In the Ocean of Night was somewhat obscure and confusing at times. It just didn't seem to fit very smoothly with the story. But overall, it was interesting.

I know that after reading his acclaimed Timescape novel, reading one of his first written works is a bit unfair. I know you can't expect an author to start out magnificently.

I'm a big sci-fi fan, and this book was more about the changes in an aging astronaut than science fiction. Which isn't bad, although I was expecting a lot more science material. I did like the philosophical theme and his vision of the future idea.


uneven start, but very good   April 18, 2001
 13 out of 18 found this review helpful

THis inaugurates an extremely ambitious series of scifi novels, which reached six in all. There are many mysterious references that are explained in later volumes, which serve to whet the appetite. Benford maintains a sense of mystery and wonder quite masterfully. In later volumes, it gets deeper and much better.

The characters are what makes this writing exceptional, even if their sexual predilections (2 f's and one m) are a bit much after a while. Benford is a very good writer, one of the best at hard sci fi, but you do feel at times that he is straining to think up what happens next.


The beginning of a machine-intelligence horror tale.   February 10, 1999
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

I found this first volume of a six volume story to be the most interesting. It immediately hooks you and leaves you wondering just where you're headed. Walmsley is a character you soon root for and have confidence in. This volume becomes integral and significant to the final one, which is a grand and awe-inspiring finish to a dark, fascinating and addicting series. You may have trouble locating names of all six novels in the order they were released, as follows: In the ocean of night, Across the sea of suns, Great sky river, Tides of light, Furious gulf, and Sailing bright eternity.


Old idea, poorly written   November 19, 2004
 9 out of 16 found this review helpful

The premise of this book is certainly nothing new, and the writing itself is nothing to write home about. Benford spends a large number of pages telling very little story, with numerous uninteresting side-trips and distractions. He also frequently switches between present tense and past tense randomly, and engages in long run-on sentences with no punctuation or capitalization - this must be considered "cool" in some writing circles, but as a reader, it is a great annoyance. I certainly won't be bothering with any more in this series.


not great, but i couldn't put it down!   March 8, 2005
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

I hate the term "page-turner" but this book was just that. Even though I was never particularly impressed with the book, I found that I constantly needed to know what was going to happen next.

The future painted in this world, is suprisingly beleivable considering the year the book was written. However, the world is not painted as clearly as in a Gibson book, so a lot of it is left to your imagination. Usually I HATE when authors write foggy, unrealised future speculations, but for some reason it didn't bother me in this book. You can tell that the state of earth in the future is only a secondary aspect of this book.

The prose are pretty good throughout the book. At times it seems like Benford is unnaturally pushing himself to be poetic, but in the end it winds up being a lot better than 90% of the sci-fi writing out there.

The plot, while incredibly gripping, had some serious pacing issues. It almost seems like the events in this book could have filled three equally long novels. Now that I've finished the book though, I've come to realise that this entire book is like the back story for the next ones to come. It kind of stands on its own, but i feel like i would be jipped if I didn't read the next ones in the series.

Despite my criticisms, and I realise I am a very picky sci-fi reader, this book was thoroughly entertaining and worth the read. It didn't change my life or anything, but I have a feeling that it is all going to pay off in the next books in the series.