| My hardbound copy finally arrived from the publisher this weekend
and I read it straight through. Thanks anyway.
It's a little disconnected throughout, and it's certainly not great
SF. The premise is interesting (a very young planet with an
"unexplainably" dense atmosphere is used as a field exercise for
a mixed species team of students) but Clement could have done a
whole lot more with it. I'm still not sure what really happened.
There's an overly cute thread tying the book together; every chapter
title begins "Of course ...", and the sentence in the book begins
"Of course ...". Of course, all the "of course"s portend surprises.
It's supposed to be out in paperback soon; consider this a lukewarm
recommendation. Not a must to avoid, but not a must to read either.
len.
|
| From: US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Bruce Mackenzie" 2-JUN-1993 17:20:19.87
Subj: NSS Boston meeting with Hal Clement
Subject: NSS Boston meeting with Harry Stubs (Hal Clement)
(The June "SpaceViews" newsletter will be a few days late.)
The Boston Chapter of the National Space Society presents:
"Martian Odyssey II", a discussion with Harry Stubbs (AKA Hal Clement)
Hal will compare what we know about Mars nowadays with the classic
science fiction story "Martian Odyssey" from the 1930s.
Hal is a noted science fiction writer, a ex-science teacher, and
generally a wonderful guy. He can be seen in most science fiction
conventions around the area.
If time permits, we will also show a short promotional video on the DC-X,
a prototype single-stage to orbit, reusable rocket.
Thursday, June 3rd, (tomorrow), at 8:00 pm; at the MIT Laboratory for
Computing Sciences (Artificial Intelligence Building, 545 Main St.,
Cambridge, MA.) NE 43, 8th floor "playroom."
--Bruce Mackenzie, [email protected], (617) 944-7027
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Wed, 2 Jun 93 17:22:29 EDT
% From: [email protected] (Bruce Mackenzie)
% Subject: NSS Boston meeting with Hal Clement
|
| Article: 323
From: [email protected] (Dani Zweig)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: REPOST: Belated Reviews #6: Hal Clement
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: 10 Aug 93 22:24:03 GMT
Belated Reviews #6: Hal Clement
Hal Clement dominates a specific hard-sf niche. He designs worlds.
Now, you might have doubts about a book-long planetology lecture,
thinly disguised as a novel. Clement made it work, for his audience,
better than Forward, who followed in his footsteps, ever made it work
for his own. Clement's written a number of entertaining books, but
three in particular, from the nineteen fifties and sixties, stand out:
Mission of Gravity (***). The planet Mesklin is unique: Its enormous
size and rapid rotation have combined to produce a planet whose
surface gravity is three times that of Earth at the equator -- and
increases to seven-hundred times that of Earth at the poles. When an
exceedingly expensive unmanned probe fails, the team researching the
planet contacts a native trader (at the equator, naturally), and
persuades him to retrieve the probe. For his own reasons, he agrees.
What would conditions be like on a world where all falls are fatal
falls and missile weapons are a good way to get holes in your feet?
In a way, Mission of Gravity is a novel-length science lecture
superimposed upon a storyline, but it works. If you read one book by
Clement, read this one.
Close to Critical (***). Once again there's a story of humans
interacting with the natives of an unusual planet, but once again the
real star of the book is the planet itself. In this case it's the
planet Tenebra, a high-gravity planet with a surface temperature of
close to four hundred degrees (Fahrenheit, presumably), a pressure of
eight hundred atmospheres, and a somewhat corrosive atmosphere. (This
is a planet where talking about the weather is not idle chit-chat.)
The leisurely study of this planet, however, becomes rushed when two
children are accidentally stranded on it.
Cycle of Fire (***) follows the usual pattern, only this time the
planet on which the obligatory crash takes place is not, in itself,
unusual. Except that its orbit, which is unusual, is about to enter
the phase in which the entire biosphere burns to a crisp. Which calls
for some unusual adaptations, especially for an intelligent species.
%A Clement, Hal
%T Mission of Gravity
%T Cycle of Fire
%T Close to Critical
Standard introduction and disclaimer for Belated Reviews follows.
Belated Reviews cover science fiction and fantasy of earlier decades.
They're for newer readers who have wondered about the older titles on
the shelves, or who are interested in what sf/f was like in its
younger days. The emphasis is on helping interested readers identify
books to try first, not on discussing the books in depth.
A general caveat is in order: Most of the classics of yesteryear have
not aged well. If you didn't encounter them back when, or in your
early teens, they will probably not give you the unforced pleasure
they gave their original audiences. You may find yourself having to
make allowances for writing you consider shallow or politics you
consider regressive. When I name specific titles, I'll often rate
them using the following scale:
**** Recommended.
*** An old favorite that hasn't aged well, and wouldn't get a good
reception if it were written today. Enjoyable on its own terms.
** A solid book, worth reading if you like the author's works.
* Nothing special.
Additional disclaimers: Authors are not chosen for review in any
particular order. The reviews don't attempt to be comprehensive. No
distinction is made between books which are still in print and books
which are not.
-----
Dani Zweig
[email protected]
The inability of snakes to count is actually a refusal, on their part,
to appreciate the Cardinal Number system. -- "Actual Facts"
|