Seveneves
By Neal Stephenson
- Release Date: 2015-05-19
- Genre: Fiction & Literature
Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years.
What would happen if the world were ending?
A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .
Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.
A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.
Reviews
Interesting, but not compelling
2By William AmaranthThis is a marvelous technical manual on how society can adapt in the face of a terrifying and unexplained extinction event. In the margins, a story darts in and out of the technical treatises on gravitational pulls, orbital mechanics, and the importance of hydrogen in space. If you think the story is interesting, you’re not wrong - but every page of story development is surrounded by 10+ pages of technical jargon that I struggled to follow (with technical degrees from multiple prestigious schools, mind). There’s something interesting here, but unless you are keen to delve into mechanical details I’d give this one a pass or rent it from your local library.Best I’ve read in a while
5By MrBlanstonNo hints, no spoilers. Fantastic novel and there better be a sequel because I want to find out what happened to… we’ll see later…Great read
5By gmax94Only 5 star I have given for a sci-fi ever. Lost a fair amount of sleep turning the pages. The story line did not let me drift off as most book tend too. Thanks for the great entertainment!Superb!
5By Ph77Like two books, read it.Decent and inventive, with only a couple forced plot points
4By SortulFor the longest time I would rate this 5 stars. However, during my latest read through I realized a problem or two. The big one is that the seven eves act like once someone dies their DNA becomes useless, yet they also have the means to make genetic alterations. This means they have multiple copies of the Y chromosome, so no need to create it out of whole cloth. The other problem I have is that Markus/Dinah/Ivy would not have bothered with a risky operation of docking with Julia’s unauthorized ship. They would have gone over, attached the device and de-orbited the contraption with the least risk to their fuel and oxygen supplies.Technical but enjoyable
3By rdepartOverall good . Great story. Lots of physics and engineering speak but not having much knowledge about such things i could understand enough to enjoy reading on. I hope it’s even more interesting if you are knowledgeable about the science.What a ride!
5By yermamasboyfriendStayed up way to late a few times turning pages. Very entertaining and thought provoking.Took some time!
5By ShiggityshoogatyAbsolutely loved this book, I’m not a technically minded person so it took me a long time to work through and be able to imagine the machines and situations presented in the book. But it’s an absolute banger and was worth every minute of my time.Too long
1By fgvdtjuWay way too much math. If i wanted a lesson in astrophysics i will buy a textbookMost boring end of the world ever
1By KB senaThis book went nowhere. I expected fear, excitement, and suspense, I mean the moon exploded, but what I got was and architectural manual that ends in Cold Waresq race war. I learned more about the robots and how they worked than I did about main characters, I learned more about their habitats than their personalities or motivations. It went on forever, and nothing was wrapped up in the end. It both felt too long and too short.Great story, but too long
4By ChopItunesThis is a captivating tale, with well drawn characters to care about and epic in its scope. That said, it would've been better told in about half the length. Way too much repetition about deeply technical issues of orbital mechanics and other realities of space.A Stunning Story.
5By jdgcvn72A compelling saga and a daring scenario!A bit dissatisfied
2By DelucagThe first 2/3 of the book kept me turning pages. Then I got to 5000 Years Later (the last 1/3) and it took a big snooze fest. I’m forcing myself to read it just so I can finish it. The reviews, that I have now read, are spot on.If you love extreme detail..
3By afdfsdfaferYou’ll like this book. Overwhelming detail about every tiny minutiae of informantion. Unfortunately, the characters suffer tremendously because of it. I never connected with any of them, nor did I really even like them. They’re just there to further the plot and allow for more pages of detail on extremely specific inter workings of aspects of the ark. You forget where and who’s point of view you’re supposed to be following because the author spent the last two pages talking about the way a pipe heats. I understand wanting to give a realistic approach on how these things might work, but it reads almost like a thesis paper rather than a novel.FANTASTIC
5By completethesquareLove this author and this is one of his best works!I want more
5By PltSSGI’ve read the book twice now and want to hear more about human life after ZeroDon’t bother
1By rfloyd42Meaningless infinite detail of minor scenes and characters, “science” that seems absolutely implausible if not impossible to me as an engineer, and 10% through the book no real progress on the story? No thanks - finally quit punishing myself and just stopped reading.Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
1By Skeeter anStarted out good… then by page 700 or so i stopped reqding. Just couldn’t finish. Completely lost interest.Drop the price please
1By KsdjebejdxjdbenThis book has been out more than two years. How about dropping the price.
