Neptune Crossing (Chaos Chronicles) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeffrey A. Carver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1995 | Series: Chaos Chronicles (Book 1)

When John Bandicut sets out across the surface of Triton, he's hardly ready for the storm of chaos that's about to blow through his life. The alien quarx that soon inhabits his mind is humanity's first contact with an alien life. The quarx, part of an ancient galactic civilization that manipulates chaos theory to predict catastrophic events, seeks to prevent a cometary collision that could destroy the Earth. But it must have help. If Bandicut chooses to trust the quarx, he must break all the rules--indeed, sacrifice his life as he knows it--to prevent humanity's greatest cataclysm. Leaving friends and lover behind, hurtling across the solar system in a stolen spaceship, Bandicut can only pray that his actions will save the Earth--even if he doesn't live to see it again. From the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity's End.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this promising series kickoff about an astronaut exploring the surface of Neptune's moon, Triton, Carver ( Dragons in the Stars ) masterfully captures the joy of exploration, although the story itself follows a fairly standard save-the-world plot. Pilot John Bandicut has been cut off from his internal link to the "datanet" by faulty technology, leaving him subject to maddening "silence-fugues." His need for contact makes him a perfect candidate for a symbiotic relationship with the alien quarx, who are trying to save humanity from a mysterious disaster threatening Earth. The quarx, creations whose understanding of Terran culture comes mostly from monitoring old TV and radio programs, have a certain gee-whiz quality, although their interactions with the datanet are intriguing. A rather adolescent love story combines amusingly with an unlikely case of xenophobia, and a fiery conclusion sets Bandicut up for further adventures in yet another alien world, where Carver may find greater room to employ his gift for the fine rendering of difficult scientific concepts.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Attached to a research and mining project on Triton, John Bandicut becomes the reluctant "host" of an alien mind who needs him as a vehicle to save Earth from a cosmic catastrophe. The author of Dragons in the Stars (Tor Bks., 1992) and The Infinity Link (Bluejay Bks., 1984) excels at exuberant storytelling as he explores the very real day-to-day problems of playing host to an internal guest. Hard-science aficionados will delight in the story's focus on chaos theory; general sf fans will appreciate the adventure and mood. A good purchase for most libraries.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 383 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812535154
• ISBN-13: 978-0812535150
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #741,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kindle readers: Would you like a glimpse behind the scenes of my writing of The Chaos Chronicles? The ebook versions of Neptune Crossing, Strange Attractors, and The Infinite Sea now include all-new Afterwords--my reflections on the evolution of the series and my experience in writing each book. I've kept the prices low on these editions to encourage you to give them a try if you're new to my work. I hope you enjoy them!

Here's a little about me:

A Midwesterner by birth and upbringing (I grew up in Huron, Ohio), I've lived in New England ever since attending college at Brown University, in Rhode Island. Now I live outside Boston with my wife and daughters, and also with a boxer named Hermione and a cat named Moonlight.

I've loved science fiction since I first began to read, and from the time I began writing, I always knew my first love was going to be SF. I'm not sure where you'd place me as a writer: I love astronomy and cosmology and hard SF concepts, and yet the characters are the most important thing to me in any story, whether it's a story I'm reading or a story I'm writing. It's the people, and the sense of wonder, that have always made science fiction--and science!--so awe-inspiring to me. Basically, I have always tried to write stories that I would want to read myself.

Some years ago, I developed and hosted on the air an educational TV series fo r middle-school classrooms, called Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy--teaching kids the basics of how to turn ideas into stories. That later turned into a computer-based course called, oddly enough, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. In 2005, I decided it was about time to put the information online as a public service, available for free to any aspiring writer. It's online now, and you can use it anytime you like, just by going to http://www.writesf.com.

I also invite you to stop by and read my regular blog, at http://starrigger.blogspot.com, or my web site at http://www.starrigger.net.

Thanks for visiting! And please take a look at the video trailer for my novel Sunborn. If you'd like to view it in full-screen for full effect, you can do that at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K03RMcSeiY4.

--Jeffrey A. Carver

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh... a page-turner, September 2, 2003

By 

IHiJump "ihijump" (Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Neptune Crossing (Chaos Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second Jeffrey Carver book I've read. The first was Infinity Link with wich I wasn't too impressed... but thought it had potential.

I came across Carver's collection in our local library and picked up Neptune Crossing with the hopes I might have a good series to read. I wasn't disappointed.

The fact is, different people expect different things from a sci fi book. To me, Neptune Crossing never ceased to be interesting. There weren't side stories that bored you... it was "in your face" throughout and I found myself glued to the book. Carver developed a believeable character in John Bandicut and placed him in a position we'd all like to be in... he had to save humanity.

This book is a great read. It gives you a glimpse into our potential future with the computer. I highly recommend it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, July 22, 2000

By 

netkat - See all my reviews

This review is from: Neptune Crossing (Chaos Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

I disagree with many of the reviews here. I think this is a great book, because Carver is a good storyteller. The three books in this series (soon to be a fourth) are interesting due to the characters and the universe they inhabit. It reminds me of the Roche World Series (Robert Forward), somewhat Heinleinesqe, and yet it is all his own. I think you will find books two and three in the series are a bit better, but this first novel will get you interested!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book -- Read this and the Sequels, January 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Neptune Crossing (Chaos Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book combines hard sci-fi with a bit of humor to create an interesting story. Keeps you interested and wanting for more, which is provided in the sequels. Maybe alien "inhabitation" of human minds isn't so bad after all...