The Forge of God [Mass Market Paperback]

Greg Bear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1993

"A gripping panorama of a world in peril" (Chicago Sun-Times) from the author of Anvil of Stars. June 26, 1996: One of Jupiter's moons disappears. September 28, 1996: A mysterious cinder cone is found in Death Valley. October 1, 1996: An enormous granite mountain is discovered in Australia. It wasn't there six months ago. . . . "Bear's best novel".--San Diego Union.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An award-winning SF writer of great promise, Bear has in recent years turned away from the startling, visionary concepts that made his reputation. Now, with his recent novel Eon and this new book, he is producing mainstream disaster stories that just happen to be SF. The 1990's present humanity with a dilemma when two groups of aliens arrive on Earth. The first invaders introduce themselves as altruistic ambassadors, but the second warn that their predecessors are actually unstoppable planet-eaters who will utterly destroy the world. The American president accepts this message as the ultimate judgment and calls for fervent prayers to appease the Forge of God. Meanwhile, military men plot to blow up spaceships, and both scientists and lay people help the second alien race preserve Earthly achievement. SF readers may wonder where the earlier Bear has gone, but others should enjoy this smooth, professional performance.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The disappearance of one of Jupiter's moons, the appearance of "little green men" in Australia and the American Southwest, and the sudden presence of unidentifiable objects on a collision course inside the Earth's core add up to the inescapable conclusion that the Earth has been invaded by an enemy it cannot fight. Powerfully and gracefully written, the latest novel by the author of Eon and Blood Music stands far above most examples of "doomsday" science fiction. Recommended. JC
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (February 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812524330
• ISBN-13: 978-0812524338
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,711,224 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

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting Novel That Leaves a Lasting Impression, September 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Forge of God (Mass Market Paperback)

Novels don't get much better than this. Bear really penned a true classic here. I've read many different versions of the end of the Earth, but this one truly spooked me. The aliens Bear creates are so thoroughly cold, calculating, and without compassion that even the mere possibility of a race like that in existance is a frightening thought. Also, the way that Bear has the aliens destroy the earth is chilling in itself. The methodology that they employ in setting up the Earth's destruction is simply unforgettable. But what really got me about this book was the human element that Bear employed. Though Bear didn't do deep character development, he did enough so that the reader could identify with them. As the end approached, I was able to feel the total helplessness, anger, dismay, and unjustness of it all that Bear conveyed through his characters. That Bear set one of the scenes of the end in Yosemite, one of my favorite places, just got me all the more. Ultimately, what Bear succeeded in doing was to not only have us face our own mortality, but to have us ponder just how precious life really is. I for one was not aware that I was so afraid of dying, and one of his character's desire to stay alive as long as possible to experience all that he could was a sentiment I myself would feel all the way to the frightening end. This book affected me in ways thousands of other novels could not, and has left a haunting impression. Highly reccommended to anyone who enjoys great writing at its absolute best.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Forge of God is the genuine article, April 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forge of God (Mass Market Paperback)

The Forge of God chronicles what has to be the most effective demolition of the Earth since it was pulverized to make way for a new hyperspatial bypass (see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.) It's a fascinating question - short of using some kind of implausible Death Star-like superweapon, how do you convincingly destroy an entire planet? Well, Greg Bear provides the answer. In the buildup to the main event, strange landings and encounters take place and confusion abounds among the hapless life forms inhabiting the surface, as things gain a truly ominous momentum. I found The Forge of God extremely compelling, in a downbeat sort of way; as usual, Greg Bear strikes a near-perfect balance between the science and the storytelling. One question still remained in my mind - why? Genocide, it must be said, is not unknown among us humans, yet we usually require a few centuries of tit-for-tat mayhem before taking this option. On the other hand, these are aliens we're dealing with, who might regard us much as we regard your average garden pest. A couple of final thoughts; firstly, for anyone who still thinks that nuclear weapons would "blow up the world X times" - no chance. Secondly, that all our eggs are still in one basket; for the sake of future generations, we must expand offworld. Just in case.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Starts off great, then disappoints, January 28, 2007

By 

JS (Wiesbaden, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Forge of God (Paperback)

I hate giving this book a bad review. I loved two other books by this author (Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children) and this one was highly recommended so I ordered it. But I was very disappointed here. [Some mild spoilers ahead] I'll try not to give anything important away, but while the book starts off as a wonderful mystery, it suddenly hangs and for the next 300 pages or so I was constantly waiting for the story to get going again, but it never did. The book is about an alien visit to our solar system, and a few of them make contact with the Australian and United States governments in the most exciting parts of the book. But after we learn just a little bit about these aliens, nothing is heard or seen from them directly again, EVER. Instead, the next 70% of the book describes events revolving around the main characters, where the characters are just spectators, and since they don't really do anything, I just don't care about them in the least. I thought this was going to change when in one brief scene, a group of people actually do something to fight back against the alien menace, but that scene was over in a couple of pages! C'mon! The Earth is threatened with complete annihilation and people just passively sit back and do nothing? Get real. Another reviewer here contrasted this book with Niven and Pournell's book "Footfall". Footfall is a good example of the incredible lengths people would go to (whether successful or not) to fight an overwhelming alien invader, and we should have seen someone in this book with a little desire to fight for survival. I know the US President in this book was an intentionally wimpy character, but there are a lot of folks in the US other than the president, and a lot of other countries in the world. If you read this book, I would recommend reading the first 25% or so, and the last couple of chapters, skipping the stuff in between. You don't miss much.