Eon

Greg Bear's 1985 novel Eon tells the story of a hollowed out asteroid called the Thistledown that arrives in earth orbit at the start of the 21st Century, when the planet is on the verge of World War III. While seemingly normal on the outside (for a spinning, hollow asteroid), it has the novel addition of a seemingly infinite tunnel called the Way attached to one end on the inside.

As the story was written in 1985, the two nations in competition for control of the asteroid are the USA and the Soviet Union. The Americans reach the "Stone" (as they call it) first, and are thus the first to discover the seventh chamber that opens up onto the Way.

The world political stage is on a shaky footing, so the seventh chamber is kept secret; however, the secrecy itself starts to cause problems, and the Soviets soon decide that they've had enough and send in the troops.

While both interests struggle over the seven interior chambers of the asteroid, a civilization of future humans called the Hexamon that abandoned the Stone in an earlier epoch and now live further down the Way take notice and send a representative to assess the situation.

While a bit dated now considering that the U.S.S.R. no longer exists, alternate histories play a part in the story so it's not too difficult to sit back and enjoy the setting for what it is.

Mr. Bear does a wonderful job of building up a backstory to the world, both for Earth and the Way. One interesting nugget that I liked were references to the Jarts, an alien force that the Hexamon are at war with in the Way. While only referenced in Eon, the enigmatic race plays a more important role in the second novel, Eternity.

The history that leads up to the story is also a nice touch and we get a feel for the Hexamon's culture through the eyes of Olmy, the agent sent to assess the situation in the Thistledown.

I also enjoyed chewing over the science in the novel. Trust Mr. Bear to give us main characters that use their brains to solve problems. The story is definitely centered around a Big Idea, in this case, warping spacetime to create the Way.

Oh, and gates can be created along the Way that lead to alternate universes, which in turn leads to an interesting ending. The gates also play an important role in the third sequel called Legacy.

The biggest plus for this book is the exploration of the Thistledown's chambers the gradual unveiling of its history. It reminded me a great deal of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendevous With Rama (naturally) and Larry Niven's Ringworld in that I wanted to keep reading because I was curious what was behind the next "door".

You can't really go wrong with this book. It consistently turns up in forums when someone posts the inevitable "favorite science fiction books" thread. There was also a really cool CGI challenge at CGSociety.org site that turned up some interesting results. Maybe we'll see a movie one day.