Eifelheim in Beyond Reality

Aug 10, 2008 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: award-nominee-hugo, 2006-2010, science-fiction, audiobook, mind-blowing, award-nominee-locus, alien-cultures, mystery, multiple-award-nominee

3.5 Stars. Rich, detailed writing. Michael Flynn is a very good writer and this book was meticulously researched. I am someone who really likes books that pay attention to detail and spend the time to develop the world of the book and this one does that. The major drawback for me (and the only reason the book does not rate higher) was that the 1348 parts (which were the majority) got a bit boring and tedious. Though well written, I just found myself begging the author to move the story along. Th ...more

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Dec 11, 2011 Banner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, alien

The gap between the supernatural and the natural narrows in this brilliant science fiction chronicle set in medieval Germany. The universe is both a cruel and beautiful place. Life is truly miraculous to overcome both, the black death and deep space travel. Reality is not categorized between science and faith but encompass both. These are just some of the thoughts you have after reading this book.

There is so much I would like to say about this book, but will not because I want each person to di ...more

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Apr 08, 2010 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: sf

A clever concept, but something about the style put me off. The pacing was odd, and there were too many characters (and many of them with multiple or similar names). The scenes set in the present, which apparently served as the original novella, featured two characters whose relationship seemed forced. They spoke to each other in intellectual jargon that just didn't feel real. The untranslated foreign phrases - a conceit that was charming in Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America - fel ...more

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Jan 06, 2009 John rated it liked it

What if aliens came to earth... in 1348? That's the basic premise of Michael Flynn's Eifelheim, though the narrative is split between a modern-day couple, a mathematical historian (Tom) and a theoretical physicist (Sharon) whose work inadvertently dovetail to unlock the mystery posed by certain historical sources, including the apparent disappearance of the German village of Eifelheim. The narrative weaves back and forth between their work and the story of the residents of this village and their What if aliens came to earth... in 1348? That's the basic premise of Michael Flynn's Eifelheim, though the narrative is split between a modern-day couple, a mathematical historian (Tom) and a theoretical physicist (Sharon) whose work inadvertently dovetail to unlock the mystery posed by certain historical sources, including the apparent disappearance of the German village of Eifelheim. The narrative weaves back and forth between their work and the story of the residents of this village and their "Krenken" visitors, grass-hopper-like aliens.

I didn't think that narrative structure worked as well as it could have. Inherent in the Tom/Sharon storyline was an element of mystery, but the story of the villagers made the situation clear early on (which is why I felt no compunction about starting my review by revealing it. Instead, it serves more to justify it: here, it seems to say, is the justification of this novel as science fiction. The Tom/Sharon narrative, we later find, is framed as a story told by a German historian who only enters the story later. It's never entirely clear how the 14th-century villagers' story is framed: we're just told the story, but it seems pretty clear that the historians couldn't have come close to discovering the story in such detail. Instead, we're just given it. That's okay, but it seems odd considering the trouble Flynn went to with the other story.

The story of these medieval villagers and stranded aliens has inherent pathos, as the two groups try to overcome obvious--and rather frightening--differences and then again as each group gradually succumbs to starvation (none of the foods they can find give the essential amino acids that the aliens need) or the bubonic plague. We meet some interesting characters, but even so, I felt like the novel would have been improved by deeper characterization.

The pace of the novel also seemed slow. In part, this might be blamed on the fact that we listened to this as an audiobook: they're inherently slower and sometimes stylistic issues become more pronounced--things that we would slide right over on the page seem to drag interminably when read aloud. I also wasn't taken with the reader, Anthony Heald. He was particularly annoying when "voicing" Sharon, but on the whole he didn't do much for me.

One particular strength of the novel was how well-researched this was. Flynn not only gets the details right, but he also works extremely hard to get inside the mind of medieval man, particular Pastor Dietrich, the protagonist of that storyline. At the same time, Flynn's aliens are no less alien than his medieval men (in fact, with their understanding of science, they're closer to modern men than the 14th-century human beings are, with allowances made for their different evolutionary path.

On the whole, it was an enjoyable and interesting read, even given the weaknesses noted. ...more

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Feb 05, 2008 Sandi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, sci-fi, historical-fiction

I loved the way this book combined historical fiction with science fiction. It just blew me away. I don't think I've ever seen alien encounters handled in quite the same way. ...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, science-fiction, genreblend

This is a truly interesting blend of Historical Fiction and Science Fiction (one of the rarest of all combos)that works despite some very real flaws. In 14th century Germany, an alien ship has crashed in the forested outskirts of the village of Oberhochwald. The local villagers include a remarkable man serving as their parish priest. Father Dietrich is a student of philosophy, history, science and religion who studied in Paris and kept company with the great minds of his age. He retreated to the This is a truly interesting blend of Historical Fiction and Science Fiction (one of the rarest of all combos)that works despite some very real flaws. In 14th century Germany, an alien ship has crashed in the forested outskirts of the village of Oberhochwald. The local villagers include a remarkable man serving as their parish priest. Father Dietrich is a student of philosophy, history, science and religion who studied in Paris and kept company with the great minds of his age. He retreated to the remote village of Oberhochwald to escape his past (hinted at but never really explained), and proves to be the ideal ambassador to the stranded aliens. As he gets to know the grasshopper-like creatures he calls "Krenken" and help them in their efforts to repair their ship, his inate curiosity and openess to new ideas prompts him to welcome the aliens and try and gain acceptance for them with his flock - to the point of offering baptism. If Dietrich sometimes strains the credulity of the reader in his sheer unflappability, his views are not shared by some in the village, nor with the powers of the Inquisition. The fear of some is in many ways more understandable than Dietrich's constant rolling with the punches when exposed to alien technology far beyond anything in existence in medieval times. His reading has made him open to all possibilities, apparently, and at each new wonder, he just slaps a greek name on it and moves on. Still, he is a genuinely likeable character who wants to apply both his love of learning and his vocation to give charity to all in need to the stranded aliens. There's quite a lot of plot to gloss over, including politics both Krenken and feudal. If Flynn fails the narrative, it might be in trying to cram in a little too much of the obviously HUGE amount of research he did on the time. This is a common misstep in historical fiction, and one I can forgive as the details of daily life that he includes make the setting and the people feel completely real. The other big flaw is the inclusion of a modern day plot, that seemed superfluous and frankly...dull. The present day historian trying to discover why the village of Oberhochwald (which became known as Eifelheim) disappeared from maps and his annoying physicist girlfriend bring nothing to the plot. The extensive discussion of polyverse physics might appeal to some hard SF fans, but I had to fight the urge to skim. But the medieval villagers dealing with something so far beyond their experience was a great, great story and so I forgive. ...more

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May 11, 2015 Adrienne rated it it was ok

Shelves: science-fiction, historical, bookskype

A good idea (aliens in a medieval village!), but poorly executed. The past timeline was boring except for the occasional physics and religion misunderstandings between Dietrich and the aliens. The current timeline was poorly fleshed out and I hated both of the main characters. (One was pretentious and the other was petty.)

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Apr 29, 2015 Christine rated it did not like it

Shelves: abandoned

After slogging through about 50 pages of excessive landscape descriptions, Catholic masses and untranslated foreign sentences, I finally abandoned this book. The premise is interesting but not enough to make me continue reading

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Apr 05, 2008 Staci marked it as didnotfinish

I listened to audio version of this. Sounded like a really interesting story, but I just could not get into this. I did not enjoy the person reading the book. I think having a good reader is important to the enjoyment of an audio book. I might try reading this one in the future in actual book form.

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