Amazon.com: Artifact (9780553172065): Gregory Benford: Books

More About the Author

Gregory Benford, author of top-selling novels, including Jupiter Project, Artifact, Against Infinity, Eater, and Timescape, is that unusual creative combination of scientist scholar and talented artist; his stories capture readers - hearts and minds - with imaginative leaps into the future of science and of us.

A University of California faculty member since 1971, Benford has conducted research in plasma turbulence theory and experiment, and in astrophysics. His published scientific articles include well over a hundred papers in fields of physics from condensed matter, particle physics, plasmas and mathematical physics, and several in biological conservation.

Often called hard science fiction, Benford's stories take physics into inspired realms. What would happen if cryonics worked and people, frozen, were awoken 50 years in the future? What might we encounter in other dimensions? How about sending messages across time? And finding aliens in our midst? The questions that physics and scientists ask, Benford's imagination explores.
With the re-release of some of his earlier works and the new release of current stories and novels, Benford takes the lead in creating science fiction that intrigues and amuses us while also pushing us to think.

Customer Reviews

26 Reviews

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

2.5 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indiana Jones meets Particle Physics, June 13, 2004

By

E. Nichols (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Artifact (Mass Market Paperback)

Perhaps I'm biased because I like Benford's style: I couldn't put the book down. I read it straight through, just stopping once for lunch. It's not Benford's best book because his others are all so great, but it was much better than I expected after reading the other reviews here. Benford mixes in plenty of realistic science, archaeology, and university politics with the action of the plot. At the end of the book, an interesting "Technical Afterword" puts the sci-fi in context with "real" physics.

My favorite line from the book is typical Benford: "He had noted that the noise in a room rose as the square of the number of people in it..."

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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, thought provoking, plausable, August 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Artifact (Mass Market Paperback)

I was completely enthralled and captivated by Benford's scientific knowledge and writing skills. He has the unique ability to blend insightful scientific speculation with real-life adventure and human interaction.

Artifact is one of those rare science fiction stories that is believable because of the real science it contains. Benford has been critisized for including too much scientific explanation. However, without it, I may not have found the story line as plausible, or enjoyable.

I further enjoyed Benford's writing style. His characters come to life and it is apparent that Benford enjoys writing about adventure and human interactions as much as he does about the science.

All-in-all, I found Artifact very entertaining and would recommend it to anyone remotely interested in science fiction or adventure.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful premises let down by poor scripting, November 16, 2001

By

OoOoOoO "OoOoOoO" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Artifact (Hardcover)

An ancient artefact containing ... what (I won't spoil the joy for readers)? The story began with a tantalising pre-historic sequence of how the artefact was buried with an ancient king but then left the readers with no further 'retrospective' of how the artefact was used (or otherwise ravaged) the ancient world. Cut to the present, the reader is then confronted with huge chunks of irrelevant rivalry amongst academic-types, including a Greek archaeologist unfortunately miscast in an MCP role. All very well but handled badly and detracting seriously from the implications of the Artefact on human history. A wonderful premise by a brilliant author, but needs to be reworked drastically.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not his best
I would love to say that I liked this book. I certainly tried to like it.

However, the characters were one-dimensional, and seemingly defined entirely by one flaw, tic... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Deborah Westwood

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Much Happens
You know that when the prologue is the most interesting part of a novel, what you have is a huge time waster. Read more

Published on August 3, 2009 by Martin Asiner

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
An expedition in Greece uncovers an artifact that is several thousand years old. No-one knows what it is made out of, or what it can do, only that it is quite powerful and... Read more

Published on September 3, 2007 by Blue Tyson

2.0 out of 5 stars Uneven - approach with caution
This is a difficult novel to review as it is really three intertwined novellas. The book is divided into three sections, and the story and the action are very different in each... Read more

Published on April 15, 2006 by Utah Blaine

1.0 out of 5 stars confusing and boring story
I had really high hopes for this book when I bought it. Seemed like an interesting premise. I've read other books by this author and they were interesting, at least. Read more

Published on January 20, 2005 by Orion1

2.0 out of 5 stars You need a physics degree to follow this one
And I don't have that degree. Fortunately I do have advanced math and some engineering physics under my metaphorical belt, otherwise I would've been completely lost when reading... Read more

Published on December 1, 2004 by Liz

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard (to read) SF
Hard sf is not one of my favorite genres but the backcover looked promising. Unfortunately this novel did not deliver. Read more

Published on August 27, 2004 by Mark Graham

2.0 out of 5 stars BARELY ENTERTAINING AND HARD TO READ
I've read other Benford books before, and this does not compare to his previous work! The heroine here is an immature and reckless and chain-smoking, crazy woman called Claire... Read more

Published on August 5, 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars [Weak]
I found the science vaguely interesting (particle erotique); but the main premise of an adventure -- which this novel pretends to be -- is likeable characters; and it is here that... Read more

Published on April 20, 2003

2.0 out of 5 stars Good science; Bad fiction
While I basically have difficulties with "hard science-fiction", I enjoy reading it in order to expand my mind and seek a better understanding of theoretical science... Read more

Published on February 27, 2003 by Neal C. Reynolds

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Deep inside the tomb they barely heard the snarl of an approaching vehicle. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
twin singularity, amber cone, two singularities, tomb site, demand valve, tomb wall, light pipe, camp man

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sergeant Petrakos, Boston University, Sergio Zaninetti, Abe Sprangle, Gregory Benford, National Security Agency, Professor Hampton, American Airlines, Castle Island, Charles River, Commonwealth Avenue, Donald Hampton, George Schmitt, Harbor Patrol, Olympic Airways, Storrow Drive, United States, Boston Harbor, Claire Number One, Great Kameni, New Hampshire, New York, Professor Zaninetti, State Department, Uncle Alexander

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