Rating: 
Summary: not a typical gregory benford story
Review: i had lot's of anticipation from this book, it turned out to be an o.k book not more, and not less.as i understand the book was written in the mid eighties, during ronald reigen time, and the cold war, what makes the 1998 edition almost irrelevant. the story even resemble indiana jones plots from that period, and has the "rambo" atmosphere of america againts the rest of the world, especially kominist regimes. in this old envelope our story developes, it deals a lot in theoretical physics issues, which most readers won't understand. and some history and archeological aspects of old greece, between them there is a relationship story development between a strong character woman archeologist and a kind of "macho" mathematician figure , plus lot's of greek bed guys, trying to harass and offend the americans in any way, and by that to give the faint plot some interest. the main SCI-FI aspect was interesting - a phisical singularity artifact discovered by american archiologist, but the story around it was'nt good as that. for conclusion, the story is o.k to read, specially if you don't have other interesting thing to do, or if you are interested in theoretical physics (those who like hocking books). for other benford fans, i sugest to skip these book.
Rating: 
Summary: confusing and boring story
Review: I had really high hopes for this book when I bought it. Seemed like an interesting premise. I've read other books by this author and they were interesting, at least. This book was confusing and really quite boring. The first half of the book (200 pages) basically has the very forgettable characters doing not much of anything. When the "action" finally starts, the menacing artifact is about as scary as a ham sandwich. I have to be honest, I didn't even finish the book. I stopped about 50 pages from the ending because I just couldn't stand it anymore.
Rating: 
Summary: good, satisfying book
Review: I liked this book a lot. It's not "great", but ultimately satisfying, combining particle physics and archaeology with a bunch of quite believable characters. One reviewer complained about the "Rambo" quality, that area is well done and realistic, neither overplayed nor over-macho. As a woman, I found the heroine interesting as he gives her point of view (what a difference from Asimov!), it's believable guys. Also, as an avid reader of Sci. American, and being an archaeology enthusiast, I enjoyed that combination tremendously. As in all good Benford, IT'S BELIEVABLE. You feel the story could really happen.
Rating:
Summary: major let-down
Review: I picked this up as a used book, so my edition is older than most, but I have to agree with some other reviewers here who questioned why it was brought back into print. Clearly this novel is a low point in Benford's career. I really wanted to enjoy this book but I couldn't get past the filler. All the "intrigue" and running around by our heroes got on my nerves and did little for me in the entertainment department, in fact it prevented me from finishing the book. I simply didn't care about these characters enough to follow all their exploits and "sneaking" around in order to wrest the artifact from the clutches of whats-his-face (Kontos). I have read a great deal regarding "alternate theories" about the origins of man, so I was looking forward to reading a novelized version of those theories from a trusted author like Benford. Things just didn't work out that way. Try Timescape or Heart of the Comet for a MUCH better representation of Benford's talent.
Rating:
Summary: Coulnd't put it down
Review: I picked up a copy of Artifact because I didn't want to spend $28.00 on Benford's new novel (the paperback will be out soon, right?). I made a good choice. Solid science, wonderful characters, and a twisty, engaging story ... altogether, one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. I'm going to the bookstore today to find another Benford novel. Hell, I might even spend the $28.00 bucks for the hardback!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, thought provoking, plausable
Review: I was completely enthralled and captivated by Benford's scientific knowledge and writing skills. He has the unique ability to blend insightful scientific speculation with real-life adventure and human interaction. Artifact is one of those rare science fiction stories that is believable because of the real science it contains. Benford has been critisized for including too much scientific explanation. However, without it, I may not have found the story line as plausible, or enjoyable. I further enjoyed Benford's writing style. His characters come to life and it is apparent that Benford enjoys writing about adventure and human interactions as much as he does about the science. All-in-all, I found Artifact very entertaining and would recommend it to anyone remotely interested in science fiction or adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: BARELY ENTERTAINING AND HARD TO READ
Review: I've read other Benford books before, and this does not compare to his previous work! The heroine here is an immature and reckless and chain-smoking, crazy woman called Claire. She's an amateur archeologist who STEALS a precious artifact from Greece just to get revenge on the Greek co-director of the dig site. The Greek dude, Kontos is guilty of sexual harrasment to Claire, but Claire, the crazy woman that she is, is guilty of GRAND THEFT of a national Greek treasure. I also consider her GUILTY of all the TROUBLE caused by her theft! Her utterly brainless ... actions lead to a WASTE OF US TAXPAYER MONEY because the US has to launch a major military operation to try to FIX UP the consequences of HER THEFT! Lots of people lose their lives (Greek and American) because of HER STUPIDITY!!!!!!! And guess what? She lives in the end, she gets her man and has a happy ending! How stupid! The plot of this book is totally majorly [dumb]! Mr. Benford, if this is what has become of your writing talent, I believe you should stick to PHYSICS and stop trying to be an SF/Adventure/Romance writer!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Indiana Jones meets Particle Physics
Review: Perhaps I'm biased because I like Benford's style: I couldn't put the book down. I read it straight through, just stopping once for lunch. It's not Benford's best book because his others are all so great, but it was much better than I expected after reading the other reviews here. Benford mixes in plenty of realistic science, archaeology, and university politics with the action of the plot. At the end of the book, an interesting "Technical Afterword" puts the sci-fi in context with "real" physics. My favorite line from the book is typical Benford: "He had noted that the noise in a room rose as the square of the number of people in it..."
Rating:
Summary: Quasi SF
Review: The reason that I read books that are described as "science fiction" is, ultimately, for the science fiction. I assume I will be immersed in a world with some kind of unique take on the laws of physics, society, or reality itself. Technically speaking, "Artifact" fulfills those requirements, though it does so in a fairly tedious and uninteresting way.
I can only assume Mr. Benford's publisher is telling their authors to "do something Crichtonesque."
If you are the type of reader who is often confused and bewildered by new ideas, you may enjoy this book. However, if "normalist" SF is really what you're looking for, a much more fulfilling read is Greg Bear's "Darwin's Radio."
Rating:
Summary: great idea, lousy implementation
Review: The SF premise -- which you'll get to eventually if you stick with it -- is neat. But most of the actual text is dull. The main character is unlikable -- she's an academic who's irresponsible, immature, drives recklessly, parks illegally and throws out the tickets, etc. At first I thought there'd be some good reason for these unrespectable traits, but there never is; at the end, when she marries the other protagonist (a somewhat more likeable fellow), I felt sorry for him. The antagonist, on the other hand, is so overdone as to be unbelievable. And I almost liked him better than the protagonist anyway. I think Benford has good potential, and I love the physics, but this book was not enjoyable.
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