Call number
Genres
Publication
Ace Books (1996), Paperback
Pages
289
Description
The acclaimed author of Far-Seer and End of An Era embarks on a fantastic journey. A series of mysterious, artificial wormholes have brought the far reaches of space immediately close. But is the Earth ready for who--or what--the wormholes may bring?
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1997)
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novel — 1996)
Prix Aurora Award (Winner — 1997)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1996-07 (Analog Science Fiction)
1996-10 (book)
Physical description
289 p.; 6.7 inches
ISBN
0441003729 / 9780441003723
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User reviews
LibraryThing member jbrubacher
Welcome to a future where human beings and dolphins are in contact with two other sentient races from other planets, connected by a network of singularities created by some other long-gone race. When stars begin coming through the singularities, our heroes figure out they may be coming from the
This is pretty great science fiction, from an author who consistently provides great ideas in his novels. Unfortunately the characterization of the protagonist and his cringeworthy perception of his relationship to his wife and a young girl who works for him left me a little bit uncomfortable, but at least there was an attempt to make the people more real, and not stereotypes or caricatures. The resolution is satisfying and it's almost enough to make a reader sad that Sawyer later decided to concentrate on more modern sci fi.
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future, and that mystery combined with the opportunistic attack by one of the more violent races sets off a race against time to save a brand new life form and, you know, also all of humanity.This is pretty great science fiction, from an author who consistently provides great ideas in his novels. Unfortunately the characterization of the protagonist and his cringeworthy perception of his relationship to his wife and a young girl who works for him left me a little bit uncomfortable, but at least there was an attempt to make the people more real, and not stereotypes or caricatures. The resolution is satisfying and it's almost enough to make a reader sad that Sawyer later decided to concentrate on more modern sci fi.
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LibraryThing member ajlewis2
The races of intelligent beings in this book are described very well, both physically as well as their way of thinking, beliefs, culture, etc. Their interactions on a ship together are a big part of why I loved this book. There is a lot discovered about the Universe in the course of the story and
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these things are quite unexpected. I do like science fiction with some philosophy and I got that here. Sawyer always delivers something to ponder. Show Less
LibraryThing member haloedrain
I wanted to yell at the protagonist, but the sketches of alien races, the use of dark matter, and the solution to preventing the heat death of the universe were all interesting.