Existence
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- 3,99 €
Publisher Description
OUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE WAS NEVER A GIVEN.
Year after year, humanity has survived the main pitfalls awaiting us - natural disasters, nuclear war, rising seas. But when an alien artefact is found floating in Earth's orbit, it pushes our troubled world to the brink of chaos.
Is this a message in a bottle bringing peace and enlightenment from the stars? Or a warning, threatening to destroy what little stability mankind has achieved? The world is divided - holding its breath. Soon we will know the secret of existence.
Brilliant and gripping, David Brin's novel of the near future is the work of a modern master of science fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The discovery of alien artifacts pushes an already troubled Earth to the brink of chaos in bestseller Brin's exciting story of first contact. Gerald Livingston finds an alien "egg" while cleaning space garbage out of valuable satellite orbits. When word leaks to the press, speculation and fears abound. Change has already brought "Awfulday," when Washington, D.C., was hit by a dirty bomb, and an autism plague has created a generation that neurotypical people can't understand. As a self-styled antitechnology prophet, Tenskwatawa, calls for slowing down technological progress, the alien artifact is an unwelcome "Disturber," even as it promises to fix all Earth's problems with a catch, of course. Meanwhile, a second artifact recovered by a desperate Chinese fisherman warns against following other artifacts, suggesting these miniature Pandora's boxes have steered Earth's culture for some 9,000 years. Are the artifacts truly "worldstones," full of wonders and ingenious advice, or "demon-stones" that will only ruin the little stability to which humanity clings? Brin's thoughtful, multilayered story explores a first contact scenario where every twist reveals greater peril. His longtime fans will especially appreciate that this story could be read as a prequel to 1983's Startide Rising, while those not familiar with his work will find it an impressive introduction to one of SF's major talents.
Customer Reviews
Good but jerky ride.
The first half of the book, I was pleased with and liking the main characters and story. As the last half started, I was getting annoyed with the break between every chapter having a few pages of musings on the events. Glimpses of Uplift history had me hooked again, only to suddenly realize the book drops the most interesting characters and launches off twenty years forward for the build up of a still further distant future ending to the story. All in all i found it a good read in terms of ideas and vision, but would still have preferred the story to have kept to it's own time and played out some of the characters stories to the end, leaving the next stage for another book. Cheers anyway Mr. Brin, It was worth the read.