.jpg) Cover of first edition (hardcover) | |
| Author | Greg Bear |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Forge of God series |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 1987 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover &Paperback) |
| Pages | 474 |
| ISBN | 0-312-93021-6 |
| OCLC | 16089603 |
| 813/.54 19 | |
| LC Class | PS3552.E157 F6 1987 |
| Followed by | Anvil of Stars |
The Forge of God is a1987science fiction novel by American writerGreg Bear. Earth faces destruction when an inscrutable and overwhelming alien form of life attacks.
The novel features scenes and events, including the discovery of a nearly-dead alien in the desert, who clearly says inEnglish, "I'm sorry, but there is bad news," and the alien's subsequentinterrogation andautopsy; the discovery of an artificial geological formation and its subsequent nuclear destruction by a desperate military; and the Earth's eventual destruction by the mutualannihilation of a piece ofneutronium and a piece ofantineutronium dropped intoEarth's core.
There is another alien faction at work, however, represented on Earth by small spider-like robots that recruit human agents through some form ofmind control. They frantically collect all the human data, biological records, tissue samples, seeds, andDNA from thebiosphere that they can and evacuate a handful of people from Earth. In outer space, this faction's machines combat and eventually destroy the attackers but not before Earth's fate is sealed. The evacuees eventually settle a newlyterraformed Mars while some form the crew of a Ship of the Law to hunt down the home world of the killers, a quest described in the sequel,Anvil of Stars.
One of the point-of-view characters is Arthur Gordon, a scientist. He, his wife Francine and son Martin are among those rescued from the destruction of Earth. Some other characters are close to an American president, who fails to take action against the threat.
The two books show at least one solution to theFermi paradox, with electromagnetically noisy civilizations being snuffed out by the arrival ofself-replicating machines designed to destroy any potential threat to their (possibly long-dead) creators. (A similar theme is explored inFred Saberhagen'sBerserker novels.)
It features a character, Lawrence Van Cott, that is modelled on science fiction authorLarry Niven, whose full name is "Laurence van Cott Niven".[1]
Dave Langford reviewedThe Forge of God forWhite Dwarf #95, and stated that "A good nasty read [...] with a flicker of optimism: in the jungle Out There, someone is on our side ..."[2]
The Forge of God was nominated for theNebula Award forBest Novel in 1987,[3] and was also nominated for theHugo andLocus Awards in 1988.[4]
In the early 2000s,The Forge of God andAnvil of Stars, as well as an as-yet-unwritten third book, were optioned byWarner Bros. to be made into movies. It was reported that Stephen Susco worked on a script forThe Forge of God. In July 2006, Greg Bear mentioned on his website that the movie is "Still under option. Studio engaged in 'silent running.' "[6]
However, in October 2010, Bear commented on his website that Ken Nolan (who wrote the screen adaptation for Ridley Scott'sBlack Hawk Down film), was actively working on a screenplay.[citation needed]
