SF Masterworks Group discussion

Above our planet hangs a hollow Stone, vast as the imagination of Man. The inner dimensions are at odds with the outer: there are different chambers to be breached, some even containing deserted cities. The furthest chamber contains the greatest mystery ever to confront the Stone's scientists. But tombstone or milestone, the Stone is not an alien structure: it comes from the future of our humanity. And the war that breaks out on Earth seems to bear witness to the Stone's prowess as oracle . . .

My review of Eon:


Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?

I started this novel around the start of February and it's now mid-June. In that time, I've managed to move house, complete a semester of university and finish a lowly one novel - this one. Unfortunately, I read it in three parts, each two months apart; I hope this isn't reflected in my review. The novel is finished now and I've enjoyed it as much as I could, considering the circumstances.

The blurb:

The Stone is a vast artifact -- a hollowed-out asteroid -- which has entered the Solar System from somewhere. Inside are a series of chambers to be explored. But the Stone contains more mysteries than can easily be understood. Within it, space and time are distorted, to a degree which only becomes apparent when scientists unlock the seventh chamber. The asteroid is longer on the inside than on the outside. The seventh chamber goes on forever.

This is 'hard' and 'far' SF -- Hard being the more scientific kind of SF (as opposed to 'soft'), and 'far' because it deals with science and advanced technologies that are not so near to being a reality. (I know that the novel also deals with humans that feel very 'now', but this isn't what makes the novel SF).

The story has a lot of Cold War political attitudes and can feel a little dated. Despite following the USSR side of the story for large sections, it seems to take a very 'American' attitude to them. For example, the Americans quickly take control of the artifact and assume it as their own, giving other nations only a taste of the wonders it has to offer to satisfy them enough to prevent conflict. Also, Bear repeatedly tries to show that communism is wrong.

The science is 'far', so it hasn't been as affected by the story's age. Detailed descriptions are given for a lot of the science in the story, for example, the geometry of the way, gate space-time distortions, inertial dampening, etc. . These will be a little much for those who aren't fans of hard SF. On a scale of 1 to 10, the 'sci-fi hardness' of this novel would be around 8 (with 1 being 'very soft' and 10 being 'very hard').

Themes and concepts covered in this novel include: alternate universes, terraforming, transhumanism and human augmentation, digital immortality, extraterrestrial life, multiple/parallel existence, human symbolic/graphic communication (picting), space warfare, and of course politics.

Overall, the book was definitely worthy of a read, and is a credit to Greg Bear. I give it 7/10.

I look forward to reading the sequel and prequel.