In the Ocean of Night

Disjointed and surprisingly uninvolving. Critically well received in 1978, this book would seem to have all the components for a great SF novel: space travel by an author who knows his science, first contact, cosmic implications, not at all pulpy, serious attempt at the personal side of things. And

yet, not once did I get pulled into the story or care a fig about any of the characters. Part of the problem is that this is a fix-up novel, based on separately published stories. It avoids the redundant passages that sometimes happen with such novels, but not the problem of many small conclusions replacing one grand arc. But for me the biggest issue is the coldness and flatness of the telling of the story. The protagonist is a pretty cold fish, going through some major personal crises early on, all of which he observes with a sigh. Even the sex scenes are clinically told.

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LibraryThing member DavidLErickson

The novel opens with Astronaut Nigel Walmsley landing on a comet headed for a collision with Earth is a huge derelict spaceship. His decision to delay detonating a device to divert the ship’s course as he investigates does not sit well with the public.

Years later as the New Sons religious

organization spreads across the globe a new object arrives in the solar system: a robotic scout ship sent out by robotic societies fearful of biologicals. Because of his past encounter, Walmsley and his NASA team follow the path of the giant ship, keeping its appearance secret until it can no longer be contained.

While the ship begins communicating with the NASA team, Walmsley’s girlfriend dies from disease, but is temporarily resurrected by the alien intelligence and becomes an icon for the New Sons. Eventually Walmsley is sent out to make contact, but the motivations of this aren’t clear until it is too late.
What follows is a troubling story of political, social and military power as a surprising, ancient discovery is made on the Moon.

It is a compelling story, rich with all the trappings of modern science fiction and personal development, while displaying human intrigue, duplicity and cross purposes.

The tale is rich with detail, both internal and external, as Walmsley struggles with new found knowledge and the revelation that Mankind has a far more fragile existence than anyone had ever conceived and only a few would ever know.

I was troubled as I read this narrative, disturbed by the implications of how the political and social powers that run the world would respond should we ever be faced with the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

This is well written and a somewhat slow read. There is no blinding action, though there is adventure. While I enjoyed reading it, it isn’t high on my list of awesome novels

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LibraryThing member ikeman100

I believe this is my first Benford novel. I have be surveying the Golden age of SF (50-60s) and decided to jump ahead 10 years and try out a different author.

Perhaps I picked the wrong Benford book. It won an award so it should have been a safe bet. This author can certainly write and has an

interesting style. Unfortunately what should have been an exciting read is about a pathetic man, on a sad Earth in an unpleasant future. One of the main characters dies early in the book and the rest should have gone along.

I will try another book by this author but it will not be part of this series and it may take me a while to get interested.

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LibraryThing member thosgpetri

Book 1, starting a series called Galaxy Center. Haven't yet read any of the other books in this series I'm not sure where it is going. There is, to me, an element of mysticism amidst the science that is it's-self a little ahead of the future the author predicted for the early 21st century. No, I am

not finding fault with that. At the time, 1972, colonizing the moon looked like a good bet. OK, I am avoiding admitting that the ending left me baffled. Was there a point to all this? Maybe I need to read the series to get it. But first I will go online for more information. I don't mean to discourage others, just my frustration with a book that leaves me wondering, how did a book going so well leave me so fr behind?

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