Customer Reviews
readable but disappointing space opera - By: Rod Williams, 10 Dec 2003 
The first hundred pages of this book were, I am sure, trying to persuade me that I would hate it. It begins with the escape of Netrigger Renwald Legroeder from the space-pirates of Golen Space.
Renwald returns to the civilised worlds & finds himself unaccountably charged with endangering the ship from which he was originally kidnapped by the pirates.
The keenness of the authorities to jail him seems to be linked to the disappearance of the 'ghost-ship' Impris. The only way for Legroeder to clear his name is to join an alien mission to infiltrate the pirates & discover the truth about the missing ghost ship.
Despite my initial qualms it is an enjoyable read, although it is little more than a swashbuckling tale of derring-do transferred to outer space.
On the negative side, the romantic episodes are a little clumsy & the aliens can easily be imagined as menin rubber suits borrowed from Star Trek for the afternoon.
However I would recommend reading this book despite the fact that I cannot fathom why it was nominated for a Nebula award. It's fast paced, it's engrossing. It's fun. But a Nebula nominated novelin the 21st century needs to have far more than this to even get within a light year of consideration. This is old-fashioned Space Opera, & although there's nothing wrong with that it lacks the excitement & sense of wonder that some of the original pulp novels can still produce.
There is a certain section of the SF author community who are - consciously or unconsciously - overinfluenced by TV or movie SF. Admittedly there is always the lucrative possibility that one's work might be optioned for a film or a series, & this must be a very real consideration for modern writers. All the aliens here - asin most TV SF - are bipedal, humanoid & speak English.
The Kyber are - to all intents & purposes - The Borg, or at least have their machine-interface culture.
There is also an unconscious arrogancein this book which stems - I suspect - from an exigent attitude ingrained within US society whereby Americans see little of interest beyond their own borders. Indeed, Carver implies - from what we see of the society of Faber Eridani - that colonised planets will - if not colonised by Americans - at least follow an American social & political structure. The planet has an Attorney General for instance & - apart from Legroeder's olive skin - nothing to suggest there is any ethnic mix.
This is lightweight & fun, but certainly not deserving of an award nomination.
Exciting, skillfully crafted. - By: , 09 Jul 2001 
Jeffrey A. Carver has written a novel that is a breathtaking adventure story with uncanny parallels, intrigue, illusions, conspiracy, interstellar war & throbbing with life & death.
Eternity's End is an exciting, skillfully crafted & fast-paced story that also serves as an engrossing look at possible future space travelin the flux, with the danger of being captured or destroyed by high tech & sophisticated interstellar pirates.
Jeffrey's latest adventure is about Star Rigger Renwald Legroeder, who after seven years of captivity at the hands of interstellar pirates, he escapes to the Centrist Worlds, thinking himself free to return to rigging.
Instead, he finds himself a target of a conspiracy that stretches across light-years............from the Centrist Worlds to the pirate stars beyond............a conspiracy that has survived interstellar war & claimed the lives of millions, both human & alien.
Legroeder's only hope of escaping the clutches of the conspiracy is to embark on a suicide mission that will plunge him back into the heart of the pirates' strongholdin search of a legend............the phantom rigger "Impris," a long-lost ship, known as the Flying Dutchman of space.
Awaiting him at the stronghold is a universe of danger, a cybernetically advanced undergroundin the dark heart of the conspiracy, & a women who could prove his downfall............or his salvation!
This is definitely a fabulous science fiction novel, that one can't afford to ignore, but to enjoy this absorbing story. Well worth the expense, the enjoyment & a great addition to your science fiction library. Once you've enjoyed this novel, be sure to check out Jeffrey A. Carver's other works. Well worth the effort!
