"Eater": Tasteless, Dry, and Hard to Digest
"Eater": Tasteless, Dry, and Hard to Digest
If monuments were erected for great disappointments, then the one built for Gregory Benford’s “Eater” would be a national treasure.
I’ve come to expect a lot from Gregory Benford. Over the course of his career, he has firmly entrenched himself as one of the grand masters of hard science fiction. “Artifact,” one of Benford’s earlier works remains one of my all-time science fiction favorites, and Zanussi ZCG 556 I simply adored “The Martian Race,” Benford’s last great (and successful) effort. So, when I heard about the release of “Eater”, it rocketed right to the top of my list of must-reads.
The Автосигнализации premise of “Eater” is first rate. Amy Major, a bright young astronomer makes an incredible discovery — an astronomical anomaly so bizarre Долгожители that it will soon attract worldwide attention, and, ultimately, terror. What she has discovered, is sentience — in the form of a wandering black iClick digital camera digital cameras hole, a black hole that considers the universe its Panasonic DMC-TZ5 playground, a black hole that has “lived” for billions of years, a black hole that has an insatiable hunger for knowledge.
She has discovered the Eater of All Things.
And it wants to converse with humanity.
The jacket of “Eater” reads like a science fiction lover’s dream. I, myself, adore first contact themed novels, and who better to carry it out than Gregory Benford?
But though this
concept has infinite potential, “Eater” is, unfortunately, a study in tedium.
I like my science fiction heavy on the science. In fact, I can’t remember having ever complained that there was too much science in a novel. Even Greg Bear’s science-laden “Darwin’s Radio” captivated me, though it required a glossary to facilitate reading — but Benford’s book reads more like an astrophysics text than a novel.
I found myself getting bogged down in the mire of electromagnetic theory, digressions on the nature of Gefest 1200 singularities, and the like. Though I’m fairly 1-камерный холодильник literate when it comes to science, most of this went way over my head — or maybe, somewhere along the line, I just stopped paying attention.
Following three main characters through the course of the events, “Eater” should be, at heart, a love story — or maybe even a love triangle. Benjamin Knowlton is losing his beloved wife Channing (who happens to be an ex-astronaut) to cancer. While Channing slowly fades away, in steps Kingsley, Benjamin’s old nemesis and on-and-off-again friend. Together, they unravel the mystery and the horror of the “Eater”, and fight to save the human race from possible annihilation.
This is the stuff of great drama: old friends and rivals, love and loss, monumental discoveries, and struggle for survival.
So where does Benford’s tale fall short?
Characterization fails miserably, and that is a potential death sentence for any book. Of the three main characters, only Channing is remotely sympathetic and three-dimensional. We never really feel Benjamin’s grief for his wife’s impending death. We never feel the deep-seated rivalry between the two kernville ca realestate scientists, or the terror of struggle against the unknown. It seems as топшоп тв if the characters only exist for the story’s sake.
The pacing in “Eater” is horrendous as well. Slow and stilted, Benford wastes words on tedious explanations of things we don’t even care about, but when he hits upon potentially major events, they’re glossed over as if they’re hardly worth mentioning.
Major cities destroyed. Okay, maybe that should get half a page of text. Hey, if a city gets blown off the face of the earth, it’s gone. What more is there to say? Move on. Let’s get back to the science.
Benford never quite pulls it all together to make “Eater” the science fiction classic it could be. He seems to have taken this novel and used it simply as a platform for his scientific theories. Not once was I drawn into this fictional world, nor was I compelled by the characters or their plight.
If you want to read a great novel with terrific characters, a fabulous plot, and breakneck pacing, pick up Benford’s “The Martian Race”. It’s everything a great science fiction epic should be.
And do yourself a big favor. Tempting though it might be, with its compelling cover and mouth-watering jacket copy, leave “Eater” on the bookstore shelf to collect dust. For a master of science fiction, this is a mockery.
Gregory Benford, I’m ashamed.
Lisa is San Gabriel homes an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing.
Ohio State Buckeyes: Girls of OSU and Men of OSU CALENDARS
The History of OSU Calendars Is As Colorful As The Scarlet & Gray Itself
Since 1982, Girls of OSU and Men of OSU calendars have been making history. More than a dozen versions of OSU calendars have appeared in the last quarter century, featuring Ohio State students - and some professional models - in various states of dress (and undress).
More than other universities, Ohio State University seems to be an attractive place for publishing pinup calendars. If South Bend is known for gold “domes” and Gainesville is famous for funny mushrooms, then college calendars (and controversies surrounding them) have put Columbus on the map. OSU’s Beko CG 61110 thousands of loyal alumni are a network of ready customers spread across the country, eager to relive their college days with fun-oriented calendars.
Sean Ashbrook, who published several calendars featuring students of both sexes, gives insight to the marketability of calendars: “To make a profit with a calendar of female Ohio State students, you must appeal to Ohio State Alumni. Alumni men are eager to buy calendars featuring college girls - harking back to fun days on the Ohio State campus …carefree times before paying bills and changing baby diapers. In contrast, Campus Men Calendars targeted fans of Abercrombie and Fitch male models - people nationwide - not just OSU alumni - who find college guys attractive.
Ashbrook said the male calendars’ photos were always more provocative for several reasons: college males find it more acceptable to pose semi-nude and the market rewards risquй photos with higher sales.
“Moreover, parents are more comfortable with their sons disrobing, rather than daddy’s little girl doing do,” Ashbrook said.
He notes the irony and sexism in the naming of female versus male calendars. Females who appear in calendars are usually referred to as “girls”. However, males who appear are VuPoint digital camera digital cameras referred to as “men.” “It says that when women pose for a calendar, they are being less mature than when males pose.”
1982 - Calendar Men are Born
After years of OSU calendars published by Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, featuring female students and models, the first known calendar featuring males is published by Evelyn Moore of Groveport, a Columbus suburb. Moore was inspired to create “The Men of OSU” after viewing a P.M. Magazine television show about a University of Michigan-themed calendar, featuring male students. This first male calendar is strictly black and white and shirtless.
1983 - OSU Calendars Go To The Dogs
Inspired by