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In Anvil, Bear combines speculations on quantum physics with war-story melodrama, immense ethical quandaries with teen romance, exobiology with whodunit. Yet with all this intellectual weight, the novel proceeds at a brisk and exciting pace. Anvil picks up where Forge of God left off: the earth has been destroyed by alien machines, and aliens from a different civilization have rescued a small population and resettled them on Mars. From the survivors are drawn adolescents to serve as crew on a Ship of the Law, charged with carrying out a death sentence passed by humanity's benefactors on the race which created the planet-killing machines. Fans of SF writer Orson Scott Card will see many parallels to the Battle School milieu from Ender's Game: youths incongruously training for war under the tutelage of inscrutable teachers. We join Earth's last children some years into the mission, when they are beginning to draw close to a prime suspect civilization. Bear does not shy away from the titanic moral questions raised by Galactic Law and its harsh retribution, as youths who might otherwise be arguing capital punishment or abortion in Philosophy 101 must weigh the evidence against the suspect civilization. Simultaneously, they must stuggle within the constraints of an alien justice system that has no provision for such human notions as mitigating factors, statutes of limitations, or redemption. Bear's young protagonists (and antagonists) stand out in the often bland universe of SF characters. The crew has established a unique shipboard society of pseudofamilies and shifting allegiances, a kind of co-ed Lord of the Flies. At times they embrace the shortsighted, hedonistic tendencies that would be the invevitable consequence of college-age kids cut off from polite society, parents, and pregnancy. But when they must focus on "the Job," the youths become a cadre of genius mercenaries, armed with - and burdened with - the ability to destroy suns. Particularly conflicted is the main character, Martin, from whose perspective the story is told. As the crew's leader at the outset, Martin is the focus of all their emotional turmoil as they struggle to balance their quest for justice with their revulsion at the prospect of slaughtering innocents. He must combat his own doubts and dreads while attempting to hold togeher the crew that includes cynical boatrocker Ariel, gung-ho Machiavellian Hans, and serene intellectual Hakim. The interplay becomes even more complex when the crew are joined by the Brothers, aliens that attest to Bear's supreme inventiveness. Even with all of Martin's introspection, the novel proceeds quickly through an obstacle course of unconventional skirmishes, disheartening setbacks, and mounting evidence against the suspects. The background is a milieu of superadvanced science featuring intelligent biomechanical ships and intriguing speculations on the nature of matter. The climax is exciting, and its aftermath devastating. The poignant coda serves to add even greater depth to the main characters and the story as a whole. It's been several years since I first read Anvil, but I pick it up occasionally to relive the enjoyment it originally brought me.Read full review
The basic storyline: utilizing our new alien allies, a group of survivors from the destruction of Earth go on a quest to find the aliens responsible for our planet's destruction. The reason I bought this book was because I initially read the first book in the series "The Forge of God" and was captivated by the possibilities of what would happen if our planet was destroyed and only 10,000 or so people survived. Kind of similar to Titan A.E. in storyline, but set in the current timeline. Everyone has to fight their internal evils before they can fight the alien evils that destroyed our planet. Likes: starts where the former storyline leaves off, somewhat connected to previous book and keeps my interest throughout the story Dislikes: not as well written as the first, possibly because your limited to what can happen when inside a spaceship, but intriguing enough to follow it to the end. Overall: If you've read the first one, read this one so you will at least find out what happened to those 10,000 survivors, and whether or not we find those aliens who killed our planet.Read full review
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