Heaven [Mass Market Paperback]

Ian Stewart (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: HACHETTE BOOK @GRP TIME WARNER (2004)
• ASIN: B000PKR3ZA
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Riot of Ideas, June 29, 2004

By 

Michael Gunther (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)

"Heaven," by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, is a science-fiction novel of ideas. Its philosophical themes include the mimetics of religion, quantum-mechanical entanglement, and the ecology of mind. But this is no dry academic exercise: it takes the reader on a wild ride with an exciting plot, psychologically plausible characters, and a galaxy full of truly amazing aliens. If you are looking for well-written speculative fiction that tickles your brain cells, you'll really love this book!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars science fiction at its best, May 12, 2004

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)

HEAVEN is about religion & ecology. Reminiscent of how the Spanish conquerors of the Incas & Aztecs decided that it was much to the Indians' benefit to be killed to save their immortal souls. Stewart's & Cohen's far distant future saga is the story of one such war, & how the parts are definitely fragments of a greater wholeness.

Rebeccasreads recommends HEAVEN as a riveting & enthralling science fiction story & like no other place you've ever imagined!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting ideas presented in a clunky manner, February 7, 2007

By 

Rachel Thern "kiravae" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)

At the beginning of Heaven, a group of characters of various species are about to confront an unknown threat, a religion that presents itself as benevolent but leaves clues that it may not be. The religion, Cosmic Unity, with its centralized authority and its emphasis on the sacrifice of individual comfort for the greater good, has some similarities to both the Catholic Church and Communism. In Cosmic Unity's zeal to convert all sentient species in the galaxy, they have on occasion commited huge acts of violence against species that resist. Their version of the Golden Rule involves inflicting what they "know" to be in other's best interest, rather than what others would want for themselves. The authors blame these acts on church members' adherence to a virulent and flawed "memeplex" (as they call it), rather than on personal ethical failings, which could be argued either way.

The characters are likeable but not much time is spent on character development. The authors' strength is imagining the biology of many different species that could exist in the galaxy. Their weakness is in imagining different kinds of psychology. It doesn't make sense that a religion started in part by humans would appeal across such a wide spectrum of life forms while humans' closest relative, Neanderthals (rescued from Earth by sentient ships) would be the strongest holdouts. It is also not believable that so many beings would tolerate a religion where they are kept in the dark as to what the central authority is doing. The authors want to present the idea that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" when it could as easily be in this case "power corrupts".

Despite a failure of believability it's hard to totally dislike a book which has, halfway through the story, a scene in which a squid lost in a desert meets a sentient pond and they discuss the mind-body problem.