Terraforming Earth (Hardcover)

by Jack Williamson (Author) "We are clones..." (more)
Key Phrases: maternity lab, holo father, bolo tank, Tycho Station, Uncle Pen, North America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The OED credits SF Grand Master Williamson (The Humanoids; The Legion of Time; Drago's Island; Darker Than You Think) for coining the term "terraforming" (in his 1942 novel, Seetee Ship) to describe an alien world altered for human habitation. With the terraforming of Earth itself, the original concept now gets an oblique and awesome twist well over half a century later. Williamson's skill at speculative fiction is once again evident in this far-future saga of mankind's destiny, previously serialized in Analog and Science Fiction Age. Driven by the potential threat of asteroids, wealthy eccentric Calvin DeFort set up a robot-run moonbase, Tycho Station, with frozen tissue specimens of plant and animal life. The value of this "safety net for Earth" becomes evident when a devastating asteroid impact brings a new Ice Age. Eventually, clones of the few survivors study their past history and train to reseed the planet by sowing the scarred surface with life-bombs. Bringing the gift of life, biologist Tanya and pilot Pepe are rewarded with death in the hostile environment. A million years later, more clones continue the mission. Earth evolves. A new civilization arises and crumbles. Generations of clones march through the millennia, continuing to examine the planet's riddles and ever-changing enigmas, even as Earth is on the ascendant. Throughout, poetic undercurrents permeate this masterful work by a superb chronicler of the cosmic. (July 16)Forecast: Over the decades Williamson has collected legions of fans (he published his first SF, the short story "The Metal Man," in 1928). Positive reviews plus word-of-mouth will send these loyal readers into bookstores in search of this imaginative foray into the future.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
From their home on the moon's Tycho Base, a group of clones descendants of the last humans to survive a cataclysmic asteroid impact that destroyed life on Earth view their ancestors' home and anticipate their duties to begin life again on the planet their species once called home. This latest novel by the grand old man of sf (his career began in 1928!) uses a timely theme the collision of a killer asteroid with Earth as a springboard for exploring the far-reaching consequences of such a disaster, both for Earth and for any survivors. Fans of hard science and old-fashioned sf adventure should enjoy this vividly imagined tale of life at the far end of time. For most sf collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (July 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312872003
• ISBN-13: 978-0312872007
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,043,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner..., March 16, 2002

By	Michael Hoffman (Melbourne, AUS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book in one sitting. Sadly, not because it was so good, but because I read page after page hoping the book would live up to the promise of the topic and of the author's name.

It didn't. Had the book come from any "lesser" author, I would have settled for 3 stars. But coming from Williamson it was such a let-down I can only give it 1 star.

The characters were unlikeable, indecisive caricatures.

- The perky Hispanic pilot/engineer stereotype who drops some Spanish exclamation more often than Scotty saying "the engines cannae tek it, cap'n". Asexual it seems, or such a sideshow token that the author doesn't care whether he has a love life or not.

- The domineering bully Teuton/Norse who really is a coward - and yet always attracts the girls and becomes the alpha-male. Being German myself this pathetic cartoon really grated.

- The intelligent can-do Asian scientist woman who just can't help herself falling for the Germanic guy above. Or declaring her love for the narrator, but still jumping into bed with alpha-hombre (no not the Hispanic guy)

- The dreamy librarian girl, unattractive and caring only for her books. But she often as not ends up in a menage a troi with the previous two.

- The Asian-African-American who forces himself on to the crew to escape the original Armageddon with his girlfriend. Probably the most likeable of the unlikeable bunch, though his obsession with his girlfriend takes on "Jungian archetype" elements in the way he nearly deifies her. (and the books ending doesn't help that one bit).

- His girlfriend, the goddess-whore stereotype. Saint Mary Magdalene. Nuff said.

- And finally, our narrator, who never seems to DO anything. Not because he a coward, like Herr Wotan above, but because I just felt like kicking him in the behind half the time and get him to do *anything* but fret. When everybody else goes nanotech Nirvana he stays behind, writes his memoirs and ... frets.

There was no feeling of the vast expanses of time that had passed (something Theodore Sturgeon excelled in). As far as I'm concerned the way the passing of time was described, it covered a few months, with it's extremely brief snapshots of events that the characters partake in. Yes, then you get some brief "eons pass"-kind of filler sentence, but blink while reading and you miss it. Very easy to blink, while trying to stay awake...

On top of it all, no explanation on how the heck the moon base stays operative for millions upon millions of years. Just some handwaving "fusion power with water from the moon caps", "nanotechnology keeping it all repaired" and "robots as nurses and teachers".

One thing the book suceeded in, was to evoke that "what would I do" feeling. For me it was: wipe out the bloody gene bank as Earth and the universe would be better off not being replenished every few million years by this bunch of losers.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A quick, easy read (and not too filling!), August 31, 2001

By	C. ANZIULEWICZ "Chuck Anziulewicz" (Spring Hill, WV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Two things prompted me to check out this book: (1) The cool cover -- I'm a sucker for good sci-fi artwork. (2) The jacket notes -- I'm also a sucker for post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Anyway, I must admit that the only thing by Williamson I've read before this book was "The Moon Children" back in the early 70s, so I really can't make too many comparisons. But like "The Moon Children," "Terraforming Earth" seems somewhat geared to a younger audience. It's easy reading, and most readers could probably finish it in a day or three. I found the story to be a bit tenuous at times, there were some events and circumstances that the author left insufficiently explained, and the ending (involving the transcendence of our physical forms as human beings) has been done better elsewhere. But the book kept my attention, and I'm glad I read it, so THREE STARS. If you know any older teens who enjoy visionary sci-fi, "Terraforming Earth" would make a nice gift.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Disappointment from a Grand Master, May 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Terraforming Earth (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is really four novelettes retrofitted around "The Ultimate Earth," a novelette which (inexplicably) won all sorts of awards. Like a lot of "novels" that are jury-rigged around extended short stories, this one has all the weaknesses and few of the strengths that other such novels have. (The best novel of this kind is Fred Pohl's Years of the City, a clear masterpiece.) I found the only good section of this book to be the first. It sets up a remarkable premise and sets about unfolding it rather well. But by the time the book ends, you really don't know who is who and the far future earth seems more like modern-day Africa. Not a single imaginative trope in sight.

This would be an excellent first book, however. Unfortunately, it isn't. The five star ratings this book has received clearly are given to the man and not the work. This isn't a good place to start with one's reading of Jack Williamson.