From Booklist
The members of the Families were cloned from carefully selected individuals and given godlike powers to keep the peace. They have served well enough, and then Alice, one of the oldest Chamberlains, returns with news of a pocket universe in the galactic core that will destroy a vast swathe of the highly populated central galaxy. Ord, the Baby Chamberlain, is charged with finding explanations and possible solutions. In an almost incomprehensible timescale, he fights forces set on toppling the Families for their hubris and travels to the galactic core, picking up attributes Alice left for him along the way. In a perfectly timed, unexpected denouement, Ord flees through a wormhole to tell the elders what will happen when they open the baby universe, followed by his two oldest friends and most implacable enemies. The people of Reed's imaginative future are strange because they live for so long and play such bizarre games with reality, yet they are^B ultimately recognizable as fellows to mere humans, such as present-day readers. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Library Journal
"An epic tale of visionary futures and scientific speculation."


Review
"An epic tale of visionary futures and scientific speculation."


Book Description
"An epic tale of visionary futures and scientific speculation."
--Library Journal

Millions of years from now, humanity will be on the brink of self-destruction. The world's great leaders have created an elite group who, by their superior wisdom and abilities, keep the peace, maintain progress, and otherwise safeguard humanity's future. Genetically enhanced, they are the carriers of Earth's greatest talents, a force unlike any in the history of mankind.

For ten million years, the Families dominated the galaxy. But then Alice, a brilliant scientist of the Chamberlain family, took part in an attempt to create a new galaxy. Her experiment unleashed vast forces that the family could not control, causing a catastrophe that killed untold billions of people on many worlds.
Before she was punished for her role in the debacle, Alice visited Ord, a younger Chamberlain. Only he, of all the people in the galaxy, knows what Alice tells him. Her words launch him upon a quest that will take him across the vast reaches of space. He must discover his own true nature, and somehow restore the family honor. Sister Alice is his epic story.



About the Author
Robert Reed is the author of Marrow and ten other high-concept science fiction novels. A multiple finalist for the Hugo Award, he has had many stories published in major SF magazines, and reprinted in "year's best" anthologies. He has recently finished The Well of Stars, the sequel to Marrow. He lives with his family in Lincoln, Nebraska.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Millions of years from now, humanity is on the brink of self-destruction. Advances in science and technology have given the people of Earth access to other worlds but have not bestowed wisdom upon the planets' fractious nations. The world's great leaders decide that the best solution to what looms as a terminal problem is to create an elite group who, by their superior wisdom and abilities, will keep the peace, maintain progress, and otherwise safeguard humanity's future. One thousand people are chosen to be founders of great Families. The members of the Families aren't like the rest of humanity. Genetically enhanced and each generation continually improved, they are the carriers of Earth's greatest talents. Lawmakers, scientists, explorers, terraformers - they become a force unlike any in the history of mankind.

For ten million years, the Families dominate the galaxy - but then Alice, a brilliant scientist of the Chamberlain Family, takes part in an experimental attempt to create a new galaxy. The experiment goes out of control, unleashing vast energies that destroy countless worlds, killing untold billions of people.

Before she is punished for her role in the debacle, Alice, who is millennia old, visits a much younger member of the Chamberlains, Ord, who is just coming into his powers. Only he, of all the people in the galaxy, knows what Alice tells him, but her words launch him on a quest that will take him across the vast reaches of space. He must discover his own true nature and somehow restore the family honor. This is his epic story.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

In the far future, a super-race protects the future of humanity and the rest of the universe until Sister Alice, one of the protectors, participates in an experiment that destroys several worlds. Ord, Sister Alice's descendent, gets a chance to redeem her and repair the damage she has done. To do so, he must embark on a journey across space and time. The latest novel by the author of Morrow and The Leeshore tells an epic tale of visionary futures and scientific speculation. For most sf collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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