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The Forge of God  By  cover art

The Forge of God

By: Greg Bear
Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
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Publisher's summary

On September 28th, a geologist working in Death Valley finds a mysterious new cinder cone in very well-mapped area. On October 1, the government of Australia announces the discovery of an enormous granite mountain. Like the cinder cone, it wasn't there six months ago.

Something is happening to planet Earth, and the truth is too terrifying to contemplate.

©1987 Greg Bear (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Forge of God

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Story, Wonderful Listening, But the Editor?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this book. Greg Bear does the best job of bringing hard science into speculative fiction of anyone I know. The story never subsumes the science, nor the science the story. VERY satisfying to the head and the heart.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Very satisfying.

What does Stephen Bel Davies bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The last third of the book is loaded with stuff that would not have changed the story at all if it hadn't been there. Sorry, Greg. If it hadn't been for Stephen's excellent reading, I wouldn't have stuck with it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I wonder if this book could have gotten published these days. Every story now seems so addicted to "it all works out in the end" that true tragedy isn't really dealt with. I really liked the fact that Greg Bear acknowledged that sometimes the worst case happens. He has a silver lining, all right, but it doesn't eclipse the catastrophe of the event.

Any additional comments?

Honestly, the last third of the novel was full of things that covered in 20 pages what could have been covered in one. Perhaps when one is Greg Bear, editors are (or were) reluctant to intervene. In any event, one of the advantages of having a good narrator is that his energy can carry you through the slow spots. And I really appreciate that, because the last pages of the story were really worth getting to. I would certainly buy another Greg Bear book, as I've done in the past, and will certainly look for anything narrated by Stephen Bel Davies. Hurrah and thanks to you both. A great yarn.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

Thank you audible. I have been waiting years for the audible version of this novel, and am not disappointed. In my opnion this is Bear's best work. A perfect balance of science and drama, with very compelling characters. It builds slowly but brilliantly to its inevitable, terrifying, and heart breaking climax. Though it is bleak in some ways, and frightening, there is the ever present flicker of hope throughout. It is thoughtful, intelligent and haunting... A science fiction classic.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Simply not fun. Rarely if ever entertaining.

Would you try another book from Greg Bear and/or Stephen Bel Davies?

I might give Greg Bear another shot someday, but I would definitely not pay for it. Stephen Bel Davies did a decent enough job.

What could Greg Bear have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

He could've cut out the tons of superfluous point-of-view characters that were only there to fluff things out, and make the story seem more widespread. They rarely added anything to the story, and their undeserved melodrama just dragged things out and muddled things. "Oh look, here's another person that has no idea about what is going on, and is struggling with their emotions."

The first two acts of the book are a complete waste of time. Incomprehensible aliens mess with humanity's heads for no reason, while the central protagonists heads up a presidential task force that travels all over the world, discovering absolutely nothing.

There are perhaps two interesting ideas in the book, buried under acres of contrived angst. There is no story arc. No character development. Some decent speculation on how one can blow up the earth, and what that might look like. And hours of boredom.

Which scene was your favorite?

The one where nothing happened, and people were angsty and uncertain about it. Then something semi interesting popped up, and the story suddenly cutaway to another boring character before you could be entertained.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. I thought Bear would be better.

Any additional comments?

Save yourself the trouble and read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia instead. You'll get just as much out of it with out wasting hours of your life.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The reader could put a turbometh junkie to sleep

He could have a great career as a children's bedtime story reader or sleep therapist.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • J
  • 10-29-19

Quit with 10 hours left.

My god I hated this book. When one of the characters—there are a bunch and I couldn’t keep any of them straight—thinks about how he misses his wife for like the 10th time in an hour, I deleted it.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Narration

If you could sum up The Forge of God in three words, what would they be?

The narrator is really engaging; he completely brings the story alive. With most books it takes me a little while to get into the story, and this one was no different. But after about 30 minutes or so I was hooked. Very entertaining.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

huh?

a few hours into this audiobook. so far it's like lemony snickets on valium. a real snoozer with no point to it. not even word soup, more like word gruel. but, I shall carry on...after all, I paid good money for this crap.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating concepts

I loved the philosophical approach to 'Earth as our home and the center of everything' vs 'the universe as our home and Earth is just a living being trying desperately to mature and spread seeds before time runs out.' The science fiction elements of the story and plot are accessible, good for those who don't read hard core sci-fi. Action is sparse and the author makes a character driven plot tick forward with an increasing urgency. Best I've read in a long while.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

good premise but long and frustrating journey

the premise is interesting. but you have to endure tons of pointless characters and situations. and his excessive use of descriptive language made me feel like I was reading a mad lib story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Pointless and way too long

Pointless: There is really very, very little substance to this book. The initial "mystery" is ultimately completely wasted space. There's little to no character development, and the little there is is completely random and ham-fisted. New concepts are thrown in at random (the spiders). There's Deus Ex Machina (almost literally). A bunch of interesting stuff simply happens "off screen". And in the end, it's all for naught anyway. This is not a well-crafted story, it's a bunch of concepts badly connected by too many words. Buy Moving Mars or Queen of Angels instead.

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3 people found this helpful