Entoverse

I loved this book. Both as a stand alone work and as the 4th in the Giants series. I had read some bad reviews before cracking the cover, and now wish I hadn't looked at them. They were just not accurate. This is one of the best books I have read all year, and holds a place on my top 10 shelf. The only way the subtle plot and social commentary could be considered "murky" is if you read at the 3rd grade level. If you have read all of his material, or if you have never heard of James P. Hogan, buy this book.

This is the fourth book in the "Giants" series which began with "Inherit the stars" and continues with "The Gentle Giants of Ganymede" and "Giants Star." The first three books in the series are also available in a "3 in 1 Giants Omnibus" and there is now a subsequent fifth book, "Mission to Minerva". Continues the story which started when human ideas of our place in the Universe were turned completely topsy-turvy by the discovery of a 50,000 year old human body on the moon in "Inherit the Stars" which was one of the most brilliant SF novels ever written. I thought the story had finished with "Giant's star" but James Hogan finds a way to continue it with brilliant new twist. Something is going wrong on the planet Jevlen, and to solve it the heroes of the first three books have their minds projected inside a huge computer - where they find a whole different kind of Universe. About the only thing on which I agree with the reviewers who trashed this book is that it's not quite as good as the first three. However, I think it's still well worth a read if you are into science fiction and original ideas.

Hogan, as usual (Giants, Lifemaker, Thrice Upon a Time), does a magnificent job creating a gripping story based on plausible-sounding scientific principles. Hogan's writing is quite intricate, and he does a great job tying up seemingly unimportant loose ends. Some of the character development seemed a little artificial, though. I would strongle recommend having read the first three Giants books, although this story does stand mostly on its own.

I could not put this book down! It is a brilliant mystery book, with a fair amount of action thrown in for good measure. My only regret is that I have not read the previous three books in the series, so I was, so to speak, thrown in at the deep end, with no knowledge of the characters. All the same, I was able to pick up the story very quickly. I just wish that it had been longer!