Beyond Heaven's River [Paperback]

Greg Bear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1980

Yoshio Kawashita is a great warrior until aliens whisk him away during World War II. They put him on a desolate planet far from his home, where he is destined to remain forever, leaving him alone in his new hell. Then Anna Nestor appears. This empress does not see planets as homes for their inhabitants; she sees exploitable real estate. At first, Anna Nestor views Kawashita as a sideshow attraction until they fall in love. But the two cannot be free until they find out who kidnapped Kawashita and why.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

If anyone is the complete master of the grand-scale SF novel, it's Bear.—Booklist "Greg Bear is one of the freshest writers to break into the science fiction and fantasy field in many a year."—Dragon Magazine "Bear is one of the few SF writers capable of traveling beyond the limits of mere human ambition and geological time… . Whether he's tinkering with human genetic material or prying apart planets, Bear goes about the task with intelligence and a powerful imagination."—Locus "His wonders are state-of-the-art." —New York Newsday --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

SALES POINTS *Greg Bear is winner of the Nebula and Hugo Awards * 'One of the few SF writers capable of following where Olaf Stapledon led, beyond the limits of human ambition and geological time' LOCUS * Arthur C. Clarke has his most formidable rival yet' THE TIMES --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dell Publishing; First Edition edition (May 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440106540
• ISBN-13: 978-0440106548
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,061,392 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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sublime and Inventive to boot., January 12, 2000

By 

Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer (Ferndale, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Heaven's River (Mass Market Paperback)

"Beyond Heaven's River" is a well-plotted novel, something that seems to be increasingly rare in the world of Science Fiction. Maybe it is because it is a sparsely printed, 250 page novel, instead of some 600 page, mini-script, sloppy "epic". For that reason alone it is weel worth reading; there can be good, short SF novels. Beyond that, Bear has constructed a wonderfully sublime, if a bit overly vague, universe, inhabited by unseen aliens and filled with motivated, imperial human beings. Within this context, a Japanese soldier, from the early 20th Century is an interesting point of view to follow through the bizarre, soul-searching, (dare I say?) epic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars annoying production issues, November 2, 2003

By 

David desJardins (Burlingame, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond Heaven's River (Mass Market Paperback)

There's something wrong with the text of this edition of the book. I think they dropped some lines in the production process. There are many places where one character speaks twice in a row, and the second is a response to some question or statement by another character, which was dropped. I also found a couple of sentences that just end in mid-sentence. It doesn't make the story too hard to follow, but it's definitely annoying. Not recommended (and I'm going to be very hesitant about buying other books published by "ibooks").

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Heaven's River not quite..., October 18, 2000

By 

"cp21yos" (Manly, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Heaven's River (Mass Market Paperback)

Firstly this book is not out of print - my edition is a 2000 edition by Millenium (a Gollancz brand) and is available on amazon.co.uk.
The premise/promise of this story is typical of Bear in that you get completely wrapped up in this new universe across which the human race roams. The two key characters are real enough and both face serious challenges on a personal basis, and along the way you see a future with nicely painted in technologies and alien artifacts (in fact two of the characters live in a giant alien spaceship picked up at an apparent bargain). The story line passes from WWII to well into the 26th century while remaining true to the reader.
I picked up this book after enjoying Darwin's Radio which is a great read - that novel is complete in that it allows Greg Bear to really complete his story. Unfortunately Beyond Heaven's River is a much shorter story and leaves me with the feeling that "it had to be wound up" for want of a solid ending.

After all that I should say that it is still a good read, just not Bear's best.