ASSEMBLERS OF INFINITY [Paperback]

Kevin J. Anderson (Author), Doug Beason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

An incredible discovery on the lunar farside--massive structures being erected by intelligent, living machines--could threaten the lives of the colonists living on the Moon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 555 pages
• Publisher: Bantam / Spectra (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553299212
• ISBN-13: 978-0553299212
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,010,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin J. Anderson has written 46 national bestsellers and has over 20 million books in print worldwide in thirty languages. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the SFX Readers' Choice Award. Find out more about Kevin Anderson at www.wordfire.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SF Reader, March 5, 2011

By 

watchmanstan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Assemblers of Infinity (Kindle Edition)

if you like a novel written with 3 to 5 interelated parallel story lines. then this one is for you. Primarily different groups of astronauts, scientists, military brass and nasa types running around making illogical decisions. A fast read because you want it to be over. I gave it an extra star for excellent editing.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild ride on teeeeeny little cars, September 10, 2001

By 

George Baxter (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ASSEMBLERS OF INFINITY (Paperback)

This was a very fun story. Nanotechnology has always been a fascinating topic.. the potentials are amazing. Harnessing a story around the technology is sure to be a lot of fun.

And Anderson/Beason do not disappoint. Their basic approach is that mankind is on the edge of understanding nanotech, but not there yet.. and this can lead to disastrous consequences. When they are presented with alien nanotech.. and these aliens DEFINITELY know what their doing.. our ignorance and initial fumblings create a uninterrupted tension.

I'm a sucker for conclusive endings.. and this story doesn't have one... and I applaud them for it. It fits the story. You'll
enjoy the story, don't worry.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Alien nanomachines on Moon, September 6, 2010

By 

Jari Aalto (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ASSEMBLERS OF INFINITY (Paperback)

At moon, a huge radio wave array sits below lunar equator on the Deadalus crater. It never saw or heard Earth. The place was a perfect spot to study very low frequencies and avoid Earth side radio wave diffractions that would ruin delicate measurements. It was designed to function autonomously. Decades, because nothing was supposed to change at the moon. Yet, without warning the VLF data stream to Earth was cut. Silent. Nothing. The Moon base Columbus had to know what malfunction could cause idiot proof system to fail. A crew travelling with a moon hopper soon reached the site, but something was very wrong. A gigantic mine shaft plunged downward. It yawned like a giant mouth. And the crew couldn't see the bottom. How could anyone excavate a hole like that without Moon base detecting anything on their seismographs?

The story is about nanotechnology, both looking from the viewpoint of early experiments in Earth and comparing it against the advanced alien marvels found at the Moon. While the immense alien cave structure at Moon stays at center, the scientists try to figure out the ecology of the nanomachines and their purpose. And as the threat from military angle is starting to feel imminent, the science ethics to follow proper procedures is forgotten to make an crossbreed of human and alien nanotech. With consequences.

Two (2) stars. Written in 1993 this is Kevin Anderson's early 4th novel which was previously published as series in scifi Locus magazine 1992. It must have been different to read the story as the magazines appeared from mail slot. In a book form, the flow of the narrative feels like thick juice whose viscosity doesn't let go to fluently take it the to the next page. It's like tar. Even if you hope to get further, you still can't get out off it. In this regard the book feels heavy. The problem probably is that the nanotechnology presented in the story hasn't aged well to hold fresh. For the characters it can be debated if it is plausible for brilliant leading scientist to ignore all safety protocols and endanger whole of human kind with her nano breedings. The military aspect of nuking the threat, unless the problem is solved, is like putting a tripod to the story. That tripod is shorter than the other two (Earth, Moon). The final resolution, where readers are shown the purpose of the excavation cobbles, is not a fulfillment but standing at awe. It's tough to bite cheese to believe that the military threat is conjured away and displaced with a peaceful co-existence with the aliens. A book that may be best to left being dusted.