• The Gentle Giants of Ganymede

  • By: James P. Hogan
  • Narrated by: John Pruden
  • Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (753 ratings)

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The Gentle Giants of Ganymede

By: James P. Hogan
Narrated by: John Pruden
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Publisher's summary

Long before the world of the Ganymeans blew apart millennia ago, the strange race of giants had already vanished. All that remained of them was a wrecked ship abandoned on a frozen moon of Jupiter. Now Earth’s scientists are there, determined to ferret out the secret of the lost race. But when suddenly the Ganymeans return, they bring with them answers that will reveal the secret of our own as well.

©1984 James Patrick Hogan (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Scientists’ efforts to uncover the unexpected genetic link between Terran and Minervan life is aided by the equally unexpected reappearance of a Minervan ship. Interesting reading for sf enthusiasts and for those who enjoy a methodical analysis of a complex theory." ( Kliatt)

What listeners say about The Gentle Giants of Ganymede

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

Ideas are more interesting than people!

This book takes the series in a different direction from what I expected. As always, with Hogan one gets more ideas than characters. (The author reminds me of Arthur C. Clark in that respect). Here the ideas involve around more in depth understanding on the nature of evolution, time dilution, and planet formation. One could read this story without having had read book one and would have no problem following the story.

Hogan's one of my favorite science fiction authors and with this second book in the series he doesn't disappoint.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Departure from normal SciFi

I love a good Space Opera or Galactic Empire war type book. I like the action, good characters and epic conflicts.

This is NOT one of those books. In fact, this book doesn't have an antagonist. There are no battles, wars or even any kind of threat or issue to deal with. This book is about discovery and almost Star Trek like in optimism (ignoring recent dystopian Star Trek crap).

I really enjoy James P Hogan's stories, and this is one of the best. A great sequel to Inherit the Stars. If you liked Victor Hunt and Dancheker, and their struggles to solve mysteries and challenges, you'll like this book too.

What I also appreciate from books like these is that political corectnes and is not present--it just wants to tell a fun story and explore different ways of thinking about things.

Giant's Star isn't as good, but is still good.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story. Start with the first book.

A fantastic story weaving evolutionary theory with a taste of Sherlock Holmes and sci-fi. This is a series I always go back to.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story of First Contact

So much of sci-fi is pessimistic in nature. Taking the ills of society and extrapolating them to the extreme. Hogan's "Giant's Series" is so good because he show's humanity for the good they can do. The scientific progress they can make and how welcoming they can be. Get this book.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Slow and Easy

After the excitement of Inherit the Stars, The author slowed things down a lot with this book. Unlike the previous volume, It appears that this plotless story was written in order to express the basis of Gentle Giants relationship with man. Personally, I think that Mr Hogan could have written this in a couple chapters rather than a whole book, but it was pleasurable anyway. Slow but pleasurable, like being in a canoe on a strange but calm river.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great 'read'

This book (and the first two of the series) are terrific stories. Have read them many times, and - now - listened to them several as well. Good performance; it felt as though I were right there with Vic, Caldwell, Lynn, Garuth, and all the others, "watching" the tale unfold. Thanks, Audible, for making them available!

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

A Fabulous Who Done It

While it is not Inherit The Stars, this second book in the series brings enough twists and turns to keep the reader/listener wanting more.
The second I'm a three book series is always the toughest to execute, but Hogan is a Master at keeping his readers turning the pages to find the answers to each new question he raises.
Time to see where it all leads. Bring on "Giant's Star"!

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

Everything we leaned in Inherit the Stars was wron

What did you love best about The Gentle Giants of Ganymede?

I first read Inherit the Stars 35 years ago... and I can honestly say that it was one of the inspirations that lead me to become a scientist. Being a young reader, I followed up with The Gentle Giants. In a fit of nostalgia, I bought the audio book (along with the two direct sequels to the trilogy). Although the book feels very dated and sexist, it is still an enjoyable story without diverting too much into new age phooey (unlike the final book of the trilogy, Giant's Star). I did truly enjoy many of the concepts regarding how the Giants evolutionary pathway and physiology determined their race's outlook on life. Some of the science does tend to get a bit far fetched, but still more or less works. The narration is passable at best.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Old favorite, new way of experiencing it.

James P. Hogan’s “Giants series” has been a favorite for decades. Whether you read it or listen to it, you have to understand the time in which it was written. Lots of people smoked, the USSR was still that, and some of the science has improved or been changed. Take those things out of the equation, and the story itself is phenomenal. Slowly and intellectually opening doors to ideas as the characters work things out in their discussions, thinking, and arguing.
I *still* wish this series would be made into a TV/movie series, but as Mr. Hogan himself told me when he surprised me and answered an email, Hollywood isn’t ready to handle intelligent stories like these. Maybe they weren’t back then, but I’ve seen attempts made that give me hope. I wish so very much he still existed in this realm so we could discuss it further, and that he was still writing amazing stories. But…I just have to revisit what he DID give us before he passed on. Thanks again and again, Mr. Hogan!

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

Potentially Interesting Story, Erroneous Science

Okay, let’s be clear. I don’t expect science fictions to adhere completely to known science, otherwise FTL, artificial gravity, and other fun concepts would not exist in fiction. On the other hand, some things are well known and should not be eliminated or altered for convenience.

In this tale, the most grating departure from real science was the proclamation that Earth had no moon until 50,000 years ago. This is not even remotely true. The presence of the moon around Earth is well documented going back billions of years. In fact, the evolution of early terrestrial life, from ferns and other plants to insects and vertebrates, appears to have relied heavily on large tides, which occurred because the moon was closer back then. But to arbitrarily claim the moon was captured 50,000 years ago? Sorry. This was jarringly incorrect and pushed me out of the story.

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