Entoverse

From Publishers Weekly This latest entry in Hogan's popular Giants series ( Inherit the Stars , etc.) begins a year after humans on earth first make contact with the peaceful, advanced, nonhuman Ganymeans, who exerted a hitherto unknown but momentous influence on the development of Homo sapiens. Following the discovery that the humans of Jevlen had been tampering deleteriously with earth history, the Ganymeans turned off the Jevlenese super - computer JEVEX. When the Ganymean supervisor of Jevlen finds violence and irrationality increasing, with leaders of exotic cults demanding the return of JEVEX, he calls on physicist Victor Hunt to discover the cause. Meanwhile, on the world of Waroth, where science is unknown, famine reigns as the magic that once created plentitude now ebbs away. Hunt and his assistants find a mysterious link among the cult leaders, JEVEX and Waroth that partially explains the Jevlenese's hostility toward earth. While Hogan's scientific material can be of interest, his one-dimensional characters and sketchy portrayal of nonhuman society make the novel rather dull overall. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Scientist Victor Hunt and journalist Gina Marin join a small group of humans selected by an alien race of benevolent giants--the Ganymeans--to investigate the planet Jevlin, where a malfunctioning computer poses a danger to continued peaceful relations between that planet and Earth. Set in the same universe as Inherit the Stars (Ballantine, 1978), The Gentle Giants of Ganymede (Ballantine, 1986), and Giants' Star (Ballantine, 1986), Hogan's latest novel focuses primarily on ideas, leaving its characters curiously devoid of personal appeal. Despite some intriguing looks at physics and alternate realities, this novel is recommended only where previous series titles have a following. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.