- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Aspect (May 11 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446529834
- ISBN-13: 978-0446529839
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,778,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Intellectual playfulness and lively writing propel British authors Stewart and Cohen's second SF novel (after 2000's Wheelers), with its exuberant picture of a galaxy full of wildly different intelligent beings. Space is also littered with the potentially dangerous relics of the Precursors, an extinct race whose science was so advanced that it resembled magic. To keep these tools or weapons out of the wrong hands, the church of Cosmic Unity tries to join all races in peaceful cooperation. That's how Servant-of-Unity XIV Samuel sees the situation, even though nomadic Neanderthal star traders and aquatic natives of the planet No Moon distrust Cosmic Unity's methods. By the time Sam realizes that Cosmic Unity's version of heaven resembles a hell designed by Hieronymus Bosch, a lot of suffering has occurred and more is on the way. Since this is basically a novel of ideas, readers will forgive some underdeveloped characters and actions, as the authors focus on big, juicy chunks of extrapolation. Apparently the reverse of the old saying is true: for evil to triumph, it's only necessary for good men to try to do everything. Since that's an unfortunately timely message, the book is not just a satisfying brainteaser but actually might make readers think.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Description
The internationally renowned scientists who wrote Wheelers and The Collapse of Chaos team up again to pen an intriguing new SF novel. All Second-Best Sailor wants is to sail his boat and trade with the wandering Neanderthals. But when the reefwives discover that a Cosmic Unity mission fleet is heading for his homeworld, his comfortable lifestyle vanishes in an instant. All Servant-of-Unity XIV Samuel wants is to help spread Cosmic Unity's message of harmony to a grateful galaxy. But the ecclesiarchs decide that Samuel is destined for greater things. Flung together by fate, the two men find themselves on opposite sides of a battle for the hearts and minds of every sentient creature in the galaxy. Together, they uncover Cosmic Unity's deepest secret, and come up with a kamikaze plan to fight off the invaders. But along the way, they will need help from the unlikeliest of allies.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Riot of Ideas,
By
This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)
"Heaven," by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, is a science-fiction novel of ideas. Its philosophical themes include the mimetics of religion, quantum-mechanical entanglement, and the ecology of mind. But this is no dry academic exercise: it takes the reader on a wild ride with an exciting plot, psychologically plausible characters, and a galaxy full of truly amazing aliens. If you are looking for well-written speculative fiction that tickles your brain cells, you'll really love this book!
5.0 out of 5 stars
science fiction at its best,
By
This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)
HEAVEN is about religion & ecology. Reminiscent of how the Spanish conquerors of the Incas & Aztecs decided that it was much to the Indians' benefit to be killed to save their immortal souls. Stewart's & Cohen's far distant future saga is the story of one such war, & how the parts are definitely fragments of a greater wholeness.Rebeccasreads recommends HEAVEN as a riveting & enthralling science fiction story & like no other place you've ever imagined!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews) 12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Riot of Ideas,
By Michael Gunther - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)
"Heaven," by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, is a science-fiction novel of ideas. Its philosophical themes include the mimetics of religion, quantum-mechanical entanglement, and the ecology of mind. But this is no dry academic exercise: it takes the reader on a wild ride with an exciting plot, psychologically plausible characters, and a galaxy full of truly amazing aliens. If you are looking for well-written speculative fiction that tickles your brain cells, you'll really love this book!
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
science fiction at its best,
By Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Heaven (Hardcover)
HEAVEN is about religion & ecology. Reminiscent of how the Spanish conquerors of the Incas & Aztecs decided that it was much to the Indians' benefit to be killed to save their immortal souls. Stewart's & Cohen's far distant future saga is the story of one such war, & how the parts are definitely fragments of a greater wholeness.Rebeccasreads recommends HEAVEN as a riveting & enthralling science fiction story & like no other place you've ever imagined! 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
interesting ideas presented in a clunky manner,
By Rachel Thern "kiravae" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)
At the beginning of Heaven, a group of characters of various species are about to confront an unknown threat, a religion that presents itself as benevolent but leaves clues that it may not be. The religion, Cosmic Unity, with its centralized authority and its emphasis on the sacrifice of individual comfort for the greater good, has some similarities to both the Catholic Church and Communism. In Cosmic Unity's zeal to convert all sentient species in the galaxy, they have on occasion commited huge acts of violence against species that resist. Their version of the Golden Rule involves inflicting what they "know" to be in other's best interest, rather than what others would want for themselves. The authors blame these acts on church members' adherence to a virulent and flawed "memeplex" (as they call it), rather than on personal ethical failings, which could be argued either way.
The characters are likeable but not much time is spent on character development. The authors' strength is imagining the biology of many different species that could exist in the galaxy. Their weakness is in imagining different kinds of psychology. It doesn't make sense that a religion started in part by humans would appeal across such a wide spectrum of life forms while humans' closest relative, Neanderthals (rescued from Earth by sentient ships) would be the strongest holdouts. It is also not believable that so many beings would tolerate a religion where they are kept in the dark as to what the central authority is doing. The authors want to present the idea that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" when it could as easily be in this case "power corrupts". Despite a failure of believability it's hard to totally dislike a book which has, halfway through the story, a scene in which a squid lost in a desert meets a sentient pond and they discuss the mind-body problem. |
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