What do you think?
Rate this book
The Eternity Artifact
5,000 years in the future, humankind has spread across thousands of worlds, and more than a dozen different governments exist in an uneasy truce. But human beings have found no signs of other life anywhere approaching human intelligence.
This changes when scientists discover a sunless planet they name Danann, travelling the void just beyond the edge of the Galaxy at such a high speed that it cannot be natural. Its continents and oceans have been sculpted and shaped, with but a single megaplex upon it--close to perfectly preserved--with tens of thousands of near-identical metallic-silver-blue towers set along curved canals. Yet Danann has been abandoned for so long that even the atmosphere has frozen solid. Within a few years Danann will approach an area of singularities that will make exploration and investigation impossible.
Orbital shuttle pilot Jiendra Chang, artist Chendor Barna, and history professor Liam Fitzhugh are recruited by the Comity government and its Deep Space Service, along with scores of other experts as part of an unprecedented and unique expedition to unravel Danann's secrets. And there are forces that will stop at nothing to prevent them, even if it means interstellar war.
Other Series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
The Saga of Recluce
The Imager Portfolio
The Corean Chronicles
The Spellsong Cycle
The Ghost Books
The Ecolitan Matter
The Forever Hero
Timegod's World
Other Books
The Green Progression
Hammer of Darkness
The Parafaith War
Adiamante
Gravity Dreams
The Octagonal Raven
Beauty
The Ethos Effect
Flash
The Eternity Artifact
The Elysium Commission
Viewpoints Critical
Haze
Empress of Eternity
The One-Eyed Man
Solar Express
This changes when scientists discover a sunless planet they name Danann, travelling the void just beyond the edge of the Galaxy at such a high speed that it cannot be natural. Its continents and oceans have been sculpted and shaped, with but a single megaplex upon it--close to perfectly preserved--with tens of thousands of near-identical metallic-silver-blue towers set along curved canals. Yet Danann has been abandoned for so long that even the atmosphere has frozen solid. Within a few years Danann will approach an area of singularities that will make exploration and investigation impossible.
Orbital shuttle pilot Jiendra Chang, artist Chendor Barna, and history professor Liam Fitzhugh are recruited by the Comity government and its Deep Space Service, along with scores of other experts as part of an unprecedented and unique expedition to unravel Danann's secrets. And there are forces that will stop at nothing to prevent them, even if it means interstellar war.
Other Series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
The Saga of Recluce
The Imager Portfolio
The Corean Chronicles
The Spellsong Cycle
The Ghost Books
The Ecolitan Matter
The Forever Hero
Timegod's World
Other Books
The Green Progression
Hammer of Darkness
The Parafaith War
Adiamante
Gravity Dreams
The Octagonal Raven
Beauty
The Ethos Effect
Flash
The Eternity Artifact
The Elysium Commission
Viewpoints Critical
Haze
Empress of Eternity
The One-Eyed Man
Solar Express
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
27 people are currently reading
575 people want to read
About the author
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
191 books2,591 followersL. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt, Jr. is an author of science fiction and fantasy novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, lived in Washington, D.C. for 20 years, then moved to New Hampshire in 1989 where he met his wife. They relocated to Cedar City, Utah in 1993.
He has worked as a Navy pilot, lifeguard, delivery boy, unpaid radio disc jockey, real estate agent, market research analyst, director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant for a Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer and writer in residence.
In addition to his novels, Mr. Modesitt has published technical studies and articles, columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first short story, "The Great American Economy", was published in 1973 in Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact.
-Wikipedia
He has worked as a Navy pilot, lifeguard, delivery boy, unpaid radio disc jockey, real estate agent, market research analyst, director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant for a Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer and writer in residence.
In addition to his novels, Mr. Modesitt has published technical studies and articles, columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first short story, "The Great American Economy", was published in 1973 in Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact.
-Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
November 4, 2008
Not much to say here really. The Eternity Artifact is what I call an "airplane book" - something to kill the time flying to the Christmas family reunion but nothing to get excited about. The basic plot is that several thousand years in the future, the Comity of Worlds (a secular, reasonably tolerant and liberal polity) has discovered an extra-galactic alien artifact and assembles a team to go out and take a look at it before it enters an area of singularities and becomes unreachable. Ranged against the Comity are the primary enemies of "truth, justice & the American way" in the galaxy, the theocracies of the Convenanters (Christian fanatics) and the Sunnite Alliance (Muslim fanatics). It's told from the 1st-person point of view of four actors in this drama: a former-commando/now university professor, a shuttle pilot, an artist and a deep-cover Covenanter agent sent to destroy the mission.
I don't believe I'll be injecting a spoiler if I say that the "good guys" win in the end. Or that there's an inevitable and badly handled "love affair" between the professor and the pilot.
I had more problems with this novel than good times, alas.
First off, the author tries to differentiate between characters by having them speak in different registers. The professor uses polysyllabic words in convoluted sentences; the shuttle pilot uses clipped, one-syllable words, sometimes in the most ungrammatical way; etc. So much so, that the dialogs become parody. A good author uses speech to make their characters unique but the reader shouldn't be aware of it until they've left the novel's "world" and are writing the review on GoodReads :-)
The dialog is also, all too often, preachy and simplistic. Especially the professor's, who appears to be the author's alter ego and talks like a bad sociology textbook.
The universe the author creates is also implausible to me. I could accept a continuation of today's general political/sociological framework projected a century or even several centuries into the future. But it's not plausible that the very same issues facing humans in the first quarter of the 21st century are plaguing us in the 51st and beyond. Oh, I don't mean that we won't be wrestling with faith, technology, aggression, etc., I just can't accept that it will be under the same framework of a secular "West" and a fundamentalist Christian and/or Muslim theocracy. And within that framework, the divisions are too simplistic - apparently everyone in the Comity is a committed secularist, if not an outright atheist, while everyone in the Covenant or the Alliance is a fundamentalist.
Mr. Modesitt will join the list of authors who may be competent writers but are "just not my cup of tea." I can't really recommend this to anyone but if you happen to be a fan of the author, I now have a copy of one of his books I'd be willing to part with :-)
I don't believe I'll be injecting a spoiler if I say that the "good guys" win in the end. Or that there's an inevitable and badly handled "love affair" between the professor and the pilot.
I had more problems with this novel than good times, alas.
First off, the author tries to differentiate between characters by having them speak in different registers. The professor uses polysyllabic words in convoluted sentences; the shuttle pilot uses clipped, one-syllable words, sometimes in the most ungrammatical way; etc. So much so, that the dialogs become parody. A good author uses speech to make their characters unique but the reader shouldn't be aware of it until they've left the novel's "world" and are writing the review on GoodReads :-)
The dialog is also, all too often, preachy and simplistic. Especially the professor's, who appears to be the author's alter ego and talks like a bad sociology textbook.
The universe the author creates is also implausible to me. I could accept a continuation of today's general political/sociological framework projected a century or even several centuries into the future. But it's not plausible that the very same issues facing humans in the first quarter of the 21st century are plaguing us in the 51st and beyond. Oh, I don't mean that we won't be wrestling with faith, technology, aggression, etc., I just can't accept that it will be under the same framework of a secular "West" and a fundamentalist Christian and/or Muslim theocracy. And within that framework, the divisions are too simplistic - apparently everyone in the Comity is a committed secularist, if not an outright atheist, while everyone in the Covenant or the Alliance is a fundamentalist.
Mr. Modesitt will join the list of authors who may be competent writers but are "just not my cup of tea." I can't really recommend this to anyone but if you happen to be a fan of the author, I now have a copy of one of his books I'd be willing to part with :-)
July 1, 2021
'The Eternity Artifact', by L. E. Modesitt jr. - picked up in a second-hand bookshop in Bristol (to give my Kindle a break!), and very hard to put down again! Brilliant science fiction - huge concepts, realistic future societies, and a deeply involving plot. Plus which, it's written in first person from a number of different viewpoints, each of them with a distinctly different feel to them! How the heck does he manage that?
Just re-read it, and discovered that I'd entirely forgotten the plot, the characters and the setting! I thought I remembered the ending, but it turned out I was confusing it with with a similar book, having a similar name (The Artifact, by W. Michael Gear) and a similar basic scenario - but a different ending.
However, I'll stick with my original five star rating. The interplay of different characters remains impressive, as is the scientific mystery behind the alien artifact of the title - and it's solution. It is also very effectively woven into the politics that form a large part of the plot: the whole story I found engrossing throughout.
Downside: the author presents anyone with any religious beliefs as narrow minded fanatics. As a Christian myself, I'm a bit saddened by that. With all the work he put in to the hard science side, it's a pity he couldn't have researched the religious side a bit more thoroughly. Here, I'm afraid, his prejudices show through.
No matter. I ignored that, suspended a bit of disbelief, and enjoyed the story. Again!
Just re-read it, and discovered that I'd entirely forgotten the plot, the characters and the setting! I thought I remembered the ending, but it turned out I was confusing it with with a similar book, having a similar name (The Artifact, by W. Michael Gear) and a similar basic scenario - but a different ending.
However, I'll stick with my original five star rating. The interplay of different characters remains impressive, as is the scientific mystery behind the alien artifact of the title - and it's solution. It is also very effectively woven into the politics that form a large part of the plot: the whole story I found engrossing throughout.
Downside: the author presents anyone with any religious beliefs as narrow minded fanatics. As a Christian myself, I'm a bit saddened by that. With all the work he put in to the hard science side, it's a pity he couldn't have researched the religious side a bit more thoroughly. Here, I'm afraid, his prejudices show through.
No matter. I ignored that, suspended a bit of disbelief, and enjoyed the story. Again!
July 30, 2007
Very boring scifi. Modesitt can suck the fun and excitement out of even the most amazing alien tech.
May 14, 2016
First, full disclosure--I didn't finish reading this book and I generally don't enjoy first-person stories as well. The actual story in this book didn't start til after page 100, and by then, I was already exhausted by the shifting first-person viewpoint. That's right, you get a new first-person viewpoint character each chapter. I think there are five viewpoint characters total. Maybe if this had been written with five shifting third-person viewpoint characters, I could have handled it. The first 100 pages consisted of watching the five characters being collected by the military to go on a mission (which we already know a little about from the back cover, so the characters' lack of knowledge is also tedious). You know there's an interesting planet-object floating outside the galaxy without sun or satellite around it. By page 100 you find out what else is distinctive about it. Yet still nothing much is happening. I probably stopped reading right when things would have got interesting, but my patience was through.
August 31, 2018
Takes a genuinely interesting premise, then manages to spend hundreds of pages repetitiously focusing on the dullest aspects of it.
March 26, 2025
A book I ultimately enjoyed a great deal but would hesitate to recommend to most other people. A very slow paced hard(ish) sci fi story it had some interesting ideas given by some compelling characters. A couple of the subplots are a little weak but the broad strokes are an interesting if not compelling story.
The Eternity Artefact follows the story of four main individuals, a pilot, an artist, a history professor and a saboteur as they are recruited on a deep space exploration voyage to examine and investigate what might be the first known traces of alien intelligent life on the mysterious world of Dannann. They are accompanied by other experts, scientists, engineers and military personnel on the huge colony ship as they are expected to spend several months studying the planet in the void between galaxies.
Despite the relatively simple premise it takes a significant amount of time to reach the ship let alone take off. This is the kind of Sci-fi where there is a lot of world building and off-hand explanations of the procedures and mechanics of the ships, space travel and pressures facing the characters. Overall it handles this element rather well, there are several planet-spanning polities who are maintaining an uneasy peace after a brutal war several decades ago, not so peaceful that there isn't plenty of espionage and paranoia about spies and assassins. The polities are broadly described on a cultural level, the leaders and political structures are never really discussed, and though they are all at odds the polities are broadly split between those that follow theocratic religious zealotry and those that follow and intense scientific empiricism or rationalism. This initial framing, though not obvious at the start, does set up what I think is the principal theme of the book.
The theme is difficult to discuss as it slowly becomes apparent as the plot unfolds but it broadly encompasses the cultural clash of polities, but puts it in the context of the potential implications of what the concrete proof of an intelligent alien civilisation might mean for either viewpoint.
What should be said though is that the actual expedition is very slow paced and clearly mimics the actual slow pace of an archaeological dig. Barring an initial attack from a rival polity the most dramatic moments tend to be the pilot's struggle to shuttle heavy loads between the planet and the ship. There are striking moments but they are few and far between. This is not a criticism as I feel the long slow periods of talk and work serve to accentuate the dramatic nature of the more explosive/dramatic episodes.
One the main four character's subplots felt important for context but ultimately did very little and I felt had much greater potential as a sequence of narrative events. There is also a romance subplot that feels somewhat forced but doesn't get in the way of broader narrative so I was willing tolerate it.
There is also an underlying theme of the merits of art clashing with scientific rigour which, while an interesting contest, I can't help but feel is unfairly weighted towards a particular side and only really manifests towards the end with one specific moment.
Overall it was an easy read and had enough going on to keep me engaged would recommend to those who like a slower paced contemplative sci-fi albeit one that can also be a bit light on some of the more philosophical qualities that can suffuse some dense sci-fi books.
The Eternity Artefact follows the story of four main individuals, a pilot, an artist, a history professor and a saboteur as they are recruited on a deep space exploration voyage to examine and investigate what might be the first known traces of alien intelligent life on the mysterious world of Dannann. They are accompanied by other experts, scientists, engineers and military personnel on the huge colony ship as they are expected to spend several months studying the planet in the void between galaxies.
Despite the relatively simple premise it takes a significant amount of time to reach the ship let alone take off. This is the kind of Sci-fi where there is a lot of world building and off-hand explanations of the procedures and mechanics of the ships, space travel and pressures facing the characters. Overall it handles this element rather well, there are several planet-spanning polities who are maintaining an uneasy peace after a brutal war several decades ago, not so peaceful that there isn't plenty of espionage and paranoia about spies and assassins. The polities are broadly described on a cultural level, the leaders and political structures are never really discussed, and though they are all at odds the polities are broadly split between those that follow theocratic religious zealotry and those that follow and intense scientific empiricism or rationalism. This initial framing, though not obvious at the start, does set up what I think is the principal theme of the book.
The theme is difficult to discuss as it slowly becomes apparent as the plot unfolds but it broadly encompasses the cultural clash of polities, but puts it in the context of the potential implications of what the concrete proof of an intelligent alien civilisation might mean for either viewpoint.
What should be said though is that the actual expedition is very slow paced and clearly mimics the actual slow pace of an archaeological dig. Barring an initial attack from a rival polity the most dramatic moments tend to be the pilot's struggle to shuttle heavy loads between the planet and the ship. There are striking moments but they are few and far between. This is not a criticism as I feel the long slow periods of talk and work serve to accentuate the dramatic nature of the more explosive/dramatic episodes.
One the main four character's subplots felt important for context but ultimately did very little and I felt had much greater potential as a sequence of narrative events. There is also a romance subplot that feels somewhat forced but doesn't get in the way of broader narrative so I was willing tolerate it.
There is also an underlying theme of the merits of art clashing with scientific rigour which, while an interesting contest, I can't help but feel is unfairly weighted towards a particular side and only really manifests towards the end with one specific moment.
Overall it was an easy read and had enough going on to keep me engaged would recommend to those who like a slower paced contemplative sci-fi albeit one that can also be a bit light on some of the more philosophical qualities that can suffuse some dense sci-fi books.
January 7, 2018
I was visiting my favorite book source the other day, the Phippsburg town transfer station(i.e the dump) and came across a trove(15 books) of sci-fi paperbacks in excellent condition. A surprise, as I usually don't fine much sci-fi there. So ... this is the first one. Never heard of the author. So far it's pretty hard sci-fi-ish, but I think I can hang in there with it. The cover blurbs include a good one from David Drake, a writer I like so ...
Up to a hundred pages now and the big ole spaceship and it's mysterious mission haven't exactly taken off as the author takes his time shifting back and forth between four protagonists with distinctly different voices. I'm enjoying it so far.
- Agent Bond is a bit "Jamesian."
- Funny/telling how long it took to make it clear that Chang is female. Never assume!
- This book has an intimate feeling for a space opera. This comes from the four different perspectives. Small but vital parts of a greater whole.
- Page 119 - "Rynd winced." - this book is full of references to other sci-fi stuff. "Rincewind" is a terry Pratchett "Discworld" character.
I'm in the fat middle of this one as I'm in the middle of the other two books I'm reading. It's a bit of a slog, but still interesting. When I get tired of it I just shift to another book. Works very well. This is indeed a space opera, but very heavy on the the science-y stuff. The author doesn't skimp to get to the more interesting stuff like love, sex and warfare. There's that too, though. Like Dan Simmons, the author proposes a strong future presence in space for religious entities seeking and maintaining political and even military power. I don't see it myself, but he's entitled to his own speculations. They seem to be the bad guys in this story.
- a tall, blonde, baddass/no nonsense gal pilot named Chang is the first hero to pop up.
I'm getting close to the end, but it's tough to read a LOT of this book at one sitting. It's SO DRY and science-y. Still interesting, though, even the stuff I'm not sure I understand, like the universe and everything ...
- So far now three of the four protagonists have proven to be heroes of various types: brave, smart, tough, and intrepid. The fourth character is a bad guy(though he still possesses the same qualities).
Finished last night with this VERY dry(and drawn-out) story. Dry as in the style of the author's prose. The ideas are interesting enough, but I suspect that the author will always be an acquired taste. Very prolific, too.
Up to a hundred pages now and the big ole spaceship and it's mysterious mission haven't exactly taken off as the author takes his time shifting back and forth between four protagonists with distinctly different voices. I'm enjoying it so far.
- Agent Bond is a bit "Jamesian."
- Funny/telling how long it took to make it clear that Chang is female. Never assume!
- This book has an intimate feeling for a space opera. This comes from the four different perspectives. Small but vital parts of a greater whole.
- Page 119 - "Rynd winced." - this book is full of references to other sci-fi stuff. "Rincewind" is a terry Pratchett "Discworld" character.
I'm in the fat middle of this one as I'm in the middle of the other two books I'm reading. It's a bit of a slog, but still interesting. When I get tired of it I just shift to another book. Works very well. This is indeed a space opera, but very heavy on the the science-y stuff. The author doesn't skimp to get to the more interesting stuff like love, sex and warfare. There's that too, though. Like Dan Simmons, the author proposes a strong future presence in space for religious entities seeking and maintaining political and even military power. I don't see it myself, but he's entitled to his own speculations. They seem to be the bad guys in this story.
- a tall, blonde, baddass/no nonsense gal pilot named Chang is the first hero to pop up.
I'm getting close to the end, but it's tough to read a LOT of this book at one sitting. It's SO DRY and science-y. Still interesting, though, even the stuff I'm not sure I understand, like the universe and everything ...
- So far now three of the four protagonists have proven to be heroes of various types: brave, smart, tough, and intrepid. The fourth character is a bad guy(though he still possesses the same qualities).
Finished last night with this VERY dry(and drawn-out) story. Dry as in the style of the author's prose. The ideas are interesting enough, but I suspect that the author will always be an acquired taste. Very prolific, too.
June 8, 2024
One of the things I particularly like about the author is the even pace a slow build of tension, as well as his characterisation and background politics of his stories.
The Eternity Artefact is told through the eyes of four characters each with their own views, yet as the story unfolds, they begin to fold together. That said, the space battles are short and well described, the human factors always at the forefront. The macro and micro politics are woven into the plot seamlessly.
And as always it is easy enough to see parallels to our current world situations.
If you like character driven stories set in space, with scientists and social scientists interacting with military and space pilots, this one is for you.
The Eternity Artefact is told through the eyes of four characters each with their own views, yet as the story unfolds, they begin to fold together. That said, the space battles are short and well described, the human factors always at the forefront. The macro and micro politics are woven into the plot seamlessly.
And as always it is easy enough to see parallels to our current world situations.
If you like character driven stories set in space, with scientists and social scientists interacting with military and space pilots, this one is for you.
September 4, 2011
This novel is told to good effect in four shifting first person perspectives. Each has a very distinctive voice, and are convincing and likeable for the most part. I really enjoyed the characters and their development and interaction, but the plot and pacing kind of fell flat. The alien archaeology was interesting, but the politics and space battles were not. I believe it would have been better had it it been more tightly edited (maybe a hundred pages shorter), and perhaps with an improved ending.
November 21, 2017
In this novel, unlike most of Modesitt's works, you get to follow several different people in one story. A bunch of different perspectives on a mission to explore the first (or second?) alien artifact discovered by a spacefaring people. You get to see a pilot, a historian, an artist, a saboteur... and the perspective pretty much switches every chapter. But all is not as it seems. Obviously. What was the point of the artifact? And what was the purpose of this mission? It's all about the use of force for different purposes. But does it all make sense?
January 28, 2016
The Eternity Artifact is the ultimate deep space science fiction book. Set in the far future of humanity, it is a political commentary as much as a novel, as well as a social and moral study, a love story, and an action thriller. An outstanding facet of this book are the variety of points of view. Each chapter is a different character, which allows for character development of the highest caliber. A first rate novel, I highly recommend it.
December 29, 2010
A fun sci-fi adventure, with a story that is overall very cool. I found the actual writing a little unpleasant, though. In particular, the narration of the professor character seems designed to be as annoying as possible.
March 25, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this book
Great scifi military adventure as well as a romance. Clever use of multiple narrators and slow development if story works well. Love Modesitt's hard science works as well as his Ghost trilogy.
Great scifi military adventure as well as a romance. Clever use of multiple narrators and slow development if story works well. Love Modesitt's hard science works as well as his Ghost trilogy.
September 16, 2015
Nice story of the importance of the humanities and arts, working along side hard science in a military situation.
March 12, 2021
The story of a scientific mission to explore the first alien artifact ever discovered, and the political, cultural, scientific, and religious implications of the discovery.
The story is told in an unusual way - through the eyes of several characters on the mission - a scientist, a pilot, an artist, and a spy. This leads to a fair amount of redundancy; we often see the same scene the same time from multiple perspectives. Sometimes those different perspective yield new insight, but sometimes they're just repetitive. That's why I docked it a star. I also wasn't thrilled with the romantic subplot, which seemed forced to me, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel overall. Despite that, I found the book to be compulsively readable, in a way that this sort of book often isn't.
I was pleased to see that my memories of LE Modesitt Jr stood the test of time - I'd loved his books when I was in high school/college/grad school, but I was starting to question my younger self's taste based on some recent re-reads and new work from some of the favored authors of my youth. However, this was, if anything, more impressive than my memory of the Recluse series. I particularly enjoyed his analysis of political, cultural, and historical trends - fictional of course, as this is a fictional world, but still capturing something fundamental of real world dynamics.
This book isn't for everybody - it isn't action packed, it isn't highly plot driven, it isn't immersive in a literary way, but it is thought-provoking and evocative, and I'm glad to have read it.
The story is told in an unusual way - through the eyes of several characters on the mission - a scientist, a pilot, an artist, and a spy. This leads to a fair amount of redundancy; we often see the same scene the same time from multiple perspectives. Sometimes those different perspective yield new insight, but sometimes they're just repetitive. That's why I docked it a star. I also wasn't thrilled with the romantic subplot, which seemed forced to me, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel overall. Despite that, I found the book to be compulsively readable, in a way that this sort of book often isn't.
I was pleased to see that my memories of LE Modesitt Jr stood the test of time - I'd loved his books when I was in high school/college/grad school, but I was starting to question my younger self's taste based on some recent re-reads and new work from some of the favored authors of my youth. However, this was, if anything, more impressive than my memory of the Recluse series. I particularly enjoyed his analysis of political, cultural, and historical trends - fictional of course, as this is a fictional world, but still capturing something fundamental of real world dynamics.
This book isn't for everybody - it isn't action packed, it isn't highly plot driven, it isn't immersive in a literary way, but it is thought-provoking and evocative, and I'm glad to have read it.
Read
February 2, 2021(This review was written in 2006)Unremarkable. In fact, this novel is so unremarkable that I've spent the last week, since I finished it, trying to think of some remarks to make about it. I've liked Modesitt for years, and it WAS readable, but I don't really think it's up to his usual entertaining standards.
It seems that in the depths of space an engineered planetoid has been discovered, of unimaginable antiquity. An expedition is mounted to investigate the body, and the city scale artifact upon it. Everything is quite mysterious, and people from all of the governments around the galaxy are are attempting to either control the alien technology that might be revealed there, or to destroy it so others won't be able to. Seems like I've seen this plot a half dozen times before.
Much of this novel, however, is thinly veiled historical, political and philosophical pedantry. One of the primary characters aboard the expedition is history professor Liam Fitzhugh. A key aspect of his characterization by Modesitt is his propensity for hiding his true feelings behind multi-syllabic utterances, and throughout the novel we are treated to his treatises on the aforementioned subjects.
Heinlein, in his middle years, was able to do this quite skillfully, still weaving an engrossing, captivating tale. In this novel, at least, Modesitt falls a bit short.
It seems that in the depths of space an engineered planetoid has been discovered, of unimaginable antiquity. An expedition is mounted to investigate the body, and the city scale artifact upon it. Everything is quite mysterious, and people from all of the governments around the galaxy are are attempting to either control the alien technology that might be revealed there, or to destroy it so others won't be able to. Seems like I've seen this plot a half dozen times before.
Much of this novel, however, is thinly veiled historical, political and philosophical pedantry. One of the primary characters aboard the expedition is history professor Liam Fitzhugh. A key aspect of his characterization by Modesitt is his propensity for hiding his true feelings behind multi-syllabic utterances, and throughout the novel we are treated to his treatises on the aforementioned subjects.
Heinlein, in his middle years, was able to do this quite skillfully, still weaving an engrossing, captivating tale. In this novel, at least, Modesitt falls a bit short.
October 27, 2024
Time to talk about my favorite author again lol!
This book starts off talking about politics so it's already starting off in a good foot for me. Again Modesitt proves how good of a world builder he is throughout this book. He fleshed out multiple galactic governments and showed the world of a group of mysterious aliens. I love the detail that he packs into talking about the aliens and I think it's really well done. For instance one of the main characters in the book is an artist which makes it really interesting to see the world from his perspective.
One thing I love about this book is the way it portrays the interaction between government scientists and the military. I feel like it does a great job of relating to these different disciplines while also showing just how different they are and how different their goals and motivations are.
This book has a hint of romance. So little idk if I can really call it that but it's there and it's how it ends so if that's something that interests you you might like this book but just know it's not a big part of the book.
Modesitt will probably continue to be my favorite sci-fi writer and I can't wait to pick up another of his books.
This book starts off talking about politics so it's already starting off in a good foot for me. Again Modesitt proves how good of a world builder he is throughout this book. He fleshed out multiple galactic governments and showed the world of a group of mysterious aliens. I love the detail that he packs into talking about the aliens and I think it's really well done. For instance one of the main characters in the book is an artist which makes it really interesting to see the world from his perspective.
One thing I love about this book is the way it portrays the interaction between government scientists and the military. I feel like it does a great job of relating to these different disciplines while also showing just how different they are and how different their goals and motivations are.
This book has a hint of romance. So little idk if I can really call it that but it's there and it's how it ends so if that's something that interests you you might like this book but just know it's not a big part of the book.
Modesitt will probably continue to be my favorite sci-fi writer and I can't wait to pick up another of his books.
September 5, 2020
In the distant future the galaxy has been settled by homo sapiens, but with a number of competing groups, rather than an overarching polity which is so often the case. Before the story really begins, we learn that a distant, Chronos, has been found, but that expeditions to find out more about it have been abandoned as fruitless. Then another is discovered, a wandering planet. An expedition is mounted containing specialists from a wide variety of disciplines. This is sent in secret by the Comity, the largest grouping in the galaxy. Interest is, however, shown by two fundamentalist Christian and Islamic planetary groups. To say what happens as a result would lead to inevitable spoilers, so I'll say no more, other than that the book is well written and I liked the way the narrative proceeds from different viewpoints of members of the expedition. This can be confusing, but I didn't find that the case here. The author gives each of the narrating characters their own style.
August 31, 2018
Modesitt drains every ounce of life from an interesting premise. I made it 216 pages into this book before finally giving up on it. The writing is dull, the characters lifeless and the story repetitive. The novel is written from the first person point of view of 4 different characters so some chapters literally just repeat what's happened before from the point of view of another character. That could be an interesting technique if it was used to dramatic effect or to offer powerful insights but it's not, at least not in the first half of the book. Instead, it reads like Modesitt was trying to pad the page count.
I hate setting a book aside unfinished but when a book is this awful, there's just no point in spending more time on it.
I hate setting a book aside unfinished but when a book is this awful, there's just no point in spending more time on it.
September 7, 2022
There's a lot packed into these pages: It's a well-balanced, rousing space opera, with a love interest, and a lot of political/cultural commentary. Each chapter is from a particular character's point of view. It's more intimate than third person perspectives. The character's backgrounds are varied, so each sees the situation a bit differently. None of them has the whole picture, but as they interact the reader learns more. Sure, lots of books do that, so -- a classic formula. What is revealed intrigued me. This is the first book by Modesitt that I've read. I'm curious to read some of his others -- I generally prefer hard sf to fantasy, and am not currently interested in starting a long series.
October 20, 2024
This book is so stupid. I gave it two stars because the set up is interesting and I liked the notion that you should send an artist to capture the feel of something not just documentarians. But that's it. The characters are caricatures, the cultures are caricatures, the putting a face to the Christian fascists but not the sunni fundamentalists is racist. The treatment of gender is stupid and binary. The writing is mediocre. Sometimes good narration can lift an otherwise bad book to the next level on audio, but the narrators were also not good.
I only finished because of sunk cost fallacy and then so I could write a nasty review.
But! Hope for aspiring writers: total slop can get published somehow.
I only finished because of sunk cost fallacy and then so I could write a nasty review.
But! Hope for aspiring writers: total slop can get published somehow.
May 4, 2018
Several groups (such as Comity, Covenanters) manipulate, sabotage, and fight each other across the galaxy because of an ancient artifact (one group wants to study it for the tech, another wants to make sure nobody has it because they feel it would question their religious beliefs).
Each chapter takes the perspective of a different character using different types of words (academic, artistic, militaristic, etc) and sometimes we see different views of the same incident.
The critique of religions and theistic societies sometimes is in excess and slows down the plot.
Each chapter takes the perspective of a different character using different types of words (academic, artistic, militaristic, etc) and sometimes we see different views of the same incident.
The critique of religions and theistic societies sometimes is in excess and slows down the plot.
August 19, 2018
Fun story. An expedition to an alien planet with technology beyond humans' understanding. Unfortunately, the ending wrap-up was disappointing and was neither mysterious nor satisfactory nor amazing (I would expect at least one of the above from a sci-fi book of this genre).
Also, my edition has an inordinate number of typos. So much so that I wondered if the final copy had even been proof read!
Also, my edition has an inordinate number of typos. So much so that I wondered if the final copy had even been proof read!
January 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this book and wanted to discuss it with others! However neither of my book groups will read sci-fi. Set far, far in the future, the author presents four different view points of a world-view changing event. The pace of the first part of the book is slow but the author is expert at building suspense, writing action, and developing characters. The implications of humanity discovering we are not alone in the universe was very thought-provoking and well worth the read.
April 18, 2018
interesting idea of finding a planet in the void of space with evidence of alien life in the far distant past... I just have to say that his repetitive use of Christians as backward and violent to non-Christians in his various books gets annoying, since that is a bit prejudice and not true of ALL Christians.
September 13, 2024
Interesting, a very detailed world built and some cool ideas about ancient alien tech and evolution. I didn't enjoy just being thrust in to the language, i.e. calling it a "Stan" instead of an hour just felt a bit forced and pointless.
June 16, 2018
Slow but enjoyable read, somewhat marred by atrocious proofreading.
April 21, 2019
The style of writing for a science fiction book is quite interesting, with multiple assigned narrators. Character building is also well done, and the description of another world is good.
June 22, 2019
Interesting but very very dry
July 14, 2021
Outstanding story! This story kept me at the edge of my seat until I read the last page. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews