the science. The author’s research was rich and detailed, and I loved how the aliens were so very non-human yet approachable.
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LibraryThing member JGolomb
"Eifelheim" is one of those transcendent science fiction stories where an author is able to treat very human and Earth-bound issues with a well-reasoned and fascinating gloss of aliens and science. Author Michael Flynn's alien mythos and capabilities are believable and seamlessly integrated into
I picked up "Eifelheim" for two reasons. I love a good story of first contact. I find myself continually drawn to the classics in this sci-fi genre, but also the classic tales of first contact of the very terrestrial kind: human exploration and discovery. Hernan Cortes and his first Aztec meetings as well as Pizarro and the Incas hold a special fascination for me, as do much of that era’s tribal first contact with “civilizations”.
I also read this story because of a recommendation I'd found upon finishing Connie Willis' "Doomsday Book"...a terrific time travel/historical fiction tale also based in plague-era Europe. The books are very similar in their structure of parallel stories that bounce between medieval-specific storylines and modern plots and interactions that drive the overall plotlines.
The core of “Eifelheim” revolves around a middle-ages Catholic priest who manages a church in the high forests of Germany. This quiet little fairy tale village, Oberhochwald, is literally shaken at its' roots following a freakishly strong and sudden storm. Much more than a storm, an alien ship has crash-landed and Father Dietrich is thrust to the forefront of this tale of first contact.
In parallel, two scientists - a historian and physicist - independently come across clues that slowly reveal why this village, over time, not only changed names to Eifelheim, but also completely disappeared from the historical map.
Flynn does a masterful job of combining the root middle-ages story with the all-too-brief and tantalizing modern day vignettes. In combination, they build a compelling mystery with well-rounded and emotive characters (both human and alien).
The aliens are unable to easily manufacture the components required to fix their ship and return home...and with the help of a translating mechanism, the foreigners and country-folk find an uneasy peace in their co-habitation.
The heart of Flynn's book is really about discovery and the very human and relatable interactions between these beings from very different worlds and different societies. The aliens aren't just different biologically (they look like giant grasshoppers) and technologically, but they exist with an imbued sense of community and innately bred need to live within a very structured societal existence.
As the historian delves deeper into the mystery of the missing village, he discovers the myth and legend behind Eifelheim. And this is where the story shines. Flynn builds a wonderful world out of this middle-ages town and the odd circumstances of its disappearance. Father Dietrich develops the initial and most poignant relationships with the aliens who come to be known as the Krenken and over time takes full advantage to turn these beings into new parishioners.
The Krenken are introduced to Christ as the "lord of the stars" whom the people expect to return soon to save humanity. The Krenken see in this man-above-men their own savior... an individual who may be able to rescue them from Earth and help them return home. Numerous times does Flynn write of the conflict between the figurative and literal that is often taken for granted. But when placed in a first contact context, these become all too obviously intrusive and confusing.
The Krenken see a strong sense of individualism in the humans...something that doesn't exist amongst themselves. And over several months a few of the aliens "go native" and seek opportunities to further blend in with the Oberhochwald community.
I fear exposing too much of this wonderful story that is best read by unwrapping each layer after satisfying layer. Flynn marvelously reveals the inner character of humans and aliens alike while immersing the reader in the existence of life during middle ages Europe. The book touches on evolutionary theory, the age of religious and scientific enlightenment, and the thinking that propels the world out of the dark ages and into the brightness of the renaissance.
"Eifelheim" is scientific and science fiction. It's also history and historical fiction. And while doing all of these things very well, the book is character driven and implemented so well by Flynn that it crosses the boundaries of traditional categorization.
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the very real history of plague-era Germany.I picked up "Eifelheim" for two reasons. I love a good story of first contact. I find myself continually drawn to the classics in this sci-fi genre, but also the classic tales of first contact of the very terrestrial kind: human exploration and discovery. Hernan Cortes and his first Aztec meetings as well as Pizarro and the Incas hold a special fascination for me, as do much of that era’s tribal first contact with “civilizations”.
I also read this story because of a recommendation I'd found upon finishing Connie Willis' "Doomsday Book"...a terrific time travel/historical fiction tale also based in plague-era Europe. The books are very similar in their structure of parallel stories that bounce between medieval-specific storylines and modern plots and interactions that drive the overall plotlines.
The core of “Eifelheim” revolves around a middle-ages Catholic priest who manages a church in the high forests of Germany. This quiet little fairy tale village, Oberhochwald, is literally shaken at its' roots following a freakishly strong and sudden storm. Much more than a storm, an alien ship has crash-landed and Father Dietrich is thrust to the forefront of this tale of first contact.
In parallel, two scientists - a historian and physicist - independently come across clues that slowly reveal why this village, over time, not only changed names to Eifelheim, but also completely disappeared from the historical map.
Flynn does a masterful job of combining the root middle-ages story with the all-too-brief and tantalizing modern day vignettes. In combination, they build a compelling mystery with well-rounded and emotive characters (both human and alien).
The aliens are unable to easily manufacture the components required to fix their ship and return home...and with the help of a translating mechanism, the foreigners and country-folk find an uneasy peace in their co-habitation.
The heart of Flynn's book is really about discovery and the very human and relatable interactions between these beings from very different worlds and different societies. The aliens aren't just different biologically (they look like giant grasshoppers) and technologically, but they exist with an imbued sense of community and innately bred need to live within a very structured societal existence.
As the historian delves deeper into the mystery of the missing village, he discovers the myth and legend behind Eifelheim. And this is where the story shines. Flynn builds a wonderful world out of this middle-ages town and the odd circumstances of its disappearance. Father Dietrich develops the initial and most poignant relationships with the aliens who come to be known as the Krenken and over time takes full advantage to turn these beings into new parishioners.
The Krenken are introduced to Christ as the "lord of the stars" whom the people expect to return soon to save humanity. The Krenken see in this man-above-men their own savior... an individual who may be able to rescue them from Earth and help them return home. Numerous times does Flynn write of the conflict between the figurative and literal that is often taken for granted. But when placed in a first contact context, these become all too obviously intrusive and confusing.
The Krenken see a strong sense of individualism in the humans...something that doesn't exist amongst themselves. And over several months a few of the aliens "go native" and seek opportunities to further blend in with the Oberhochwald community.
I fear exposing too much of this wonderful story that is best read by unwrapping each layer after satisfying layer. Flynn marvelously reveals the inner character of humans and aliens alike while immersing the reader in the existence of life during middle ages Europe. The book touches on evolutionary theory, the age of religious and scientific enlightenment, and the thinking that propels the world out of the dark ages and into the brightness of the renaissance.
"Eifelheim" is scientific and science fiction. It's also history and historical fiction. And while doing all of these things very well, the book is character driven and implemented so well by Flynn that it crosses the boundaries of traditional categorization.
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LibraryThing member JenneB
Hm. This was enjoyable, and had good characters, but I kept waiting for some kind of OMG! moment that just never really came. I thought that the researchers in the future were going to make some exciting discovery, but all they discovered was the thing in the past that we knew about all along.
Still, aliens-visit-13th-century-Germany is a pretty good story.
One other nitpick--it weirded me out that the aliens were supposed to be speaking bad German, but the way that was portrayed in the book was by having them speak English using German grammar. Also irritating--the priest would keep coming up with the modern word for a concept that he didn't have, e.g. "a sound coming from a small box? I shall call it...mikrofonos! The study of the mind and emotions? Psychologos!" (I am paraphrasing here; I don't remember the words exactly).
It was cute at first, but then started to remind me of Ayla in The Clan of the Cave Bear and how she invented basically everything ever--sewing, flint, arrows, the internet, etc.
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Still, aliens-visit-13th-century-Germany is a pretty good story.
One other nitpick--it weirded me out that the aliens were supposed to be speaking bad German, but the way that was portrayed in the book was by having them speak English using German grammar. Also irritating--the priest would keep coming up with the modern word for a concept that he didn't have, e.g. "a sound coming from a small box? I shall call it...mikrofonos! The study of the mind and emotions? Psychologos!" (I am paraphrasing here; I don't remember the words exactly).
It was cute at first, but then started to remind me of Ayla in The Clan of the Cave Bear and how she invented basically everything ever--sewing, flint, arrows, the internet, etc.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
EIFELHEIM is a unique first contact novel. An alien craft crashes on 14th century Earth, just outside an isolated village in Germany. The village priest, Father Dietrich, is a man of reason and science. He discovers the aliens and forms a connection to them, eventually introducing them into his
Flynn depicts daily life in the Middle Ages in great detail, such that the village and its inhabitants became very real to me. Besides imbuing the story with historical interest, he also brings in quantum physics to explain interstellar flight, and even plays the two disciplines off one another in a parallel story that takes place in the present (or near future). A physicist and her historian boyfriend discover the secret history of Eifelheim and thus unlock the potential for humans to move into space.
But most of the novel takes place in the past. Flynn depicts his medieval villagers and their alien visitors almost lovingly, as real people with real flaws who nonetheless are doing the best they can. But both the people and the aliens are victims of the larger forces of the universe. The aliens are stranded in a time when the technology to repair their ship simply doesn't exist, and they cannot get adequate nutrition from Earth food. Then the Plague comes to the village.
This brings up religious and philosophical questions, which Father Dietrich asks: Are the aliens also children of God who can be saved? What is the meaning, if any, of their coming to that particular time and place on Earth? The answers are left up to the reader. In the end, the village itself is lost, its secret buried for 700 years, waiting for someone to happen upon it.
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village.Flynn depicts daily life in the Middle Ages in great detail, such that the village and its inhabitants became very real to me. Besides imbuing the story with historical interest, he also brings in quantum physics to explain interstellar flight, and even plays the two disciplines off one another in a parallel story that takes place in the present (or near future). A physicist and her historian boyfriend discover the secret history of Eifelheim and thus unlock the potential for humans to move into space.
But most of the novel takes place in the past. Flynn depicts his medieval villagers and their alien visitors almost lovingly, as real people with real flaws who nonetheless are doing the best they can. But both the people and the aliens are victims of the larger forces of the universe. The aliens are stranded in a time when the technology to repair their ship simply doesn't exist, and they cannot get adequate nutrition from Earth food. Then the Plague comes to the village.
This brings up religious and philosophical questions, which Father Dietrich asks: Are the aliens also children of God who can be saved? What is the meaning, if any, of their coming to that particular time and place on Earth? The answers are left up to the reader. In the end, the village itself is lost, its secret buried for 700 years, waiting for someone to happen upon it.
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LibraryThing member drbubbles
A marvellous story beautifully told. Reminds me of Dinesen's "Sorrow-Acre."
LibraryThing member AwesomeAud
Centuries ago, a small town in Germany disappeared and was never resettled. Tom, a historian, seeks to find the reason; by all logic a town *should* be there. As he searches through ancient documents, a bizarre story comes out.
Father Dietrich is the village priest in the year 1348, when the Black
Father Dietrich is the village priest in the year 1348, when the Black
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Death sweeps through Europe. An alien ship becomes stranded nearby, and it's crew and passengers are unable to leave. Dietrich does his best to help both the villagers and the aliens in the face of death. Show Less
LibraryThing member Shrike58
I'm not sure that I have much more to say about this tale of alien beings stranded in medieval Germany just before the arrival of the Black Death that hasn't been said by other reviewers. I will say that Flynn might have expanded the near future portions of the book in terms of character
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development, if only because I would have liked to seen the relationship between the cliometrician and the archivist teased out more. Flynn does get points in my book for making his core romantic relationship so matter of fact and, well, unromantically realistic. Show Less
LibraryThing member karenzukor
plague meets aliens. But a really good book for all that.
LibraryThing member Kadi1120
What would happen if aliens got stranded on Earth during the Middle Ages?
Split into two different stories taking place during the Middle Ages and the present, Michael Flynn tackles this what-if in what I would argue is a very realistic way. The main story revolves around a small, German town and
Simultaneously, the present day point of view tells of a scientist trying to uncover why Eifelheim was abandoned centuries before, for no apparent reason.
Flynn does a good job in making the visitors suitably alien (no Star Trek aliens here), and the Middle Age inhabitants rational, thinking, realistic people (the Middle Ages were hardly as dark and unenlightened as is commonly accepted.)
The ending is a bit abrupt, and the priest's naming of the aliens' contraptions feels rather stretched, but aside from that, a very enjoyable and interesting read.
Split into two different stories taking place during the Middle Ages and the present, Michael Flynn tackles this what-if in what I would argue is a very realistic way. The main story revolves around a small, German town and
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its inhabitants when they encounter a ship of aliens stranded in the nearby forest. Told from the point of view of the parish priest, it follows the events as the people become acquainted with these visitors, and what happens as a result. Simultaneously, the present day point of view tells of a scientist trying to uncover why Eifelheim was abandoned centuries before, for no apparent reason.
Flynn does a good job in making the visitors suitably alien (no Star Trek aliens here), and the Middle Age inhabitants rational, thinking, realistic people (the Middle Ages were hardly as dark and unenlightened as is commonly accepted.)
The ending is a bit abrupt, and the priest's naming of the aliens' contraptions feels rather stretched, but aside from that, a very enjoyable and interesting read.
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LibraryThing member santhony
This novel begs obvious comparison to Connie Wills’s dual Nebula/Hugo Award winning Doomsday Book. Two separate story threads, one being present day, another lying in the Middle Ages; the difference being that Wills’s work featured time travel while Eifelheim’s nod to science fiction is first
Current day historian Tom Schwoerin discovers an unexplained anomaly, a 14th century, Black Forest population center which inexplicably disappears, and despite all accepted theory, is never reestablished. The Middle Ages thread explains how this comes about. Spicing up the present day narrative, is theoretical physicist Sharon Nagy, Schwoerin’s domestic partner, whose groundbreaking theories on the speed of light ultimately merge with Schwoerin’s research in a way that strains credibility to the extent that it actually detracts from the story.
The medieval thread is told through the eyes of a priest, Dietrich, who discovers and befriends a group of aliens (the Krenken) whose spaceship has “appeared” in the forest surrounding his village. The Krenken obviously possess technology that is strange and new to the medieval villagers, who are split over whether to succor the endangered visitors or “kill the demons, whose presence may be connected to the rapidly spreading pestilence (Plague)”.
While I felt that Wills did a fine job in depicting the Middle Ages and the horror of the plague in Doomsday Book, her present day story thread was lacking in a way that Eifelheim’s is not. With the exception of perhaps dabbling in theoretical physics too extensively, I found both narratives in this book to be engaging and thought provoking. While I thought the coincidental merger of the scientists’ theories was irritating and ridiculous; of the two, I felt Eifelheim was the better effort.
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contact.Current day historian Tom Schwoerin discovers an unexplained anomaly, a 14th century, Black Forest population center which inexplicably disappears, and despite all accepted theory, is never reestablished. The Middle Ages thread explains how this comes about. Spicing up the present day narrative, is theoretical physicist Sharon Nagy, Schwoerin’s domestic partner, whose groundbreaking theories on the speed of light ultimately merge with Schwoerin’s research in a way that strains credibility to the extent that it actually detracts from the story.
The medieval thread is told through the eyes of a priest, Dietrich, who discovers and befriends a group of aliens (the Krenken) whose spaceship has “appeared” in the forest surrounding his village. The Krenken obviously possess technology that is strange and new to the medieval villagers, who are split over whether to succor the endangered visitors or “kill the demons, whose presence may be connected to the rapidly spreading pestilence (Plague)”.
While I felt that Wills did a fine job in depicting the Middle Ages and the horror of the plague in Doomsday Book, her present day story thread was lacking in a way that Eifelheim’s is not. With the exception of perhaps dabbling in theoretical physics too extensively, I found both narratives in this book to be engaging and thought provoking. While I thought the coincidental merger of the scientists’ theories was irritating and ridiculous; of the two, I felt Eifelheim was the better effort.
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LibraryThing member tpi
Fairly good book, but nowhere as good as the original novella.
Hard reading and a bit boring reading at times - far too much discussion about medieval theology and far too little about the aliens. Some small nitpicks - spacefaring (or at least dimensionfaring) aliens for whom seasons are a surprise?
Hard reading and a bit boring reading at times - far too much discussion about medieval theology and far too little about the aliens. Some small nitpicks - spacefaring (or at least dimensionfaring) aliens for whom seasons are a surprise?
LibraryThing member MarkCWallace
Offers more promise than it delivers.
Two parallel stories; one set in Medieval times featuring aliens, and another in the near future featuring a type of historian. The historical characters are far more lovingly drawn and believable than those in the near future - which is sad, because they could
I enjoyed the mystery in the past, and the loving attention to period details. I was particularly fond of the complex, dimensioned relationship that the historical characters had to religion, faith and morality.
Flynn has written better things, but this is worth a read.
Two parallel stories; one set in Medieval times featuring aliens, and another in the near future featuring a type of historian. The historical characters are far more lovingly drawn and believable than those in the near future - which is sad, because they could
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have been quite interesting. The past also has a more interesting plot than the future, but both could fairly be accused of "meandering". I wish that there'd been more of a focus. I enjoyed the mystery in the past, and the loving attention to period details. I was particularly fond of the complex, dimensioned relationship that the historical characters had to religion, faith and morality.
Flynn has written better things, but this is worth a read.
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Subjects
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006-10-17
Physical description
512 p.; 4.2 inches
ISBN
0765340356 / 9780765340351