Rating: 
Summary: Going Where?
Review: (I'd actually give it 2.5 stars.) You can definitely tell how Gregory Benford style changes over the years. In the Ocean of Night was somewhat obscure and confusing at times. It just didn't seem to fit very smoothly with the story. But overall, it was interesting. I know that after reading his acclaimed Timescape novel, reading one of his first written works is a bit unfair. I know you can't expect an author to start out magnificently. I'm a big sci-fi fan, and this book was more about the changes in an aging astronaut than science fiction. Which isn't bad, although I was expecting a lot more science material. I did like the philosophical theme and his vision of the future idea.
Rating:
Summary: Going Where?
Review: (I'd actually give it 2.5 stars.) You can definitely tell how Gregory Benford style changes over the years. In the Ocean of Night was somewhat obscure and confusing at times. It just didn't seem to fit very smoothly with the story. But overall, it was interesting. I know that after reading his acclaimed Timescape novel, reading one of his first written works is a bit unfair. I know you can't expect an author to start out magnificently. I'm a big sci-fi fan, and this book was more about the changes in an aging astronaut than science fiction. Which isn't bad, although I was expecting a lot more science material. I did like the philosophical theme and his vision of the future idea.
Rating: 
Summary: The beginning of a machine-intelligence horror tale.
Review: I found this first volume of a six volume story to be the most interesting. It immediately hooks you and leaves you wondering just where you're headed. Walmsley is a character you soon root for and have confidence in. This volume becomes integral and significant to the final one, which is a grand and awe-inspiring finish to a dark, fascinating and addicting series. You may have trouble locating names of all six novels in the order they were released, as follows: In the ocean of night, Across the sea of suns, Great sky river, Tides of light, Furious gulf, and Sailing bright eternity.
Rating: 
Summary: good old wine
Review: i just bumped into this book by accident, it was on sale with other old SCI FI books that i bought. i think that the writing is briliant, the story is fascinating. gregory benford is always an un-orthodox SCI-FI writer what makes it's stories much reacher and more dimentional then others. a briliant book and full with inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: good old wine
Review: i just bumped into this book by accident, it was on sale with other old SCI FI books that i bought. i think that the writing is briliant, the story is fascinating. gregory benford is always an un-orthodox SCI-FI writer what makes it's stories much reacher and more dimentional then others. a briliant book and full with inspiration.
Rating: 
Summary: Better Physics than writing SciFi!
Review: I really fail to see what all the hype is about this very boring book. It is a long, boring collection of misconnected thoughts. Since they are misconnected they never come together. What is the final resolution of Alexandria being resurrected? That is never developed. What is the point of the "new sons"? It is just an incidental group that comes and goes through out this endless barage of ramblings. In my estimation, Gregory Benford should stay with teaching Physics, which I hope he does better than attempting to write SciFi! Get a grip folks. There are reviewers that will aclaim ANYTHING! I finally put this rag where it belongs...in the trash.
Rating:
Summary: Better Physics than writing SciFi!
Review: I really fail to see what all the hype is about this very boring book. It is a long, boring collection of misconnected thoughts. Since they are misconnected they never come together. What is the final resolution of Alexandria being resurrected? That is never developed. What is the point of the "new sons"? It is just an incidental group that comes and goes through out this endless barage of ramblings. In my estimation, Gregory Benford should stay with teaching Physics, which I hope he does better than attempting to write SciFi! Get a grip folks. There are reviewers that will aclaim ANYTHING! I finally put this rag where it belongs...in the trash.
Rating:
Summary: An imaginative opener to a stellar series
Review: In the Ocean of Night dramatically opens the Galactic Centre series. It does so gradually and originally, involving one of the most imaginatively written alien encounter scenes ever. While this book lacks the frenetic pace of some of its sequels, it is nonetheless a worthwhile member of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Old idea, poorly written
Review: The premise of this book is certainly nothing new, and the writing itself is nothing to write home about. Benford spends a large number of pages telling very little story, with numerous uninteresting side-trips and distractions. He also frequently switches between present tense and past tense randomly, and engages in long run-on sentences with no punctuation or capitalization - this must be considered "cool" in some writing circles, but as a reader, it is a great annoyance. I certainly won't be bothering with any more in this series.
Rating:
Summary: uneven start, but very good
Review: THis inaugurates an extremely ambitious series of scifi novels, which reached six in all. There are many mysterious references that are explained in later volumes, which serve to whet the appetite. Benford maintains a sense of mystery and wonder quite masterfully. In later volumes, it gets deeper and much better. The characters are what makes this writing exceptional, even if their sexual predilections (2 f's and one m) are a bit much after a while. Benford is a very good writer, one of the best at hard sci fi, but you do feel at times that he is straining to think up what happens next.
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