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Gregory Benford
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Cosm Paperback – February 1, 1999

by Gregory Benford (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 69 ratings
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When the ambitious experiment of a brilliant young physicist goes wrong, a wondrous basketball-sized sphere from a newborn cosmos appears, setting off a maelstrom of academic, government, theological, and media backlashes. Reprint.
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper Voyager
  4. Publication date
    February 1, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0380790521
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0380790524
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Page-turner. . .good news, fans: Gregory Benford still writes the hard stuff." -- -- Austin American-Statesman

"Presents the world of a real scientist in a way that is surprisingly rare in Science Fiction." -- -- The Denver Post

"Smart, entertaining and unpredictable. . .COSM is a ride worth taking." -- -- Albuquerque Journal

About the Author

Gregory Benford is a professor of physics at the University of California, Irvine. He is a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and was Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University. and in 1995 received the Lord Prize for contributions to sciences. His research encompasses both theory and experiments in the fields of astrophysics and plasma physics. His fiction has won many awards, including the Nebula Award for his novel Timescape. Dr. Benford makes his home in Laguna Beach, California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Voyager; First Edition (February 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380790521
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380790524
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Gregory Benford

Gregory Benford

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Gregory Benford, author of top-selling novels, including Jupiter Project, Artifact, Against Infinity, Eater, and Timescape, is that unusual creative combination of scientist scholar and talented artist; his stories capture readers – hearts and minds – with imaginative leaps into the future of science and of us.

A University of California faculty member since 1971, Benford has conducted research in plasma turbulence theory and experiment, and in astrophysics. His published scientific articles include well over a hundred papers in fields of physics from condensed matter, particle physics, plasmas and mathematical physics, and several in biological conservation.

Often called hard science fiction, Benford's stories take physics into inspired realms. What would happen if cryonics worked and people, frozen, were awoken 50 years in the future? What might we encounter in other dimensions? How about sending messages across time? And finding aliens in our midst? The questions that physics and scientists ask, Benford's imagination explores.

With the re-release of some of his earlier works and the new release of current stories and novels, Benford takes the lead in creating science fiction that intrigues and amuses us while also pushing us to think.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
69 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ROBERT D.
5.0 out of 5 stars REAL CHARACTERS AND REAL SCIENCE TOO!
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024
I am not a Scientist, so I don't know if Scientists smash heavy Atoms such as Gold, in Atom Smashers.
But if they DID, maybe a new "Baby Universe" would be born, as it was when Alicia (the Star of the Book) does that with her experiment.

Benford is a Physics Professor who creates very believable characters like Alicia.

This book would make a great movie!

I would cast Gabrielle Union as Alicia (in the novel, she is a Black Woman).
And I would cast Matthew McConaughey as the Physicist she consults with about the Baby Universe that she has unwittingly created.
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K. Otik
4.0 out of 5 stars I was debating between 3 or 4 stars....
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2006
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As a black woman, I must say that reading these reviews both disturbed and intrigued me. Many of the reviewers wrote that Mr. Benford does not "accurately" portray a black woman. To this, I must ask, how is a black woman "supposed" to act/think/feel? To say that Alicia is unrealistic is to relegate black people to one-dimensional stereotypes.

After reading so many negative reviews about the author's portrayal of a black woman, I immediately ordered the book so I could form my own opinion. And you know what? I have to applaud Mr. Benford for his truthful-yet-risque comments & observations through the voice of Alicia Butterworth. Do I agree with everything Alicia says? No. Of course not. Does every white reader have to agree with every white character in a book? I think not.

Anywho - I gave this book 4 stars because of the concept, the great science and the questions it raises. I especially like the letters, emails and newspaper titles/blurbs peppered throughout the book because they give points of view from outside of the academic world (i.e., are we playing god? etc).

I took off a star because some aspects of the book were just unrealistic or unnecessary. For example - it makes absolutely no sense that Alicia was the only one with access to the Cosm. What university would allow that? Something of this magnitude would have been taken into the custody of the government. Also - why wasn't the Cosm being video recorded? Yes, they were getting reams and reams of numerical data, but why wouldn't they record it for study afterwards or for others to see (especially since no one else was allowed into the lab)? Completely unnecesary were all the pages dedicated to her failed love & social life. Yes, I enjoy character development and background history, but come on...this is not a trilogy. Why waste space writing about singles bars when there is a MINIATURE UNIVERSE SITTING IN YOUR LAB?

Aside from those points though, I really enjoyed the book. I love how Benford captured the current scientific atmosphere in this paragraph:

"Some felt that the big, solvable issues were largely done, and the unsolved ones couldn't be settled. That left smaller, manageable, naggingly boring science, like sequencing human DNA. Of course, the implications of that knowledge could be vast, but no one expected grand syntheses to emerge. Mostly, it would be endless detail. Fascinating particulars indeed, but smaller in scale than the heroic era that had followed Crick & Watson."

This reminds me of the beginning of Asimov's Foundation series, when the Empire felt that humanity had discovered everything there was to discover, thereby making all new "scientific" ventures purely revisionist. This is an important theme as the academic community struggles to reconcile established theories with the information acquired from the Cosm.

All in all, a good read.
23 people found this helpful
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G. Styles
5.0 out of 5 stars Not Benford's Best, But Definitely A Cut Above
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 1998
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From the outset, it's clear that this is Benford in techno-thriller mode, a la "Artifact" and his "Sterling Blake" novel "Chiller". Still, even when he's not writing up to the breathtaking level of the Galactic Center series, Benford always has something interesting to say. I can't think of another current author who better bridges C.P. Snow's dichotomy of science and literature. And although you can always rely on him for Big Science and neat ideas, he puts his characters first. I was sorry to say goodbye to Alicia and Max when "Cosm" ended.
4 people found this helpful
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alex
2.0 out of 5 stars Needs drastic editing.
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2024
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I’m sure Mr. Benford is an excellent scientist, and I get what he’s trying to convey. But the story is convoluted and the book needs to be edited down by at least a half, to start with.
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Mr. Geek
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story. Worth your time!
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2021
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An excellent novel! It just tries too hard in places. Well-written and appropriate descriptions are welcome, but are occasionally overdone, detracting a bit from the pace of the story. The use of headlines and blurbs throughout moves the story along a provides good bridges, but seems overused at the end in place of what could have a much better rounding out of the plot lines.

I'm still a Benford fan and look forward to many enjoyable hours of unabashed escapism.
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ALEXIS
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2016
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Working on finishing it
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A look at real-world science
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2001
COSM gives the reader a look at the real world of scientific research. In many ways it doesn't read like a science-fiction novel; the characters don't solve all their problems, and are confused and lost much of the time. The premise of the book is stunning: our hero, a black woman physicist, has-- or so it seems-- created an entire universe in a high-energy physics experiment. Unlike a typical science-fiction plot, however, she is not out to save the universe, or even change the world. She just wants to understand what she has found, and what it tells us about physics. Meanwhile, rival physicists want to steal her discovery, and her credit. I loved it; it was a great window into real-world science.
2 people found this helpful
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Brian C.
1.0 out of 5 stars It's rare that I don't finnish a novel
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2010
I usually slog through to the end, even if I'm not really enjoying it.

But I just couldn't bring myself to start another 10 page chapter on the protagonist's dating woes. I picked this book up because I thought the idea of a new universe appearing inside of a particle accelerator was interesting. So far, 100 pages in, the science fiction has been a subplot to the more important story about how tough it is to juggle an academic carreer and still have a social life.

Benford ought to realize that people read science fiction for the ideas, the science, not deep character studies. No one expects Les Miserables when they pick up a book of hard science fiction.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Andrea
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice idea
Reviewed in Italy on May 5, 2014
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a book with tons of scientific/ ethic implication and a possible follow up to be written or to be put in a movie
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Phil
4.0 out of 5 stars Very imaginative & keeps the pages turning!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2014
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A well written book which certainly held my interest through the majority of chapters. Gregory Benford's deep understanding of physics, the scientific method and physicists as people certainly made it more believable.

My only criticisms would be that the characters could perhaps have been developed a little more.
One person found this helpful
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MarkP
3.0 out of 5 stars A novel idea but...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2016
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The book starts well, and the first half of it is quite gripping. After that, it begins to meander about, and what could be an exciting story becomes one of those where you feel compelled to continue in case it gets better. It does- for the last few pages. A pity- the concept is good, but it could have been a much better book than it is.
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DL
4.0 out of 5 stars I find it strange but a most interesting the mix ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2015
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I find it strange but a most interesting the mix of science and ethical viewpoints. At times I have been totally absorbed but it lost a star for me in areas where "she" needs to move past that chip(s) on her shoulder.
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Graham Y
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, very interesting ideas
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2016
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I enjoyed reading this very much - very believable and interesting, kept me hooked until the end. Recommend to anyone interested in cosmology...
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