Seveneves
A Novel
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4.3 • 179 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years.
What would happen if the world were ending?
A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .
Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.
A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Thanks to Neal Stephenson, you’ll be looking up at the moon glad it’s in one piece. The sci-fi heavyweight blows it to bits in the first line of Seveneves, a millennia-spanning epic. Our moon’s destruction puts humanity on a two-year extermination countdown and launches a frenzied quest to build the Cloud Ark—a network of pods around the International Space Station that will house a select group of people. Stephenson’s doomsday scenario enthralled us. Seemingly small decisions ripple out in thrilling, sometimes terrifying ways as we follow seven races of tenacious survivors who've been engineered to give us a second, tech-laden chance on Earth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stephenson's remarkable novel is deceptively complex, a disaster story and transhumanism tale that serves as the delivery mechanism for a series of technical and sociological visions. When the moon explodes, it doesn't take long for scientists (including Doc "Doob" Dubois, who bears no small resemblance to Neil DeGrasse Tyson) to realize that the debris will soon cause the destruction of Earth. The residents of the International Space Station, including roboticist Dinah MacQuarie and commander Ivy Xiao, immediately begin working with their colleagues on Earth to turn the ISS into a viable habitat for as many people as possible. The next two years are filled with heroic sacrifices, political upheavals, and disasters, most of which are only exacerbated when Earth finally succumbs to the "Hard Rain," meteorite bombardment that last for millennia. The survivors seven fertile women are destined to repopulate the human race, and it's only here, over halfway through the story, that Stephenson (the Baroque Cycle) really shows his hand, moving ahead 5,000 years to explore the moral and political implications of the earlier events. There's a ton to digest, but Stephenson's lucid prose makes it worth the while.
Customer Reviews
Very good and entertaining…for the most part
I am a fan of Neal Stephenson and I have read many of his books. I enjoy his prose style as well as meticulous approach to describing environment, characters and the way he sets up situations.
The first two parts of the book do an excellent job of weaving into the story a primer on the orbital mechanics involved in launching people into space, moving them around around the solar system, space station technology, human in space issues as well as the process through which the exploded moon would eventually rain down fragments on earth. He manages to do that while developing his main characters and telling a compelling story from individual human perspective as well as humanity.
The last part of the bok (the 5,000 year jump) has a good story to tell about humanity’s resilience and some of its less admirable flaws. However, I feel that the story takes second seat to some times excessively long winded and elaborate descriptions of space habitats or means of moving people around or back down to earth. I have noted and annoying tendency of Stephenson to repeat certain phrases (eg. « in another words » or « that meant » ). In fact this part reminds me of the last section of Anathem (another of his otherwise excellent novels).
Despite a last section that is not as strong as the first two (in my opinion), The overall product is excellent and I highly recommend it.
Great until end
Well written sci-fi. The detail on science actually adds to the story. Parts 1 and 2 develop the characters well. Part 3 feels like it was a rushed so the author could go do something else. Too bad.
Spectacularly raw, real, apocalyptic and yet joyful!
First book in the last 10 years I couldn’t put down. And the first book I read in one day because of how good it was. Wake up, coffee, read, more coffee, move to couch, read, beg my children to bring me snacks, briefly nap, drink more coffee, read, throw money at children to go the bakery and the store to get simple supper food. Eat. Chat with kids to let them know I still acknowledge their presence. Give kids money to go get candy/snacks from the store for dessert and to keep them busy eating it for a couple hours. Me reading all the time. Eventually get kids to bed. Lay down in my bed, read until I’m done. Best. Day. Ever!!! Read it. :-)