HEGIRA.

Without question, Greg Bear has been one of science fiction's best writers and prose stylists for decades. He has successfully written everything from hard core space opera to cyberpunk and fantasy. Here in "Hegira", he successfully combines elements of fantasy and space opera in a terse, riveting tale about the life-long search of the secrets behind the obelisks and the enormous world that is Hegira, inhabited by several intelligent civilizations, including humans, who have forgotten their interstellar space travel origins. Bear's prose is as finely crafted as an early Samuel Delany novel in this little gem of a novel. "Hegira" was well worth reading; without a doubt it is a splendid example of Greg Bear's early work.

I absolutely loved reading this book. It was a mesmerizing and fantastic story with implications that blew my mind (read it about 10 years ago, as a matter of fact, and glad to see new printings coming out). The obelisks are a fascinating idea, how the civilizations of the planet will only discover the higher technology inscribed on the obelisk when they are able to reach the "higher" levels of the obelisk to read what is written on it. I was shocked and dismayed when one of the obelisks fell, crushing an entire civilization! This is as fascinating a sci-fi story as you will ever find, and it is storytelling that will stay with you.

Wow. I was amazed by Greg Bear's brilliant sense of literary artistry. Every chapter evolved into an eloquent journey, enticing the reader into the quilt that is being knit before your eyes by this author. This work is nothing short of amazing. For too long has conceptual writing been avoided. Even for non-regulars, this work contains the rare ability to capture a once wary wanderer and find himself wandering down a gloomy alley in one of Hegira's elegant cities. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book, now.

This is one of my favorite Greg Bear books. It is set in a mysterious world where humans, many of whom live in barbaric medieval societies, study the texts written on huge obleisks hundreds of miles high. The higher you go, the more advanced the knowledge, so many build balloons and flying machines in order to learn more. Very interesting sci-fi concepts and as most of Bear's books, it gives us much food for thought and speculation.