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Eifelheim

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Eifelheim

By: Michael Flynn
Narrated by: Anthony Heald
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About this listen

 In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and was never resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical-physicist girlfriend, Sharon, become interested. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't. Why? What was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago?

In 1348, as the Black Death is gathering strength across Europe, Father Deitrich is the priest of the village that will come to be known as Eifelheim. A man educated in science and philosophy, he is astonished to become the first contact between humanity and an alien race from a distant star when their interstellar ship crashes in the nearby forest.

Tom, Sharon, and Father Deitrich have a strange and intertwined destiny of tragedy and triumph in this brilliant novel by the winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award.

©2006 Michael Flynn (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc. First Contact Science Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Another meticulously researched, intense, mesmerizing novel...for readers seeking thoughtful science fiction of the highest order." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Flynn masterfully achieves an intricate panorama of medieval life, full of fascinatingly realized human and Krenken characters whose fates interconnect with poignant irony." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Compellingly weaves past and present together in a dialog of faith and science....Highly recommended." ( Library Journal)
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Aliens, the plague, historical fiction, physics, religion, friendship and philosophy all rolled into a very enjoyable listen. I have read reviews regarding the parts set in the present day being out of place, personally I found that they added to the story as a whole and I liked the way that you got snippets that the characters in the past did not know about. You do roughly know where the story is going, simply due to history, but the journey to the end of the story is quite relaxing and thought provoking in a very comfortable kind of way. The kind of audiobook I like to close my eyes to while listening, so it was obviously well narrated too.

Enjoyable easy listen.

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Then gets slower. When the author gets into his stride, he makes it even slower.

Starts slowly,

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A superbly written book. The author is clearly an expert on medieval history and culture. He weaves a wonderfully intricate story drawing subtle comparisons between religion and science, humanity and alien mindsets. The plot itself is a little disjointed; it flip-flops between the 14th century and the present day. However, the vast majority of the novel takes place in the past, which leaves the part of the plot set in the present virtually redundant. In addition, we learn that the book's hero, the priest Father Dietrich, has an unsavoury history which receives no real elaboration over the entire course of the story. In fact, it feels a lot like this book is merely the first in a series. I certainly hope so.

The narrator got on my nerves at first; he suffers, near the start of the audiobook, from that affectation that afflicts many public speakers, namely ignoring full stops. But he soon breaks that habit and goes on to give a flawless delivery, dropping in and out of German and Latin, and a strange alien monotone. But make no mistake: this is not a sci-fi novel, it is a period piece exploring the place of rational thought in a word governed by religious superstition, and the touching plight of a stranded community trying to come to terms with its fate. If the present-day part of this story had been as coherent as the past, I would have given it the full 5 stars. Definitely give this a listen.

Well worth a listen

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I did enjoy the book but the story is complex, shifting as it does between the past and present. Initially the links appeared contrived but stick with the story and you will find that it does all make sense. Ultimately it is one of those books which is better in print rather than audio.

Confusing in audio form

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Utterly brilliant, totally different, a blend of historical 'cadfael' style story with Quatermass and the Pit Aliens... Sounds ridiculous but reads convincingly, well researched, well written, engaging, intelligent... I feel like I'm a better person for reading this, and I haven't felt that since 'Jonathan strange'.

Intelligent medieval SciFi

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