Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama, but he also wanted to give something to those who felt Rama cheated them out of a plot. Perhaps some maps, schematic diagrams and a glossary of characters might have been useful for reference. While all other characters become mere spectators to the action around them, Patricia decides to find a universe that is close enough to her own, without the nuclear war. We can’t fault authors for working within the zeitgeist of their times and attempting to explore the ramifications of our ability to use and misuse advanced technology.

Wow," said Russian Democratic Federal Leader of the Military Defence of the Milky Way Leader, Tessa Baryshnikov. Bear emphasizes that just because one belongs to a group doesn’t mean one’s own identity and choices are subsumed into that group. On the first cover you included, note the clever and careful use of the word “may” in that Washington Post quote.Not too grating to read, but enough to make me chafe, like rubbing your palm on very fine sandpaper.

In the second half of the book, the theme of ideological conflict is continued through the growing tensions between the hardline political officers assigned to the Soviet force, and their more moderate military leader, Mirsky, who (like Vasquez) gains life-changing insights into the situation that faces them after being exposed to the accelerated learning facilities of the Stone's libraries. The high technology of the Hexamon civilization, with their control over genetic engineering, human augmentation (including post- symbolic communication), the concept of parallel universes, alternate timelines and the manipulation of space-time itself are major themes in the latter half of the novel. If so, I remember starting it and being taken through a room-by-room tour that was lots and lots of Tell and very Little Show…and it just seemed to go on and on and on to no discernable purpose.

Re-reading Eon also was a nostalgic experience, helping me connect with my younger self, the self that developed a passion for sci-fi largely because of Eon and others of Greg Bear's novels. I just reread my own review, and I really think it does the book justice, while also pointing at some potential problems for some readers.