(Drivebycuriosity) - Gregory Benford and Larry Niven belong to the Grandmasters of Science Fiction. Together they created the novel "Bowl of Heaven", a fascinating space opera, Vol. 1 of a trilogy ( amazon). Some humans want to settle in another part of the universe and started a centuries long journey, which leads to a unexpected results (this is a spoiler free blog).
The authors welted all what we know about evolution plus a lot particle physics, cosmology, chemistry and other sciences into a thrilling adventure story. The novel shows that Benford is an astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. But he also has the talent to create exciting stories.
It is not surprising that the tandem imagined a breathtaking technology based on particle physics, cosmology & chemistry. For instance the authors describe a spaceship that is an intricate self-regulating system and self-tech entity, with artificial intelligences embedded in every subsystem. The spaceship is an anthology of self-critical and disciplined minds. Each mind lived its life with a reward system and constraints, dwelling in a community of diverse talents, propelled it into a social intelligence. Comparable to human societies the ship evolved over the centuries of its flight into its own, original society.
The authors also invented an alien world that is partly familiar and partly very strange. The inhabitants - intelligent beings, animals & plants - seem to be highly exotic, but they plausible because based on what we know about evolution on earth. The complex psychology & sociology of these beings (the aliens) is plausible and fascinating and I also find behavior and the relationships of the human characters interesting. There is also some sex involved, very unusual for the timid science fiction genre.
I got highly entertained, could refresh old knowledge and learned a lot new insights , I also got inspired to think about our place in the universe.
I plan to read Vol. 2 in a not too far future.
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