Anvil of Stars: The Sequel to Forge of God [Hardcover]

Greg Bear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1992

The sequel to Forge of God follows the mission of a select group of human survivors as they search in the Ship of Law for the aliens who destroyed their planet. 25,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A knotty philosophical question--how moral is "eye for an eye" revengesince it's a said to be a 'question' -- preoccupies Bear in this provocative and entertaining follow-up to Forge of God . The earlier book described the destruction of earth by self-replicating roots who wanted to use the planet's mass to create more robotic creatures. Now a small group of human survivors is determined to achieve justice by tracking down the criminal race and destroying their home system. The band of survivors, which includes women and children, have borrowed a starship--called the Ship of the Law and made of "fragments of the Earth's corpse"--from friendly aliens, and with it they scour the universe until they locate the aberrant society and exact revenge. Employing plausible new hard-science concepts, Bear fashions an action-packed and often thrilling plot; by using each of the well-depicted alien races to mirror human behavior, he defines what it means to be Homo sapiens. Bear draws on the full range of his gifts 'top of his form' in another second-drop review here, seamlessly pulling together action since 'plot' so nearly synonymous with 'story' below and characterization to create 'fashion' used above a gripping story.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

One alien culture has destroyed Earth; another, called the Benefactors, has offered the survivors a chance for revenge by building a spaceship for a group of young volunteers whose goal is the extermination of their enemy. Like Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game ( LJ 2/15/85), this sequel to The Forge of God ( LJ 9/15/87) explores the issues of morality and justice, using children as its vehicle. Bear's treatment differs, however, in that his characters have already lost their innocence and face their destiny with open eyes. As a stylist, Bear writes with a heady brilliance that communicates a sense of immediacy and credibility. A good choice for any library's sf collection. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/92.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 434 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446516015
• ISBN-13: 978-0446516013
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,820,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Bear is the author of more than thirty books, spanning thrillers, science fiction, and fantasy, including Blood Music, Eon, The Forge of God, Darwin's Radio, City at the End of Time, and Hull Zero Three. His books have won numerous international prizes, have been translated into more than twenty-two languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Over the last twenty-eight years, he has also served as a consultant for NASA, the U.S. Army, the State Department, the International Food Protection Association, and Homeland Security on matters ranging from privatizing space to food safety, the frontiers of microbiology and genetics, and biological security.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not good, June 15, 2002

By 

papaphilly (Bayonne, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Anvil of Stars: The Sequel to Forge of God (Hardcover)

If you are a Greg Bear fan, then you will enjoy this book. Other than that, I believe the reading public will not be so enthralled. This is the follow-up to The Forge of God. The Forge of God is a true masterpiece, Anvil of Stars is not. The Earth is destroyed, the good guys are going to get the bad guys, and the law is the law. That is all you need to know for this book and you know it early. Bear tries to develop believable characters which he succedes at very nicely. The problem here is the story itself, which seems very disoriented and the story never seems to gel no matter how he tries to study group dynamics or species interactions. The main characters are the children of the original survivors of The Forge of God, which is a nice touch with a different view of the problem. You could do a lot worse than Anvil of Stars, but you can do a lot better also.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Sequel to the Classic Original, February 26, 2004

By 

Eric R. Taylor (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anvil of Stars: The Sequel to Forge of God (Hardcover)

Bear produced a delicious and fascinating sequel when he wrote this book. I love the original. The sequel is wonderful but in different ways. Where the original was about average people dealing with a very earthly doom, the follow on is about a group of young but diverse people seeking revenge under very alien circumstances and surroundings. It is Hard Science fiction at its best. There are so many incredible elements of technology explored in the book, it is captivating.

The characters are vivid and very well developed. The conflicts and growth they go through during their voyage are very realistic and moving.

This is one of my all time favorite sci-fi novels and deserves a place beside quite a few Hugo Award winning novels.

Highly Recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anvil of Stars : The Sequel to Forge of God, August 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Anvil of Stars: The Sequel to Forge of God (Hardcover)

This book is a tour de force, the whole concept behind it is so large that i was in awe when i completed the novel. After the Earth was decimated, there is a slim chance that earths children can determine who is responsible for the planets destruction and possibly avenge that crime. Unfortunately the plot is slow to develop and until you get to the final third of the book it can leave you wondering if the story is actually going anywhere. But i can assure you it is. I won't recommend this book if you are someone who can't stay focused if a novel gets slow for a bit, but if you can handle a few slow parts this is as good of a hard science fiction book as you will ever find.