In this sequel to The Forge of God (Tor, 1988), Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Greg Bear presents an astonishing, visionary epic of wonder, t...
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Jan 27, 2009
Hien
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Mar 13, 2011
unsung classic: This little-appreciated book is Greg Bear's best, in my opinion. Science Fiction it may be, but its themes are as adult and rigorous as any book in any genre. It is also very well written.
An air of melancholy and despair - as well as barely suppressed terror - carries right through from start to finish, as befits the situation set up in its predecessor, The Forge of God. Bear does not shirk the philosophical implications of the story he is telling. The humans and aliens caught More...
An air of melancholy and despair - as well as barely suppressed terror - carries right through from start to finish, as befits the situation set up in its predecessor, The Forge of God. Bear does not shirk the philosophical implications of the story he is telling. The humans and aliens caught More...
Oct 17, 2009
Annette
rated it: 
Plot in a nutshell: the "Benefactors" who rescued a couple of arks
full of humans from Earth in prequel "Forge of God" have loaded 85 teens and young adults onto a highly advanced space ship, given them some robots for training, and assigned them the task of carrying out the Law which states that any race that creates automated planet killers must themselves be eradicated. Martin, son of one of the main characters from "Forge," is the protagonist.
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full of humans from Earth in prequel "Forge of God" have loaded 85 teens and young adults onto a highly advanced space ship, given them some robots for training, and assigned them the task of carrying out the Law which states that any race that creates automated planet killers must themselves be eradicated. Martin, son of one of the main characters from "Forge," is the protagonist.
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Mar 07, 2009
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
rated it:
"Anvil of Stars" sequel to "The Forge of God".. - just the titles alone are enuf to make me wary.. BUT, that sort of thing is par for the golf course of black holes in SF - so no biggie.. In other words, the title is so rotten-cheese-ball that many a sensitive literary type might avoid it.. BUT, I liked this bk. Bear's plots are GRANDIOSE. I vaguely recall reading that he & Greg Egan are 2 of the main 'hard science' SF writers (or maybe that's just what I thought at some p
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Aug 13, 2009
Tom
rated it: 
Meh... an OK hardcore Sci-Fi adventure.
Earth is destroyed by an alien killer race (in the prequel to this book), a benefactor alien race assists a starship crew of kids (why is it always kids?) as they attempt to hunt down the killers.
Many philosophical issues dealt with here... price of leadership, the social dynamics of an isolated crew, the ethics of revenge, etc. The main theme of the book basically boils to do a death penalty discussion, albeit on a planetary sca More...
Earth is destroyed by an alien killer race (in the prequel to this book), a benefactor alien race assists a starship crew of kids (why is it always kids?) as they attempt to hunt down the killers.
Many philosophical issues dealt with here... price of leadership, the social dynamics of an isolated crew, the ethics of revenge, etc. The main theme of the book basically boils to do a death penalty discussion, albeit on a planetary sca More...
Jan 28, 2012
Vanessa
rated it:
Greg Bear is simply incredible. There's some clunkiness to his writing, and to his characters- he's a real genre sci fi author, in both the good and bad meanings of that epithet- but there's vast depth, endless imponderables, and real emotion in there too.
Kids in Space! Forgive me for mentioning echoes of Ender's Game, but they were there. And yet, it leaves you wanting more even after four hundred pages, and it leaves you asking Big Questions and thinking Big Thoughts. Is humanity red More...
Kids in Space! Forgive me for mentioning echoes of Ender's Game, but they were there. And yet, it leaves you wanting more even after four hundred pages, and it leaves you asking Big Questions and thinking Big Thoughts. Is humanity red More...
Apr 14, 2011
Jim
rated it:
Well, now I've finished this, I'm not sure I ever finished it first time round: certainly the last half of the book was unfamiliar.
Unfortunately unfamiliar or not it didn't work for me. 'Forge of God' was a great read, with a really exciting apocalyptic ending. Anvil of Stars is set some time after FoG, and the focus of the book has shifted from action and disaster to the politics and morals of the Law - retribution being meted out by chosen survivors from Earth against the civilisatio More...
Unfortunately unfamiliar or not it didn't work for me. 'Forge of God' was a great read, with a really exciting apocalyptic ending. Anvil of Stars is set some time after FoG, and the focus of the book has shifted from action and disaster to the politics and morals of the Law - retribution being meted out by chosen survivors from Earth against the civilisatio More...
Jan 31, 2012
Raj
rated it:
After the destruction of Earth, only a tiny proportion of her population was saved by the mysterious Benefactors. They equip a number of her children with a ship and training and send them to enact the Law: that any civilisation that creates self-replicating killer robots to destroy another must be killed by those it sought to destroy. This is the story of the Dawn Treader and her voyage to seek and destroy the Killers of Earth.
Although this book is a sequel to Bear's earlier The Forge of God More...
Although this book is a sequel to Bear's earlier The Forge of God More...
Dec 10, 2010
Amy
rated it:
The sequel to The Forge of God is a completely different kind of story. Young people from among the survivors of Earth's destruction have been sent on a quest of punishment and revenge. According to The Law, any civilization that unleashes killer machines on its galactic fellows must be destroyed. Earth's children are charged with carrying out this sentence. Their journey is a long one in space and time and they create an interesting libertarian-style community on their ship-home. I love the phi
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Apr 30, 2011
Peter
rated it: 
The previous book in this two book series - The Forge of God - suffered from that common science fiction problem of the interesting core concept far outshining the mostly two dimensional characters. This sequel escapes that common fate of SF books, combining a strong plot with believable characters you can actually empathise with.
The last half of the book is by far the best introducing a well designed novel alien race and a star system that is literally “overdesigned”. That star s More...
The last half of the book is by far the best introducing a well designed novel alien race and a star system that is literally “overdesigned”. That star s More...
Jun 15, 2011
Randy
rated it:
As with the last update I sent, it was a very good read, borderline terrific. AoS was definately slow going, but the ladder half of the book blew me away in sense of scale and emotion. Also, coming off reading Forge of God and having the story still present in my mind made it all the better. I can't believe this hasn't been picked up by Hollywood yet, it has all the makings of a blockbuster, or possibly even a sequel from Greg Bear (fingers crossed).
The only caution I can say is, read More...
The only caution I can say is, read More...
Oct 19, 2008
Jason
rated it:
Better than its predecessor, highly imaginative concepts.
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Feb 05, 2012
Chad
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This is called a sequel, but reading Forge of God is completely unnecessary (and generally not worth it).
Characters are clumsy, and personal relationships awkward (perhaps intentionally so, but goes too far), but this book is saved by the sheer awe inspiring scope of an adventure taking a group of children (adults by the end) across the galaxy in search of revenge. Also, almost qualifies as hard sci-fi in my eyes (Greg certainly knows how to make it SOUND plausible), and thus gets an More...
Characters are clumsy, and personal relationships awkward (perhaps intentionally so, but goes too far), but this book is saved by the sheer awe inspiring scope of an adventure taking a group of children (adults by the end) across the galaxy in search of revenge. Also, almost qualifies as hard sci-fi in my eyes (Greg certainly knows how to make it SOUND plausible), and thus gets an More...
Apr 27, 2009
Kashyap
rated it:
This was a decent sequel to "Forge of God". It explains the story of the Ship of the Law and how the children of Earth go after the Killers. It's a pretty trippy ride into the morality of wiping out a civilization as the Killers did the Earth. A lot of it reeks of "Lord of the Flies". But it's pretty good story, till then end. I seems like he doesn't bother to properly wrap up all the ends. He just gives it a few paragraphs.
Oct 09, 2008
Chris
rated it:
A fantastic, if completely unexpected follow up to "Forge of God." The former was a hard-sci fi look at how the world might end if the Earth were destroyed by killer-probes from outer space. This book follows a group of young survivors who were rescued by a mysterious race of benefactors at the end of "Forge." They are given a technologically advanced space-ship and a mission -- eradicate the race that destroyed Earth.
"Anvil" becomes a hybrid of " More...
"Anvil" becomes a hybrid of " More...
Dec 04, 2008
Matt
rated it:
This is a nice balance between hard and soft sci-fi. It's like being on a sumbmarine with sentient robots and humans adrift in the depths of space inside of them and around them. It's not entirely plausible but the suspension of disbelief required isn't distracting and only adds to the feeling that it has an almost ambiently expressed meaning and imaginative quality.
May 15, 2009
joel
rated it:
this is actually some excellent science fiction. if you like to read about young people committing genocide and having sex in space, you are going to LOVE this.
i'll really have to check my goodreads review of red mars. if i gave red mars five stars i'll bump this on up to four.
it has PLENTY of terraforming.
could have used more space elevators.
i'll really have to check my goodreads review of red mars. if i gave red mars five stars i'll bump this on up to four.
it has PLENTY of terraforming.
could have used more space elevators.
Sep 02, 2011
Mike
rated it:
This is a very good hard Sci-Fi novel. It has interesting characters and I had now problem caring about them and wanting them to succeed. This is the sequel to "Forge of God" and I liked this one much better. In this one, a hand-picked few set out to punish the destroyers, against probably insurmountable odds. There's a huge moral question, though...
Nov 16, 2009
Derek
rated it:
Quite a bit less impressive than Forge of God. Bear's exploration of future/alien technology based on real-world science (no warp drives or instant interstellar communication) was intriguing, but the overall plot was much less compelling. An interesting effort, but Bear seems best when he sticks to stories grounded on earth.
Nov 30, 2011
Devon.murphy
rated it:
Vengeance, thy name is "Anvil of Stars". This book is a must if you've read "Forge of God". Bear keeps the conflict among characters escalating as survivors of Earth set out on a Ship of the Law to bring justice to those responsible for Earth's destruction. But where do humans fall in the morality of the galaxy? The slower-than-light galaxy has so much to offer in unique races, technological disparity, millenia-long-wars, and bittersweet loss and triumph. Bear is a maste
Feb 18, 2010
Jason
rated it:
The sequel to "The Forge of God" tells the story of the descendants of Earth survivors on a mission to find those that destroyed the Earth. While it initially seems like a revenge story, I think it turns into a struggle with the moral implications of their task.
Mar 29, 2010
CK
rated it:
I found this a bit slower than "Forge of God" with more reliance on pseudo-techno-babble to carry the plot. I did enjoy this book - reminded me of Ender's Game somewhat as it involves a war party of children. I very much appreciated the ending.
Dec 03, 2009
(Read the prequel, The Forge of God, years ago. Did I read this one? Should I re-read the first?)
Apr 14, 2010
Earth is destroyed, bunch of young adults fly around space at light speed in some fantastic, morphing ship - looking for revenge. Intersting crew dynamics. Some pretty awesome technology. Enjoyable.
Apr 02, 2009
Scott
rated it:
Good, though not as good as his first book, Forge of God. Introduces some weird ideas about youth and revenge. Still a good read, but felt like it was written by a hippie Greg Bear
Aug 21, 2011
AndrewP
rated it:
Sequel to The Forge of God. Not as good as the first one as it follows a group of survivors from the destruction of earth. Interesting high tech stuff, but lacks the drama of the first one.
Jul 27, 2011
Steve
rated it:
Like Forge of God, this has an epic feel to it. It's an engaging story, with well imagined characters in a fantastically imagined setting. If you've read FoG, definitely give this a go!
Feb 03, 2012
Chris
rated it:
This was much, much better than Forge of God. It took about a hundred pages to warm up, but after that it wasn't dull like its predecessor. It still had some qualities of Clarke's Rama books, in that there are a bunch of humans dealing with technology so advanced they don't understand it, but at least they were doing something interesting with it. And there were elements of a detective story in there, as well as a tour of some interesting different alien forms.
Jan 06, 2011
Matt
rated it:
Takes a pretty unique slant on interstellar SF ("the universe is not a nice place", to put it lightly).
Dec 17, 2011
Dariosk
rated it: 
Uninspired stuff.
Bear was very likely cashing in the succes of The Forge of God
Bear was very likely cashing in the succes of The Forge of God
