Works by Greg Bear (Study Guide) - Novels by Greg Bear, Short Story Collections by Greg Bear, the Forge of God, Blood Music, the Way, Eternity (Paperback)

This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Novels by Greg Bear, Short Story Collections by Greg Bear, the Forge of God, Blood Music, the Way, Eternity, Eon, Darwin's Radio, Anvil of Stars, Queen of Angels, Foundation and Chaos, the Wind From a Burning Woman, Vitals, Moving Mars, Darwin's Children, Hegira, Corona, Psychlone, Tangents, Quantico, Serpent Mage. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Anvil of Stars Anvil of Stars (1992) is a book by Greg Bear and a sequel to The Forge of God . In the novel, volunteers from among the children saved from the recently destroyed Earth are sent on a quest by a galactic faction called "The Benefactors" to find and destroy "The Killers," the civilisation who sent the killer probes in the first place. The Law that the Benefactors subscribe to requires the "Destruction of all intelligences responsible for or associated with the manufacture of self-replicating and destructive devices." The book is written entirely from the point of view of a central character, Martin Gordon, who is the son of a central character in The Forge of God, Arthur Gordon.Plot There are two interwoven themes in the novel. The first is the cost of justice. Destroying the race that attempted to destroy humanity (and, it is later revealed, other races) appears to be a simple matter of retaliation. The Killers, when they are discovered, have formidable philosophical defenses in addition to their vast technological resources. They have created hundreds of sentient races, interlocked in a culture of breathtaking complexity and beauty. The representatives of this cooperative of races claim to not be aware of the Killers' true nature. The combined population of these races number into the trillions, all quite possibly innocents who must be murdered if the Law is to be carried out and the Killers ...