If the Stars Are Gods [Mass Market Paperback]

Gregory Benford (Author), Gordon Eklund (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 1955

The complete version of he unforgettable masterpiece that went from Nebula Award-winner to timeless classic...

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

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (May 5, 1955)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425037614
• ISBN-13: 978-0425037614
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,660,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging challenge to traditional ideas of alien life., March 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: If the Stars Are Gods (Paperback)

We take an enjoyable and memorable journey with an astronaut researcher searching for life beyond Earth. His first encounter with an alien species is hilarious at times. This lasts only temporarily, as the aliens soon present intriguing ideas about how immense and common other life is. The story concludes in grand fashion, as the main character discovers other life beyond anything he could have imagined. There are few dull moments, as we try to figure out just where we're headed. The answer is simple and easy to accept in the end, but is still fascinating and intriguing.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ideas, poor execution: read "Heart of the Comet", June 25, 2001

By 

Vanessa (Park Slope) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If the Stars Are Gods (Paperback)

I've read several of Greg Benford's novels, and although this novel tackles some interesting ideas, on the whole it is sketchy, underdeveloped and lacks continuity. This might have been more entertaining if the authors had stuck with one segment and worked through it. The action is nonexsistent, extended over nearly one hundred years and broken up into 20-25 page chapters for each time period. The characters are few, two-dimensional, and unsympathetic. Plotlines are too many and undeveloped, (none of the aliens stick around for more than a few pages, nothing is taken to any kind of a logical conclusion.) Finally, there is a very unsatisfying ending. You might want to try reading "Heart of the comet," which Benford co-wrote with David Brin.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The authors can't agree on the hero's age..................., December 30, 2002

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If the stars are gods (Hardcover)

Yeah, I'm nitpicking, but there sure is an age discrepency in the 2nd and in the next to last parts of the book. In the 2nd part, he's in his fifties, but his age as stated doesn't agree with his age at the beginning, using the dates assigned to each part. And in the next to last part, His age is given first as 95 (which agrees with the time frame} and at the mid point as 127.

Small detail, but indicative that this book gives an appearance of not being well planned. It has an interesting concept which appeals to my metaphysical nature, but it just doesn't follow through. All the same, it is a good read for the heavy science-fiction reader, but not recommended to the more discerning.