Earth

Other generations perceived a plethora of swords hanging over their heads. But generally what they feared were shadows, for neither they nor their gods could actually end the world. Fate might reap an individual, or a family, or even a whole nation, but not the entire world. Not then.We, in the mid-twenty-first century, are the first to look up at a sword we ourselves have forged, and know, with absolute certainty, it is real...

Earth

What our grandchildren inherit is entirely up to us. And frankly, I'd rather they remember us as having left them a bit of hope.- David Brin, August 1989

A solid work of speculative near-future sci fi, but somehow I had a hard time staying interested in it. It's somewhat dated now and the environmentalism feels heavy-handed. I found the number of different characters and narrative threads annoying, even though they were skillfully written and came together satisfyingly at the end.