Cover of Artifact

Artifact

by Gregory Benford · 1985

+ Want to read

Artifact

A small cube of black rock has been unearthed in a 3500-year-old Mycenaean tomb.

An incomprehensible object in an impossible place; its age, its purpose, and its origins are unknown.

Read more

Its discovery has unleashed a global storm of intrigue, theft and espionage, and is pushing nations to the brink of war.

Its substance has scientists baffled. And the miracle it contains does not belong on this Earth.

It is mystery and madness — an enigma with no equal in recorded history. It is mankind's greatest discovery ... and worst nightmare.

It may have already obliterated a world. Ours is next.

Genre
aliens and first contactaliens and first contactMore like thisLess of thisscience fictionscience fictionMore like thisLess of thisthrillerthrillerMore like thisLess of thishard science fictionhard science fictionMore like thisLess of this
Themes
archaeologyarchaeologyMore like thisLess of this
Setting
GreeceGreeceMore like thisLess of this
Subject
sciencescienceMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
long · 416 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

BuyAmazonGoogle Books

BorrowOpen LibraryA library near you

MoreCompare pricesHardcover

Liked Artifact? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Artifact. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Legacy Greg Bear · 1994 Shares science fiction, fiction, sci-fi fantasy
  2. Vacuum Diagrams Stephen Baxter · 1997 Shares science fiction, fiction, hard sf
  3. Infinite Jeremy Robinson Shares science fiction, fiction, thriller
  4. The Jericho Iteration Allen Steele · 1994 Shares science fiction, thriller, fiction
See more recommendations →

“People who read Artifact tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The Planet on the Table Kim Stanley Robinson · 1986
  2. Twistor John G. Cramer · 1989
  3. The Precipice Ben Bova · 2001
  4. Code of the Lifemaker James P. Hogan · 1983

“If you want more of the same (aliens and first contact about archaeology), start with these.”

  1. The Witling Vernor Vinge · 1976
  2. Leviathans of Jupiter Ben Bova · 2011
  3. The Nitrogen Fix Hal Clement · 1980
  4. The Last Theorem Arthur C. Clarke, Frederik Pohl · 2008

“If it was the science fiction that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Skyfall Harry Harrison · 1976
  2. The Deus Machine Pierre Ouellette · 1993
  3. Down the Bright Way Robert Reed · 1991
  4. The Gentle Giants of Ganymede James P. Hogan · 1978

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Old Earth Gary Grossman · 2015
  2. No Such Thing as Werewolves Chris Fox · 2014
  3. Year of the Tiger Jack Higgins · 1996
  4. The Sphinx Bob Mayer · 2000

Report a problem