Divergence - Hardcover

Charles Sheffield

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0575049995 ISBN 13: 9780575049994

Publisher: Easton Press, 1991

Synopsis

A group of single-minded researchers--among them Darya Lang, Hans Rebka, and Louis Nenda and the Cecropian--follow the trail toward the Builder artifacts released from the Quake during Summertide, the planetary upheaval. Reprint. NYT.

About this title

About the Author

Charles Sheffield (1935-2002) was a mathematician, physicist, and author of both nonfiction and science fiction. For his novel Brother to Dragons, he won the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. He won the Nebula Award in 1993 and the Hugo Award in 1994 for his novelette Georgia on My Mind. He was a president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society. He served as chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company that processed remote sensing satellite data. He was a distinguished lecturer of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a board member of the National Space Society. Born and educated in England, he held bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics and a doctorate in theoretical physics.

Reviews

This second book of the Heritage Universe series drops into the low end of space opera. Darya Lang is the galaxy's authority on Builder artifacts, devices made between three and 10 million years ago by a vanished race. Her research has led Darya, and she has led others (both companions and competitors) to the site of a previously unknown artifact, where the group meets The One Who Waits, a robot who offers to send them to the Builders. Ensuing events hinge on a one-in-350,000-chance coincidence, and the creation and destruction of an entire galactic empire is tossed off with the wave of a pseudopod. Individuals and governments both seem naive for a competitive society 4300 years in the future. Motivation and characterization--both reasonably strong in the first book, Summertide --are sacrificed here in favor of banal plot devices. During the novel's climactic battle, Sheffield misplaces one of his humans, leaving him to certain death, then absentmindedly brings him back into the action. The narrative portion of the book is less interesting and less well-written than between-chapter essays on the various sapient species of the galaxy.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In the aftermath of the "summertide" that nearly destroyed twin planets of Opal and Quake, a few humans and aliens representing various civilized worlds confront the remnants of an ancient technology and discover a threat to life as they know it. Excitement builds rapidly in this fast-paced sequel to Summertide ( LJ 2/15/90). Recommended for large libraries.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Easton Press
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0575049995
• ISBN 13: 9780575049994
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272