The Forge of God

The Science Fiction Encyclopedia (SFE) describes this novel as "darkly exhilarating", which is apt. It also points out that its conclusions are quite different to the hard SF norm. The Forge of God sets out not to comfort, but to disturb. It deals not in platitudes or celebrations of human greatness, but in a very final end. It is Bear's great achievement that he tempers its gloomy outcomes with some surprisingly uplifting observations about what people cling to, for as long as they can, when all is lost.