Release Date: 30/10/15
Publisher: Gollancz
SYNOPSIS:
The Gurus came in peace, bearing gifts.
They were a highly advanced, interstellar species who brought amazingly useful and sophisticated technology to the human race. There was, of course, a catch. The Gurus warned of a far more malevolent life form, beings who have hounded the Gurus from sun to sun, planet to planet, across the cosmos. Pundits have taken to calling them the Antagonists - or Antags - and they have already established a beachhead on Mars. In exchange for all they've done for us, the Gurus would now like our help.
Enter Master Sergeant Michael Venn, a veteran Skyrine (a Marine who is specially trained for off-world combat) who is dropped onto the Red Planet with his band of brothers on a mission to take down as many Antags as possible.
But from the moment they're dropped through the thin Martian atmosphere, their mission goes horribly, terribly wrong. From a group of female special ops Skyrines with secret orders, to mysterious humans who've settled on Mars, to the overwhelming and highly-reinforced Antags themselves, Venn and his brothers will face impossible odds just to survive - let alone make it home alive.
REVIEW:
The first book in a brand new series from Sci-Fi fan favourite Greg Bear. As usual Greg likes to weave a tale that takes readers to the edge of the universe and beyond as events take the lead hero through on hell of an adventure. Yet for all the things I was looking forward to in this title I felt a little let down with this title as it didn’t seem to have the usual umph that I’d expect almost starting out well and then ending on a bit of a damp squib.
All round its an OK book but for me, sadly one that didn’t deliver what I was hoping for. Whilst I will continue to read Greg’s work, I’m not sure that this series will have me returning to any time soon.
Release Date: 19/03/13
Publisher: Tor (Pan Macmillan)
SYNOPSIS:
In the last years of the Forerunner empire, chaos rules. The Flood -- a horrifying shape-changing parasite -- has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies. Internal strife within the ecumene has desperately weakened Forerunner defences. Too little, too late, the legal rate of Juridicals is only now investigating possible crimes by the Master Builder and others. Evidence-gathering agents, known collectively as Catalog, have been dispatched to collect testimony from the Librarian and both Didacts: the Ur-Didact, treacherously abandoned in a Flood-infested system, and the Bornstellar Didact, who accompanies the Librarian as she preserves specimens against the dire possibility of Hal extermination. Facing the imminent collapse of their civilization, the Librarian and Ur-Didact reveal what they know about the relationship between the long-vanished Precursors and the Flood. The Precursors created many technological species, including humanity and the Forerunners. But the roots of the Flood may be found in an act of enormous barbarity, carried out beyond our galaxy ten million years before. Because of that barbarism, a greater evil looms. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian -- husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict -- hold the keys to a solution. Facing the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time -- to prevent an insane evil from dominating the entire universe.
REVIEW:
You’ve savoured the games, loved the imaginative universe and currently are sat back wondering what to do in order to sit back and relax.
Well you may want to try the Forerunner Saga as it not only gives you something set in the same worlds but helps to flesh it all out in such a way that the reader gets not only something unique but something that is brought to them by a well-known name, in this case Greg Bear.
The characters are interesting, the idea’s within fascinating and when blended with the quandaries supplied by the premise leaves the reader asking quite a few questions which, in addition to providing a solid escape, really does give you a great experience. My only cautious note is that because of the complexities within you really should start with book one to get the full flavour.
BOOK BLURB:
Above our planet hangs a hollow Stone, vast as the imagination of Man. The inner dimensions are at odds with the outer: there are different chambers to be breached, some even containing deserted cities. The furthest chamber contains the greatest mystery ever to confront the Stones scientists. But tombstone or milestone, the Stone is not an alien structure: it comes from the future of our humanity. And the war that breaks out on Earth seems to bear witness to the Stone's prowess as oracle . . .
REVIEW:
This is another of Gollancz’s classic reissues and whilst it perhaps doesn’t get the attention of a lot of his other work its definitely one that has set the standards for others to follow in his path. Originally written in 1985 a lot of the historical background make this, in light of circumstances, an alternate history. Well written, classic hard scientific principles and with fully rounded characters you’ll be hard pressed to find books written in the genre that don’t owe a tip of the hat to Bears work. Add to the mix an enigmatic, strong female protagonist and you’ve classic Bear in a nutshell.
