Rating: 
Summary: Life in a billion years
Review: In the classic short story "Day Million," Frederik Pohl tried to envision what life would be like millenia from now. Poul Anderson tries to do the same here a few galactic revolutions (and hundreds of millions of years) on.It's no longer possible to separate humans from computers. Formerly biological intelligences get uploaded into immortality, then downloaded when they want to experience existence as living beings again. Minds join and separate at will. The universe (or the galaxy, at least-it's not entirely clear) is well-explored.
Against this surrealistic backdrop, one of the main minds of the universe (call it Alpha) wishes to check up on the mind that's still on earth (Gaia). The latter is refusing assistance in helping to save earth from collision with a massive interstellar dust cloud a few thousand years hence (an eyeblink in this era). Why? Well, Alpha downloads an emissary and sends him along to find out. Saying much else would start giving things away, but let's just say Gaia is doing some interesting experiments. And let's say, too, that there's still room for love in what may seem a sterile universe. It's not always an easy read and ends in an unsatisfying way to me. But there appears to be room left for a sequel, so perhaps satisfaction is still to come. A solid though not to my mind classic work by one of the masters of the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Life in a billion years
Review: In the classic short story "Day Million," Frederik Pohl tried to envision what life would be like millenia from now. Poul Anderson tries to do the same here a few galactic revolutions (and hundreds of millions of years) on. It's no longer possible to separate humans from computers. Formerly biological intelligences get uploaded into immortality, then downloaded when they want to experience existence as living beings again. Minds join and separate at will. The universe (or the galaxy, at least-it's not entirely clear) is well-explored.
Against this surrealistic backdrop, one of the main minds of the universe (call it Alpha) wishes to check up on the mind that's still on earth (Gaia). The latter is refusing assistance in helping to save earth from collision with a massive interstellar dust cloud a few thousand years hence (an eyeblink in this era). Why? Well, Alpha downloads an emissary and sends him along to find out. Saying much else would start giving things away, but let's just say Gaia is doing some interesting experiments. And let's say, too, that there's still room for love in what may seem a sterile universe. It's not always an easy read and ends in an unsatisfying way to me. But there appears to be room left for a sequel, so perhaps satisfaction is still to come. A solid though not to my mind classic work by one of the masters of the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: A True Tragedy of the Future
Review: In the far future, humans only inhabit the stars as personality simulations, subroutines in vast, powerful artificial intelligencies that form a "galactic brain". One such uploaded mind is Christian Brannock. As an engineer, he helped build the first great works in space and was one of the first to work in intimate symbiosis with the AIs who, rather than man, colonized the stars. On Earth, the reigning intelligence is Gaia, a computer that rules human affairs and also posseses, in its libraries, presevered human minds it uses to ruin elaborate simulations of real and alternate histories. Millions of years pass in this novel's almost Stapledonian sweep, and the galactic brain becomes concerned about the seeming obsession of Gaia with Earth history, her secretiveness, and her unresponsiveness to their proposal on whether the now geologically ancient Earth should be saved from a bloated sun, a test run for greater galactic engineering to come. A version of the Brannock mind is copied and sent on his way to Earth. There he, and a slightly different copy, attempt to figure out what Gaia's up to. One version, inhabiting a robot's body, explores the dying Earth. The other engages in talk and travel with Lucinda Ashcroft, a personality inhabiting Gaia. This novel puts together, in a surprisingly successful way, just about all the strains of Anderson's previous works from the epic sweep of TAU ZERO to his heroic fantasy to the uploaded minds of some of his most recent science fiction to alternate histories and time travel. The novel's sense of true tragedy is not new to Anderson, but, as the title hints, there is an unexpected theological flavor that is rare, but not unknown, in his work. This novel should not only satisfy any fan of Anderson's but also serve as a good introduction to the rest of his work.
Rating:
Summary: Genesis: Our Future?
Review: Poul Anderson creates a very interesting and thought provoking future. The story spans forever and makes you wonder about consciousness, God, where the human race is heading, etc. Our main characters get uploaded into super computers. One goes space exploring and one helps to manage the Earth. Unfortunately, we don't follow these characters as much as I would like. The story rambles a bit, but definitely worth reading for those interested in the big issues.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disgrace
Review: Poul Anderson ought to be ashamed of himself. He took the worked-to-death theme of sentient machines, presented the same dead-tired ideas in a grandious backdrop - I suppose that was an attempt to make his readers think he said something new - integarated them loosely with some old short stories of his and called it a "new" book. What little story the book has lurches along until Anderson apparently got tired of writing and quit. It certainly had no ending in the normal sense of a novel. At times, Anderson's prose is almost poetry. It flows beautifully. Unfortunately, when examined for meaning, it's often complete nonsense. Add the fact that the only two characcters in the book are two dimensional strawmen that Anderson made no effort whatsoever to flesh out and what you get is a real stinker. The only interesting aspect is whether Anderson is a cynical old man trading on his reputation to grub some easy money or whether he's really that far over the hill.
Rating: 
Summary: A billion year future history
Review: Poul Anderson, one of our great science fiction writers, takes us on a journey of a billion years with this yarn. It begins with astronaut Christian Brannock in the near term future and ends about a billion years later, with humanity scattered across the galaxy and for the most part uploaded into the computers that span the galaxy and control everything. A few humans have been re-instated on earth for an experiment run by a perhaps slightly deranged computer called Gaia. This novel did keep my interest, although it may be too far 'off the wall' for some tastes.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: The good: This book puts forth some very interesting ideas. Ideas that you are hard-pressed to find in any other sci-fi works, but that are too basic to ignore. Such as, if you were to look ahead in time millions of years, what will become of the human race? Is artificial intelligence the same, less than, or greater than real intelligence? This book will certainly spark your imagination in these areas. The bad: Some of the plot is too thin, or too unexplained. There are points that should be shoved in your face but aren't. Some moments are anticlimactic. Overall: It this book all that it could have been? No. Am I sorry I read it? Not at all. It is more thought-provoking than entertainment, and it's ideas will probably haunt me for a long, long time.
Rating:
Summary: emotional view
Review: This book deals with the future assimilation of humans into electronic existance ,much like the famed "Tommorow and tommorow" of Charles Sheffield. True ,it's lingering taste is more emotional ,as Gaia trys to give the human-race the choise to live ,because she is more human then all other nodes in the galactic-brain ,but in the science-fictional aspect I feel "T&T" has been more wild ,maybe more ingenius. I've been more dumb-founded by the sheer influence of Drake Merlin on the universe ,Than touched with the understanding of Gaia's motives. Maybe it's only me ,though I'm not a "only hard" sci-fi man ,but I believe "T&T" and "Genesis" investigate the same sector of the future ,and although "Genesis" is an excellent book - "T&T" is better. Still I recommend "Genesis" it as a great read.
Rating:
Summary: A thought provoking dystopia.
Review: This book follows the future human interaction with artificial intelligence. The two main characters, Christian Brannock and Laurinda Ashcroft, go as far as to have their personalities "up-loaded" into this expanding intelligent computer network. As the artificial intelligence grows and spreads, humanity finds it convenient to leave more and more control in the hands of the computers. Finally, once the _computers_ have conquered the stars, Earth is remembered. However, the intelligence in charge of the Sol system has grown more and more evasive and secretive, so Christian Brannock is called upon to investigate and find out what secret the computer of Earth is hiding. This is a story of the near and far future. It is a dystopia, where humanity, in search of comfort and ease, surrenders its future to technology. But, with the disappearance of striving and overcoming, the flame of humanity is snuffed out. Do the computers care about the love of one couple? No. But do the computers care about the striving and advancement of life? Perhaps... This book will challenge you to think about the future, and our direction. I found this book highly thought provoking, and more than a little disturbing. Well-written, and reasonably short, you should consider reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing hodgepodge
Review: This book struck me as hastily thought out and written, with no love or energy expended on it. The grand concept is not particularly interesting, and the bits and pieces stuck together to flesh out the concept are hackneyed. I found it slow going and confusing, and not at all worth the time or effort. Not recommended.
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