Reckoning Infinity

by John E. Stith

First published in hardcover by Tor Books and the Science Fiction Book Club.

It's early in the new millennium, and the outer reaches of our solar system have been explored. Vast orbital stations the size of middle-sized countries dot the system, filled with thriving colonies. Mankind has grown to fill the void and is poised to colonize the stars. The universe seems to be a stable, comfortable place - and the only voices to echo through space have been human.

Until now.

A fast-moving entity the size of a small moon has entered our solar system. Is it a ship? A new life form? An alien probe sent to destroy other sentient races?

Lieutenant Commander Alis Mary Nussem is one of the humans who will go forth to discover what this mystery is. Disfigured in a devastating ship accident, more machine than woman, Nussem agrees to the dangerous mission. She is eager to make a difference and somehow reclaim the humanity that she lost.

What she doesn't bargain for is the sudden appearance of Lieutenant Karl Stanton, a man whose life seems to resemble Job's - and who was directly responsible for the accident that nearly killed Nussem. These two very different people will be thrown together on an odyssey that will force them to reevaluate the rules that they have lived by all their lives.

And what they find will change mankind's universe forever....

"[Stith] has always had a real talent for describing bizarre environments...will offer fans of hard SF much to satisfy their sense of wonder." -- Publishers Weekly

"vividly imagined, from the big opening scenes of the shuttle-habitat collision, to the descriptions of the medical procedures used to save Alis's life, to the small details of working (and being injured) in spacesuits." -- Locus

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 15, 1997

About the author

PUSHBACK , a mystery-suspense novel, was published in November 2018 and is a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, mainstream category.

PUSHBACK : At his ten-year high-school reunion, an investment counselor finds he doesn't know one person there, and soon realizes he must outwit an unknown antagonist who wants him dead.

"...unsettling Hitchcockian thriller...Judicious use of humor provides some relief from the dark plot line. Fans of Daniel Palmer-esque intelligent suspense will be pleased." -- Publishers Weekly

"Ordinary Hijacked by Extraordinary, With Comedy... what’s most captivating about PUSHBACK is that even with people like Dave Barlow—just an average guy doing average things—life can take a shocking turn for the worse. But the book reminds us that, also like Dave, we have the power to turn it right-side up again, with humor at the center of our inner strength." -- The Big Thrill, magazine of International Thriller Writers

Science-fiction author John E. Stith's works include REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS (Nebula Award nominee from Ace Books), MANHATTAN TRANSFER (Hugo Award Honorable Mention from Tor Books), REUNION ON NEVEREND, and RECKONING INFINITY (on Science Fiction Chronicle's Best Science Fiction Novels list for its publication year, on the Nebula Award preliminary ballot).

His other novels are SCAPESCOPE, MEMORY BLANK, DEATH TOLLS, and DEEP QUARRY.

He's the author of ALL FOR NAUGHT, which collects "Naught for Hire," and "Naught Again" both first appearing in ANALOG. If you hear about "Naught for Hire" verbally, you might think the title is "Not for Hire" but it's not. Check out the Naught for Hire website for even more info on the upcoming webisode series starring Ben Browder.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"That can't be."
"I wish it weren't, but we're out of our environment here.

Big dumb object time. Again. I am such a sucker for sense of wonder stories. Someone who commented on my review of Eon was kind enough to bring under my attention the term “Awe-Fi” (thanks Dmitry). And that’s exactly what this is: Awe-Fi.

"Will you look at that," [she] said, apparently to no one in particular.

That said, Reckoning Infinity doesn’t aspire to the same ambitious (mind-obliterating) heights as Eon. It’s more readily comparable to something like Rendezvous with Rama. It also has the added benefit of containing a pretty good story on an intimate level, and doesn’t completely neglect the characters in favour of the big idea. The author keeps the story fairly trimmed of fat; it’s not as massively dense as some other Artifact stories I’ve read.

[His] eyes widened, and he suddenly glanced at the others to see if they saw it, too.

Well, here’s the thing: if you enjoy Science Fiction (and I’m hoping you do), you’d have to be either an extremely jaded reader or possess no imagination to speak of not to enjoy this on some level. Just let your inner child out!

It hung no more than a hundred kilometers away, in sharp focus, a sight even more puzzling than before.

The author obviously has a good grasp of the science involved here, but he never bludgeons the reader senseless with it. This is an info-dump free zone!

"Something's down there all right," [she] said.

Reckoning Infinity seems to be able to steer clear of the blandness that can sometimes creep into exploration-type stories. In fact, I found the novel pretty exciting, with enough suspense and drama to counterpoint each discovery. Space exploration is, after all, a dangerous business.

"Anyone else getting a bad feeling about this?"

If the novel itself isn’t theatrical enough for your taste (there are, for example, no space fleets engaged in relativistic combat) then at least the grand finale is unlikely to disappoint if you appreciate the concept of ‘sensawunda’.

[He] spent little of his life looking back, but at that moment, he knew the recordings of this event were ones he'd replay again and again.

Things get a bit bizarre at times, in all truth, but this is a genre of ideas. And there it is. Highly recommended for fans of big dumb objects…

…that took his breath away and made him question whether he was hallucinating.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one, that I somehow missed back in the day, comes highly recommended by my generally-reliable GR friend Dirk Grobbelaar. His is the review to read first: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... It's on his favourites list. No serious spoilers there.

However: other reviews here are decidedly mixed. Average rating here (as of 5/28/23) is under 3.4 stars.

I found the book a solid SF adventure story, that starts out as a 'Big Dumb Object' tale, but morphs along the way into something more interesting. I'll avoid spoilers, even if that's a bit silly for a 1997 book. But the book reminded me of Jack McDevitt's Priscilla Hutchins Academy series, one of the stronger of those. Which is high praise, as those are likely my favorites of McDevitt's books. If you missed this one, or if it's been awhile, you're in for a treat. A strong 4+ stars from me! And if you've missed those McDevitt books, you should check those out too: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4277...

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fair if slightly flawed sense-of-wonder tale in the sub-genre or science fiction trope I've recently learned is labeled BDO or "big dumb object," but that's a misnomer. Larry Niven's Ringworld and Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama are classic examples and they're anything but dumb. Neither is this effort's central object / setting dumb. The story and setting hold my interest and I enjoy the characters, caring about them, but let me warn of some slight flaws.

The action becomes a bit repetitive. Our heroes often escape from a mysterious corridor in this huge alien artifact to find themselves in yet another inescapable corridor, often with some kind of gooey quasi-biological defense mechanism after them. This happens multiple times throughout the narrative, and I felt the work could have been a lot shorter. Also if anyone can tell me the significance of the title, I'll be grateful. I'm not finding how it's connected with the story, but maybe it's so obvious I'm just missing it.

Still, Reckoning Infinity is the good old fashioned pulse pounding sense of wonder stuff I crave, so three stars. It is a bit better than merely okay.

[Kogiopsis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've fallen behind on my reviewing, so I'm playing a little catch-up.

When I actually finished this book some months ago I was ready to write a scathing review, but ultimately it's so much of a nonentity that it's not worth the time and energy to go into detail. I paid 50 cents for it at a library book sale and that's about as much as anyone should.

For the curious: the entire point of this book which purports to be "a riveting exploration of what it means to be alien, and what it means to be human" turns out to be "a traumatized woman should get over herself because to feel really human she needs to decide to have babies with the author's Blameless And Perfect favorite male character".

There's a lot of poorly handled content re: disability underlying all of this, used for cheap drama value instead of being treated with nuance, and the narrative really does exist just to hammer home the idea that Karl Whatsisface Did Nothing Wrong and Can Do No Wrong, and nobody is allowed to have other feelings about it.

Blech.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reckoning Infinity is an easy read for a summer weekend. I found the characters to be somewhat bland, but the setting and the alien they encounter are well-imagined and protrayed.

OK for teens+. No harsh language, sexual situations, and so forth.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost didn't finish this and was literally rolling my eyes by the end. The characterization is weak, the writing clumsy, but the concept pulled me along. The ending was unfortunately not worth it for me.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Lori
Book provided by the author

I believe that this book is one of my favorites so far, since reviewing Mr. Stith’s books for this blog. While this book has some romantic elements, this is not a romance book, this is sci-fi, and it was really good.

What attracted me to this book was Alis and Karl’s inner monologs, how they viewed themselves, how they believed others viewed them, and what they thought of each other. I think that they both grew and changed for the better throughout the book, and learned something about themselves as well.

Alis needed to get bionic parts to replace damaged limbs. She was severely injured in a accident, which is traumatic in and of itself, never mind the fact that her original body parts are no longer with her, I can’t imagine how I would feel. Her body sustained damage that should have killed her and now she has to cope with her new body. This is a big deal for her. I found her character aloof, which is understandable, yet she was likable as well because I was allowed to see her vulnerabilities.

Karl has had to deal with his own self-inflicted guilt over what happened to Alis, along with other people’s judgement and condemnation over what happened to cause the accident. Karl is a true gentleman and handled people’s obvious contempt of him with diplomacy, tact, humor, and honor. He’s not perfect at all, but he knows the truth about what happened, and he’s ok with that. I liked the fact that Karl didn’t try to defend himself towards everybody. He wasn’t a wimp and allow himself to be mistreated, but he didn’t walk around with a chip on his shoulder, play a victim, and walk around with a “poor me” attitude. He tried to rise above what happen, not make the same mistakes, and move forward.

There is a lot of tension between Alis and Karl and I wondered how the author was going to play out their mission together. These two characters learn a lot about each other, themselves, and sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. I know I’m being vague, but the reader will thank me when they read the book.

There’s just enough tension in the story to keep the reader engaged, in order to find out what’s going to happen next. The story wasn’t scary, or horror based, but there were some tense moments where I held my breath, and hoped for the best. It was so, so good, I wanted it to last!

I liked the way that Alis lead her team on their mission. She listened, she took everyone’s opinion into consideration, she didn’t ask anyone to do anything that she wasn’t willing to do herself, and she protected her team. She was a true leader, and I really liked that Karl wasn’t threatened by her and admired her for her leadership skills.

This book surprised me, in a good way, with such deep internal musings by the main protagonists. I loved the play of emotions and the depth of feelings the characters revealed to the audience. My romantic heart pitter pattered.

I think that readers should expand their horizons, and give this book a shot. It was an enjoyable read.

[Ira Therebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty exciting book. It took me a while to actually start reading it but when I did I was done within two days.

The idea itself was pretty great. What they were exploring was pretty interesting and I was waiting to find out what it will be. In addition compared to many other sci fi books this one had pretty interesting characters. They weren't very deep but they had an interesting relationship dynamics and made small character developments. The events were also really good, I kept on turning the pages wanting to know what is next and how exactly will it end.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alis Mary Nussem works on a space station Tokyan. There's a bad accident when a shuttle accidently hits the station, and her body is damaged so badly that she is replaced in large part by machine parts. She holds a major grudge against the person who caused the accident and never really gets back to a normal life. Eventually she is forced to confront him and they work together when they encounter an alien space ship. Good sci-fi.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this before but was bored at home without any library books. I liked the characters, though there wasn't enough development. The enigma of the moon-sized space ship wasn't really answered but I suppose that is realistic. I doubt we would totally ever understand alien technology without an alien explaining it. I was still happy with the ending, at least when it came to the characters themselves.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good old-fashioned first contact/big-dumb-object story, which I quite enjoyed. The two main characters are introduced to the reader during a crisis that shows what kind of people they are, but also sets them at odds with each other; then pure chance requires that they work closely together in very challenging circumstances. I enjoyed this story quite a bit, even though the character arcs are somewhat predictable.

[Robert Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting alien concept in a first contact situation

[Howard Brazee]

Two protagonists, one who was piloting a spaceship that hit a space station, and the other who was injured in that incident. Everybody blames the pilot, especially the person injured, but they are together on a remote station when an extrasolar moon-sized artificial (live?) thing enters the solar system on a path that will hit a station before hitting the sun.

The team to explore the "cantaloupe" includes those two.

[Jon Norimann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great subject as I love first contact SF. For some reason Stith had to destroy a great book by adding a pathetic love story and attempts at avoiding gender stereotypes that fall flat.

Focus on the SF, which is of the hard SF realistic kind and reading Reckoning Infinity is an enjoyable four hours.

[Leon Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two thirds of the way through, I just wanted to be done.

A convoluted first contact adventure that got tiresome.

A quick read when you skim the last ten chapters.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, addictive book. I had a hard time putting it down. The characters were well developed and the main plot as well as the sub plot were interesting. This author is very talented and I want to read more of his work.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept searching for this book under "Alien Vessel" title, as it was sold here. I'm so glad I finally found it and can add it to my "read" shelf. It was my first sci-fi book, I was 12, and ever since I'm very fond of it. It's a great story too, the exploration of an alien... alien what? that was their question ,is it a ship? why is it empty, with only some specific mean worms trying to deal with them? And then it all comes to light :)

[Macha · Rating 2 out of 5]

sigh. this is not worth the read: it's poorly written, the dialogue is stiff and artificial, the descriptions are boring, and the character's voices sound fake because they don't fit their profiles. what is amiss with TOR that it is publishing books of this calibre? it's a fair enough premise, and a good title. now somebody needs to write a decent book around it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In one word: wonder. This is what space exploration is about, the awe, the very strange and confounding.... otherness. It is not hard science fiction, but it is the epitome of why we boldly go. The characters are a little flat, some drama a little forced, and a few tactical missteps that were heavy-handed plot devices... This was my second time reading this book. Great stuff.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took an exciting idea and managed to make it rather boring. If I never read the work "meter" again in my life it will be ok. Everything in the book is measured. The ending was obscure and there were a lot of questions unanswered, not even attempted.

[Alan Jeddeloh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bogged down 1/2 way through.