From the Publisher
A solid and engrossing novel in the tradition of Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein.”—George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels
“Brisk and efficiently engrossing.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The sort of work that can hold its own among the genre’s greats; the Clarkes and the Nivens and the Heinleins.”—The Maine Edge
George R.R. Martin
Fans of hard SF delighted in Heaven’s Shadow, a solid and engrossing novel in the tradition of Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlin…Now Heaven’s War takes the story to the next level.”—George R. R. Martin
Library Journal - Audio
This is the second title in the "Heaven Shadow" series. Starting where the last book left off, two groups of scientists on opposite sides of the world are abducted and transported to the planet Keanu. They must figure out how to survive in its alien habitat, discover why they were brought there, and why friends who are dead on Earth are alive on Keanu. Set in the not-too-distant future, this story has all the elements of hard sf. Narrator Joe J. Thomas does a wonderful job portraying a great variety of characters, from gravelly voiced Harley Drake to smooth talker Dale Scott and Russian linguist Valya Makarova. VERDICT Recommended for fans of space science fiction.—Jessi Brown, Huntington City-Twp P.L., IN
Kirkus Reviews
Second part of an alien-contact trilogy, following Heaven's Shadow (2011), the brainchild of Hollywood A-listers Goyer (Batman Begins, Dark City, etc.) and Cassutt (Stargate SG-1, Max Headroom, etc.). In 2019, two competing space missions landed on Keanu, which turned out to be a vast alien vessel. Despite their advanced science, Keanu's Architects have a problem they can't solve and need humanity's help. Neither of these expeditions made much headway, so the Architects snatched up a random selection of people from their respective mission HQs (in Houston and Bangalore) and deposited them in Keanu to join marooned NASA mission commander Zack Stewart. So they must learn how to survive here and explore their surroundings in the hope of learning why they've been summoned. There are some complications: Some of those killed in the previous book don't stay dead, but return as "revenants" with a mental hotline to the Architects; and an alien, the Prisoner, trapped for hundreds of years, escapes and encounters one of the human exploring teams--but his motives are unclear. The action-adventure sequences, as the various exploring teams blunder from cliffhanger to cliffhanger, keep the pages turning at a good clip. And the rest, plot absurdities notwithstanding, would be far more likable if it had been less obviously designed for future movie-dom, with sound-stage interiors, screenplay-crisp dialogue, a steady drip-drip of revelations, the ticking clock (Keanu is departing for parts unknown), the occasional death and the teams selected for wide appeal from such stock characters as the young girl (Zack's daughter), the dog (a revenant), the crippled ex-astronaut, the dying black guy, the Chinese spy, the science fiction writer, the Indian guru, etc. Brisk and efficiently engrossing, and as substantial as bubbles.
