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Nemesis
‘The most exciting book I have ever read’ Arthur C. Clarke
A shocking CIA report confirms Russia has deflected an asteroid on to a collision course with the United States. An elite team of the world’s top astronomers have five days to identify the asteroid – codename Nemesis – and stop it.
If they fail, the President will retaliate with a massive nuclear strike.
But with time running out, British asteroid expert Oliver Webb discovers that its course was once predicted in an obscure seventeenth-century manuscript, the only copy of which has gone mysteriously missing…
Nemesis is an ingenious and utterly gripping thriller, perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Scott Mariani and Andy McDermott.
Praise for Bill Napier‘Outrageously exciting’ Literary Review
‘A nail-biting page-turner’ Edinburgh Times
‘Pacy and sharp’ FHM
‘Excellent’ New Scientist
Professor Bill Napier is a Scottish astronomer at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland and an honorary professor at the Institute for Astrobiology of Cardiff University.485 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 9, 2018
Armageddon for people who can actually do Math and science.
Sexist and cliched though.
Featuring the tired trope of a sexy sidekick.
April 26, 2018
If this is the most exciting book Arthur C. Clarke has read then I query his reading tastes. Good grief, what a turgid piece of misogynistic crap! Women only exist in this book to be ogled at and are referenced mostly according to their breasts. (There is one female character with any role beyond this and even she is constantly described in a voyeuristic fashion.) Beside the misogyny, there are unnecessary descriptions of food at moments of high tension and an obsession with smoking. Does every American of rank smoke cigars? The author seems to know a lot about physics and mathematics but does he realise that most people do not? Constant digressions and explanations of astronomical formulae make for dull reading. The plot also stretches credulity. A conspiracy this big? American intelligence is notoriously leaky and I find it difficult to believe they could manufacture a conspiracy as complicated as the one depicted here.
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August 2, 2011Okay, so Bill Napier knows loads about Physics. Unfortunately, I don't - and having read this book, I'm none the wiser. A shame, because the premise for the story is okay - asteroid apparently having been deflected by the Russians to hit America, and a group of scientists being given the task to find it in time. But the writing style is appalling, every now and then he switches to present tense for no apparent reason, and the overly specific use of scientific and technical terms went straight over my head.
However, because the plot wasn't too bad, it did keep me interested until fairly near the end and the "unexpected" twist, which was much easier to spot than the asteroid, apparently. Not a book I would particularly recommend, but then again not the worst book I have ever read.
However, because the plot wasn't too bad, it did keep me interested until fairly near the end and the "unexpected" twist, which was much easier to spot than the asteroid, apparently. Not a book I would particularly recommend, but then again not the worst book I have ever read.
August 13, 2011
This is a new author for me. I found it hard to get into this book and I thought the author used to much technical jargon for my taste. Even though there was a twist at the end, I don't think I will read any more books by this author.
April 3, 2018
Look! Up In The Sky, It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane.
By Bob Gelms
This book review is not about Arthur C. Clarke, but I need to write about him for a bit because his giant shadow falls ever so lightly on Nemesis by Bill Napier.
Mr. Clarke has tens of millions of admirers all around the world and nearly all of them, as far as I can tell; think he is the greatest science fiction writer to have ever lived. I, in the spirit of full disclosure, am one of them. His opinion on anything carries the weight of the universe.
Clarke has said that Nemesis is “The most exciting book I have ever read.” If it’s good for Arthur C. Clarke then it’s good for me. His opinion put to rest a few difficulties I had with the plot. If I have to suspend my disbelief past a line I’m comfortable with because Arthur C. Clarke seems to think there isn’t any scientific problems inherent in the plot then that is exactly what I’m going to do.
The CIA has notified the Joint Chiefs and the President that they have uncovered an action by the Russian Government to destroy the USA. Well, Russia is always trying to destroy the USA but, this time it’s way different and the Russians have succeeded in putting their plan in motion.
A team of Cosmonauts was sent on a secret mission to rendezvous with an asteroid that has been crossing the Earth’s orbit for millions of years. This asteroid has been seen and its position has been measured and recorded as far back as the middle ages.
The Russians have nudged its orbit using a small nuclear device, which deflected it enough to send it on a collision course with Earth where it will slam into the USA. The Russian have effectively weaponized an asteroid. Actually, it’s brilliant. They can destroy the USA without resorting to nuclear weapons and the resulting massive cloud of radioactive dust that would shroud the Earth.
This was my first big problem with the plot. The Russians would have to be able to control, in a preposterously precise manner, the size of their asteroid shove to target not only the Earth but also a specific place on the Earth which happens to be moving in space and also revolving on its own axis. This sort of mind bending calculation involving two bodies in motion in space is one of, and probably the main reason Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus. Mr. Clarke seems to think calculus in all of its forms can provide the answers to successfully solve this problem. OK, I’ll buy that. My problem disappears.
The USA taps the five greatest living astronomers to, in actual fact, save the USA from total annihilation. Their mission is twofold. They need to first find the asteroid, code named Nemesis, and they also need to destroy it or deflect it away from Earth. It they fail then the Joint Chiefs will compel the President, just before the asteroid hits, to launch an all out nuclear attack on Russia.
Asteroids are dark, hard to see and harder to locate. They are not like comets which burn and have a luminous tail. Our astronomers discover that Nemesis will be approaching Earth from a low angle and, unfortunately, with the sun at its back making it almost impossible to see. This is exceedingly bad news. Maybe they can destroy it.
One idea is to blow it up with a salvo of thermonuclear devices. The real fear in this idea is that it would break the asteroid into many large pieces that would take out the entire western hemisphere.
Idea two is to bombard it with many hydrogen bombs thereby reducing it to dust. The fear in this idea is that the Earth’s gravity would capture most of the dust and it would blanket the Earth, engendering a nuclear winter.
Idea three is already doomed to failure: nudge the asteroid so it misses Earth. But it’s too close and the nudge would probably destroy the Earth.
Can space aliens drop out of light-drive in time to save the good guys? Will it be found that Russians mathematicians forgot to move a decimal point and the asteroid misses the Earth? Will there be a sequel to Nemesis by Bill Napier? Find out next time when Bob Gelms will again NOT give away the ending. LOL
Nemesis is fast moving, action packed, with surprises in abundance. This is a thriller of the first magnitude.
By Bob Gelms
This book review is not about Arthur C. Clarke, but I need to write about him for a bit because his giant shadow falls ever so lightly on Nemesis by Bill Napier.
Mr. Clarke has tens of millions of admirers all around the world and nearly all of them, as far as I can tell; think he is the greatest science fiction writer to have ever lived. I, in the spirit of full disclosure, am one of them. His opinion on anything carries the weight of the universe.
Clarke has said that Nemesis is “The most exciting book I have ever read.” If it’s good for Arthur C. Clarke then it’s good for me. His opinion put to rest a few difficulties I had with the plot. If I have to suspend my disbelief past a line I’m comfortable with because Arthur C. Clarke seems to think there isn’t any scientific problems inherent in the plot then that is exactly what I’m going to do.
The CIA has notified the Joint Chiefs and the President that they have uncovered an action by the Russian Government to destroy the USA. Well, Russia is always trying to destroy the USA but, this time it’s way different and the Russians have succeeded in putting their plan in motion.
A team of Cosmonauts was sent on a secret mission to rendezvous with an asteroid that has been crossing the Earth’s orbit for millions of years. This asteroid has been seen and its position has been measured and recorded as far back as the middle ages.
The Russians have nudged its orbit using a small nuclear device, which deflected it enough to send it on a collision course with Earth where it will slam into the USA. The Russian have effectively weaponized an asteroid. Actually, it’s brilliant. They can destroy the USA without resorting to nuclear weapons and the resulting massive cloud of radioactive dust that would shroud the Earth.
This was my first big problem with the plot. The Russians would have to be able to control, in a preposterously precise manner, the size of their asteroid shove to target not only the Earth but also a specific place on the Earth which happens to be moving in space and also revolving on its own axis. This sort of mind bending calculation involving two bodies in motion in space is one of, and probably the main reason Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus. Mr. Clarke seems to think calculus in all of its forms can provide the answers to successfully solve this problem. OK, I’ll buy that. My problem disappears.
The USA taps the five greatest living astronomers to, in actual fact, save the USA from total annihilation. Their mission is twofold. They need to first find the asteroid, code named Nemesis, and they also need to destroy it or deflect it away from Earth. It they fail then the Joint Chiefs will compel the President, just before the asteroid hits, to launch an all out nuclear attack on Russia.
Asteroids are dark, hard to see and harder to locate. They are not like comets which burn and have a luminous tail. Our astronomers discover that Nemesis will be approaching Earth from a low angle and, unfortunately, with the sun at its back making it almost impossible to see. This is exceedingly bad news. Maybe they can destroy it.
One idea is to blow it up with a salvo of thermonuclear devices. The real fear in this idea is that it would break the asteroid into many large pieces that would take out the entire western hemisphere.
Idea two is to bombard it with many hydrogen bombs thereby reducing it to dust. The fear in this idea is that the Earth’s gravity would capture most of the dust and it would blanket the Earth, engendering a nuclear winter.
Idea three is already doomed to failure: nudge the asteroid so it misses Earth. But it’s too close and the nudge would probably destroy the Earth.
Can space aliens drop out of light-drive in time to save the good guys? Will it be found that Russians mathematicians forgot to move a decimal point and the asteroid misses the Earth? Will there be a sequel to Nemesis by Bill Napier? Find out next time when Bob Gelms will again NOT give away the ending. LOL
Nemesis is fast moving, action packed, with surprises in abundance. This is a thriller of the first magnitude.
March 18, 2025
Ein paar Wissenschaftler werden von Regierungsfritzen zwangsrekrutiert und in ein Observatorium in den Bergen gebracht. Die US-Regierung hat Hinweise, dass die Russen einen Asteroiden oder Meteor so abgelenkt haben, dass er bald auf die USA stürzen wird. Die Spezialisten sollen den Himmelskörper aufspüren und das innert einer Woche. Sonst will die USA einen Atomschlag gegen die Russen durchführen.
Es wird von vielen Lesern hier bei goodreads bemängelt, dass es zuviele technische Passagen gibt. Ich dachte erst, das macht mir nix, das interessiert mich, doch die anderen hatten recht. Es ist wirklich extrem, wie sehr das Buch in technische und wissenschaftliche Details geht.
Das geht so bis zur Hälfte des Buchs. Dann gibt es endlich unerwartete Wendungen.
2.5/5
Es wird von vielen Lesern hier bei goodreads bemängelt, dass es zuviele technische Passagen gibt. Ich dachte erst, das macht mir nix, das interessiert mich, doch die anderen hatten recht. Es ist wirklich extrem, wie sehr das Buch in technische und wissenschaftliche Details geht.
Das geht so bis zur Hälfte des Buchs. Dann gibt es endlich unerwartete Wendungen.
2.5/5
December 12, 2011
The most exciting novel I have read! Lots of scientific details for a change and quite accurate too! A thriller which includes some fictional history, lots of science, politics and a conspiracy. A very good plot and well written! I loved reading the book.
March 17, 2018
I really had mixed feelings about this book. I was well into it before I realized that it was first published in 1998, and apparently was placed in some alternative future to that time. I was hoping for a more scientifically plausible version of the movies Armageddon and Deep Impact. Nemesis turned out to be more of a James Bond thriller. Other readers have talked about the dense astronomical descriptions, taken from the author's career. I felt OK with most of it, but there was too much scientific shorthand. I wanted either more explicit mathematical discussions and spelling out of many acronyms, or else just use basic stuff for the non-scientific reader.
The conspiracy aspects and the Dan Brown style of solving ancient riddles was just too much for me. It looked like a tangled web of various plot lines and devices was used to conceal a basic flaw in the premise. That flaw was in the obvious questions of how did anybody supposedly know that an asteroid was really approaching earth, and that it was caused by the Russians? Every character in the book should have been demanding answers to these questions by page 30 or earlier. I'm pretty sure most readers were. The experts in the book do a very good job of showing how difficult it is to find and track asteroids, let alone destroy or deflect them. But nobody questions the ability of the Russians to very precisely (without detection!) deflect an asteroid to an earth collision using nuclear weapons! Please.
The action scenes were well done. The characters were OK. The pacing and story structure didn't work well. The book seemed almost out of sequence in some areas. I had to re-read parts to make sure I hadn't missed something. The conspiracy aspects were way overdone. The conspirators supposedly utilize a foreign outsider, just to get him to follow a 400 year-old fake story to get him to "find" an asteroid that really doesn't exist??? C'mon, man. And a small group being able to falsify most of the US military and intelligence info to show fake Russian war actions? B-movie stuff.
I think that this author has talent. His details, action descriptions, and characters are pretty good. I think he should simplify the storylines, and look more at the plausibility of the key plot points.
The conspiracy aspects and the Dan Brown style of solving ancient riddles was just too much for me. It looked like a tangled web of various plot lines and devices was used to conceal a basic flaw in the premise. That flaw was in the obvious questions of how did anybody supposedly know that an asteroid was really approaching earth, and that it was caused by the Russians? Every character in the book should have been demanding answers to these questions by page 30 or earlier. I'm pretty sure most readers were. The experts in the book do a very good job of showing how difficult it is to find and track asteroids, let alone destroy or deflect them. But nobody questions the ability of the Russians to very precisely (without detection!) deflect an asteroid to an earth collision using nuclear weapons! Please.
The action scenes were well done. The characters were OK. The pacing and story structure didn't work well. The book seemed almost out of sequence in some areas. I had to re-read parts to make sure I hadn't missed something. The conspiracy aspects were way overdone. The conspirators supposedly utilize a foreign outsider, just to get him to follow a 400 year-old fake story to get him to "find" an asteroid that really doesn't exist??? C'mon, man. And a small group being able to falsify most of the US military and intelligence info to show fake Russian war actions? B-movie stuff.
I think that this author has talent. His details, action descriptions, and characters are pretty good. I think he should simplify the storylines, and look more at the plausibility of the key plot points.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2018
So much potential
I give this book 3.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the book and what it was about in general. On it's subject matter and the conspiracy that occurred, I would give it 4.5 stars and that's what kept me reading with interest until the end. My problem was that I really struggled with being able to follow exactly what was happening, where it was happening and what timeline was, and struggled with following the characters' introductions and involvement. The writing was jumpy switching too quickly between people, scenes, and time periods. A little more description or background would have been very helpful; even if with section titles stating the location of upcoming scene and the time frame. There was a small amount of that done, but not nearly enough. The excessive scientific/mathematical discussions and equations between all the scientists were hard to get through for someone who is not familiar. I am very confused by the beginning when there occurs some kind of catastrophic event and then the book never gets back to that whatsoever and it really should have.
I give this book 3.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the book and what it was about in general. On it's subject matter and the conspiracy that occurred, I would give it 4.5 stars and that's what kept me reading with interest until the end. My problem was that I really struggled with being able to follow exactly what was happening, where it was happening and what timeline was, and struggled with following the characters' introductions and involvement. The writing was jumpy switching too quickly between people, scenes, and time periods. A little more description or background would have been very helpful; even if with section titles stating the location of upcoming scene and the time frame. There was a small amount of that done, but not nearly enough. The excessive scientific/mathematical discussions and equations between all the scientists were hard to get through for someone who is not familiar. I am very confused by the beginning when there occurs some kind of catastrophic event and then the book never gets back to that whatsoever and it really should have.
June 7, 2020
Eigentlich ein gelungenes Buch von einem offensichtlich sehr intelligenten Autor, aber drei Dinge haben mich dann doch gestört: 1. Bis zum Schluss war mir nicht klar, warum gerade die Russen hinter der Ablenkung des Asteroiden stecken sollten (außer, dass sie die Gegenmacht zur USA darstellen sollen). 2. 2/3 des Buches handelt davon, den Asteroiden abzulenken, damit er nicht auf die Erde einschlägt, aber als das Space Shuttle für diese Mission explodiert, ist das auf einmal nicht mehr weiter tragisch, weil ja die 50 %ige Chance besteht, dass er nicht einschlägt - davon war vorher nie die Rede. 3. Auch wenn das Ende spannend war, so war es teilweise nicht wirklich nachvollziehbar - sofern die Hauptperson ein Mensch und kein Superheld ist.
March 14, 2018
Exciting but technical
I'm a relatively smart person but from the beginning I got bogged down with all the technical lingo. It did keep me in suspense as the title says and it builds as the story progresses. The Bible says that in the end times there will be an asteroid that will hit the earth and the level of destruction described in this book is something I never hope to see. I gave it four stars because of all the technical stuff.
I'm a relatively smart person but from the beginning I got bogged down with all the technical lingo. It did keep me in suspense as the title says and it builds as the story progresses. The Bible says that in the end times there will be an asteroid that will hit the earth and the level of destruction described in this book is something I never hope to see. I gave it four stars because of all the technical stuff.
February 10, 2018
Out of this world!
Although I did not understand a lot of the scientific stuff in this story I still found it to be absorbing and I was unable to put it down. The characters were well described and interesting. The events were exciting. I will read more by this author
Although I did not understand a lot of the scientific stuff in this story I still found it to be absorbing and I was unable to put it down. The characters were well described and interesting. The events were exciting. I will read more by this author
February 14, 2018
Astronomy with a twist!
While the book starts out somewhat slow and very technical in terms of astronomy , it begins to take shape and finally ends with a bang! The characters are extremely interesting, the storyline is excellent and the action is wonderful!
While the book starts out somewhat slow and very technical in terms of astronomy , it begins to take shape and finally ends with a bang! The characters are extremely interesting, the storyline is excellent and the action is wonderful!
March 12, 2018
An excellent thriller.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it had an excellent storyline throughout, with plenty of action spread through the story. The storyline was plausible and the detail of modern technology with the historical facets made the book very enjoyable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it had an excellent storyline throughout, with plenty of action spread through the story. The storyline was plausible and the detail of modern technology with the historical facets made the book very enjoyable.
March 13, 2018
Quixotic but richly embroidered with gigantic science and great dialogue
Immense panorama. Umlimited characters to drive you into senseless plot acceptance. Unrealistic odessy but hell of a good read. Get it
Immense panorama. Umlimited characters to drive you into senseless plot acceptance. Unrealistic odessy but hell of a good read. Get it
October 23, 2021
Really enjoyed the bulk of the book, the seeking of the asteroid - the science was interesting and informative, then the twist came which seemed a bit of a cop out and then the ending just left me so confused I had to read it 3 times but was still not really the wiser. Pity.
February 8, 2018
Arthur c Clarke said it was an exciting book. Clearly as it was loudly proclaimed on the book cover. Mr Clarke must also enjoy watching paint dry. I am moving on.
February 19, 2018
A decent enough read but there were flaws. The characters were well done.
February 25, 2018
Greatttttt
Loved it, loved it, loved it. Enough said. I believe you will also enjoy this book as much as I have.
Loved it, loved it, loved it. Enough said. I believe you will also enjoy this book as much as I have.
June 12, 2018
This book started very slow and had a lot of technical details in it that were difficult to follow but once the plot got underway it was a very good read.
June 12, 2018
it wasn't until I was a good way into this novel before I found out it was published in 1998. This explained why out of date technology was being used and defunct air travel services such as Concorde. I am not an astronomer and so found the equations and jargon very baffling and at times the plot seemed rather disjointed. Having said all that it wasn't a bad thriller, but I have read far, far better ones and was almost minded to give it three stars rather than four.
February 21, 2017
This was the story of an asteroid that Russians had somehow diverted so that it was aimed at the US. Only by finding lost manuscripts was disaster averted. I think I liked it enough to trya another one.
March 29, 2023
By far the best asteroid/meteor story I've read. It sometimes could get comically mathematical, as if it were written for other astronomers, and also for the military intelligence jargon and written for a clandestine audience... Unless he is CIA Id like to know how he knows so well the workings of our national security. But what a great story by Napier, he really did his homework. Was very impressed how it climaxed at the end, and was very clever and thought out by the author. How this never became a blockbuster motion picture is beyond me, for writing a good screenplay for would be quite easy, which is a testament to the quality of this novel. A film would be infinitely better than any of the earth catastrophy films that came out of Hollywood. Many scoffed when hearing Arthur C. Clarke said it's the most exciting book he's ever read, but I can see why he liked it so much, because of it's level of plausibility. Hat tip to Napier.
August 15, 2016
what started as hunt for an asteriod changed a course of direction to hunt for an old manuscript written by an Italian, who was termed heretic by the Roman Chatholic Inquisition. Webb smells foul play when his collegue ends up dead. But the hunt seems to be a wild goose chase when Judge tells Webb that the relay from the obsevatory are fake. On the other hand Uncle Sam has some internal politics to deal with, with him the one person to give the nod to the nucelar attack against the Russian. Well ends well with some action on the side of Webb and Judy who have to dodge the attack made to keep them quite. At the end its all information warfare to crumble the fiancial market and begin a nuclear war.
It was so intriguing to make connections with The Inquisition and the current hunt of the asteriod and to my conclusion was information in bad hands is equally bad .
It was so intriguing to make connections with The Inquisition and the current hunt of the asteriod and to my conclusion was information in bad hands is equally bad .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2011
I might have read this book a number of years ago,since I was able to predict certain scenes, although maybe I just read too many thrillers? Anyway, this one was a good one, marred, to me, only by the extremely technical astronomical calculations inserted into the book. I under stand that's the writer's field, and that it gives a ring of authenticity, but since often at times, non-astronomers were in the audience for the discussion, I think it could have been dumbed down with less calculations and more what do they mean? It took me a while to finish this book, just because of it. It didn't hold my attention well. But it had a great premise and some nice twists and turns, although it's underlying premise might be a wee bit fanciful.
December 10, 2019
Whew! Do you ever get a bunch of information that totally knocks your socks off but you have no idea what to do with it?
Yeah. Well, After reading Nemesis I sure know a whole lot of stuffs about Nuclear Bombs and Asteroid.
Also, if you get past the Equations and astrological terms, Nemesis was a decent read.
I thought the storyline was okay. But, frankly I think Bill Napier could take a lesson or two from authors like Dan Brown on how to pack a good punch when writing thriller.
And, okay... One last thing, can we talk about Arthur C. Clark describing Nemesis as the most EXCITING book he has ever read
What gives?
No, son.
Yeah. Well, After reading Nemesis I sure know a whole lot of stuffs about Nuclear Bombs and Asteroid.
Also, if you get past the Equations and astrological terms, Nemesis was a decent read.
I thought the storyline was okay. But, frankly I think Bill Napier could take a lesson or two from authors like Dan Brown on how to pack a good punch when writing thriller.
And, okay... One last thing, can we talk about Arthur C. Clark describing Nemesis as the most EXCITING book he has ever read
What gives?
No, son.
June 14, 2012
I was really looking forward to reading this novel after reading Arthur C. Clark's comment, "The most exciting book I have ever read." Not for me. Early in the book the science behind astronomy and asteroids bogged down the flow. Even for someone quite educated like myself, the terminology and science was advanced. But the last half of the book, moved along quickly and it was at this point i found myself really enjoying the story. But about half way through I almost put it down for good. I'm glad I mustered through the first half.
February 2, 2016
I thought the story was interesting but being a person not into science, it was hard for me to follow much of the technical writing--though I have to say he's pretty good about trying to explain to a lay person.
In the end, I have to say that I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would (after reading the 1st chapter), but it did take me twice as long to read it, as it normally would to read a book of this size.
In the end, I have to say that I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would (after reading the 1st chapter), but it did take me twice as long to read it, as it normally would to read a book of this size.
August 23, 2008
This book revolves around Dr. Oliver Webb, a British physicist who is roped in to try and find an asteroid which is on a collision course with Earth.
Particularly at the start of the book there is a lot of techno-babble, presumably written in to show how clever the author is. For those who have little grounding in astronomy, it is boring and detracts from the story. Despite this, I enjoyed the start of the book but as the plot got sillier, I started to enjoy it less and less.
Particularly at the start of the book there is a lot of techno-babble, presumably written in to show how clever the author is. For those who have little grounding in astronomy, it is boring and detracts from the story. Despite this, I enjoyed the start of the book but as the plot got sillier, I started to enjoy it less and less.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews