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danielmbensen's review
5.0
Wow! What a pleasure this book was to read! It gave me everything I want from science fiction: aspiration, characters caught in heartbreaking dilemmas, and the opportunity to learn something true. I can give no better enticement to read this book than a glance at its list of Dramatis Personae, which include "Clio Trgorin, historian," "Lori Kirsten, commander," and "General Gurix Zowakou, conqueror of Shulath." WHAT? Yeah. Read it!
mrbear30021's review
5.0
A rare five star review from me. A rating I reserve for the very best of the best.
How can I describe this story without sounding like a slobbering fanboy? I really can't!
Excellent characters and plots.
We have a series of characters who we see train long and hard to become the best that they can be, not smarmy playboys who save the world while dropping witty puns. Men and women, both human and extraterrestrial, struggle together to survive some pretty hair raising situations.
World building on a level I haven't seen in quite a while.
Part of what makes this so believable is that there is nothing unbelievable that is portrayed. Real science used to developed extra-solar worlds that read so well, I almost think I could find encyclopedia entries on them. Science in science fiction that makes sense because it is based on sound theories and principles. Plus we get taken on a tour of the Moon by someone who was there. I will point out that since this story was written, we've learned more about Mars. Some of what is presented, while based on sound theories from the day, have since been shown to be inaccurate. But... in context of the story, read very well even today.
This is not a book to curl up with on a rainy day. This is a book to carry everywhere you go and take every free moment you have to keep reading until you are done. You may even want to reread it. I did, several times since it was first published in paperback. I still have my original paperback, but now read the ebook version so my beloved book doesn't fall apart from overuse.
I cannot recommend this story enough. Even though I've read it many times before, it still draws me in and captures my attention. I think sometimes that this story is what the phrase "future history" was created for. The shame is that We, the people of Earth, did not live up to the promise that was possible when the story was written. Real history is passing this story by but it is showing that, in many respects, the authors got aspects right.
How can I describe this story without sounding like a slobbering fanboy? I really can't!
Excellent characters and plots.
We have a series of characters who we see train long and hard to become the best that they can be, not smarmy playboys who save the world while dropping witty puns. Men and women, both human and extraterrestrial, struggle together to survive some pretty hair raising situations.
World building on a level I haven't seen in quite a while.
Part of what makes this so believable is that there is nothing unbelievable that is portrayed. Real science used to developed extra-solar worlds that read so well, I almost think I could find encyclopedia entries on them. Science in science fiction that makes sense because it is based on sound theories and principles. Plus we get taken on a tour of the Moon by someone who was there. I will point out that since this story was written, we've learned more about Mars. Some of what is presented, while based on sound theories from the day, have since been shown to be inaccurate. But... in context of the story, read very well even today.
This is not a book to curl up with on a rainy day. This is a book to carry everywhere you go and take every free moment you have to keep reading until you are done. You may even want to reread it. I did, several times since it was first published in paperback. I still have my original paperback, but now read the ebook version so my beloved book doesn't fall apart from overuse.
I cannot recommend this story enough. Even though I've read it many times before, it still draws me in and captures my attention. I think sometimes that this story is what the phrase "future history" was created for. The shame is that We, the people of Earth, did not live up to the promise that was possible when the story was written. Real history is passing this story by but it is showing that, in many respects, the authors got aspects right.
hisham's review
5.0
This book follows the story of two families as they journey from their homes to a distant star.
One family from Earth, a story told over several generations. One family from a world Humans will call Tiber, a family formed by bonds of comradery, friendship and later mating.
Earth: A world brought together in an epic race to the moon and later beyond after receiving a message from Alpha Centauri from a civilisation that explored the stars thousands of years ago.
Tiber: A world grasping at interstellar straws in the face of certain future doom.
Flipping between different eras, worlds and generations. Encounter with Tiber explores what could have been, in terms of humanity heading into space (Technological development, national rivalries, Commercial Space based operations etc...), as well as themes of sentience, slavery, first encounter morality and more.
This novel is one of my all time favourites, as it combines realistic ideas of space science/orbital mechanics with a great story that has an edge of the fantastical about it.
One family from Earth, a story told over several generations. One family from a world Humans will call Tiber, a family formed by bonds of comradery, friendship and later mating.
Earth: A world brought together in an epic race to the moon and later beyond after receiving a message from Alpha Centauri from a civilisation that explored the stars thousands of years ago.
Tiber: A world grasping at interstellar straws in the face of certain future doom.
Flipping between different eras, worlds and generations. Encounter with Tiber explores what could have been, in terms of humanity heading into space (Technological development, national rivalries, Commercial Space based operations etc...), as well as themes of sentience, slavery, first encounter morality and more.
This novel is one of my all time favourites, as it combines realistic ideas of space science/orbital mechanics with a great story that has an edge of the fantastical about it.
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