As a result of commerce through the gates, several alien species have come to be partners of the Hexamon as well.

In the event of major injury or even death, their implants (if recoverable and undamaged) can be used to "reload" their personalities into artificially reconstructed replicas of their old bodies, or even into entirely new forms. For the Stone was from space--but perhaps not our space; it came from the future--but perhaps not our future; and within the hollowed asteroid was Thistledown. Although these people can have almost anything they wish, nonetheless our heroine is miserable and lonely in this technological paradise. In the 80s, politruks, the political officers tasked with keeping up the morale of the troops and keep them in line with the communist doctrine were largely washed-out corrupt thugs who didn’t care about the doctrine.On the other hand, more time could have been allowed to develop the many characters and their own story lines, the esoteric concepts more carefully explored if it was spread out over several books. I own a true first edition hardcover in fine condition—actually pretty rare, especially in such good shape—and it will remain one of the prized pieces of my book collection for a long time. Tombstone, or milestone, the war that breaks out on earth beneath its presence seems to bear witness to its prowess as oracle. Another book which I should have read 20 years ago, because now it feels outdated in regard to everyday technology. He carries the story well, it has good pace and is incredibly well thought out for a large scale piece.

To make matters more confusing, some of the politicians kept switching allegiances or revealing their true motives even before I got to understand their original pretense, and thus fully appreciate the switch they pulled. Many SF authors have incredible technical imagination but for some that does not translate into visionary political views. Thematisiert werden Zeitreisen, Paralleluniversen, Megastrukturen im Raum und die Fortführung aggressiven Territorialverhaltens im Weltraum. future inhabitants of the Stone rather uninteresting – I didn't really care about their internal politics. This at a time when East-West relations are already precarious, and the Russians fear that the Americans would discover some kind of alien super-weapon to gain global dominance.

Upon exploration, we discover that the asteroid is hollow, has artificial gravity and is divided up into seven huge chambers, some of which contain cities. As for the POV characters themselves, we head hop all over the board, and though I finished the book less than two weeks ago, I can't honestly remember any of the character's names. With Eon, Bear does not suffer this problem; he tells a story that leads straight from extrapolation of the consequences of the Idea he had. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.