The Goliath Stone
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3.7 • 36 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The Goliath Stone is a visionary tale from Larry Niven and Matthew Joseph Harrington.
Doctor Toby Glyer has effected miracle cures with the use of nanotechnology. But Glyer's controversial nanites are more than just the latest technological advance, they are a new form of life-and they have more uses than just medical. Glyer's nanites also have the potential to make everyone on Earth rich from the wealth of asteroids.
Twenty-five years ago, the Briareus mission took nanomachinery out to divert an Earth-crossing asteroid and bring it back to be mined, only to drop out of contact as soon as it reached its target. The project was shut down and the technology was forcibly suppressed.
Now, a much, much larger asteroid is on a collision course with Earth-and the Briareus nanites may be responsible. While the government scrambles to find a solution, Glyer knows that their only hope of avoiding Armageddon lies in the nanites themselves. On the run, Glyer must track down his old partner, William Connors, and find a way to make contact with their wayward children.
As every parent learns, when you produce a new thinking being, the plans it makes are not necessarily your plans. But with a two-hundred-gigaton asteroid that rivals the rock that felled the dinosaurs hurtling toward Earth, Glyer and Connors don't have time to argue. Will Glyer's nanites be Earth's salvation or destruction?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Worried about destructive meteors, nanotechnologist Toby Glyer launches the satellite Briareus to act as an early-warning system. But the on-board nanites start evolving and Briareus disappears, reappearing 25 years later on a collision course with Earth. This may sound dire, but Niven (the Ringworld series) and Harrington (Soul Survivor) turn it into a rollicking good time. To deal with the looming threat, Glyer recruits May Wyndham, whose company was responsible for the initial launch, and William Connors, a genius who has surreptitiously been improving humanity by introducing nanites into the population. As nanites make the protagonists younger, healthier, and sexier, they engage in fast, funny, and gloriously self-referential repartee, with repeated homage paid to classic science-fiction writers and their work. The hard science can be dense, but it never gets in way of the breezy mood that gives this delightful romp its wings.
Customer Reviews
Requires the reader to think
Niven has tried before to write characters that are more intelligent than the author. Look at protectors. Same with the Boys in "A World out of Time". It's not an easy thing to do. I think he's getting closer here. The Goliath Stone is not an easy read, but it does present a lot of fresh ideas and is worth your time.
Disappointing
One of the few books I've ever read where I'm hoping the main protagonist gets thrown into an active volcano. The nanos were more human.
I've read Niven for over thirty years and while I've not loved all of it, I can't remember anything of his that has disappointed me this much. While I've seen reviews that say this book should be treated as satire, I can't accept that as an excuse. Niven himself has said, "Thou shalt not waste the reader's time." He broke his own law with this one.
Trash
Don't waste your money.