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Published Jun 2013
320 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
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?
"Starred Review. The hard science can be dense, but it never gets in way of the breezy mood that gives this delightful romp its wings." - Publishers Weekly
"Niven, multiple award-winning author of the Ringworld series, combines his talent for exciting, hard sf with the skills of Harrington, the author of Soul Survivor, to provide an action-packed biotech thriller that's filled with ideas and made stronger by well-developed characters." - Library Journal
"Starred Review. Leaping from concept to concept at the speed of thought, the book is bulging with jokes, puns and witticisms and is plotted so cleverly you don't even notice there is a plot. A brilliantly crafted yarn that also manages to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. And funny. Laugh-out-loud funny. What are you waiting for?" - Kirkus
"Who knew nanotechnology could be this much fun? The Goliath Stone is a fast read, filled with fascinating characters and mind-bending concepts. I should have worn a crash helmet." - Larry Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Exit Plan
"The Goliath Stone takes a giant step beyond Lucifer's Hammer into a future so brilliantly rendered that it feels shockingly real. This stunning book is Niven at the absolute top of his game, a sure-fire award-winner and fan pleaser. First-class reading pleasure." - Whitley Strieber, New York Times bestselling author of The Grays
"Niven is a galaxy-class storyteller." - Time Magazine
This information about The Goliath Stone was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Larry Niven is the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of the Ringworld series along with many other science fiction masterpieces. He lives in Chatsworth, California.
Matthew Joseph Harrington is the author of Soul Survivor. He is currently living with fantasy artist Valerie Anne Shoemaker and four cats in San Jose, California.
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