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Great Sky River (Galactic Center Book 3) by [Benford, Gregory]

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Great Sky River (Galactic Center Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Gregory Benford (Author)

26 customer reviews

Book 3 of 6 in Galactic Center (6 Book Series)

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The third novel in the award-winning author's classic Galactic Center series is available once again. "A challenging, pacesetting work of hard science fiction that should not be missed."--"Los Angeles Times."

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Length: 468 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible book: Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $7.90 when you buy the Kindle book. Available

Complete Series

Galactic Center (6 Book Series)

Gregory Benford

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Product details

File Size: 629 KB
Print Length: 468 pages
Publisher: Aspect (October 14, 2009)
Publication Date: October 31, 2009
Language: English
ASIN: B002SRL3AE
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,544 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #193 in Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Space Opera
- #397 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Aliens
- #595 in Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Aliens

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T. R. LAVALLEY

I've probably recommended this book more than any other since the first time I read it!

December 8, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One of the best Novels I've ever read, not Sci Fi novels, but Novels. I think most readers of the genre would agree with me that the problem with Sci Fi is that the authors in the Genre are often lacking in the human aspect of their writing. PK Dick comes to mind, his Dialog often being just awful. Greg brings a very rare understand of the Human aspects of his stories to his Fiction, as well as the firm understanding of the Science of a real Scientist. I'll leave it to other reviewers to lay out the basics of the plot, but I promise you this book will really make you think. I've probably recommended this book more than any other since the first time I've read it 15 years ago. The Story of the Bishops is well worth your time and attention.

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August 8, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This was the first book in the series I ever read and probably my favorite. I picked this up about 10 years ago and it gave me nightmares for years so I recently decided to re-read it. The background is a small group of humans on a planet which has gone "mech". To try and survive, humans increasingly replaced their bodies with robot parts. It's not enough: the machines are faster, smarter, and their motivations largely incomprehensible as they hunt the survivors down. Eventually, they come to understand part of the reason they are being hunted, cut to pieces, and brain dumped. It's not because humans are a threat; they are shown an art museum full of "deconstructed" and "reinterpreted" primitive human components where they add to the collection nicely. This was a very believable "hard sci-fi" novel which laid out a terrifying and bleak possible future. I also liked the way the "mechs" were made to feel genuinely alien and incomprehensible. In contrast to some other reviewers, I liked that the survivors had their own dialect and strange way of talking, I felt it added to the realism. Overall I would highly recommend it as a memorable and interesting read (though I was less impressed with the rest of the series). As a stand-alone novel I think this holds up well.

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Science fiction with a strong literary sensibility. And giant robots fighting.

August 1, 2009

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book certainly employs some familiar elements: humanity in conflict with a machine culture intent on their destruction, a male protagonist who is something of a rebel and a loner, a "Road Warrior"-type setting with a scavenger band on the run through a devastated landscape. There is quite a bit of action and excitement, including human vs. human and humans vs. robot combat(!) I was reminded very much of "Terminator", at first. What sets the book apart from such fare is the richness of the language used, the complexity of the literary technique, the large scale imagining of an epic galactic conflict of civilizations, and the depth and seriousness with which the science and technology is treated. Ultimately, the novel has some ambitious things to say about human nature, and puts out some very intriguing speculations about the nature of life, intelligence, technology, and the future of human civilization.

One of the important things to know about this book is that it is a challenging read. The story is told entirely from the very limited perspective of the protagonist. His perceptions form the boundary of the reader's understanding of the world he is in and what is happening. Therefore, the reader must piece together the "real" story from the bits and pieces that can be assembled. This technique is fairly typical of serious literature, but rarer in the more commercial/popular field of science fiction.

There is almost no exposition at all. One example of this is that the planet the book is set on is apparently in orbit a sun, that in turn is in around a black hole. This is never explicitly stated as such, however, and the reader must figure this out through the subjective descriptions, using the very specific proper-nouns the characters employ. In many cases, events take place that the reader has a hard time piecing together, due to the very limited viewpoint of the character.

That, plus the fairly "literary" use of language makes this book quite a challenging read. I put it down after the first 50 pages, not yet drawn in to the rich world that is actually waiting withing the book.

Great Sky River isn't perfect. Some of the characters are a bit shallow, some of the language is too florid and metaphoric (especially the love scene! blech!). But that shouldn't stop you at all from reading this, if you are looking for science fiction with some serious literary aspirations. And giant robots.

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June 7, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have this book in hardcover,yet I wanted to purchase it for my e-reader as well. I would say that I have read this book/story at least 10 times since 1989, when I read it for the first time. As with all books, some folks love it, and there are folks who hate it. This one is my all-time fav sci-fi book.

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LESLIE D. DeHay

... was a gift but he is one of my favorite authors. Will certainly make you think

September 8, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

It was a gift but he is one of my favorite authors. Will certainly make you think.

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March 7, 2016

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is my favorite book from the Benford galactic series.

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September 1, 2013

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

I received it quickly and in perfect condition. The book itself is very good, I already read the two first volumes of the Galactic Center in French version (my mothertongue) and they were excellent so I wanted to read G. Benford in his original language. I am not disappointed at all!

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December 25, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is probably my 3rd time reading these books. Read them all and read them in order. Benford is truly brilliant at defining humanness.

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