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The Way #4
The Way of All Ghosts
Short story in The Way universe.
It can be found in Robert Silverberg's 'Far Horizons' anthology
It can be found in Robert Silverberg's 'Far Horizons' anthology
90 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Greg Bear
228 books2,090 followersGreg Bear was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), parallel universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin’s Radio, and Darwin’s Children). His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 23, 2023
This is my second reading of The Way of All Ghosts. It is included in the anthology Far Horizons, edited by Robert Silverberg. This is the fourth, and I believe final story of The Way in Greg Bear's canon. I read it as part of a desire to reread all of the Way stories in sequence.
In The Way of All Ghosts, Greg Bear does what he does best, describing outrageous physical landscapes and systems, as seen through the eyes of some very peculiar characters. The protagonist of his previous volumes, Olmy Ap Sennen, returns in this story. He has recently returned to The Way from the events of the novel Legacy. And while his new body is physically fit and hale, his spirit is broken. Olmy's political masters, feeling that he has taken enough time to recover, send him on another mind bending mission a billion miles down the Way. (If you do not know what The Way is, at least read some reviews of Bear's other works in this series, Eon, Eternity, and Legacy. The Way of All Ghosts does not exactly stand on its own, and will make little sense to those who come at it fresh). There, gate openers have opened an unstable portal into a universe where the laws of physics do not resemble those in our own universe. Time has no arrow. Past, present and future have no meaning. The new universe is self aware, and self controlling. All matter and energy are under its direct control, and can be changed at its whim. But because of the static nature of time, it cannot know anything new about itself. Any changes it makes to its own self have, by default, already happened.
And now it has encountered a universe where time and space are variables, moving always in the same direction. Cause must precede event. Distance prevents instantaneous effect. This new universe doesn't know what to make of our universe, it cannot manipulate it in its usual way. More importantly, it is spreading into our universe, spreading like a gas introduced into a vacuum. Infecting our reality.
The people who opened the gate into this strange new universe are rather fanatical, and refuse to close it until it "Completes itself", whatever that means. Olmy's mission is to observe, understand what is going on, and close off the infection. While doing so, once again he places himself in mortal peril. He is almost certain to lose his life in the attempt. But of course we know he lives on, as this story takes place before the events of Eon and Eternity.
Greg Bear had a very visual and descriptive style of writing. Whenever reading him, I'm often reminded of the art of the French illustrator Moebius. I'd like to know what Bear may have thought of that, but it's too late to ask him.
In The Way of All Ghosts, Greg Bear does what he does best, describing outrageous physical landscapes and systems, as seen through the eyes of some very peculiar characters. The protagonist of his previous volumes, Olmy Ap Sennen, returns in this story. He has recently returned to The Way from the events of the novel Legacy. And while his new body is physically fit and hale, his spirit is broken. Olmy's political masters, feeling that he has taken enough time to recover, send him on another mind bending mission a billion miles down the Way. (If you do not know what The Way is, at least read some reviews of Bear's other works in this series, Eon, Eternity, and Legacy. The Way of All Ghosts does not exactly stand on its own, and will make little sense to those who come at it fresh). There, gate openers have opened an unstable portal into a universe where the laws of physics do not resemble those in our own universe. Time has no arrow. Past, present and future have no meaning. The new universe is self aware, and self controlling. All matter and energy are under its direct control, and can be changed at its whim. But because of the static nature of time, it cannot know anything new about itself. Any changes it makes to its own self have, by default, already happened.
And now it has encountered a universe where time and space are variables, moving always in the same direction. Cause must precede event. Distance prevents instantaneous effect. This new universe doesn't know what to make of our universe, it cannot manipulate it in its usual way. More importantly, it is spreading into our universe, spreading like a gas introduced into a vacuum. Infecting our reality.
The people who opened the gate into this strange new universe are rather fanatical, and refuse to close it until it "Completes itself", whatever that means. Olmy's mission is to observe, understand what is going on, and close off the infection. While doing so, once again he places himself in mortal peril. He is almost certain to lose his life in the attempt. But of course we know he lives on, as this story takes place before the events of Eon and Eternity.
Greg Bear had a very visual and descriptive style of writing. Whenever reading him, I'm often reminded of the art of the French illustrator Moebius. I'd like to know what Bear may have thought of that, but it's too late to ask him.
July 29, 2022
The Way series of Books from Greg Bear are truly an excellent set of stories that are both entertaining and profound in their immenseness. Hard science combined with great story telling means you'll be left thinking long after you are finished.
The Way of All Ghosts - the final book (so far) - ramps the hard-science up a notch and throws in some serious philosophical points of order. I'm guessing that it may be a 'hard slog' for those who want something that is more like a space opera. Perhaps I am wrong.
I read this story 20 years later and I remain thoroughly entertained. Highly recommended.
The Way of All Ghosts - the final book (so far) - ramps the hard-science up a notch and throws in some serious philosophical points of order. I'm guessing that it may be a 'hard slog' for those who want something that is more like a space opera. Perhaps I am wrong.
I read this story 20 years later and I remain thoroughly entertained. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2022
3.5 stars
This is a very odd story. The hero of the other Way books (which are magnificent) is resurrected and sent on a special mission.
Maybe I will try it again one day after a reread of the other books.
This is a very odd story. The hero of the other Way books (which are magnificent) is resurrected and sent on a special mission.
Maybe I will try it again one day after a reread of the other books.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews