#50. EON By Greg Bear

Published : 1985
Pages : 504
Overall Mark : 7/10

The Stone is a vast artifact - a hollowed-out asteroid - which has entered the Solar System from somewhere. Inside are a series of chambers to be explored. But the Stone contains more mysteries than can easily be understood. Within it, space and time are distorted, to a degree which only becomes apparent when scientists unlock the seventh chamber. The asteroid is longer on the inside than on the outside. The seventh chamber goes on forever.

GREG BEAR (1951-)
Born in 1951, Bear published his first story in 1967, and his first novel in 1979. Although his academic background is in English, he has established a reputation as one of the finest contemporary writers of scientifically rigorous SF. Blood Music won both the Hugo and Nebula awards in its first, shorter version. His other novels include Eon, The Forge Of God and Eternity.

VERDICT
This is a simple enough premise, with a hollowed out asteroid from the future entering Earth's orbit, andt he nations of the world fighting over who owns it rather than where it has come from. The science behind the asteroid sounds like something our od Doctor Who, but the overall size of the book itself (not to mention the sequels) makes the wonders that are described a little diluted for my liking.