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Galactic Center #5.5
A Hunger for the Infinite
A Hunger for the Infinite, which first appeared in Robert Silverberg's "Far Horizons" anthology, is a novella that takes place in the universe of "The Galactic Center Saga", detailing a galactic war between mechanical and biological life. Here, the pilots had made it to True Center in order to destroy something, anything, important to the Mechs, but Paris had something else on his mind. A story of the Mantis, and the decline of humans beginning in 3600 AD.
2 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 1999
5 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Gregory Benford
576 books606 followersGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.
As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.
As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 1, 2019
Space opera September - challenge 1. I enjoyed this and looking forward to read the full series.
May 23, 2012
I got this audiobook as a promotional freebie from Audible (as I write this review, they still offer it for free). Let me mention that I am not familiar with the Galactic Center Saga Series and hence starting with book #5.5 might not be the best way of getting acquainted with a series.
So, for those readers in the same boat with me, here are some of the author's notes related to this series:
The question Mr. Benford talks about (or so I understood from bits and scraps of conversations) is why the Mantis, a superior machine or mech, harvests humans. And the answer is a rather unexpected: it sees humanity as an endangered species and tries to chronicle its existence through "art." What the mech understands by "art" is something each reader has to find for himself/herself.
What I think it's interesting about A Hunger for the Infinite is the fact that humans have nearly forgotten the concept of artistry, while the machine dwells in the "happiness" of creating statues. Hence Mr. Benford points our to a direct correlation between the development of a civilization and the existence art.
The story itself is rather episodic (it spans about 100 years in 50-or-so pages/2 hours of narration). I understand that this technique was intentional, as the author tried "to convey the huge scales of both time and distance that a galaxy implies" (Gregory Benford). Yet, at times it felt scattered, in spite of the rich, effusive writing.
Based on this novella only, I believe that the Galactic Center Saga Series has the potential to be a good read.
So, for those readers in the same boat with me, here are some of the author's notes related to this series:
The series comprises six novels, composed over a twenty-five-year span. The events stretch from the early 2000s to A.D. 37518, an immense scope imposed because its central focus, our galactic center, is 28,000 light-years away, and characters had to get there to take part in the galaxy's larger games.[...]
The themes of the series resolve in favor of humanity as unique and worth saving, even in as hostile a galaxy as I envisioned. But I suspect that if natural life is as foolish and vulnerable as we seem to be, quite possibly machines may inherit the galaxy, and thus sit bemused, watching us with cool indifference from afar.
This added story deals with an essential question asked of humans at the beginning of their decline, about A.D. 36000. It also reveals several aspects of the dreaded Mantis I never found room for in the novels." (Gregory Benford)
The question Mr. Benford talks about (or so I understood from bits and scraps of conversations) is why the Mantis, a superior machine or mech, harvests humans. And the answer is a rather unexpected: it sees humanity as an endangered species and tries to chronicle its existence through "art." What the mech understands by "art" is something each reader has to find for himself/herself.
What I think it's interesting about A Hunger for the Infinite is the fact that humans have nearly forgotten the concept of artistry, while the machine dwells in the "happiness" of creating statues. Hence Mr. Benford points our to a direct correlation between the development of a civilization and the existence art.
The story itself is rather episodic (it spans about 100 years in 50-or-so pages/2 hours of narration). I understand that this technique was intentional, as the author tried "to convey the huge scales of both time and distance that a galaxy implies" (Gregory Benford). Yet, at times it felt scattered, in spite of the rich, effusive writing.
Based on this novella only, I believe that the Galactic Center Saga Series has the potential to be a good read.
May 11, 2016
Jedna jako BITNA stvar: U mom primerku knjige prica "Glad za Beskrajem" izdata je zajedno sa pricom Grega Bera "Put Svih Duhova". Tako da je ova ocena od tri zvezdice ocena za obe price. Odulucio sam da ih zajedno ocenim iz razloga jer su slicne, stim sto je Benfordova prica (72 strane) nesto bolja; Beorva prica staje na 158 strana. Kod Benforda imamo pricu o rasi nekakvih bogomoljki koje se i ne trude da razumeju i onako vec sjebanu ljudsku rasu i polako je unistavaju. Od ljudskih tela prave skulpture i na jednom visem nivou povredjuju kako tela tako i duse otetih. Kod Bera ljudsku civilizaciju koja se bavi otvaranjem portala na takozvanom "putu" (Put je neka vrsta poteza u vasioni na kome obitava ljudski rod i na kome otvara portale koji ih opet vode do resursa u nekim drugim svetovima i dimenzijama) napada ne druga rase vec drugi univerzum. Taj drugi univerzum je olicenje totalnog haosa, pako bukvalno. Krajeve ove dve price necu otkrivati :)
Mozete a i ne morate da procitate ovu knjizicu. Ako bas volite fantastiku i sve gutate onda navalite.
Mozete a i ne morate da procitate ovu knjizicu. Ako bas volite fantastiku i sve gutate onda navalite.
March 19, 2013
The exquisite language, poetic and rhythmic, as well as the dramatization and the narrator's superb performace made this audiobook an enjoyable and even compelling listen.
The idea of the novella is interesting though somewhat creepy: The Mechs are harvesting humans to create art. The Mantis, a supreme machine life, feels something is missing and makes a deal with a human, Paris' father, in exchange for the lives of other humans.
The execution of the story is episodic. The beginning scene is haunting. Then the story indulges in a mixture of philosophical and poetic thinking about the limitations and possibilities of humans, at conscious and subconscious level. I did not find the second half of the story as interesting as the first half.
Overall, I enjoyed the rich, poetic, at times even rhyming language and the narrator's superb performance more than the story itself. As this is not a book of reflective poetry but an SF novella, I cannot give it more than 3 stars.
The idea of the novella is interesting though somewhat creepy: The Mechs are harvesting humans to create art. The Mantis, a supreme machine life, feels something is missing and makes a deal with a human, Paris' father, in exchange for the lives of other humans.
The execution of the story is episodic. The beginning scene is haunting. Then the story indulges in a mixture of philosophical and poetic thinking about the limitations and possibilities of humans, at conscious and subconscious level. I did not find the second half of the story as interesting as the first half.
Overall, I enjoyed the rich, poetic, at times even rhyming language and the narrator's superb performance more than the story itself. As this is not a book of reflective poetry but an SF novella, I cannot give it more than 3 stars.
July 2, 2012
A few of these scenes are haunting and beautiful. Others are totally forgettable. As in, I finished this yesterday and I don't even remember those scenes. All that's left is these suspended images of twisted human art.
January 29, 2019
the novella and performance were fine. I picked this up for free from audible a few years ago and just now got around to listening to it.
The imagery was potent, though I wasn't happy with the overall amount of body horror described.
There are big sci-fi ideas here - BDOs abound, including partial dyson spheres and the harvesting of a galactic nucleus - unfortunately these are just window dressings, and the actual locations where things occur are less grand.
The imagery was potent, though I wasn't happy with the overall amount of body horror described.
There are big sci-fi ideas here - BDOs abound, including partial dyson spheres and the harvesting of a galactic nucleus - unfortunately these are just window dressings, and the actual locations where things occur are less grand.
February 26, 2020
I struggled to pay attention. Not my style. Not sure why.
August 31, 2023
Though the story intrigued me, it was much too gory for me to handle. DNF
June 7, 2012
This was a free audiobook on Audible, a novella written in the same universe as six other novels in the author's Galactic Center Saga. I read at least 5 of the 6 books in that series and have one vivid recollection of reading Tides of Light on the beach in the fading light of early evening, trying to get in a few more pages before it got too dark to see the ink against the page.
This novella is written in the same philosophical, somewhat aloof style of the series novels, and with very similar vertigo-inducing time spans. The series as a whole is a rewarding read and I rated all of the books I read in it 4 stars.
But ... how much story can one tell in 300k plus words without repeating oneself? Or, how many times can one get invites to the soiree until wearing out one's welcome? For sure, Gregory Benford tries to have something new and interesting to say each time, and in this novella, it is , but the milieu is the same, the extrapolative bases are unchanged and the voice is from my past.
Plus ... it's just different listening to a book versus reading it, especially in fading beach light. It seems a bit fast, less conducive to rumination, a medium more in tune with today's lifestyles than it is with that of the 80s. Hearing this novella now so far removed from those years when I read the series, I find that the gosh-golly-wow element has gone elsewhere, along with fragments of my youth.
I'm sure others will find something of value here, but I am perhaps too jaded now to dig deeper. Am rating this 4 stars for old times sake, and the classy ending.
July 10, 2012
I guess sometimes you get what you paid for, and since I got this for free I can't complain too much.
This novella and I just didn't click. Maybe I have gotten used to different styles of writing and different types of perspectives but much as I tried to I couldn't get involved in this book. Written in the more classic SF style and dealing with more of the strange (yeah, the main character was human, but far removed from present day humanity) I felt like I was tossed into the middle of something that I didn't have the background on.
Overall not a complete waste of time, but the odds of me ever reading/listening to this again are asymptotic to zero...
This novella and I just didn't click. Maybe I have gotten used to different styles of writing and different types of perspectives but much as I tried to I couldn't get involved in this book. Written in the more classic SF style and dealing with more of the strange (yeah, the main character was human, but far removed from present day humanity) I felt like I was tossed into the middle of something that I didn't have the background on.
Overall not a complete waste of time, but the odds of me ever reading/listening to this again are asymptotic to zero...
July 9, 2012
Free audiobook. This would have been more interesting if I had read the series it is a part of. I have no idea exactly what the Mechs are. I thought robot until something about them evolving was mentioned, and then I saw the summary said something about mechanical life. Is there more beyond robot that I'm missing? If I was more familiar with this universe, I think I would have found this book to be more entertaining. It was a bit more philosophical than I normally like, but it was an interesting concept: that the Mechs are using humans to create art.
Currently reading
August 9, 2012Still trying to get my head over the audiobook experience...
Feels more disconnected than "proper" reading...
A novella taking part of a major collection of stories, a saga entitled "The Galatic Center Saga" where a war between biological and mechanical beings takes place.
A human makes a strange pact with a (the?) Mantis and the story evolves around those consequences.
It feels alien enough, distant enough in time (3600 AD).
30 minutes into a 1h46m audiobook...
Feels more disconnected than "proper" reading...
A novella taking part of a major collection of stories, a saga entitled "The Galatic Center Saga" where a war between biological and mechanical beings takes place.
A human makes a strange pact with a (the?) Mantis and the story evolves around those consequences.
It feels alien enough, distant enough in time (3600 AD).
30 minutes into a 1h46m audiobook...
February 21, 2014
It was a good read to fill in some of the blanks in the Galactic Center universe. We get a bit of a glimpse of what happened to the chandeliers and the foundation of the first citadels.
It was also very dark and ultimately depressing. There doesn't seem to be much hope left for humanity at this point. If you've read the rest of the Galactic Center series you know what happens to these poor refugees.
It was also very dark and ultimately depressing. There doesn't seem to be much hope left for humanity at this point. If you've read the rest of the Galactic Center series you know what happens to these poor refugees.
May 23, 2012
If you either like science fiction OR philosophy of the human mind then this audiobook is a good choice.
The deep thinking into the human soul and mind, its limits, possibilities and distinctions to the digital worlds, the conscious and unconscious parts, all these things make this story worth listening to.
Very good work!
The deep thinking into the human soul and mind, its limits, possibilities and distinctions to the digital worlds, the conscious and unconscious parts, all these things make this story worth listening to.
Very good work!
January 26, 2013
Uh, I don't know. I guess that novellas are like hors d'oeuvres, so there were some elements there that might coax me to try more Benford later but I think I'll have a different entree right now. It is far future space war between organic and inorganic life forms. Maybe if that universe was a little more fleshed out, I would be more engaged.
December 1, 2012
It's also not my usual fair so I'll allow that maybe it's too far out of my zone to be liked. I don't usually read Sci-fi and this reminds me why. It can be too cold. I d/l because it was free and I do like to try authors I don't know. This didn't work for me.
That said, I loved the narrator. I could listen to that voice all day long. :)
That said, I loved the narrator. I could listen to that voice all day long. :)
April 15, 2014
This was a freebie from Audible. My low rating may be due to it being my introduction to the series. Perhaps if I'd read the earlier books, I might have cared about the story. As it is, I was so bored I fell asleep somewhere in the middle and can't be bothered to backtrack and relisten.
June 16, 2012
It's okay. It's short, but there are so many better books out there to read, save two hours of your life and read something better.
July 25, 2012
This was a pretty good short story, but I feel like I need a full length hard sci-fi novel in this world.
August 9, 2012
Interesting short story so far. Got it free from audible.com. Very dark but interesting. Hints at a very interesting future human culture in the far future.
July 28, 2017
Weird but good.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews