Eon

I originally read this 20-30 years ago and greatly enjoyed it. Re-reading this now, the Cold War politics and unprescient vision of 21st Century dates the book severely, however, if you view this as an alternative history story, it is still a good read. Obviously inspired by Rendezvous with Rama (another book that is now feeling very dated), this is a significant improvement on the story telling. Maybe what is required now is for someone to write a more up-to-date story inspired by both...