From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic—a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years.What would happen if the world were ending?A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band … race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .
Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.
A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.
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So after a fair amount of discussion on Buzz about Seveneves: A Novel, I finally decided to read it. I highly recommend the first two thirds. Those parts of the book were fun — a story that keeps you turning the pages, cool science, and a spirit of optimism (things go very badly for everybody involved, but they keep finding ways to push on). …
I love reading because every once in a while you get rewarded with a book like this. It starts out as a post-apocalyptic novel and builds up into a philosophical treatise on humanity’s larger purpose.
The premise of the book is pretty straight forward: the Moon explodes for no apparent reason (literally in the books first sentence) setting up a …
I’m always a little unsure about tackling a novel that weighs in at over 800 pages – if it ends up disappointing me, that’s a lot of reading time lost. Even though a Tor.com article had piqued my interest in this book, I was still hesitant at first. Then I read the first sentence – “The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason” – …
I was so excited to read this book but it was very frustrating. I wanted to see how the people progressed, changed, and coped while building a new society. This was only lightly skimmed over during the first 3/4 of the story; the author deciding instead to devote page after mind-numbing page on descriptions and details of machinery, robotics, …
Forget that the destruction of our Moon — the precursor for this epic tale spanning hundreds of years — is never explained.
Imagine a life in space and then imagine being a space refugee. Chilling, incredibly detailed in its imagining and vast in its scope, it takes most of this book to even understand what on Earth the title means.
I’m not …
A typical Stephenson detailed deep-dive into the complex problems of survival in space. What was unStephenson-like was that parts of it read like non-fiction, but this is necessary for the reader to fully comprehend the physics behind plight of the characters and the level of their innovation and dedication to keeping the human race alive after a …
Best of science fiction, or not-so-fiction. I learned a little about orbital mechanics.
Hard sci-fi fans rejoice, you’ve found your book!
I typically read books that are around 300-400 pages so when I pulled this big boy off the shelf I knew what I was getting into. And the first 200-300 pages had me riveted, despite the large bouts of exposition of science I clearly don’t understand. It also took a great deal of brainpower to build …
I am not much of a science nerd but this book was so well written and descriptive that I could understand or at least stay with the story. And what a great story it was. Highly recommend this book.
An incredible journey spanning thousands of years. I can’t easily compare this to another book that I’ve read. It’s a long and at times a slow read but well worth it.
This book is about as close as you can get to 5 stars, without actually being 5 stars! Neal Stephenson has woven an incredibly imaginative, detailed and complex tale that spans the course of 5000 years. You really get to know and love (or hate) these characters. The world he has built is rich and in depth. As he describes it, your mind is drawing …
Brilliantly imaginative. Loved it.
All of Stephenson’s inventiveness and erudition, but at “only” 400-odd pages, less overwhelming than some of his books.
Wow a 10,00o tear epic? yup. A compelling story with strong female characters. I’m in.
“The end of the world as we know it” when something hits the moon and it breaks apart. The characters were well developed and the premise different from other apocalyptic novels. There’s a lot of hard scifi so if that’s not your thing, choose another book. I wish that the author would write another book picking up where this ended. It wasn’t a …
I loved the first 2/3 of the book, but the last third was a little hard to get into. The story was excellent and I loved the premise. Stephenson is the master of weaving a big tale and this book is no exception. I recommend Seveneves for the science, adventure, and futurism! Really interesting read!!
Great author, another great book
Perhaps a little slow until the jump to the future but very compelling and highly detailed view of humanity long after “the event”. I found the ending very satisfying. Technological highlights are what Neal Stephenson does best and they are well realized here.
Its been quite some time since I’ve read anything that grabbed my attention from the get go and held onto it all the way thru. The first two thirds of this book are a page turning end of the world story, and its aftermath, with the struggles and triumphs of the handful of survivors hoping to survive, and perhaps, be able to one day rebuild …
The writing is great but the story felt unfinished.