Many centuries ago, an alien race known as the Nar were able to recreate human beings from genetic code, broadcast from earth into outer space by abeleaguered humanity. Although the Nar are kind and benevolent masters tothe humans, discontent leads the humans to rebel, and the Nar realize thatthey do not yet fully understand their rebellious creations. They allow agroup of humans to travel millions of light years through the galaxy, in order to discover what has happened to the original occupants of planet earth. However, none of the human participants of the expedition are prepared for what awaits them at the completion of their journey...
Second Genesis
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About the Author
Donald Moffitt's first book was published in 1977, entitled 'The Jupiter Theft'. He has since had four more books published focussed on science fiction adventures and over 300,000 copies of these books were sold. This is his first book in over a decade.
--This text refers to the
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True SciFi Epic!,
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This review is from: Second Genesis (Mass Market Paperback)
I began reading Second Genesis long before I realized that there was a first book. I have yet to read the first book. This is a book that stands easily on its own and truly should be considered one of the classics of scifi literature. Imagine humanity achieving all its greatest dreams... conquering death and the distance between the stars. Humanity has spread across the galaxy with the power to literally break apart planets and reform whole star systems into habitable rings which double as massive radio telescopes spreading humanity's knowledge to other galaxies. Then, at the height of their power and knowledge... humanity simply vanishes. But the Nar, a race of strange but generous beings in a far galaxy, receives the messages sent by humanity, and begins to slowly adopt their technology and transform their culture. Until, one day, in gratitude for all that humanity has done for their race, they literally recreate humans from the genetic code embedded in the signals from space. And, of course, this distant outpost of newly created humans will soon long to know of their full history and origins. Just as adopted children, after coming of age, often seek out their biological parents, so does this adopted segment of humanity long to seek out its biological forebears. So begins "Second Genesis," the long and fascinating journey of hundreds, made newly immortal, traveling across unimaginable distances seeking to find where their biological forebears have gone. Its a book that really engages your imagination, more so than most any book you'll read. Why this one has not been adopted by the SciFi Channel for the creation of a miniseries, I have no idea. Someone please tell them they are missing a guaranteed winner. David Flanagan
4.0 out of 5 stars
A futuristic version of Roots,
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This review is from: Second Genesis (Paperback)
In Donald Moffitt's sequel to The Genesis Quest, Bram and his fellow humans are on their way to the home of Original Man, some thirty-seven million light years from the homeworld of the Nar. The humans were created by the Nar from the genetic code provided in a transmission that originated from the Milky Way. That story is told in The Genesis Quest and is summarized in chapter two of Second Genesis, a longish chapter you don't need to read if you've read and can recall the first novel. By the same token, the second chapter is so detailed that it's possible to read Second Genesis without reading The Genesis Quest first.
As they travel, the humans encounter an astronomical event that threatens the Nar worlds and the humans who remained with them. Much later, nearing the home of original man, they encounter a huge disc-shaped world, prompting an extended discussion of the engineering involved in its construction. A good chunk of the novel describes the archeological digs that enlighten the travelers about the lifestyles of Original Man. Additional adventures include contact with well-imagined insect-like aliens and confrontation of a crisis that threatens to doom the second incarnation of humankind. The novel ends with a nice symmetry that should please those who have read both novels. The most serious problem with The Genesis Quest is its wordiness. Moffitt could have eliminated about 40 percent of the text, leaving a tightly spun story of mankind's search for its roots. Moffitt tends to get carried away with science lectures. For that reason, the narrative sometimes tends to drag, although a welcome dose of action in the last third of the novel brings the story back to life. Moffitt isn't particularly skilled at crafting sentences -- the novel has an unpolished feel -- but the writing style is an improvement over his first novel, The Jupiter Theft. As always, his human characters lack individual personalities. The novel's strength is the powerful imagination Moffitt brings to his epic view of the future, particularly with regard to evolutionary responses to extinction events. Most fans of future histories and space opera should enjoy Second Genesis.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Spans a million years...and takes just as long,
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This review is from: Second Genesis (Paperback)
I really enjoyed the prequel to this novel (Genesis Quest) because of its fascinating portrayal of an alien society and its relationship with its human creations. So I really looked forward to reading this book...but alas, it was not nearly as good.
One of the reviewers asked why this book isn't considered a classic in the league with Asimov's Foundation. I'll tell you why: it is a book only an astrophysicist could love. The first 3rd of the book seemed to take forever. There are pages and pages of dialog, exposition and description about orbits, propulsion, space maneuvers etc. I really began to skim a lot. Because of this, my involvement was superficial. In fact the author did not spend a lot of time making these characters come to life. They are mostly just abstractions--vehicles to tell a story that spans millions of years. Oh yes, did I mention that these characters are immortal, which makes them seem even less three-dimensional. It was an interesting travelogue as the ship skirted a black hole and discovered Original Man's artifacts. But the only time I felt emotional involvement was to be scared sleepless when the travelers encounter the horrors that Original Man's genetic meddling have unleashed on the galaxy. And still, even when the characters are fighting for their lives, the prose is weighted down with minutiae of engineering and physics. I realize that it is very difficult to tell a story that spans millennia. Perhaps it could have been handled better as a series of generational epics. The Foundation series is a collection of novellas. Perhaps if Asimov's entire future history had been seen through the eyes of one set of characters, it might have been compared with this book. But it probably wouldn't have been as good, and it certainly wouldn't have been the Foundation series we know and love. A reviewer says that this is not a galactic shoot-em-up. I agree on this point. In fact Moffett's characters, having been created and reared by the empathic Nar, have no conception of violence or defending themselves against hostile species. We have humans who can traverse light-years....trying to invent a bow and arrow. Hmm. "This book spans millennia...and takes just as long to read."
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