Rating: 
Summary: Sci-Fi based in Real Physics at its best!
Review: If I hadn't looked at the cover to see Gregory Benford's name, I would've sworn I was reading something by one of the greatest science fiction/fact authors of all time: Isaac Asimov. This book was exciting as well as informative while taking us away to not only futures taken by Mr. Asimov's books, such as "Foundation", "I,Robot", and others, but also ranks up there with other sci-fi and even newer cyberpunk books such as: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Neuromancer", "Snow Crash", "Cryptonomicon", and "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter". Yet another definite must-read for hardcore science fiction fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but flawed
Review: My main complaint with this book is the complete lack of character description. We get told that Seeker is like a racoon, so I think of a racoon. Only 150 pages later, the author casually mentions 6 legs. o_0 I want to know what these people/creatures/species look like, beyond some generalties.
Rating:
Summary: in a distant future
Review: Rebeccasreads recommends master science fiction author Gregory Benford's latest thriller -- BEYOND INFINITY -- a glimpse into our far distant future where, through innumerable revisions, humanity has attempted to resurrect a version of its genetic original.
Rating: 
Summary: Benford's Vision Doesn't Translate
Review: The idea is brilliant: a billion years into the future, many successive species of Homo have evolved, made their mark on the galaxy, then passed into extinction. Now humanity is represented by an effete, geneticly engineered species which have cloned an earlier species called "Originals" (possibly Homo Sap)to restore the ecology of Earth. In space, huge organic ships ply the space lanes while the Earth and the Solar System plunge toward an orbit of the galactic core (these orbital mechanics were achieved by a much earlier species). Now comes a multi-dimensional bad guy that wants to destroy all of the Originals.
Why? Who knows.
This is where the book begins to struggle. Benford's ideas are moving too rapidly,like the ideas we get just before sleep, ideas that we urgently write down before we forget. I can imagine his brain in overdrive as he tries to put this stuff on paper, however, his vision doesn't translate well and he leaves the reader lost in multi-dimensional confusion. His vision is vast, too vast for most of us. I could imagine a series of more compact books within this universe.
I give this book 2 stars for its incredible concepts; subtract three stars for its confusing plot and jumbled narrative.
Rating:
Summary: Challenging Task
Review: There is always a problem with stories set so far in the future that they have little or no connection to anything or anyone living today. _Beyond Infinity_ is takes place more than a billion years in Earths future, where so many races and have risen and died that nobody is close to even knowing the names of all of them even though the current race, the Supras" live more many centuries.The scale of time is such that the sun has gone around the galaxy four times, and the continents are no longer recognizable. Enter Cley, the heroine. She is an "Original" or one of the "Ur-Humans" which is close to our kind. Close as is desirable, since Supras in resurrecting our species added to the basic gene type telepathic abilities and the ability to live several centuries. It is so hard to latch on to her motivations that the author had to resort to more-extensive-than-necessary explorations of her sexual development. Her first affair is with a Supra, who dies in an attack that nearly kills Cley as well. It does kill off her entire tribe and she is the only one left. The rest of the story is about the journey Cley has in the battle against the thing that attacked. In this she is saved, then abetted, then led by a raccoon-type creature that turns out to be another higher intelligence. Through all this she is understandably but frustratingly passive, doing little other than surviving while events unfold around her. Through it all she has obscure and occasionally enlightening conversations with Supras and her raccoon friend, centered around Benford's well-founded ideas of astrophysics, biology, and sociology. Only if you are interested in these topics will you get anything out of this book. I give it four stars because I think Benford rises to much of the challenges of his topic, even though the resulting story will confuse the average reader and leave them unsatisfied. Favorite line: "Cley could not help but smile. `I think I prefer my lust in smaller doses.'".
Rating:
Summary: Challenging Task
Review: There is always a problem with stories set so far in the future that they have little or no connection to anything or anyone living today. _Beyond Infinity_ is takes place more than a billion years in Earths future, where so many races and have risen and died that nobody is close to even knowing the names of all of them even though the current race, the Supras" live more many centuries. The scale of time is such that the sun has gone around the galaxy four times, and the continents are no longer recognizable. Enter Cley, the heroine. She is an "Original" or one of the "Ur-Humans" which is close to our kind. Close as is desirable, since Supras in resurrecting our species added to the basic gene type telepathic abilities and the ability to live several centuries. It is so hard to latch on to her motivations that the author had to resort to more-extensive-than-necessary explorations of her sexual development. Her first affair is with a Supra, who dies in an attack that nearly kills Cley as well. It does kill off her entire tribe and she is the only one left. The rest of the story is about the journey Cley has in the battle against the thing that attacked. In this she is saved, then abetted, then led by a raccoon-type creature that turns out to be another higher intelligence. Through all this she is understandably but frustratingly passive, doing little other than surviving while events unfold around her. Through it all she has obscure and occasionally enlightening conversations with Supras and her raccoon friend, centered around Benford's well-founded ideas of astrophysics, biology, and sociology. Only if you are interested in these topics will you get anything out of this book. I give it four stars because I think Benford rises to much of the challenges of his topic, even though the resulting story will confuse the average reader and leave them unsatisfied. Favorite line: "Cley could not help but smile. 'I think I prefer my lust in smaller doses.'".
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