Teaser

Black holes are among space’s most enigmatic objects. Especially the ones that move. The ones that enter our solar system. The ones that begin to speak to us . . .

Review

I do not have a good track record with Gregory Benford. My first exposure to him was Foundation’s Fear, the first book in the Second Foundation trilogy, as authorised by the Asimov estate. I didn’t like it on either a prose or a structural level, and it felt an odd fit for Asimov’s universe, even if Benford had some impressive science credentials to back him up. But I believe in giving authors second chances, so earlier this year I listened to the audiobook of Benford’s Hugo Award-winning Timescape. Again, I found the experience an absolute drag. Structurally weak and narratively uninspiring. I resolved not to pick up another Benford book again. However, when I recently purchased a bundle of used science fiction books, a Benford title came with the rest. Given the price, this was no great hardship, and since I owned it, I knew I was going to read it. The blurb even sounded interesting. Vaguely reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendevous with Rama with its mysterious object entering the solar system. I didn’t expect much, but I was more than willing to give it a go.

I read the book cover to cover in a single day. It might just be the best book I’ve read all year. I have already convinced a friend to read it with one simple sentence: ‘This is the lovechild of Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton.’

Of course, I have recently read both of those authors, so take my words with a hefty pinch of salt. We can’t help but think of books in comparison to others we have read, and good books weigh heavy on the mind. So what do I mean? Well, allow me to unpack.

Like Clarke’s best work, this is properly hard science fiction. All of the main human characters are scientists. The action in this book takes the form of conversations. It’s a book where people work together (and occasionally in opposition) to confront an inexplicable stellar anomaly. A book where thinking things through is rewarded, and aggression is condemned. It’s not so much a book about finding the right answers, as it is about asking the right questions.

Where does Crichton fit into this? Well, I simply flew through Eater. Despite the heavy topics (death of humanity, black holes, terminal cancer diagnoses). Eater has the pacing of a thriller. The prose is elegant and non-obtrusive. It’s one of those rare books that is so truly cinematic that it seems to vanish during the reading, so fully transported into the story is the reader. I was immediately put in mind of Sphere, and can equally see Eater being transformed into a feature film.

What astounds me the most is how real everything feel. Benford writes in an afterword that he hoped to capture a realistic image of scientists and how they might respond to such incredible circumstances. I’m not a scientist myself, but I’d hazard a guess that he succeeded. Not everyone could make a thrilling narrative out of scientists sitting down and having meetings, but Benford manages. Far from being a throwaway book to clear him off my TBR, Eater has managed the impossible. It’s made me want to keep reading Benford’s work.

You might have noticed that I haven’t said a whole lot about Eater itself – the name given to the seemingly sentient black hole who takes up the centre of this novel. That’s because unpacking Eater’s nature is the purpose of the book. It’s a mystery that is best unravelled at the pace Benford intended, and any hints I give you here are only going to diminish that mystery. Go in as blind as I did, and hopefully you’ll be equally delighted with what you find within.

Book Stats

• A Standalone Novel
• Published in 2000 by Orbit
• 384 Pages