Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30323 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
* #40 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. * Blood Music won the Nebula and Hugo Awards in its original shorter form. * 'One of the few SF writers capable of following where Olaf Stapledon led, beyond the limits of human ambition and geological time' Locus * 'Arthur C. Clarke has his most formidable rival yet' The Times

Customer Reviews

So near and yet so far
Eon could have been a classic among the canon of epic SF. The basis of the story is immediately appealing, offering as it does the promise of mysteries and wonders. And initially the book delivers. The first quarter is full of exploration and discovery, taking the reader to exotic places and revealing fascinating technologies. But here's the `however'. Quite suddenly the book takes a different tack. We become drowned in scientific detail and political intrigue. There's so much of both that all the magic and mystery is battered out of the narrative. Obviously this is hard SF and a certain amount of scientific rigour is to be expected, but here it is taken to the nth degree. This has a negative effect, making it impossible for the reader (this one anyhow! - and I have a reasonably good understanding of physics) to visualise much of what is supposed to be happening. As for the political machinations, much of this could have been omitted without weakening the story - quite the opposite in fact.

In a nutshell, Bear seems to work on the principal that everything has to be fully explained and made to appear at least theoretically viable. This is simply not the case. Often a little mystery only partly resolved leaves the reader with a sense of anticipation, and forces them to exercise their own imagination. This approach actually makes the story more satisfying.

As for the ending: I know that Bear had a sequel in mind, but that does not excuse the rather hurried and dissatisfying conclusion.

In fairness Eon may well please many a true hard SF fan, but for me it's served mainly to reinforce my growing suspicion that this type of fiction is not for me.

excellent 'SCI-FI' science fiction
This book is in the mould of Arthur C Clarke, a tale of humanity in the future meeting the alien unknown. Very well written and accessible to readers, the story moves forward all the time, you never get the feeling you are reading a big book (it is quite thick). The science is covered in detail but without overwhelming or boring the reader - this is a trap that SciFi can fall into with this style of book.
I enjoyed it immensely. One of the better books in the SF masterworks series.

Perhaps the greatest SF novel of our time
This is a truly astonishing book, which encapsulates all that is good about SF in the latter part of the 20th century.

The book focuses primarily on the impact that an artifact from the future has on the world when it unexplainedly appears in orbit around Earth. The fact that the future it comes from is not quite "our" future adds to the mystery. The struggle between the major powers on Earth to control this artefact, and ultimately its secrets, is exceptionally well presented by Bear, who seems to have an uncanny knack of creating characters who are very easy to relate to. He also manages to get across the sense of helplessness that those on the artifact (a large, hollowed out asteroid) have when things back on Earth get somewhat dicey.

This book deserves a place in your collection if you are even half way serious about SF. If SF is not your thing, I would suggest that you will still find much to enjoy in this book.