What do you think?
Rate this book
Jupiter Project #2
Against Infinity
A gripping, masterfully written adventure set against the violent beauty of a planet in the throes of cataclysmic transformation, Against Infinity is Gregory Benford's timeless portrait of a young man's coming of age.
On the poisonous, icy surface of Ganymede, a man and a boy are on a deadly hunt. Their prey is the Aleph an unknowable alien artifact that roamed and ruled Ganymede for countless millennia. Indescribable, infinitely dangerous, the Aleph haunts men's dreams and destroys all efforts to terraform Ganymede into a habitable planet. Now in a modern world ancient struggle is joined, as a boy seeks manhood, a man seeks enlightenment, and a society seeks the power to rule the universe.
246 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
3 people are currently reading
501 people want to read
About the author
Arthur C. Clarke
1,630 books11.4k followersStories, works of noted British writer, scientist, and underwater explorer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, include
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968).
This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.
Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.
He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.
This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.
Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.
He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 15, 2020
Me ha costado terminar esta novela, y creo que es porque Benford intenta con ella algo que no es su fuerte. Por tanto el resultado es desigual, tiene momentos en que parece conseguir algo, pero su intento de sumergir al lector en una especie de romanticismo de la dureza de la terraformación no acaba de lograrse del todo. Y lo que alcanza es a costa de hacer bastante aburrida y monótona la primera parte de la novela. Después parece que se anima un poco la cosa, pero enseguida se acaba la novela con la sensación de no haber llegado a ninguna parte.
En cuanto a trama, prácticamente no hay, todo es ambientación. Los personajes principales no acaban de dibujarse bien, salvo quizás el viejo Matt. Los secundarios casi indistinguibles unos de otros, salvo el terrestre de la segunda parte. Y nos quedamos sin saber prácticamente nada del artefacto alienígena.
En resumen, una premisa prometedora pero que se queda en poco, quizás porque las habilidades literarias de Benford son suficientes para adornar una buena trama, pero por sí solas no son suficientes si la historia escasea. Al contrario que LeGuin, Benford no puede permitirse una trama tan simple.
Por otra parte es posible, y muy probable, que yo no haya captado el mensaje o no me parezca tan interesante como para ocupar tantas páginas.
En cuanto a trama, prácticamente no hay, todo es ambientación. Los personajes principales no acaban de dibujarse bien, salvo quizás el viejo Matt. Los secundarios casi indistinguibles unos de otros, salvo el terrestre de la segunda parte. Y nos quedamos sin saber prácticamente nada del artefacto alienígena.
En resumen, una premisa prometedora pero que se queda en poco, quizás porque las habilidades literarias de Benford son suficientes para adornar una buena trama, pero por sí solas no son suficientes si la historia escasea. Al contrario que LeGuin, Benford no puede permitirse una trama tan simple.
Por otra parte es posible, y muy probable, que yo no haya captado el mensaje o no me parezca tan interesante como para ocupar tantas páginas.
April 19, 2016
I picked up Gregory Benford’s Against Infinity at a used book store a while ago and then put it away to save for portable airport reading on my recent trip to Italy. (Pocket editions like this are truly the best books to travel with.) The book was an effective escape, staving off my growing impatience with multiple delays out of Chicago’s O’Hare because of high winds in New York City.
Against Infinity had more heft to it than I expected, and more beauty as well. Benford had been on my list for a while as a practicing astronomer who wrote science fiction, and I hadn’t been disappointed with his Great Sky River. This one was an interesting fusion between an Arctic survivalist story and the wonder and ecological trappings of Dune. On top of this, it offers a scientifically realistic view of what Ganymede and the Jovian system might look like as a legitimate frontier for settlement. The characters are scouring a living on the surface of the moon, clawing for minerals and slowly tipping the biosphere toward something that can sustain life.
Overlain on this is a hunting tale in the tradition of Jack London and the Yukon, complete with super-intelligent biomechanical dogs and a meaningful coming-of-age narrative. A boy is growing up, forging a bond with an older, wiser hunter, coming to terms with his father, and learning his own limits. The object of the hunt that provides the context for this growth is men venturing out of their settlements into the icy, shifting landscape to cull the mutants of the genetically engineered species that have been introduced to help terraform the surface. The actual object of the hunt though—and ultimately the lynchpin of Benford’s narrative—is the Aleph.
The Aleph is an ancient device or creature that pre-dates man’s arrival on Ganymede and continually burrows through or over the surface of the moon, heedless to its pursuit by men, unaffected by any of their weapons or devices, and sometimes killing them in its passage. The concept, especially in the haunting descriptions provided by Benford, is a compelling hybrid of the raw power and immensity of the sandworms of Arrakis and the alien inscrutability of the monoliths of Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey. Benford’s prose becomes positively electric in describing the various ways this enigmatic thing chews through the shattering and slowly thawing terrain of the moon. He can (and does) spend multiple pages on all the glorious details of the behemoth exploding through a hillside, for instance, taking its pursuers unaware.
The first two-thirds of the book hinges on one boy’s growth to manhood and fixation on hunting the immense and elusive Aleph. It reads very much like a science fiction tribute to Jack London: the boy learning the ways of the hunt, training a tracking dog (of sorts), and learning to appreciate the unique bond between man, animal, and the unforgiving wilderness. But whereas a reader of London can take the ecology of Alaska for granted, Benford the astrophysicist gives us a fine-grained detail of the geology and young ecosystem of the moon, a realistic look at what terraforming and its effectives might look like physically as well as psychologically.
But the true hinge of narrative is the Aleph, and the resolution of its pursuit changes the trajectory of the novel about two-thirds of the way into it. After this climax is reached, the narrative jumps in time and expands in scope. The Aleph moves from being a cypher for the great unknown on a boy’s horizon to a much larger unknown of the evolution of humanity. Like the dissected Aleph itself though, this final portion of the novel seems more segmented and less organic than what came before. Benford touches briefly (and a bit randomly) on ideas regarding the evolution of society, including socialism and capitalism essentialized against ecological catastrophe. In this all, the Aleph’s role (and ultimate nature) becomes more vague and less satisfying.
Against Infinity had more heft to it than I expected, and more beauty as well. Benford had been on my list for a while as a practicing astronomer who wrote science fiction, and I hadn’t been disappointed with his Great Sky River. This one was an interesting fusion between an Arctic survivalist story and the wonder and ecological trappings of Dune. On top of this, it offers a scientifically realistic view of what Ganymede and the Jovian system might look like as a legitimate frontier for settlement. The characters are scouring a living on the surface of the moon, clawing for minerals and slowly tipping the biosphere toward something that can sustain life.
Overlain on this is a hunting tale in the tradition of Jack London and the Yukon, complete with super-intelligent biomechanical dogs and a meaningful coming-of-age narrative. A boy is growing up, forging a bond with an older, wiser hunter, coming to terms with his father, and learning his own limits. The object of the hunt that provides the context for this growth is men venturing out of their settlements into the icy, shifting landscape to cull the mutants of the genetically engineered species that have been introduced to help terraform the surface. The actual object of the hunt though—and ultimately the lynchpin of Benford’s narrative—is the Aleph.
The Aleph is an ancient device or creature that pre-dates man’s arrival on Ganymede and continually burrows through or over the surface of the moon, heedless to its pursuit by men, unaffected by any of their weapons or devices, and sometimes killing them in its passage. The concept, especially in the haunting descriptions provided by Benford, is a compelling hybrid of the raw power and immensity of the sandworms of Arrakis and the alien inscrutability of the monoliths of Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey. Benford’s prose becomes positively electric in describing the various ways this enigmatic thing chews through the shattering and slowly thawing terrain of the moon. He can (and does) spend multiple pages on all the glorious details of the behemoth exploding through a hillside, for instance, taking its pursuers unaware.
The first two-thirds of the book hinges on one boy’s growth to manhood and fixation on hunting the immense and elusive Aleph. It reads very much like a science fiction tribute to Jack London: the boy learning the ways of the hunt, training a tracking dog (of sorts), and learning to appreciate the unique bond between man, animal, and the unforgiving wilderness. But whereas a reader of London can take the ecology of Alaska for granted, Benford the astrophysicist gives us a fine-grained detail of the geology and young ecosystem of the moon, a realistic look at what terraforming and its effectives might look like physically as well as psychologically.
But the true hinge of narrative is the Aleph, and the resolution of its pursuit changes the trajectory of the novel about two-thirds of the way into it. After this climax is reached, the narrative jumps in time and expands in scope. The Aleph moves from being a cypher for the great unknown on a boy’s horizon to a much larger unknown of the evolution of humanity. Like the dissected Aleph itself though, this final portion of the novel seems more segmented and less organic than what came before. Benford touches briefly (and a bit randomly) on ideas regarding the evolution of society, including socialism and capitalism essentialized against ecological catastrophe. In this all, the Aleph’s role (and ultimate nature) becomes more vague and less satisfying.
August 5, 2023
Ganymede is a frozen wasteland, covered completely in solid ammonia and hiding a handful of strange alien artifacts. Mankind sets up small domes with buildings underneath to fight off the cold, while using genetically-engineered critters to do some terraforming. The main character's father organizes expeditions to kill off 'muties' - mutated versions of the critters that are hindering the terraforming project. The story is a coming-of-age tale about the boy Manuel, his relationship with his father, society, and mentor Old Matt, and it's got a moral about man's place in Nature.
The most imposing artifact of all is of course the gigantic Aleph. It's a huge 'creature' made of stone that tunnels through the ice and plows through mountains with no regard for anything in its path - including the human settlements. The men occasionally attempt to hunt it but find their weapons largely ineffective and the pursuit is both dangerous and difficult. Manuel eventually sets off to kill the thing, so the story follows his exploits.
Unfortunately, I found the book very flat and boring. Basically, Benford is trying to write a frontiersman story in space. He hasn't made it believable, though. For example, these men are basically living in a world of hyper-advanced medical technology (that can resurrect people who had frozen to death or replace body parts with robotic equivalents), but everything else is antiquated (radios that hardly work despite overhead satellites, a severe lack of seismic monitoring equipment, few computers, etc).
So Benford has placed men on Ganymede and given them weapons and targets and written half a book about hunting. The other half is completely different and Benford gets a chance to expand on his political views through really contrived situations. It's so transparent it's almost laughable. Finally the boy is forced to have a confrontation with his past, which is very badly done and ties up very little. Who were all those extra characters at the end? Why is Manuel so one-dimensional?
The Aleph itself is the only thing that kept me hooked. Towards the end I kept waiting for the explanation (which of course was certain to come, as Manuel kept hitting conveniently-placed-coincidence after conveniently-placed-coincidence pushing him onward). And the idea behind the Aleph itself was really cool, but it's presented in a really uninspiring way by an extraneous character - who showed up out of nowhere way late in the book. It left too many questions unanswered about the Aleph and what kind of influence Man was or was not able to effect on it. What in the hell is it doing on Ganymede, anyway?
In short I found the first half much more interesting than the last, and that's not saying much. I didn't particularly care for the characters or the repeated descriptions of how Manuel had no idea what was going on, Old Matt knew way too much, and Eagle yet again showed his independence. The ending was weak, the moral poorly presented, and unless you're a big fan of sentences like "The men whooped as they pursued their quarry across the frozen wasteland" stay far away.
The most imposing artifact of all is of course the gigantic Aleph. It's a huge 'creature' made of stone that tunnels through the ice and plows through mountains with no regard for anything in its path - including the human settlements. The men occasionally attempt to hunt it but find their weapons largely ineffective and the pursuit is both dangerous and difficult. Manuel eventually sets off to kill the thing, so the story follows his exploits.
Unfortunately, I found the book very flat and boring. Basically, Benford is trying to write a frontiersman story in space. He hasn't made it believable, though. For example, these men are basically living in a world of hyper-advanced medical technology (that can resurrect people who had frozen to death or replace body parts with robotic equivalents), but everything else is antiquated (radios that hardly work despite overhead satellites, a severe lack of seismic monitoring equipment, few computers, etc).
So Benford has placed men on Ganymede and given them weapons and targets and written half a book about hunting. The other half is completely different and Benford gets a chance to expand on his political views through really contrived situations. It's so transparent it's almost laughable. Finally the boy is forced to have a confrontation with his past, which is very badly done and ties up very little. Who were all those extra characters at the end? Why is Manuel so one-dimensional?
The Aleph itself is the only thing that kept me hooked. Towards the end I kept waiting for the explanation (which of course was certain to come, as Manuel kept hitting conveniently-placed-coincidence after conveniently-placed-coincidence pushing him onward). And the idea behind the Aleph itself was really cool, but it's presented in a really uninspiring way by an extraneous character - who showed up out of nowhere way late in the book. It left too many questions unanswered about the Aleph and what kind of influence Man was or was not able to effect on it. What in the hell is it doing on Ganymede, anyway?
In short I found the first half much more interesting than the last, and that's not saying much. I didn't particularly care for the characters or the repeated descriptions of how Manuel had no idea what was going on, Old Matt knew way too much, and Eagle yet again showed his independence. The ending was weak, the moral poorly presented, and unless you're a big fan of sentences like "The men whooped as they pursued their quarry across the frozen wasteland" stay far away.
September 11, 2020
Benford, Gregory. Against Infinity. 1983. Jupiter Project No. 2. Pocket, 1984.
The project that Gregory Benford set for himself in Against Infinity is ambitious, to say the least. He takes a classic coming of age story by William Faulkner, “The Bear,” and moves it from the nineteenth-century Mississippi wilderness to the frozen moons of Jupiter. At the same time, Benford wants to keep the science believable. It is thus a much more serious and fully developed story than the first Jupiter Project novel. Manuel, the son of a labor boss called the Colonel, learns to hunt the mutant animals that are preying on the genetically modified animals that are being used in his father’s terraforming project. Along the way, he learns the sad lessons of adulthood and faces a choice between the wilderness and the domed society humans are creating. The final confrontation with a beast that would be a match for anything in the Alien-Predator movies is fully satisfying, and the style at times reaches almost Faulknerian heights. In the end, this is a coming of age story that is aimed at adults, and it gets five stars from me.
The project that Gregory Benford set for himself in Against Infinity is ambitious, to say the least. He takes a classic coming of age story by William Faulkner, “The Bear,” and moves it from the nineteenth-century Mississippi wilderness to the frozen moons of Jupiter. At the same time, Benford wants to keep the science believable. It is thus a much more serious and fully developed story than the first Jupiter Project novel. Manuel, the son of a labor boss called the Colonel, learns to hunt the mutant animals that are preying on the genetically modified animals that are being used in his father’s terraforming project. Along the way, he learns the sad lessons of adulthood and faces a choice between the wilderness and the domed society humans are creating. The final confrontation with a beast that would be a match for anything in the Alien-Predator movies is fully satisfying, and the style at times reaches almost Faulknerian heights. In the end, this is a coming of age story that is aimed at adults, and it gets five stars from me.
May 14, 2015
Well-written, exciting space adventure. Almost good enough to forget that the book doesn't contain a single named woman. Almost.
September 30, 2023
I read this book translated in another language and the quality wasn't very high so that's why I am going with 3 stars. I could say the spirit of the story or maybe the messages the Writer wanted to convey weren't properly captured by the translation.
The story overall is good and the setting is in the future, where humanity is spreading around the solar system and The moon of Jupiter, Ganymede is the main location. Humans are trying to teraform the moon and make it hospitable for humans and have build some settlements.
I couldn't really connect to Manuel who is the protagonist and again maybe because of the translation, it gave me vibes of person without character. Sure he wanted to hunt and kill Aleph and prove to everyone his worth but still the only moments when he was truly interesting were when interacting with Mat and also Eagle or Aleph.
Mat seemed to me like the most human character and most interesting one. In each and every scene he was included you could understand that he was the heart and soul of the book. He assisted and guided Manuel in killing Aleph but also you could see that through his expertise and intervention the story was always moving. The part of his death truly moved me cause it felt like his soul finally found peace and had fulfilled his destiny.
Aleph was the robot found in Ganymede but it could very well seen as the symbol and soul of the Moon. With its cold and colossus presence was putting fear in the heart of men and was challenging their attempts to change the environment around. Once it was firstly killed we also see the Environment around changing and many earthquakes occurring and only when he is revived the land is again restored.
Overall, beside the criticism, it wss a nice story and enjoyable so 3 stars
The story overall is good and the setting is in the future, where humanity is spreading around the solar system and The moon of Jupiter, Ganymede is the main location. Humans are trying to teraform the moon and make it hospitable for humans and have build some settlements.
I couldn't really connect to Manuel who is the protagonist and again maybe because of the translation, it gave me vibes of person without character. Sure he wanted to hunt and kill Aleph and prove to everyone his worth but still the only moments when he was truly interesting were when interacting with Mat and also Eagle or Aleph.
Mat seemed to me like the most human character and most interesting one. In each and every scene he was included you could understand that he was the heart and soul of the book. He assisted and guided Manuel in killing Aleph but also you could see that through his expertise and intervention the story was always moving. The part of his death truly moved me cause it felt like his soul finally found peace and had fulfilled his destiny.
Aleph was the robot found in Ganymede but it could very well seen as the symbol and soul of the Moon. With its cold and colossus presence was putting fear in the heart of men and was challenging their attempts to change the environment around. Once it was firstly killed we also see the Environment around changing and many earthquakes occurring and only when he is revived the land is again restored.
Overall, beside the criticism, it wss a nice story and enjoyable so 3 stars
July 1, 2023
Humans are attempting to terraform Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter. Bioengineers create small lifeforms that are able to convert the noxious compounds on Ganymede into ones that will suit. Due to the radiation that constantly rains on the moon’s surface, mutations of these creatures arise and man is given the job of hunting them down before they reverse the good done by the ‘norms’.
Ganymede has another inhabitant causing problems for mankind. The Aleph is a huge alien artifact that constantly burrows through the moon, rising to the surface to reek havoc on those unfortunates nearby. Its shape is in constant flux and its purpose and origins remain a mystery.
Although the story was interesting, I found aspects of Benford’s writing to be wooden, particularly the dialogue. The premise was interesting and the book had its moments of excitement and thrills.
3.5 stars
Ganymede has another inhabitant causing problems for mankind. The Aleph is a huge alien artifact that constantly burrows through the moon, rising to the surface to reek havoc on those unfortunates nearby. Its shape is in constant flux and its purpose and origins remain a mystery.
Although the story was interesting, I found aspects of Benford’s writing to be wooden, particularly the dialogue. The premise was interesting and the book had its moments of excitement and thrills.
3.5 stars
January 7, 2019
5/10. Media de los 8 libros leídos del autor: 6/10.
Su aclamada saga del “Centro Galáctico” está bien (solo bien, para mí. Los mejores el 3 y el 4)
Su aclamada saga del “Centro Galáctico” está bien (solo bien, para mí. Los mejores el 3 y el 4)
January 20, 2019
One of Gregory Benfords beat avoiding many of the cliches from the early Galactic Centre novels
June 6, 2023
Boring DNF
December 28, 2013
‘ON THE POISONOUS, ICY SURFACE OF GANYMEDE, A MAN AND A BOY ARE ON A DEADLY HUNT
Their prey is the Aleph – an unknowable alien artifact that has roamed and ruled Ganymede for countless millennia, Indescribable, infinitely dangerous, the Aleph haunts men’s dreams and destroys all efforts to terraform Ganymede into a habitable planet.
Now in a modern world an ancient struggle begins, as a boy seeks manhood, a man seeks enlightenment and a society seeks the power to rule the universe.
In GREGORY Benford’s first novel since Timescape, men discover that the Aleph is their prey, their victim – and their destiny.’
Blurb from the 1984 Pocket Books paperback edition
Manuel is a young Ganymede native, born on the Jovian moon during the early part of a terraforming operation. Manuel’s work is to help his father, Colonel Lopez, and his team with various duties, the bulk of which involves tracking down and hunting ‘warped’ organisms; mutated descendants of creatures the scientists designed to scrub the planet and its atmosphere of methane and ammonia.
It would appear, however, that the colonists and human-designed wildlife are not alone on Ganymede.
Alien artefacts have already been discovered in other parts of the outer Solar System but on Ganymede there is a functioning artefact nicknamed Aleph; a mobile, shape-shifting rock-burrowing entity. Aleph is mining Ganymede for its own esoteric reasons and has resisted all attempts to destroy and capture it.
Now Manuel, his colleague Old Matt and a psychotic cyborg called Eagle have encountered Aleph again and are planning to capture and destroy a creature which may have been tunnelling through Ganymede before Man even evolved.
In comparison to Benford’s ‘Artefact’, written around the same time, this emerges as a far superior work, albeit shorter.
There’s a very pacey feel to it which is helped by that fact that the action jumps ahead in leaps and bounds and we see not only Manuel’s maturation from boy to man but the gradual transformation of the face of Ganymede from an icy moon to a functioning biosphere.
It would have been interesting for Benford to have expanded a little more on the terraforming/biodesign element which is fascinating in itself. I am left wanting to know more about Earth and the society that is evolving in the asteroids at this point but, as I have always praised writers who left some questions unanswered, I shouldn’t really press this issue too far.
From what we gather from the final section, Earth has moved on politically to become a Marxist world, a political system which only survives by expansion and which, necessarily, so Benford informs us, needs a Capitalist system at the fringes. This is an intriguing concept and one on which I wish Benford had expanded more fully throughout the book.
Ultimately, one is left a little unsatisfied, which is unfair to Benford since this is an interesting and thought-provoking work, well thought-out and featuring mostly Latino protagonists.
Sequel to ‘The Jupiter Project’
Their prey is the Aleph – an unknowable alien artifact that has roamed and ruled Ganymede for countless millennia, Indescribable, infinitely dangerous, the Aleph haunts men’s dreams and destroys all efforts to terraform Ganymede into a habitable planet.
Now in a modern world an ancient struggle begins, as a boy seeks manhood, a man seeks enlightenment and a society seeks the power to rule the universe.
In GREGORY Benford’s first novel since Timescape, men discover that the Aleph is their prey, their victim – and their destiny.’
Blurb from the 1984 Pocket Books paperback edition
Manuel is a young Ganymede native, born on the Jovian moon during the early part of a terraforming operation. Manuel’s work is to help his father, Colonel Lopez, and his team with various duties, the bulk of which involves tracking down and hunting ‘warped’ organisms; mutated descendants of creatures the scientists designed to scrub the planet and its atmosphere of methane and ammonia.
It would appear, however, that the colonists and human-designed wildlife are not alone on Ganymede.
Alien artefacts have already been discovered in other parts of the outer Solar System but on Ganymede there is a functioning artefact nicknamed Aleph; a mobile, shape-shifting rock-burrowing entity. Aleph is mining Ganymede for its own esoteric reasons and has resisted all attempts to destroy and capture it.
Now Manuel, his colleague Old Matt and a psychotic cyborg called Eagle have encountered Aleph again and are planning to capture and destroy a creature which may have been tunnelling through Ganymede before Man even evolved.
In comparison to Benford’s ‘Artefact’, written around the same time, this emerges as a far superior work, albeit shorter.
There’s a very pacey feel to it which is helped by that fact that the action jumps ahead in leaps and bounds and we see not only Manuel’s maturation from boy to man but the gradual transformation of the face of Ganymede from an icy moon to a functioning biosphere.
It would have been interesting for Benford to have expanded a little more on the terraforming/biodesign element which is fascinating in itself. I am left wanting to know more about Earth and the society that is evolving in the asteroids at this point but, as I have always praised writers who left some questions unanswered, I shouldn’t really press this issue too far.
From what we gather from the final section, Earth has moved on politically to become a Marxist world, a political system which only survives by expansion and which, necessarily, so Benford informs us, needs a Capitalist system at the fringes. This is an intriguing concept and one on which I wish Benford had expanded more fully throughout the book.
Ultimately, one is left a little unsatisfied, which is unfair to Benford since this is an interesting and thought-provoking work, well thought-out and featuring mostly Latino protagonists.
Sequel to ‘The Jupiter Project’
August 7, 2021
Interesting concept, boring read.
Manuel lives on the frontier of Ganymede. He and his father are part of a settlement that is scraping a living planting crops and helping terraform the Moon of jupiter. The occasionally go on hunts outside of their settlement to prune herds of genetically mutated animals that are part of the plan to terraform the planet. During these hunts, man will seeks to slay The elusive aleph. The aleph is an ancient alien artifact. Not exactly alive this artifact appears to be sentient. It haunts the Moon. Constantly moving and destroying everything in its path. Many people have come across it and no one has slain it.
Has become completely socialist, and overcrowded. Many have gone to space and settled on the moon, in the asteroid belt, and on the moons of jupiter. There is a semi-capitalist economy on the frontier. Life is rough as people seek to terraform these harsh environments, growing crops and adapting to the harsh environment.
Once Manuel slays the aleph, a decision he makes causes him to be estranged from his father. He goes to a larger settlement, the capital of Ganymede and works in a factory for 6 years. He does not return to his birthplace until his father dies. At this point in time, the terraforming process has caught up to Ganymede. Quakes begin to destroy the settlements. As chaos begins to ensue, the alef rises again.
I really enjoyed many of the concepts in this book. I thought the idea of the aleph was interesting. I thought many of the ideas about the economy of the solar system in the future and a frontier in the Jovian moons was very interesting. However the book was boring to read.
Towards the end of the book, manuel, the main character thinks to himself about how humanity is in a struggle with his environment and ends up destroying it. He thinks that mankind needs to evolve into something greater and different to reach an equilibrium with his surroundings. It seems that Gregory benford is referring to the aleph, which at that point in time was thought to be dead, but later rises from the dead.
Manuel lives on the frontier of Ganymede. He and his father are part of a settlement that is scraping a living planting crops and helping terraform the Moon of jupiter. The occasionally go on hunts outside of their settlement to prune herds of genetically mutated animals that are part of the plan to terraform the planet. During these hunts, man will seeks to slay The elusive aleph. The aleph is an ancient alien artifact. Not exactly alive this artifact appears to be sentient. It haunts the Moon. Constantly moving and destroying everything in its path. Many people have come across it and no one has slain it.
Has become completely socialist, and overcrowded. Many have gone to space and settled on the moon, in the asteroid belt, and on the moons of jupiter. There is a semi-capitalist economy on the frontier. Life is rough as people seek to terraform these harsh environments, growing crops and adapting to the harsh environment.
Once Manuel slays the aleph, a decision he makes causes him to be estranged from his father. He goes to a larger settlement, the capital of Ganymede and works in a factory for 6 years. He does not return to his birthplace until his father dies. At this point in time, the terraforming process has caught up to Ganymede. Quakes begin to destroy the settlements. As chaos begins to ensue, the alef rises again.
I really enjoyed many of the concepts in this book. I thought the idea of the aleph was interesting. I thought many of the ideas about the economy of the solar system in the future and a frontier in the Jovian moons was very interesting. However the book was boring to read.
Towards the end of the book, manuel, the main character thinks to himself about how humanity is in a struggle with his environment and ends up destroying it. He thinks that mankind needs to evolve into something greater and different to reach an equilibrium with his surroundings. It seems that Gregory benford is referring to the aleph, which at that point in time was thought to be dead, but later rises from the dead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2013
The style that Benford uses in his story is distracting from the story itself. The prose has a way of slowing the story down to a grinding halt at times.
The other problem is basically a lack of clarity regarding characters, goals, and setting. Who are these people? What are they doing? Why are they on Ganymede? Why am I even still reading this book?
I really like some of Benford's later books. Galactic Center #3 seems to borrow some of the themes from this book here, though Benford's skill of craft was better developed in his later novels.
The other problem is basically a lack of clarity regarding characters, goals, and setting. Who are these people? What are they doing? Why are they on Ganymede? Why am I even still reading this book?
I really like some of Benford's later books. Galactic Center #3 seems to borrow some of the themes from this book here, though Benford's skill of craft was better developed in his later novels.
May 30, 2025
Yeah I can see why my dad liked this so much
For real though:
The mechanics of this world were very interesting to me, it was fun to imagine how life might work for someone in this environment. I feel like you could never predict what was going to happen next which helped keep me focused. A lot of the long passages made it a little hard to sit down and read for long periods of time, which is how i usually like to read, but once i was invested in the story i was able to move past that.
For real though:
The mechanics of this world were very interesting to me, it was fun to imagine how life might work for someone in this environment. I feel like you could never predict what was going to happen next which helped keep me focused. A lot of the long passages made it a little hard to sit down and read for long periods of time, which is how i usually like to read, but once i was invested in the story i was able to move past that.
December 19, 2008
This a wonderful science fiction novel for young adults, unfortunately it doesn't always stay in print and isn't always easy to find at your local library.
On Jupiter's moon Ganymede a young man joins the hunt for the Aleph a creature-like machine that digs through Jupiter's moon in order to keep it stable.
On Jupiter's moon Ganymede a young man joins the hunt for the Aleph a creature-like machine that digs through Jupiter's moon in order to keep it stable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2013
A very dark book... there are no glorious victories.. just grief. Yet I realized that it's poor lighting and gloomy outlook played well into the theme, which took me a while to get after I finished, but then made good sense!
January 14, 2013
One of my all time favorites. The continuation of Faulkner's The Bear into the far future cements the fact that all historians know, History WILL repeat at some point.
Read
September 26, 201213
April 16, 2017
3.5 I need to read the first one before making any serious judgements. Overall worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews