Eternity

A Sequel to Eon

By: Greg Bear

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Multiple Nebula and Hugo Award-winner Greg Bear returns to the Earth of his acclaimed novel Eon, a world devastated by nuclear war. The crew of the asteroid-starship Thistledown has thwarted an attack by the Jarts by severing their link to the Way, an endless corridor that spans universes. The asteroid settled into orbit around Earth and the tunnel snaked away, forming a contained universe of its own.

Forty years later, on Gaia, Rhita Vaskayza recklessly pursues her legacy, seeking an Earth once again threatened by forces from within and without. For physicist Konrad Korzenowski, murdered for creating The Way, and resurrected, is compelled by a faction determined to see it opened once more. And humankind will discover just how entirely they have underestimated their ancient adversaries.

©1988 Greg Bear (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Good but not up to the standard Eon set

I enjoyed this book but at the same time, as it follows Eon, could have stopped there and been fine. I don't think anyone out there would be disappointed by it if they like sci-fi but personally found it lacking that intangible thing that made Eon so much better.

Multiple intersecting storylines

Greg Bear’s Eternity is the sequel to Eon and the second installment in his Way trilogy. Axis City is split with the bulk in orbit around Earth dealing with the aftermath of the Death that devasted the planet. At the same time Patricia Vasquez ends up on a parallel Earth where she lives out her life and be-queaths to her descendants a device to find gates back to the Way. Two camps emerge, one wishing to reopen the Way and the other wishing to destroy it. The ending has everything just working out right.

Bear concocts a dense and convoluted plot while maintaining an unstoppable force, the Jarts, always in the background. There’s a bit of deus ex machina at the end to bring everything into closure.

The narration is excellent with great character distinction. Pacing is smooth.

"That which is best in all of us."

Switching between different points of view, the stories continue of those people encountered in Eon, on Gaia, Earth and Thistledown. But this time a messenger arrived with concerns about the future of the Way.

Greg Bear's imaginative world building and mind bending use of time is extraordinary, if sometimes hard to fo!low. But it is all encompassing, absorbing the reader's attention. Again, the main characters remain less than fully fleshed, with a couple of exceptions, giving the entire experience a somewhat ethereal feeling. Narration is again by Stefan Rudnicki, who delivers another for performance. Hi deep timbre is a pleasure to hear and he add substance to the main protagonists both in individual voicings of the characters and by also injecting emotion into his reading, which is always well paced and modulated.

Eternity is another long book at over fifteen hours but definitely recommended to readers who enjoy the more thoughtful science fiction of ideas rather than more contemporary space operas. Although not read tial, it is best to read Eon first to more easily understand the protagonists and the locations. My thanks too the rights holder of Eternity, who,at my request freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. A really remarkable book.

An amazing tale full of wonder

This was yet another wonderful part of this Greg Bear series. Excellent narration through wonderful universes within universes.

Mind Blown

I am totally awed and in awe of author Greg Bear's mind that could convince of a book about quantum physics and multiple philosophies taking place in many universes. Being eighty-one years old reading a book written in the 1980's, taking place in 2005 and continuing until the end of time has me struggling to absorb the enormous content of ideas. The fact that the book has many engaging characters, both human, enhanced and non_humans made the read a totally enjoyable time. I was surprised that I related to some of the non- human characters so closely, especially Omly and the Frants. Read the book to appreciate these characters and others.