Mission to Minerva

James P. Hogan

Book 5 of Minervan Experiment

Language: English

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Publisher: Baen

Published: May 2, 2005

Description:

It began when explorers on the Moon found a space suit containing a human skeleton older than the human race. Then a starship manned by the giant humanoids of Thuria arrived, bringing both the answer to mankind's origins, and also great danger, as Earth was now caught in a struggle between the giants benevolent empire and another offshoot of the human race who regarded the Earth as rightfully theirs. Earth thought they had won the battle, and the future now looked bright, as trade and knowledge flowed back and forth between Earth and Thuria. Then Dr. Victor Hunt received a phone call - and the face - in the phone's video screen was another version of himself, calling from a parallel world. That was the first step in bridging the gap between the parallel universes of the "multiverse." Unfortunately, it also meant that enemies who had been decisively defeated in one universe were still alive and dangerous in another, and could arrive in force at any time. And the possibility soon became a frightening reality...

From Publishers Weekly

In Hogan's intriguing fifth SF novel in the series that began with Inherit the Stars (1978), Earth has reestablished contact with the Ganymeans, an alien race that manipulated proto-humans into homo sapiens on Minerva, a planet that once occupied the region of the present asteroid belt. After the Ganymeans migrated to the Giants' Star 20 light-years from Earth, a war on Minerva caused by intelligences from an alternate reality—one of an infinite number suggested by the Multiverse hypothesis—led to the planet's destruction. Now, several decades into the 21st century, people on Earth have developed a means of exploring these realities, including one in which Minerva still exists, and mount a rescue mission to prevent the war on Minerva. While the need to establish the backstory slows the book's first half, Hogan does an excellent job of extrapolating the science from current theories of quantum physics. The second half moves briskly and logically to a satisfying climax, though the villain is straight out of James Bond. Readers who like their science hard will find this one a diamond. (May)
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Review

"In Hogan's intriguing fifth science fiction novel in the series that began with INHERIT THE STARS... Hogan does an excellent job of extrapolating the science from current theories of quantum physics... moves briskly and logically to a satisfying climax... the villain is straight out of James Bond. Readers who like their science hard will find this one a diamond." - Publishers Weekly."