The Last Legends of Earth

As a rule I will not touch Fantasy and this one had several elements of fantasy - the ridiculous, unpronouncable names, the wild beasts, castles, etc But it was packed with science fiction ideas - indeed, it was a mesmerizing, visionary work that seemed written in an exalted, transcendent state. First of all, the premise was startling. To reassemble living creatures that had been dead for 2 billion years from traces of burned DNA was just so...original. And what made such an impact was how "human" our makers turned out to be and what literal devils the spider foes were. There has never been a more sinister enemy, none more horrifying (the slasher monsters look tame in comparison). For once, the author does not attempt to show understanding or concern or empathy for such evil creatures but treats them like the unimaginable horror they are. The love affair was wonderful as was the story of the female explorer (the alien) who came to not only understand but empathize and finally side with humanity. The understated character of the story was the captured school teacher who alternated between moments of temporary memory and sorrow and excruciating torture. The novel was a grand experiment that succeeded mightily.

I've just finished this book, and fireworks are still going off in my head. I've never been more swept up by a work of literature as I was by this. The author delivers a book that covers 7,000 years of history, billions of years after Earth's sun goes nova. This is the story of humanity's second chance, under the most unlikely and mind-blowing cause. It won't let you go, from beginning to end. Totally original and mind-blowing. Filled with philosphy about life, death, and time, this is one of the most uplifting sci-fi action adventures ever written.-- JJ Timmins

Tolkien for the sci-fi genre; that about sums this one up. Perfect perfect book that must be read!

This book is simply one of the best. Nothing I have ever read in all of the 500+ books I have consumed (at least half being sci-fi) has come close to the depth and entertainment of this book. Not only does it entertain, but this is one of those few books that truelly makes you think. The sheer scope of the epic is unbeleiveable. It goes through 2 very different primary species on Earth, a group of beings that literaly eat the pain of lower races, an aloof group of beings from another reality out for revenge, it goes on and on. Throughout it all, the central thread is humanity itself.When you finish reading this book, you won't put it down and pick up another. For days at least, you will just sit back thinking about the book saying "wow that has heavy, but SO great". It is unparalleled at what it is, one of those small genre of Sci-fi books all by its self. The end of time/universe/etc book. Besides the central plot of the book, and all the many subplots, the story actually strives to tell something in its completness and complexity. The book shows the unstoppable power of the human spirit, and humanity as a race's unwillingness to give up or surrender. Infact, at several points thoughout the book, the Rimstalker actually handycaps humanity against the high tech Zolt, fearing that humans would prove too difficult of prey. That would cause the solarsystem sized trap to be unsucsessful. In summary, simply a beatiful master peice, long neglected. Honestly, I have no idea why this book is not considered one of the great "must reads" of the science fiction world. If you ever see a copy, BUY IT because this great (and unfortunately rare) book is out of print. Enjoy it while you can. One for the ages.

Winout mincing words, this is simply one of the best SF novels I have read (this covers a period of 35 years). The initial premise, the "universe" within which the story takes place, consistently beautiful and alien imagery, and the simple love story that winds throughout make this a great read. You really should make an effort to find and read this book. To whet your apetite, this is an excerpt from the intro (an "Instruction Manual" for humans who find themselves in the planetary system of Chalco-Doror): "Two billion years ago, it [the Sun] blew up, and the Earth was blown apart with it...The exploding Sun shattered the Earth and cast the hot debris into the cold darkness of the void...A few thousand years ago, an intelligent being from a reality we had never suspected found our dust. For its own alien purposes and by its own strange science, that intelligent being read in our dust the cryptarch of our lives...From our cryptarch, the alien created us again. And not just our bodies. You remember Earth because your consciousness, which is in fact a wavepattern of light emitted by your brain, was retrieved from the vacuum, where it had been expanding at the speed of light since you died...The alien is not a spiritual being...The truth is, this being regenerated you to serve as bait for yet another alien intelligence, its enemy, a species of sapient, winged spiders called zotl. Zotl eat people."