This novel presented several truly remarkable concepts regarding the repopulation of Earth with people, plants, animals, and so on. After a tissue/seed repository located on the moon dispatches clones to a devastated Earth, the story unfolds. The impactor that eradicated all life on Earth was absolute; nothing remained. Fortunately, a moon base had been established to handle precisely such a situation.

T.E. managed to capture my attention repeatedly, yet unfortunately, it lost that grip by prolonging the narrative for too long. Evidently, we have a book that consists of excellent ideas simply strung together to form a novel. I would award four stars for the concepts alone.

However, the pacing and overall execution could have been improved to maintain the reader's engagement throughout. Despite this flaw, the novel still offers an interesting exploration of a post-apocalyptic world and the possibilities of repopulation. It makes one wonder about the lengths humanity might go to in order to ensure the survival of life on our planet.

Perhaps with some tighter editing and a more focused narrative, this novel could have been an even greater success. Nevertheless, it is still worth reading for those interested in science fiction and the themes of survival and renewal.

I purchased this book at a garage sale for just a quarter. Immediately, I completely fell in love with it. This is undoubtedly one of my top 10 favorite books of all time. I'm well aware that it might seem rather nerdy of me. But let's face it, I'm a sci-fi geek through and through. I absolutely LOVE the speculation and the highly creative ideas presented about how the world might turn out after billions and billions of years. I understand the comment someone made about it being similar to groundhog day with the day being relived repeatedly, but I chose to look beyond that. In fact, I could hardly put this book down. I devoured it in a single day. This book opened the door for me to discover dozens more of Jack Williamson's works. Most of them are truly great, as long as you can overlook that somewhat arrogant male hero aspect that is common in many old books from the 40's and 50's. The storylines, without a doubt, are 100% awesome.

As you can probably gather from my review, it's quite evident that I'll never be a writer myself :(. I keep dropping hints to my boyfriend that I would love to receive a first edition signed by Jack as a gift, but he just doesn't seem to get it. Oh well, it looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hands and buy it for myself.

Stay away.

The description/summary of this book is like a siren song. It lures you in with its enticing words, promising a world of adventure, mystery, or romance. But beware, for it may not deliver on its promises.

Sometimes, the description can be overly exaggerated, making the book seem far more exciting than it actually is. You might find yourself disappointed when you finally crack open the cover and discover that the story falls flat or the characters lack depth.

It's important to approach book descriptions with a healthy dose of skepticism. Don't be too quick to believe everything you read. Instead, do some research, read reviews from other readers, and get a sense of what the book is really about before you invest your time and money.

By staying away from the siren song of misleading book descriptions, you can increase your chances of finding a truly great read that will transport you to another world and leave you satisfied.

I can't believe I read the whole thing.

Well, actually, I didn't. I skimmed the last half just to see how it played out.

The story is about five people who survive the end of earth life after an asteroid hit.

Interestingly, the same five are cloned and re-cloned by computers whenever something interesting happens on earth.

As a result, we get many stories over the course of millions of years.

This is a pretty nifty idea.

However, would I have chosen those five? No, but there was not time.

Unfortunately, as the stories progress, they become more and more boring.

At this point, I find myself asking, who really cares?

The concept started off strong, but it seems to have lost its charm along the way.

Maybe there could have been more variety in the characters or the events to keep the reader engaged.

Overall, it was an okay read, but not something that I would highly recommend.

This was my very first encounter with the works of Mr. Williamson.

What struck me was the eerie sense of time passing as those clones kept perpetually repeating themselves. It was almost like in "The Time Machine," with the traveller journeying vast distances in time.

I vividly recall a particular scene where vampire-like bat creatures latched onto the clones, and another where a character chased a harpy-like creature that bore a resemblance to a long-departed lover.

This book may not have the grandeur and epic scale of some others. It is a contained piece, not sprawling all over the place. It takes place in near-orbit around Earth, and there are only a handful of characters. However, those characters are presented over and over again, adding an interesting layer to the story.

After reading this, I delved into other works by Williamson and came to the conclusion that he is indeed like a dean of sci-fi. His mind is filled with an abundance of spacey ideas, and his stories flow smoothly, never dawdling or becoming overly philosophical.

Admittedly, there is a slightly outdated feel about the writer, but this can be overlooked considering the engaging nature of his tales.

Overall, my experience with Mr. Williamson's work has been quite fascinating and has left me eager to explore more of his literary offerings.

Not bad, not too bad. In fact, it's not great either, but still, it's not too bad. The premiss is truly fantastic. It really catches your attention from the start. However, as you read on, there are just too many things that don't quite add up. It's a bit frustrating at times. But despite that, it's still totally worth reading. It's a super fun, imaginative, quick, and easy read. You can breeze through it in no time. And when you're done, you'll find that it's not bad at all. It has its flaws, but it also has its charm. It's the kind of book that you can pick up when you want to relax and have a good time. So, if you're looking for a lighthearted read, this might just be the one for you.

It was okay.

The initial parts of this thing were somewhat repetitive. They seemed to go on and on in a similar vein, which made it a little bit boring. It felt like one was trudging through a somewhat monotonous landscape. However, as one got closer to the end parts, things started to change.

The end parts brought a breath of fresh air. They introduced new elements and ideas that were quite interesting. It was as if a new and exciting path had opened up. Suddenly, the whole experience became more engaging and captivating.

Overall, while the beginning had its drawbacks, the interesting end parts managed to salvage the situation and make it a somewhat worthwhile encounter.

This is truly a captivating piece of reading.

Although it is a bit dated, as one might anticipate, it contains some extremely fascinating insights regarding the nature of humanity, personality, and what constitutes the mind.

The exploration of these topics is both thought-provoking and engaging, offering a unique perspective that can still be relevant today.

Despite its age, the ideas presented within the text have the power to stimulate our thinking and encourage us to reflect on our own understanding of these fundamental aspects of human existence.

It serves as a reminder that even older works can hold valuable wisdom and offer new perspectives that can enhance our knowledge and appreciation of the human experience.

Overall, it is a worthwhile read that can provide hours of intellectual stimulation and enjoyment.

I believe that when it comes to reviewing this book, spoilers are inevitable. There's simply no way to discuss it without giving away certain details. To be honest, I wish someone had spoiled this for me earlier, as the jacket description, the artwork, and even the title are somewhat misleading. The book I read, which I thought was actually quite a strong (albeit old-fashioned) work of big idea science fiction, was not at all what I had expected.

The spoilers will be kept relatively general, similar to "spoiling" Romeo & Juliet by simply stating that it's a tragedy where everyone dies in the end. So, I won't mark this review as containing spoilers, but I will put the detailed spoilers behind a cut. If you really prefer to go into a book completely cold, don't read any further.

The apocalypse arrives suddenly in the form of an asteroid that slips into the Earth's blind spot. As a result, only seven people manage to escape to Tycho Base. This isn't a major issue initially, as they had been preparing for such a scenario. The base is manned by robots and operated by a computer. There's cloning technology available (apparently without replication errors), and they have frozen samples of numerous people, animals, and plant species, which are essential for terraforming the Earth in the future. However, the problem is that they weren't fully prepared, so the base isn't entirely functional. The seven survivors do their best to record their lost (entirely American) civilization and then pass away.

All of this occurs before the start of the book. The computer monitors the planet for an unknown period (possibly eons), maintaining itself and its robots until the planet purifies itself after the meteor impact. There's a mention of volcanic activity that subsides and an Ice Age that comes and goes, yet miraculously, the continents remain in exactly the same positions. Then, the computer begins to execute its program, which involves cloning five of the survivors who possess the skills necessary to repopulate the planet with life as we know it. These clones are raised by robots and holograms of their progenitors, which have personalities and some form of artificial intelligence (although there's no in-depth discussion about artificial intelligence). When they reach adulthood, they are sent down to the planet to survey and spread the building blocks of life.

This sets in motion a cycle. Clone generation after clone generation is born and raised identically, separated by hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years from previous generations. Each generation attempts to plant the seeds of life and guide it to create a suitable environment for humans to recolonize, building on the records left by previous generations of clones. Since they receive the same upbringing and are genetically identical, it's easier for the reader to view the clones as the same person. Every Dunk (the narrator) seems the same, even though Williamson has them often claim they are their own individuals. And each time they descend to the planet, some of them perish, or they discover that life has taken an unexpected (and dangerous) turn.

They do manage to establish several small human civilizations, but these are wiped out in turn, and the computer on the base has to resurrect another generation to start over. There are also alien encounters, although they aren't particularly convincing as alien. Overall, the entire story feels like an exercise in futility. The poor clones, born only to die, seem like science fiction versions of Sisyphus.

I think this was Williamson's intention, and if so, he has achieved what he set out to do with the book. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I recognize that it is what it was meant to be, so I have to admit that it is well done. What detracted from it (aside from my personal dislike of stories about futility) was that it felt like a throwback to an earlier era of science fiction. As mentioned earlier, there's no indication that Williamson understands plate tectonics. By the end of the book, we are presumably hundreds of millions of years in the future, yet the clones still refer to "the Americas," "Asia," "Africa," or "the Mediterranean." The topic of artificial intelligence is never properly explored, which was necessary for me to gain a better understanding of how Tycho Base functioned. His portrayal of relativistic space travel also seemed inaccurate, although I admit that I'm not a physicist. It definitely doesn't align with what I've learned from modern science fiction novels written by physicists.

Moreover, in what was supposed to be a hard science fiction novel, the lack of scientific accuracy was a significant drawback. Even more than that, the race and gender relations depicted in the book are very much a product of a 1950s/1960s mindset. Out of the eight people cloned at some point, there are three women. One is the keeper of cultural artifacts, a virgin secluded in her tower of the past. Another is a biologist who "understands and enjoys" sex and shares herself with all the interested men. The third is cloned only twice and is the girlfriend of one of the men. When she isn't cloned, she becomes a sort of mythical ideal that he spends his life longing for. The women never play any role in repopulating the planet and often end up being held captive in Tycho Base by the paranoid alpha male.

Among the men, one is a Latino of some sort (it's never clear where his ancestors are from, but we first meet him in New Mexico) and the pilot. In every incarnation, he simply follows whoever is in charge. Another is "black as tar, though he had an Oriental poker face" and is the one who forced his way onto the shuttle leaving the dying Earth. A night watchman at the facility, he held back the crowds while the chosen few boarded with their supplies and then pulled a gun and demanded that they take him and his girlfriend (the soon-to-be mythical ideal) with them. He isn't resurrected initially, but when he is, he is repeatedly pitted against the paranoid alpha male and always loses. In one iteration, the alpha male establishes a tyrannical government based on slave power, and all the slaves are clones of "El Chino," the former night watchman.

So, when I imagined that the book had been written in 1958, I could overlook these elements. However, when I reminded myself that it was published in 2001, I had to roll my eyes and wonder what the editors at Tor were thinking. Nevertheless, if I disregard all these throwback elements, the book does achieve what I believe Williamson intended. It presents a rather depressing future, filled with futility and hubris, but I understand the concept, and I think the book would appeal to those who enjoy reading this type of story.

A huge meteor wipes out all life on Earth. However, a clever engineer anticipates the catastrophe and builds a fully automated station on the moon, storing genetic samples there. From this place, the Earth is supposed to be reanimated by cloned descendants of himself and five other people who were able to flee with him before the meteor.

The book tells the story of the various reanimation attempts and the experiences of the clones. The time span therefore extends over several thousand years, during which the master computer of the moon station repeatedly generates new clones when it sees the necessity or justification for it.

The idea is really interesting, and there are some refined twists in the story. But overall, I found the events a bit too confusing. Things happen too often for which no explanation is given, and one has the feeling that the author has often forgotten to tie up his loose ends. This is a pity because, as written above, the basic idea is a refreshing alternative to other end-time scenarios. But unfortunately, the opportunity for a great throw was not really used.

The Earth suffers the impact of a meteorite, and the entire global population disappears.

Some terrestrial scientists have been able to prepare and flee to the Moon, where they have everything necessary to clone themselves and sow the seed of human life again in the future.

The clones of the future go around, seeing and narrating their experiences of what they find on Earth.

The novel does not focus on how the Earth is terraformed, but rather on the different experiences of the clones as the eons pass and what they encounter due to the planet's own evolution.

Although the main plot of the novel is interesting, it has quite a few gaps that leave the reader to find their own explanations.

The scientific part of the terraforming process is set aside, and more focus is placed on the adventures and misadventures of the clones during the different stages of the Earth.

This approach gives the story a unique flavor, as it combines elements of science fiction, adventure, and exploration.

The reader is taken on a journey through time and space, experiencing the evolution of the Earth and the clones' attempts to rebuild human civilization.

Overall, the novel offers an engaging and thought-provoking read, despite its flaws.

I purchased this book during my vacation and completely immersed myself in it while sitting by the pool.

I found it to be incredibly gripping from the very beginning until the end.

The premise of the story isn't overly far-fetched considering the International Space Station (ISS) constantly flying overhead and the recent near miss and impact of a meteor just last week.

These real-life events add an element of plausibility to the fictional narrative, making it even more engaging.

As I turned the pages, I was on the edge of my seat, eager to discover what would happen next.

The author did a great job of creating a sense of tension and excitement that kept me hooked throughout the entire book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling read that combines elements of science and adventure.