Mission to Minerva - Hardcover

Hogan, James P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743499026 ISBN 13: 9780743499026

Publisher: Baen, 2005

Synopsis

When explorers on the Moon found a skeleton in a space suit of strange design, a baffling mystery began. The skeleton was undeniably human, but carbon dating showed it was older than the human race itself. The mystery deepened with the discovery of a wrecked ship on a moon of Jupiter, showing that another race had once inhabited the Solar System, originating on the now-shattered planet whose remains form the asteroid belt. Then a ship manned by the humanoid "giants" returned, bringing with it answers to the riddle of humanity's origins. But it brought great danger, as Earth found itself caught in a battle between a benevolent alien empire, and another offshoot of the human race who regarded the Earth as their property and were bent on taking it over. That was in the recent past, and the future now looked bright for Earth, as trade and knowledge flowed back and forth between Earth and Thuria, the world the Giants colonized when they left the Solar System aeons ago. Then Dr. Victor Hunt received a phone call-and the face in the phone's video screen was an older version of himself, calling from a parallel world. That was the first step in bridging the gap between the parallel universes of the "multiverse." Unfortunately, it also meant that the enemies who had been decisively defeated in one universe might still be alive and dangerous in another, and could arrive in force at any time. And the possibility soon became a frightening reality. . . .

About this title

About the Author:

James P. Hogan is a science fiction writer in the grand tradition, combining informed and accurate speculation from the cutting edge of science and technology with suspenseful story-telling and living, breathing characters. His first novel was greeted by Isaac Asimov with the rave, ¿Pure science fiction . . . Arthur Clarke, move over!¿ and his subsequent work quickly consolidated his reputation as a major SF author. He has written nearly twenty novels including Cradle of Saturn and Bug Park (both Baen), the Giants series (Del Rey), the New York Times bestsellers The Proteus Operation and Endgame Enigma and the Prometheus Award Winner The Multiplex Man.

From Publishers Weekly:

In Hogan's intriguing fifth SF novel in the series that began with Inherit the Stars (1978), Earth has reestablished contact with the Ganymeans, an alien race that manipulated proto-humans into homo sapiens on Minerva, a planet that once occupied the region of the present asteroid belt. After the Ganymeans migrated to the Giants' Star 20 light-years from Earth, a war on Minerva caused by intelligences from an alternate reality—one of an infinite number suggested by the Multiverse hypothesis—led to the planet's destruction. Now, several decades into the 21st century, people on Earth have developed a means of exploring these realities, including one in which Minerva still exists, and mount a rescue mission to prevent the war on Minerva. While the need to establish the backstory slows the book's first half, Hogan does an excellent job of extrapolating the science from current theories of quantum physics. The second half moves briskly and logically to a satisfying climax, though the villain is straight out of James Bond. Readers who like their science hard will find this one a diamond. (May)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Baen
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0743499026
• ISBN 13: 9780743499026
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416