cover image Reckoning Infinity

Reckoning Infinity

John Stith. Tor Books, $23.95 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-312-86298-5

An unidentified object the size of a small moon is discovered approaching the solar system at high velocity. The exploratory spaceship Ranger is sent to investigate. Reaching the object's surface, Lt. Commander Nussem and her crew discover that the sphere, which they have dubbed Cantaloupe, is in some sense alive. What is unclear is whether it's a naturally occurring life form or some strange type of semi-organic spacecraft. In his eighth novel, Stith (Reunion on Neverend) works an enjoyable variation on Arthur C. Clarke's classic Rendezvous with Rama. As Nussem and her crew descend into the sphere, they discover a series of mysterious, machine-like inner organs. There are tantalizing hints that Cantaloupe may be inhabited by higher lifeforms, as well as evidence of previous exploratory probes presumably sent by other races at earlier points in the sphere's journey. Eventually, trapped miles beneath Cantaloupe's surface, attacked by the sphere's equivalent of antibodies, Nussem and her crew must exert all of their ingenuity to discover some means of escape before their air runs out and before Cantaloupe leaves the solar system behind. Stith has never been a particularly strong stylist and his plots sometimes rest heavily on coincidence, but he has always had a real talent for describing bizarre environments. This novel proves no exception and, despite its problems, will offer fans of hard SF much to satisfy their sense of wonder. (Apr.)