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Forge of God #2
Anvil of Stars
The acclaimed author of Eternity offers a compelling sequel to his visionary Forge of God. Earth is gone, completely destroyed by a ruthless alien. Hundreds of years away, a handful of exiles hurtles through the galaxies in a quest for revenge, armed with powers they do not understand--and determined to find and punish the killers who murdered their world.
471 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
300 people are currently reading
2948 people want to read
About the author
Greg Bear
229 books2,081 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 - 30 of 274 reviews
February 9, 2013
This direct sequel to The Forge of God is as far removed from its predecessor in tone and content as could possibly be. The concept of the 'Law' is fascinating, made more so by the enigmatic nature of the Benefactors. Many questions that are raised throughout the novel are left unanswered and the morality of decisions is open to interpretation. This plays an important part in what makes this novel work on an emotional level.
At first, I didn’t quite get Anvil of Stars. The sexual politics, called "slicking", aboard the Ship of the Law, for one thing, didn’t appeal to me. It doesn’t take long, however, to realise just how skewed the psychological profile of the Children of Earth inevitably is. These are kids that were taken away from parents at a very young age and forced to watch the destruction of Earth. Add to that the fact that they have grown up in a space ship, in zero gravity, with only each other for company, on a mission of vengeance. Are these androgynous, vengeful, alienated creatures even human any more?
It all comes together of course. Greg Bear has yet to disappoint me. The worlds he envisions here are spectacular, and events depicted mind-bending in scope and complexity. The prevailing issue, of course, is whether the Children will identify the correct Killer civilization, or whether they will destroy innocent worlds and so become Killers themselves, sentencing humanity to extinction. That is the Law.
There is enough sense of wonder here to satisfy the most jaded Science Fiction enthusiast. You should read this, but in order to appreciate it, read The Forge of God first.
At first, I didn’t quite get Anvil of Stars. The sexual politics, called "slicking", aboard the Ship of the Law, for one thing, didn’t appeal to me. It doesn’t take long, however, to realise just how skewed the psychological profile of the Children of Earth inevitably is. These are kids that were taken away from parents at a very young age and forced to watch the destruction of Earth. Add to that the fact that they have grown up in a space ship, in zero gravity, with only each other for company, on a mission of vengeance. Are these androgynous, vengeful, alienated creatures even human any more?
It all comes together of course. Greg Bear has yet to disappoint me. The worlds he envisions here are spectacular, and events depicted mind-bending in scope and complexity. The prevailing issue, of course, is whether the Children will identify the correct Killer civilization, or whether they will destroy innocent worlds and so become Killers themselves, sentencing humanity to extinction. That is the Law.
There is enough sense of wonder here to satisfy the most jaded Science Fiction enthusiast. You should read this, but in order to appreciate it, read The Forge of God first.
January 25, 2019
This is that rare beast; a sequel that's significantly better than the first book.
To be fair, it's a sequel that is also SO different to the first book that it almost doesn't feel like a sequel at all.
There's no way to describe the premise of this book without spoiling the ending of the first one so I won't bother. I'll just say that I found the premise much more interesting than the first book's and the world building (or should that be galaxy-building?) much, much better.
There are superficial shades of 'Ender's Game' here and much deeper shades of 'The Lord of the Flies' but it's far from being a rip-off of either book. It actually reminded me of old-school Asimov, although I couldn't quite put my finger on why as it doesn't have anything overtly in common with the Grandmaster's work.
Suffice it to say that this book has restored my faith in Greg Bear and stopped him from being relegated to my 'authors I quite like but not enough to actually buy any more of their stuff' list.
To be fair, it's a sequel that is also SO different to the first book that it almost doesn't feel like a sequel at all.
There's no way to describe the premise of this book without spoiling the ending of the first one so I won't bother. I'll just say that I found the premise much more interesting than the first book's and the world building (or should that be galaxy-building?) much, much better.
There are superficial shades of 'Ender's Game' here and much deeper shades of 'The Lord of the Flies' but it's far from being a rip-off of either book. It actually reminded me of old-school Asimov, although I couldn't quite put my finger on why as it doesn't have anything overtly in common with the Grandmaster's work.
Suffice it to say that this book has restored my faith in Greg Bear and stopped him from being relegated to my 'authors I quite like but not enough to actually buy any more of their stuff' list.
October 12, 2012
So... since I think I'm getting fired tomorrow because I can't put up with people's bullshit,(it may or may not be the best thing that ever happens to me), I decided to go to some comfort food and review my favorite book ever: Greg Bear's Anvil of Stars!!!
There are spoilers ahead, so please dont read this if you haven't read the first book: The Forge of God. That's the slow and painful story of how Earth gets wiped out by an intelligence that pretends to be benign, but is anything but. This is a sequel to that story.
But this however, is a story about justice. You see, the children of the aforementioned destroyed Earth, are helped by some "friendly" alien benefactors who wish to enact "justice" on those perpetrators. Imagine: you are raised aboard a vessel with other children onboard what is called a "Ship of the Law". The "Law" is that those races that have been obliterated by the intelligent force that destroyed their worlds will have to find those killers. You have no choice. Your planet is destroyed, you kids search the galaxy to find the perpetrators. There are several races scouring the galaxy, looking for the guilty: the murderers who destroy intelligence like wolves stalking sheep.
Please dont read further if you want to avoid the spoilers, because it really will ruin the book if you have any intention of reading it. If you don't, keep going.
Again, I ask you to turn away if you dont want spoilers....
The part when Theresa died, I cried. I read this book in middle school for the first time, cried then and I am getting teary eyed right now thinking about it. It's just one of those things. I can't really explain it, she wasn't like such a robust, complex character crafted by Mr Bear that should elicit this response, but it hit me hard. Stupid fictional character death in a science fiction novel, but it hit me damn hard.
So this group of kids on a Ship of The Law find a candidate system for the Killers.
Here is the beautiful part of this book, and why I have to reread it every couple of years: how do you enact justice on a group,if there are possible innnocents perishing from your strike?? At what cost does justice come? Imagine: you are the leader of a Ship of The Law, crewed by Earth's orphans..you come across a solar system, teeming with different races, one of which are the suspected killers, and you dont know if the machines sent to destroy Earth and other civilizations are now defunct and/or a product of their shameful past. Destroying the Killers will result in enormous collateral damage, because the Ship of The Law comes equipped with weapons that can annihalate an entire solar system. Innocents will no doubt die. Billions. I repeat: billions will die..innocents.. but so will the potential Earth killers; the guilty - the reason you've spent your short life on a Ship of the Law looking for these assasins. Can I remind you theyre damn little kids with this responsibility being forced on them without their consent??!!!!
What do they do? I wont tell you that much, spoilers or no spoilers, you will have to read it for yourself.
It's simply the greatest story I've ever read.
There are spoilers ahead, so please dont read this if you haven't read the first book: The Forge of God. That's the slow and painful story of how Earth gets wiped out by an intelligence that pretends to be benign, but is anything but. This is a sequel to that story.
But this however, is a story about justice. You see, the children of the aforementioned destroyed Earth, are helped by some "friendly" alien benefactors who wish to enact "justice" on those perpetrators. Imagine: you are raised aboard a vessel with other children onboard what is called a "Ship of the Law". The "Law" is that those races that have been obliterated by the intelligent force that destroyed their worlds will have to find those killers. You have no choice. Your planet is destroyed, you kids search the galaxy to find the perpetrators. There are several races scouring the galaxy, looking for the guilty: the murderers who destroy intelligence like wolves stalking sheep.
Please dont read further if you want to avoid the spoilers, because it really will ruin the book if you have any intention of reading it. If you don't, keep going.
Again, I ask you to turn away if you dont want spoilers....
The part when Theresa died, I cried. I read this book in middle school for the first time, cried then and I am getting teary eyed right now thinking about it. It's just one of those things. I can't really explain it, she wasn't like such a robust, complex character crafted by Mr Bear that should elicit this response, but it hit me hard. Stupid fictional character death in a science fiction novel, but it hit me damn hard.
So this group of kids on a Ship of The Law find a candidate system for the Killers.
Here is the beautiful part of this book, and why I have to reread it every couple of years: how do you enact justice on a group,if there are possible innnocents perishing from your strike?? At what cost does justice come? Imagine: you are the leader of a Ship of The Law, crewed by Earth's orphans..you come across a solar system, teeming with different races, one of which are the suspected killers, and you dont know if the machines sent to destroy Earth and other civilizations are now defunct and/or a product of their shameful past. Destroying the Killers will result in enormous collateral damage, because the Ship of The Law comes equipped with weapons that can annihalate an entire solar system. Innocents will no doubt die. Billions. I repeat: billions will die..innocents.. but so will the potential Earth killers; the guilty - the reason you've spent your short life on a Ship of the Law looking for these assasins. Can I remind you theyre damn little kids with this responsibility being forced on them without their consent??!!!!
What do they do? I wont tell you that much, spoilers or no spoilers, you will have to read it for yourself.
It's simply the greatest story I've ever read.
July 7, 2024
Reread. Holds up pretty well, and the braided Brother aliens are a remarkable creation. Sexy stuff, hmm. Well-written and well thought out book. I didn't much care for the ambiguous ending. A good book, but not up to the first (by long-ago memory).
September 9, 2013
The sequel to Forge of God is a remarkably powerful, dark novel. Anvil of Stars is one part space opera revenge tale and one part meditation on violence, social dynamics, and extreme power imbalances.
The plot concerns a ship full of young people, assigned to exact punishment on the villains from the first book, aliens simply known as The Killers. Much of the first 2/3rds of Anvil is concerned with exploring this microcosm of human society. Bear sets out dozens of characters, most notably three leaders, Martin, Hans, and Ariel. He charts their respective rises and falls, how the group organizes and schisms, responses to poor information, crises of authority, sexual dynamics, and deaths.
The plot drives forward, starting with The plot is usually very compelling, leading to some exciting, suspenseful scenes. Indeed, a major mystery isn't revealed until the antepenultimate chapter.
The tone is mordant throughout. Every character is scarred by the murder of Earth, which occurred during their childhood. Most are named after mourned features of their natal planet, including animals and natural features. The ship's crew suffers losses by violence and suicide, with casualties building up as they battle the Killers. The "children" (as they call themselves) are also frequently terrified, since they know so little of what they're getting into, and are overwhelmingly outgunned and -classed by their enemies. Point of view character Martin is a dour one, spending a great deal of time dealing with those two emotions of terror and mourning.
The universe is very credible, both in terms of hard and soft sciences. Bear builds on the scenario sketched in Forge, partly by describing fascinating astronomy, and also by inventing many technologies. The sociology is equally credible and compelling.
I recommend this book as a fine sequel, although it can certainly be read on its own. Bear doesn't simply replicate the first book (say, by having Killers reappear to take out Mars), but uses its aftermath to move in new directions. Vengeance is a logical plot idea following book #1, and Anvil explores this deeply, with ambivalence and humanity.
It makes for a fine and fairly unusual space opera, lacking the politics of contemporary US/UK examples, and being far sadder. The book reminds me of some Poul Anderson novels, like Enemy Stars, in its combination of grimness and hard science. Indeed, there's something of the Viking in the determined character of Hans.
I've heard rumors that Bear wanted to do a third book in this world. I hope he does so.
The plot concerns a ship full of young people, assigned to exact punishment on the villains from the first book, aliens simply known as The Killers. Much of the first 2/3rds of Anvil is concerned with exploring this microcosm of human society. Bear sets out dozens of characters, most notably three leaders, Martin, Hans, and Ariel. He charts their respective rises and falls, how the group organizes and schisms, responses to poor information, crises of authority, sexual dynamics, and deaths.
The plot drives forward, starting with The plot is usually very compelling, leading to some exciting, suspenseful scenes. Indeed, a major mystery isn't revealed until the antepenultimate chapter.
The tone is mordant throughout. Every character is scarred by the murder of Earth, which occurred during their childhood. Most are named after mourned features of their natal planet, including animals and natural features. The ship's crew suffers losses by violence and suicide, with casualties building up as they battle the Killers. The "children" (as they call themselves) are also frequently terrified, since they know so little of what they're getting into, and are overwhelmingly outgunned and -classed by their enemies. Point of view character Martin is a dour one, spending a great deal of time dealing with those two emotions of terror and mourning.
The universe is very credible, both in terms of hard and soft sciences. Bear builds on the scenario sketched in Forge, partly by describing fascinating astronomy, and also by inventing many technologies. The sociology is equally credible and compelling.
I recommend this book as a fine sequel, although it can certainly be read on its own. Bear doesn't simply replicate the first book (say, by having Killers reappear to take out Mars), but uses its aftermath to move in new directions. Vengeance is a logical plot idea following book #1, and Anvil explores this deeply, with ambivalence and humanity.
It makes for a fine and fairly unusual space opera, lacking the politics of contemporary US/UK examples, and being far sadder. The book reminds me of some Poul Anderson novels, like Enemy Stars, in its combination of grimness and hard science. Indeed, there's something of the Viking in the determined character of Hans.
I've heard rumors that Bear wanted to do a third book in this world. I hope he does so.
October 11, 2012
When I was reading the first quarter of this book, I began to get bored. Reading about the "children" train, slick and simulate was like watching a sloth climb up a tree. The narrative tells a lot of things and nothing at the same time. To make it worse, the dialogues were flat and disjointed. The children sounded like they had too much cold sleep. I was ready to give up and abandon the book, but I thought, "This is a Greg Bear work! Remember Eon? Darwin's Children?" Okay...so I decided to read a few more pages. Well, a good thing I did because when the Brother entered the story everything just changed. The story began to pick up, finally. The science was just... wow! Bear gave a new way of looking at matter being manipulated at the quantum level. And the Braids were fascinating. I enjoyed the way they "talk" - perfumed conversations! The children finally reached their goal and found the aliens responsible for the annihilations of many species and civilizations, including their very own. They fought, and fought some more; but it turned out the hardest battle they ever faced was in their hearts. For what could be a more tortured creature than a human after blood? The ending was quite moving, giving closure to the children's journey. I would have given this book 5 stars if more had been said about the Benefactors. Who were they, really?
Read
March 13, 2011unsung 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 up in the story are overwhelmed by the mysterious technology that surrounds them, and never fully understand what is happening.
The climactic battle is very exciting, and the ambiguous outcome a satisfying, well-rounded one.
The technological explanations make enough sense to be convincing, but Bear also makes economical use of little suggestions and implications to give texture to the weird, merciless galaxy in which the story takes place. The Braid aliens, too, are a superb invention. They seem completely ahuman, unlike most alien races in sci fi.
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 up in the story are overwhelmed by the mysterious technology that surrounds them, and never fully understand what is happening.
The climactic battle is very exciting, and the ambiguous outcome a satisfying, well-rounded one.
The technological explanations make enough sense to be convincing, but Bear also makes economical use of little suggestions and implications to give texture to the weird, merciless galaxy in which the story takes place. The Braid aliens, too, are a superb invention. They seem completely ahuman, unlike most alien races in sci fi.
January 25, 2015
Slow start. Almost abandoned before 50 pages. By 100 was reasonably confident I wasn’t wasting my time.
Turns out to be a fresh, original science fiction, and once Bear gets going his storytelling is good, the opening nearly put me to sleep.
Good, hard science fiction; good character building; good plot.
Turns out to be a fresh, original science fiction, and once Bear gets going his storytelling is good, the opening nearly put me to sleep.
Good, hard science fiction; good character building; good plot.
November 28, 2012
Perhaps less tight in terms of structure than Forge of God, this sequel has at its center a deeply moral conundrum: How far do we take the Law? What does vengeance do to our souls? Vibrant, detailed and believable psycho-sexual social milieu and of course, dizzying hard sci-fi exposition, plus a moving, powerful theme, maybe even more relevant now post-9/11 than it was in 1991. Highly recommended.
February 23, 2024
Anvil of Stars is a dark odyssey through deep space that deals with themes of isolation, justice, revenge and human violence. It’s not a perfect book, it’s probably too long and some of the logic and characterizations didn’t really hold together for me, but it is filled with mystery, moral dilemmas and fascinating concepts, creatures and technologies. As with The Forge of God, Greg Bear absolutely nailed the ending here, and I think it will stick with me for a long time.
December 14, 2011
This book continues where The Forge of God ends off, which is the aftermath of the destruction of most of Earth and its inhabitants.
Taken from the destruction by a superior race called the Benefactors a large group of children volunteer to find the race that attacked Earth and destroy them using technology supplied by the Benefactors.
The Benefactors have supplied them with a massive ship and guidance in the form of robots that the children call “Moms”. After 5 years flying at near the speed of light their ship sensors indicate the solar system ahead has attributes that match the drones that destroyed Earth.
However what they find is a system so far ahead of any technology that they know of or that the Benefactors can supply that it looks like a suicide mission.
Can the children of Earth destroy this alien race ? Questions are raised by some as to whether it should be an eye for an eye. Are the benefactors holding back on information that the children of Earth will need ?
There is politics involved, questions of belief, mind numbing technology and the ultimate question of good versus evil.
Highly recommended read and up to the full level of professionalism in any other of Greg Bears other books.
Taken from the destruction by a superior race called the Benefactors a large group of children volunteer to find the race that attacked Earth and destroy them using technology supplied by the Benefactors.
The Benefactors have supplied them with a massive ship and guidance in the form of robots that the children call “Moms”. After 5 years flying at near the speed of light their ship sensors indicate the solar system ahead has attributes that match the drones that destroyed Earth.
However what they find is a system so far ahead of any technology that they know of or that the Benefactors can supply that it looks like a suicide mission.
Can the children of Earth destroy this alien race ? Questions are raised by some as to whether it should be an eye for an eye. Are the benefactors holding back on information that the children of Earth will need ?
There is politics involved, questions of belief, mind numbing technology and the ultimate question of good versus evil.
Highly recommended read and up to the full level of professionalism in any other of Greg Bears other books.
October 19, 2008
Better than its predecessor, highly imaginative concepts.
July 26, 2023
There are some great ideas and concepts in Anvil of Stars. I loved the alien races, especially the "brothers". Some of the described technologies are great too. But that's about it. The premise makes no sense, the motivation of the benefactors stays unclear, the character development, though existent, wasn’t really believable to me.
Anvil of Stars is far to long. The pacing is of by a mile, especially in the first 50-60% of the book. I only didn't DNF this, because I already had invested too much time in this book and its predecessor (Forge of God) and I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion. Admittedly, it's a good conclusion. Morally ambiguous in its message. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to outweigh all the negatives.
All in all, The Forge of God duology was a let down for me. While the first part at least had the popcorn movie "let's rip the world to pieces" ending going for it, the overly long second part leaves me unsatisfied. It's too little, too late and honestly, I didn't really care much about the characters anymore. That's kind of a death sentence for a book.
Anvil of Stars is far to long. The pacing is of by a mile, especially in the first 50-60% of the book. I only didn't DNF this, because I already had invested too much time in this book and its predecessor (Forge of God) and I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion. Admittedly, it's a good conclusion. Morally ambiguous in its message. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to outweigh all the negatives.
All in all, The Forge of God duology was a let down for me. While the first part at least had the popcorn movie "let's rip the world to pieces" ending going for it, the overly long second part leaves me unsatisfied. It's too little, too late and honestly, I didn't really care much about the characters anymore. That's kind of a death sentence for a book.
May 3, 2018
Storyline: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 5/5
Rarely have I come across a sequel that so surpassed its predecessor. And I liked the predecessor.
Book one was nicely self-contained; I didn't feel that I had to read on in the series, but seeing as I had enjoyed the first, I was happy to do so. Book two is also nicely contained. The very brief, straightforward prologue - numbering 300 words or so - sums up what one needs to know in order to read Anvil of Stars. Thereafter Bear moves forward, and he does so in strides confidently and differently paced than in the first. He drops the political thriller element and makes this much more a military science fiction work. The hard science fiction elements stay, but are better integrated into the plot. We also keep the shifting perspectives, but we have fewer of them, and Bear effectively situates them in the story. What results is a provocative beginning, setup by the last book, that develops into a thoughtful, surprising, and creative story of war planning and execution in space. Military sci-fi is not a genre I have read extensively in, but if other works in the genre similarly extrapolate the implications of technological advancement for social cohesion and military strategy in the far future, then sign me up for a reading list. I want to read more.
I wasn't enamored with every element of the story, however. Bear, again, takes on the task of berating religion through caricature, suggesting to the reader that he has a decided grudge against it while at the same time misunderstanding it. It is also a smutty telling, the author seeming to take a lot of gratification in detailing the many and varied sexual liaisons of our older teenagers and young adults. In places, both of these elements contributed to character building, but their excesses went beyond development and distracted from the otherwise measured story. And that story was, ultimately, decisive and heavy. That last page gets turned with all the necessary questions answered but without Bear offering any help in processing what happened. That happens on your own time and away from Anvil of Stars.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 5/5
Rarely have I come across a sequel that so surpassed its predecessor. And I liked the predecessor.
Book one was nicely self-contained; I didn't feel that I had to read on in the series, but seeing as I had enjoyed the first, I was happy to do so. Book two is also nicely contained. The very brief, straightforward prologue - numbering 300 words or so - sums up what one needs to know in order to read Anvil of Stars. Thereafter Bear moves forward, and he does so in strides confidently and differently paced than in the first. He drops the political thriller element and makes this much more a military science fiction work. The hard science fiction elements stay, but are better integrated into the plot. We also keep the shifting perspectives, but we have fewer of them, and Bear effectively situates them in the story. What results is a provocative beginning, setup by the last book, that develops into a thoughtful, surprising, and creative story of war planning and execution in space. Military sci-fi is not a genre I have read extensively in, but if other works in the genre similarly extrapolate the implications of technological advancement for social cohesion and military strategy in the far future, then sign me up for a reading list. I want to read more.
I wasn't enamored with every element of the story, however. Bear, again, takes on the task of berating religion through caricature, suggesting to the reader that he has a decided grudge against it while at the same time misunderstanding it. It is also a smutty telling, the author seeming to take a lot of gratification in detailing the many and varied sexual liaisons of our older teenagers and young adults. In places, both of these elements contributed to character building, but their excesses went beyond development and distracted from the otherwise measured story. And that story was, ultimately, decisive and heavy. That last page gets turned with all the necessary questions answered but without Bear offering any help in processing what happened. That happens on your own time and away from Anvil of Stars.
March 23, 2016
This blew my mind when I read it, which I did before I read the first one (Forge of God), but it didn't suffer from any lack of context, standing alone perfectly well. I think it's a better book, with a huge concept and deep, dark themes. I suspect Greg Bear had Anvil of Stars in mind as a destination when Forge of God was being written, because the first book is more or less a setup for the much more interesting and horrifying story that follows.
I say horrifying, and it is, on multiple levels. The scale of the horror is inherent in the concept of eye-for-an-eye justice for genocide on the level of interplanetary civilizations, and whether this can be or even *must be* justifiable. But you see this through the eyes of very weak and flawed humans, and a protagonist who agonises over it to the very end. The horror, cruelty and regret is all very personal.
There's plenty of hard science as well as hard moral decisions. There are robots and antimatter and superweapons that make antimatter look tame. I don't give out a lot of 5 star ratings but this book is amazing. It did actually amaze me.
I say horrifying, and it is, on multiple levels. The scale of the horror is inherent in the concept of eye-for-an-eye justice for genocide on the level of interplanetary civilizations, and whether this can be or even *must be* justifiable. But you see this through the eyes of very weak and flawed humans, and a protagonist who agonises over it to the very end. The horror, cruelty and regret is all very personal.
There's plenty of hard science as well as hard moral decisions. There are robots and antimatter and superweapons that make antimatter look tame. I don't give out a lot of 5 star ratings but this book is amazing. It did actually amaze me.
October 9, 2008
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 "Ender's Game," "Speaker for the Dead" and "Lord of the Flies" as this group of teenagers tries to deal with the responsibilities of justice and revenge, acting on behalf of billions of dead humans yet bearing the guilt of knowing their job is to kill billions in return. Bear creates great characters and great social tensions as this close-knit, somewhat in-bred community is forced to try to finish "the Job" and not destroy themselves in the process.
"Anvil" becomes a hybrid of "Ender's Game," "Speaker for the Dead" and "Lord of the Flies" as this group of teenagers tries to deal with the responsibilities of justice and revenge, acting on behalf of billions of dead humans yet bearing the guilt of knowing their job is to kill billions in return. Bear creates great characters and great social tensions as this close-knit, somewhat in-bred community is forced to try to finish "the Job" and not destroy themselves in the process.
March 7, 2009
"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 point or another) - meaning that all their plots have to be backed up by significant scientific projection of the day.. BUT, this is basically pure SPACE OPERA. The plot? A group of young people, survivors from a destroyed Earth, are traveling in a "Ship of the Law" seeking out those responsible for Earth's destruction to avenge it. They form an alliance w/ another Ship of the Law populated by a dramatically different species from another planet that's been similarly ill-served. Regardless of how much this story pulls out all the melodramatic stops, its scale is impressive: How many people can imagine conflicts that loom this large? Not many.. & reading such tales stretches one's own sense of possible proportion. W/o getting into spoilers, though, the ethical problems in all this, while addressed, aren't delved into as satisfactorily as a sentient being truly concerned w/ such things might like.
December 15, 2014
This sequel is completely different from The Forge of God. The earth has been destroyed, most of the few survivors have been settled on Mars, and a small group of children/teenagers are sent on a mission of revenge to destroy the makers of the killing machines. I had a hard time getting into the story and found myself starting to skim--never a good sign. About halfway through, it picked up and I liked best the part that dealt with the "Brothers", an alien species that the humans team up with. The theme of the appropriateness of revenge is interesting and I found myself siding with the group that wanted to forget about it and try to find someplace to go and have a life. I was disappointed in the ending. In the end, I was glad I read this but it didn't compare to the first book.
August 6, 2019
Read for the Space Opera 2019 Challenge.
Wow, what a stunning book!
I was thoroughly enamoured of the prequel to this, The Forge of God. I thought it was a brilliantly written apocalyptic epic, full of twists and turns and intrigue and enough scientific mystery to keep anyone with even a hint of interest in science fiction satisfied. I saw a lot of reviews that said the second book was better, and I scoffed.
I was wrong. This is a work of brilliance that I'm not sure people truly understood at the time. But it sure left an impression on me.
In this novel, the earth has been destroyed by mysterious alien invaders whose motives are unclear. Young people, children, are selected from among the survivors by another mysterious group of aliens that the survivors call the Benefactors. They have sent autonomous ships to help the humans resettle elsewhere in the solar system, and to avenge themselves on the alien culture that destroyed them. There is a pact among other technologically advanced civilizations that any world that is responsible for destroying another world through self-replicating machines must in turn be destroyed. That is the Law.
A Ship of the Law is dispatched to carry these volunteers on a mission to seek and destroy their destroyers. Due to relativistic effects and cryo-sleep that gave the Benefactors time to terraform Venus and Mars, they awaken to the first evidence of their destroyers centuries after Earth's destruction. They are now young adults - late teens and early twenties, about the same age that our soldiers are typically chosen - and must decide how they are going to handle this.
The Children, as they call themselves, have named themselves the Lost Boys and the Wendys. With no real parental guidance since they left on this mission, there are shades of Lord of the Flies in their restructured society. Their leader, regardless of gender, is known as the Pan, and s/he is elected to serve for a period of one Earth year. Martin, the son of the protagonist of the first book, is the current Pan when the book opens.
Ships of the Law provide their crews with the information and technology that is needed to aid in their mission - but no more. They otherwise do not interfere, even when there is conflict, however violent, among their crews.
Martin is faced with deciding whether or not to investigate the evidence that suggests that this star system they have discovered is, in fact, their destroyers, and then deciding whether or not to launch their campaign of retribution. And things do not go well.
A new Pan is elected in the wake of the disaster, and his style of leadership is like night to Martin's day. Martin dithers and tries to gather consensus - not always a good thing in wartime. His successor displays shades of tyranny. Will he do the right thing - or will his desire for vengeance consume him?
It's not the plot itself that is the beauty of this book, the thing that makes it great. It's all the other subtle shades. By eliminating a civilization that has destroyed other civilizations, do you become a force of evil yourself? What if the civilization has forsworn its previous actions? What if its successors had nothing to do with it? What if you can't tell if they're lying or not?
And then there are gems like what happens when one of the Children begins to receive visions:
"The Most High is neither male nor female. It does not blame, it does not judge. It loves, and it gathers . . ."
This is an almost perfect description of the character of the mechanical beings that inhabit the Ship of the Law, whom they call "the moms." They do not judge - that is for humans to do. They do not interfere. They only provide the tools needed for "the Job."
There is a constant element of distrust with the moms. The crew knows they are not being told everything, not even who the Benefactors are or where they come from. And they suspect that it's because they themselves might become killers as evil as the ones who destroyed their own world. This tension is exacerbated when they encounter another race that also has been victimized by the Killers, as they call them, and the two combine efforts and the resources of their Ships of the Law to achieve their goal. This race has a much better relationship with their ship and their "moms," and in general, seem much kinder and much less violent than we are. Are humans being given the tools to enact justice? Or are they merely being used?
The resolution is poignant and powerful. Bear asks you to question the nature of God, the ethics of war, the structures of society and faith, colonialism, and the vicissitudes of human nature.
As a side bonus, while the technology here seems downright magical, this is in fact hard science fiction. There's sound science behind all of it. I'm taking notes for my fantasy space opera work, and hope to draw inspiration from even a small fragment of it.
It's like a combination of Lord of the Flies, Ender's Game, Babylon 5, Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis, and The Forever War all rolled into one, and yet it's entirely its own thing too. If you're at all a fan of space opera or science fiction, I can't recommend it enough.
Wow, what a stunning book!
I was thoroughly enamoured of the prequel to this, The Forge of God. I thought it was a brilliantly written apocalyptic epic, full of twists and turns and intrigue and enough scientific mystery to keep anyone with even a hint of interest in science fiction satisfied. I saw a lot of reviews that said the second book was better, and I scoffed.
I was wrong. This is a work of brilliance that I'm not sure people truly understood at the time. But it sure left an impression on me.
In this novel, the earth has been destroyed by mysterious alien invaders whose motives are unclear. Young people, children, are selected from among the survivors by another mysterious group of aliens that the survivors call the Benefactors. They have sent autonomous ships to help the humans resettle elsewhere in the solar system, and to avenge themselves on the alien culture that destroyed them. There is a pact among other technologically advanced civilizations that any world that is responsible for destroying another world through self-replicating machines must in turn be destroyed. That is the Law.
A Ship of the Law is dispatched to carry these volunteers on a mission to seek and destroy their destroyers. Due to relativistic effects and cryo-sleep that gave the Benefactors time to terraform Venus and Mars, they awaken to the first evidence of their destroyers centuries after Earth's destruction. They are now young adults - late teens and early twenties, about the same age that our soldiers are typically chosen - and must decide how they are going to handle this.
The Children, as they call themselves, have named themselves the Lost Boys and the Wendys. With no real parental guidance since they left on this mission, there are shades of Lord of the Flies in their restructured society. Their leader, regardless of gender, is known as the Pan, and s/he is elected to serve for a period of one Earth year. Martin, the son of the protagonist of the first book, is the current Pan when the book opens.
Ships of the Law provide their crews with the information and technology that is needed to aid in their mission - but no more. They otherwise do not interfere, even when there is conflict, however violent, among their crews.
Martin is faced with deciding whether or not to investigate the evidence that suggests that this star system they have discovered is, in fact, their destroyers, and then deciding whether or not to launch their campaign of retribution. And things do not go well.
A new Pan is elected in the wake of the disaster, and his style of leadership is like night to Martin's day. Martin dithers and tries to gather consensus - not always a good thing in wartime. His successor displays shades of tyranny. Will he do the right thing - or will his desire for vengeance consume him?
It's not the plot itself that is the beauty of this book, the thing that makes it great. It's all the other subtle shades. By eliminating a civilization that has destroyed other civilizations, do you become a force of evil yourself? What if the civilization has forsworn its previous actions? What if its successors had nothing to do with it? What if you can't tell if they're lying or not?
And then there are gems like what happens when one of the Children begins to receive visions:
"The Most High is neither male nor female. It does not blame, it does not judge. It loves, and it gathers . . ."
This is an almost perfect description of the character of the mechanical beings that inhabit the Ship of the Law, whom they call "the moms." They do not judge - that is for humans to do. They do not interfere. They only provide the tools needed for "the Job."
There is a constant element of distrust with the moms. The crew knows they are not being told everything, not even who the Benefactors are or where they come from. And they suspect that it's because they themselves might become killers as evil as the ones who destroyed their own world. This tension is exacerbated when they encounter another race that also has been victimized by the Killers, as they call them, and the two combine efforts and the resources of their Ships of the Law to achieve their goal. This race has a much better relationship with their ship and their "moms," and in general, seem much kinder and much less violent than we are. Are humans being given the tools to enact justice? Or are they merely being used?
The resolution is poignant and powerful. Bear asks you to question the nature of God, the ethics of war, the structures of society and faith, colonialism, and the vicissitudes of human nature.
As a side bonus, while the technology here seems downright magical, this is in fact hard science fiction. There's sound science behind all of it. I'm taking notes for my fantasy space opera work, and hope to draw inspiration from even a small fragment of it.
It's like a combination of Lord of the Flies, Ender's Game, Babylon 5, Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis, and The Forever War all rolled into one, and yet it's entirely its own thing too. If you're at all a fan of space opera or science fiction, I can't recommend it enough.
August 1, 2024
It's a fine story, and it deserves a good review. Sadly and unfairly, I'm not the one to write it, mainly because I'm irked that another, unjustifiably lauded book series blatantly ripped-off ideas from Bear's work along with that of many other science fiction writers. So I'll say little about this solid 4-star novel except to note that here, in 1992, is a vast array of intriguing ideas about a dark forest and alien incentives explored long before the abysmal "Three Body Problem" novel series came along to butcher basic storytelling precepts and fundamental characterization and, despite its atrocious writing, still mysteriously garner praise anyway. In any case, nicely done, Mr. Bear. You told a good story, and unlike the tripe published two+ decades later, you (1) had some very good writing; (2) made characters actually matter; and (3) managed to avoid ripping off longstanding sci-fi ideas and present them as your own.
September 17, 2012
The Forge of God was incredible. This doesn't necessarily pick up where it left off, but it's the sequel. A very different book from Forge. The science fiction is good, the writing isn't terrible - Bear manages to sustain a fairly consistent and growing atmosphere of tension and uncertainty throughout. The ideas are engaging and the world building is solid. The first half, however, I struggled completely to identify with the characters in any meaningful way. Other things I disliked: that it had an epilogue. I LOATHE cop-out epilogues and this most certainly was one.
January 28, 2009
This is the sequel to "The Forge of God". By the end of the first book, earth had been destroyed by alien von Neumann probes while another alien race had saved a small fraction of humans and transplanted them to Mars. They also constructed planet busting dreadnoughts to be sent out to hunt down and destroy the aliens responsible for the destruction of earth.
In this book we follow one of these dreadnoughts crewed by human children. The ships are crewed by children because of the length of the mission. When the ship finally finds what they think is the home world of the aliens, they have a tough decision to make. Can they pull the trigger even though they're not 100% sure? Do they have the right to commit genocide?
In this book we follow one of these dreadnoughts crewed by human children. The ships are crewed by children because of the length of the mission. When the ship finally finds what they think is the home world of the aliens, they have a tough decision to make. Can they pull the trigger even though they're not 100% sure? Do they have the right to commit genocide?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2021
I have bought this book not knowing that it is a second in the series. It can definitely be read on its own.
The scope of this book is quite large. I like how the world building, the choices or futuristic technologies, the story telling and character development was very good.
It starts out kind of slow and clunky though. I don't know if it is because I did not read the first book, but there are some unpolished edges in there, in the dialogues. But I devoured the second half, it was so good.
The scope of this book is quite large. I like how the world building, the choices or futuristic technologies, the story telling and character development was very good.
It starts out kind of slow and clunky though. I don't know if it is because I did not read the first book, but there are some unpolished edges in there, in the dialogues. But I devoured the second half, it was so good.
June 15, 2012
I really like The Forge of God so I thought I'd try Anvil of Stars. Mistake! I really didn't think this was very good. It was heavy going and I nearly gave up a couple of times in the first 100 or so pages, but ploughed on in the hope it would get better, but it just seem to plod along. It would have helped if I liked some of the characters, but none of them came out and grabbed me. I really couldn't get any feeling for them. This book is a perfect example of not knowing when enough is enough.
June 4, 2019
Man, this book.
I actually finished this book a couple of weeks ago, but I've been waiting to write a review until I've had time to sit with it.
Here's the thing: I think this is a great book, but I personally didn't like it. I've been thinking about this quite a bit, and I think I've got it mostly figured it out.
Typically I like to separate what I like and what I didn't, but everything is kind of interconnected here, so I don't think that's going to work.
I think a huge problem for me was expectations. This book is the sequel to The Forge of God, but they are incredibly different books. The Forge of God was a relatively straightforward, fairly fast-paced alien invasion story. This book is slower, deeper, and far more removed from our present day society than the first. I did not expect what I was picking up, at all. (I was expecting more of an Independence Day, we bring the fight to the aliens sort of vibe).
I would say this book is about two interconnected stories: the story of a group of children, growing up with what could only be considered to be one of the most traumatic and unusual set of circumstances possible, being asked to complete a task of incredibly enormity; and the story of the mission to avenge the destruction of Earth and its ethical consequences. For me, personally, the second story is closer to what I was expecting, but it forms nothing more than the backdrop of most of the first half of the story.
The science and ideas within the book are amazing, particularly through the second half. There's a ton of incredible and cool ideas, and the decisions the children face near the end of the story are as dramatic as anything I've read recently.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy all the time spent with the main characters through the first half of the story, so it really colored my perception of the entire book.
Despite my personal reaction, I'd still recommend this book. It's a great sci-fi read, especially if you have a good idea of what you're in for.
I actually finished this book a couple of weeks ago, but I've been waiting to write a review until I've had time to sit with it.
Here's the thing: I think this is a great book, but I personally didn't like it. I've been thinking about this quite a bit, and I think I've got it mostly figured it out.
Typically I like to separate what I like and what I didn't, but everything is kind of interconnected here, so I don't think that's going to work.
I think a huge problem for me was expectations. This book is the sequel to The Forge of God, but they are incredibly different books. The Forge of God was a relatively straightforward, fairly fast-paced alien invasion story. This book is slower, deeper, and far more removed from our present day society than the first. I did not expect what I was picking up, at all. (I was expecting more of an Independence Day, we bring the fight to the aliens sort of vibe).
I would say this book is about two interconnected stories: the story of a group of children, growing up with what could only be considered to be one of the most traumatic and unusual set of circumstances possible, being asked to complete a task of incredibly enormity; and the story of the mission to avenge the destruction of Earth and its ethical consequences. For me, personally, the second story is closer to what I was expecting, but it forms nothing more than the backdrop of most of the first half of the story.
The science and ideas within the book are amazing, particularly through the second half. There's a ton of incredible and cool ideas, and the decisions the children face near the end of the story are as dramatic as anything I've read recently.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy all the time spent with the main characters through the first half of the story, so it really colored my perception of the entire book.
Despite my personal reaction, I'd still recommend this book. It's a great sci-fi read, especially if you have a good idea of what you're in for.
July 25, 2020
The earlier book, The Forge of God, sets up the base conditions for this sequel but there the resemblance ends. The Forge of God takes place almost exclusively on Earth as mankind tries desperately to protect their planet from the ‘Killers’’ planet destroyers. Now the children of the survivors are out for revenge. The entire feel of the books shifts from apocalyptic to space opera, from a bleak vision of destruction to an unabashed examination of morals.
However, though very different, Anvil of Stars is equally good. However, as always with Greg Bear’s work, I find the world building upstages the actors. His sound hard SF imaginings are, for me, much better executed than his characters, which always seem to me a little stiff and awkward and maybe just a little 2 dimensional and cliched. The tough leader just managing to avoid outright tyranny, the religious fanatic leading people astray and the slightly wooden relationships. But if, like me, you love your hard SF world building, which does here tend to come to centre stage, then that should make up for any slight lack in the characterisation.
The other big let down for me was the final ending which felt like a bit of a cop out; I can think of several ways I would have preferred the ending, even if they might have removed some of the final redemption. Still this is a very good piece of hard SF that I would recommend highly to any fans of that sub-genre.
However, though very different, Anvil of Stars is equally good. However, as always with Greg Bear’s work, I find the world building upstages the actors. His sound hard SF imaginings are, for me, much better executed than his characters, which always seem to me a little stiff and awkward and maybe just a little 2 dimensional and cliched. The tough leader just managing to avoid outright tyranny, the religious fanatic leading people astray and the slightly wooden relationships. But if, like me, you love your hard SF world building, which does here tend to come to centre stage, then that should make up for any slight lack in the characterisation.
The other big let down for me was the final ending which felt like a bit of a cop out; I can think of several ways I would have preferred the ending, even if they might have removed some of the final redemption. Still this is a very good piece of hard SF that I would recommend highly to any fans of that sub-genre.
June 20, 2022
Stunning read, raising many important questions. Expert characterization in Greg Bear's quirky, eloquent, and surprisingly moving prose style. His trademark intriguing, non sequitur-patterned dialogue lets the reader in on enough, but not too much. This book eerily examines the psychological phenomenon of "repetition for resolution," wherein traumatized individuals seek to reenact their trauma in order to resolve it. The characters in the book seek resolution through the reenactment of the violence and destruction that happened to them. Bear sets out to prove with a skilled hand that real resolution of trauma cannot happen that way. This story is minimally concerned with "an eye for an eye," or even with the idea of vengeance at the cost of one's humanity, although that does play a role here.
The story gets slightly bogged down by technicalities in some places, as do many of his works, but this can be mostly overlooked. The characters were intelligent and imperfect and, not so unsurprisingly, relatable in many of their motivations. The idea of "nature names" to commemorate Earth was a lovely addition.
I recommend this to any and all who are interested to venture into the realms of social psychology, philosophy, and, last but not least, hard science. Beautifully done!
The story gets slightly bogged down by technicalities in some places, as do many of his works, but this can be mostly overlooked. The characters were intelligent and imperfect and, not so unsurprisingly, relatable in many of their motivations. The idea of "nature names" to commemorate Earth was a lovely addition.
I recommend this to any and all who are interested to venture into the realms of social psychology, philosophy, and, last but not least, hard science. Beautifully done!
March 18, 2023
This book was somewhat boring and a regret until about page 166. Then this book got very interesting. That’s how this review begins. The previous tale was so gripping and left me with questions that did not get answered in this sequel. That's life I suppose. Bear has a way of making "moments" happen. This book was fairly slow and uninitiating until things happened. I was then at the halfway point of the book but it made the journey so much worth it. I was beginning to get concerned I would be one of the people who hated this title. I needed this to work and admittedly it comes through. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale.
Aliens rarely feel alien in sci fi. It's almost a trope. This book does not have that issue. I will always ponder the unique species introduced here. Such a great read. Started out 3 stars and ended 5. I hope another one comes out!
Aliens rarely feel alien in sci fi. It's almost a trope. This book does not have that issue. I will always ponder the unique species introduced here. Such a great read. Started out 3 stars and ended 5. I hope another one comes out!
June 6, 2019
I found this to be an excellent series. This the second in the 2-book series was every bit as entertaining and thought provoking as the first. If you remember your philosophy, you may remember Hugo Grotius and his theory of a "Just War". This novel most certainly explores the ideas contained therein...
I guess after this series, I can officially claim that I am a fan of Greg Bear's writing/ novels.
I guess after this series, I can officially claim that I am a fan of Greg Bear's writing/ novels.
July 9, 2023
Honestly, this book goes NOWHERE fast. I had to finally give up halfway through. I only picked it up out of curiosity as the sequel to the so-so “Forge of God”, but my god, I’m so terribly disappointed to have wasted so much time on it. The characters make no sense, the author’s juvenile obsession with sex is annoying, and the story just stagnates and stagnates. No questions are answered and only more questions arise. I have better things to do with my life than read such a shitpile. I should’ve known, based on the crappy writing that was Forge of God. Better late than never.
NOT recommended.
NOT recommended.
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