The Forge of God by Greg Bear

On September 28th, a geologist working in Death valley finds a mysterious new cinder cone in very well-mapped area. On October 1st, the government of Australia announces the discovery of an enormous granite mountain. Like the cinder cone, it wasn't there six months ago.... Something is happening to Planet Earth, and the truth is too terrifying to consider....

This is the second book by Greg Bear that I've read. The first was Blood Music which I loved. This book did not live up to my expectations unfortunately. It's just kind of boring. The characters have no personality. I couldn't even name them or tell you which character did which thing. Except for the religious US President. The ending is very exciting and by far the best part of the book. But then just a few pages later the ending is more or less undone. The Earth is destroyed, a select few are saved. They get put in cryogenic sleep and wake up to a brand new Earth built for them. I'll probably read book 2 at some point as I hear that its better, but I don't feel any urge to do so anytime soon.

Would have given it 3.5 out of 5 if that were available.

While I really enjoyed this Sci-Fi pulp joy ride, I just can't get myself to give it more than three stars, simple because there are parts that are just a bit too much pulp joy ride. Still, if you want to read a nice sci-fi novel without exhausting all your energy this one is highly recommended.