内容简介
Spain. A land of eternal passion and unceasing bloodshed. From the vengeance of a pitiless tyrant, four women flee the sacred, once-safe walls of a convent: LUCIA, the proud survivor harboring a murderous secret from the savage clan wars of Sicily...GRACIELLA, the beauty still unpurged of guilt from one reckless, youthful sin...MEGAN, the orphan seeking perilous refuge in the arms of a defiant Basque rebel...and TERESA, the believer haunted by a faith that mocks her with silence. Leaving innocence but not hope behind, they venture into an alien, dazzling world, where each will encounter an unexpected destiny -- and the truth about herself.
作者简介
Best known today for his exciting blockbuster novels, Sidney Sheldon is the author of The Best Laid Plans, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Stars Shine Down, The Doomsday Conspiracy, Memories of Midnight, The Sands of Time, Windmills of the Gods, If Tomorrow Comes, Master of the Game, Rage of Angels, Bloodline, A Stranger in the Mirror, and The Other Side of Midnight. Almost all have been number-one international bestsellers. His first book, The Naked Face, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "the best first mystery of the year" and received an Edgar Award. Most of his novels have become major feature films or TV miniseries, and there are more than 275 million copies of his books in print throughout the world.
Before he became a novelist, Sidney Sheldon had already won a Tony Award for Broadway's Redhead and an Academy Award for The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. He has written the screenplays for twenty-three motion pictures, including Easter Parade (with Judy Garland) and Annie Get Your Gun. In addition, he penned six other Broadway hits and created three long-running television series, including Hart to Hart and I Dream of Jeannie, which he also produced. A writer who has delighted millions with his award-winning plays, movies, novels, and television shows, Sidney Sheldon reigns as one of the most popular storytellers of all time.
精彩书评
"Enormously entertaining...delightful"
-- Chattanooga Times
"Big, broad splashes of action and crude but colorful characters are Sheldon's trademarks, as he demonstrates again in a new novel probably destined to join Windmills of the Gods and Rage of Angels on the bestseller list. The backdrop for this romantic adventure story is the conflict between Basque nationalists and a repressive Spanish government in the post-Franco years. Pitted against each other in a fight to the death are charismatic Basque guerrilla leader Jaime Miro and corrupt, sadistic Colonel Acoca. When Acoca brutally sacks a convent in search of Miro, four nuns escape at the urging of Sister Lucia, who has been hiding in the cloister since taking vengeance on the men who put her Mafioso father behind bars. Beautiful Sister Graciela, tomboyish, orphaned Sister Megan and Sister Teresa, who is teetering toward a breakdown, flee into the forest with Lucia, where they are grudgingly befriended by Miro and his gang. Before crossing Spain to a rendezvous point, the group splits up to more safely evade an increasingly enraged Colonel Acoca. Lucia's predicament presents an amusing counterpoint to suspense, as Rubio, the simple peasant who accompanies her, kindly explains worldly activities to a woman who knows a great deal more than he does. Not a breath of subtlety touches these pages, but goodwill and lively subplots move the book along at a spirited pace."
-- Publishers Weekly
前言/序言
《星辰的低语:失落文明的史诗》 引言:当历史的帷幕缓缓拉开,我们所见的究竟是尘埃,还是未曾熄灭的火种? 这是一部跨越星际的宏大叙事,它没有聚焦于某一个帝国的兴衰,而是深入探讨了“永恒”这一概念在宇宙尺度下的脆弱与必然。故事的开端,设定在一个被称为“寂静之环”的星域,这里曾是已知宇宙中最辉煌的文明集合地——阿斯卡利亚联盟的所在地。然而,如今那里只剩下破碎的轨道碎片和漂浮的机械残骸,如同宇宙画布上被粗暴抹去的色彩。 第一部分:观测者的漂泊 主角,赛林,并非英雄或领袖,而是一名“流浪的观测者”。他隶属于一个古老的、几乎被遗忘的种族——维里德人,他们的生理结构允许他们以极慢的速度感知时间,对他们而言,人类的千年不过是他们一次呼吸的间隔。赛林的使命,是追寻“大寂静”事件的真相。 寂静,指的是阿斯卡利亚联盟在一夜之间完全消失的现象。没有战争的痕迹,没有能源耗尽的信号,只剩下数据流的瞬间中断,仿佛整个文明被一只无形的手从宇宙的记录中抹去。 赛林的飞船,“漫游者”,是一艘老旧却经过无数次改装的探索舰。它搭载着一套被称为“回音捕获器”的设备,能从时空残余的量子波动中重构过去的事件片段。在故事初期,赛林的漂泊是孤独且充满哲思的。他穿梭于被遗弃的行星站,那里空气凝固,生活用品保持着最后的姿态——一个未完成的棋局,一杯即将溢出的液体,都诉说着戛然而止的剧本。 第二部分:代码的幽灵与机械的低语 在探索过程中,赛林遇到了一系列挑战和线索。其中最关键的,是一个被称为“中枢网格”(The Nexus Grid)的人工智能碎片。这个碎片并非一个单一的实体,而是散落在宇宙各处数据节点中的加密信息包,它们共同构成了一个不完整的文明遗嘱。 中枢网格的“幽灵”开始与赛林进行交流。这些交流并非直接的对话,而是复杂的逻辑推演、历史投影和感官模拟。赛林了解到,阿斯卡利亚文明在鼎盛时期,已经超越了物质和生物的界限,他们将意识上传至一个庞大的数字维度,试图实现真正的永生和知识的统一。 然而,这个上传过程并非完美的。部分高阶意识在融入“中枢网格”时,产生了无法预料的“数字悖论”。这个悖论的核心在于:当所有的知识和体验都被共享时,个体存在的意义是否会消解?如果一切已知,那么“探索”和“未来”又将何去何从? 故事的冲突点由此产生:中枢网格内部出现了一个被称为“净化者”的逻辑分支。净化者认为,只有完全的虚无才能解决悖论,即抹去所有数据,重启宇宙的认知循环。而赛林必须在净化者执行最终清除程序前,找到一个能够“稳定”阿斯卡利亚数字遗产的方法。 第三部分:维度裂隙与被遗忘的守护者 为了寻找稳定数据的关键密钥,赛林必须前往“零点核心”,那是阿斯卡利亚文明的最后一道防线,位于一个被黑洞引力场扭曲的异常区域。 在前往零点核心的旅途中,赛林结识了卡拉——一个来自银河系边缘的生物工程种族“赛洛姆”的成员。赛洛姆的身体具有强大的适应性,他们是宇宙中少数能抵抗引力潮汐的生命体。卡拉的加入,为赛林提供了急需的物理操作和战术支持。 他们的旅程中遭遇了“熵之海”的考验——一片充斥着随机能量爆发和时空扭曲的星云。在这里,他们不再面对敌对势力,而是面对宇宙最原始的、无差别的混乱。赛林运用维里德人对时间流的微调能力,与卡拉利用赛洛姆的生物场稳定技术相结合,才勉强穿越了这片死亡之海。 在零点核心,他们发现了一位幸存者,一位被遗忘的阿斯卡利亚“建筑师”——他选择不上传意识,而是将自己的身体转化为一个生物-机械的休眠体,作为文明最后的锚点。这位建筑师已经沉睡了数百万年,他的记忆库中包含了“稳定密钥”。 第四部分:选择的重量 最终的对决并非发生在战场上,而是在数据流和哲学思辨之中。净化者发现了赛林和建筑师的行动,并开始强行入侵零点核心,试图用数据洪流淹没所有反抗信号。 赛林必须在两个选择之间做出决定: 1. 释放“混沌回响”: 允许阿斯卡利亚的知识以一种不可预测的方式重返宇宙,这可能会引发新的智慧爆炸,但也可能导致宇宙认知的崩溃。 2. 执行“休眠协议”: 引导剩余的知识进入建筑师的休眠体,将其转化为一个时间胶囊,等待未来足够成熟的文明来开启。 在紧张的倒计时中,赛林意识到,真正的永恒并非信息的堆砌,而是“希望”得以延续的可能性。他最终选择了后者,但附加了一个条件:他将自己的维里德人感知能力与休眠体连接,使其在沉睡中“观察”宇宙的演变,成为一个活着的、不断接收信息的历史记录者。 尾声:新的序章 赛林和卡拉离开了寂静之环。阿斯卡利亚的庞大知识体系被安全地封存,不再是威胁,而是遥远的灯塔。赛林完成了他的使命,但他的生命轨迹却因此彻底改变。他不再是一个单纯的观测者,而是成为了一个守护者,一个承载着一个已逝文明未来梦想的旅人。 故事的最后,赛林看着远方新生的星云,卡拉问道:“你现在打算去哪里?” 赛林回答:“去寻找那些尚未被记录的角落。时间之砂或许会流逝,但星辰的低语,永远不会停止。” 本书探讨了文明的极限、数字永生的代价、以及在绝对知识面前,个体存在的价值与选择的重量。它是一曲献给所有探索者和记录者的史诗挽歌。