Rating: Summary: A fun sci-fi series Review: This review covers the Heechee series which includes four novels (in order of publication): 1. Gateway 2. Beyond the Blue Event Horizon 3. Heechee Rendevous 4. The Annals of Heechee.Like Niven's Neutron Star, I picked this book up because I thought the spaceship on the cover looked cool. Give me a break, I think I was 15 at the time. Although the details are a bit fuzzy now, I remember enjoying this series as being original, creative and genuinely entertaining. Original. As I recall, the series is based on the technology left over from a lost civilization. So, much of the story takes you through the creepy leftovers of an extinct race including spaceships, asteroids, star-bases and artifacts. SPOILER!!:: Using this technology, the human race finds that another exists in a separate universe which could answer the mysterious disappearance of the Heechee. Creative. These are some of the things I will never forget from this series: Parking people/items within the event horizon of a black hole to be retreived at a later point in time. The possibility of time travel using black holes. The existence of a civilization at the core of the galaxy. The eery blue tunnels left by a lost civilization. Converting your conscious existence to a computer program, giving you eternal life. Eating food derived from coal. Sleeping on warm rocks (vs. sheets). Genuinely Entertaining. This whole series is really just a big TV episode. There are a few memorable parts, but nothing revolutionary for the science fiction genre. All in all it's a fun read. Beware, though, I read this in my adolescence, so it may not be as impressive for all you sophisticated readers out there.
Rating: Summary: Pohl's best, and that's saying something Review: Although the character of Robinette Broadhead is expertly handled and the frame narrative adds to the suspense, I think the real reason this is one of the greatest sf novels of all time lies in the world Pohl has created. He has taken a silly idea, something you'd expect to find in a pre-Campbell pulp or a Silver Age comic book, and made it perfectly plausible. Imagine how it would have been done then: people discover a mysterious box and find that when you enter you will either die or become rich. It's a cool idea, and a great setup for a story, but it's also terminally silly. Pohl has taken this clumsy deus ex machina box and opened it for us, so that the roulette wheel of Gateway makes perfect sense, and both the risk and the reward become logical, even necessary, extensions of the place. My one complaint: Pohl is too addicted to the practice of ending each chapter with a clever sentence.
Rating: Summary: Entertaining But Not Fantastic Review: The book was entertaining, but not fantastic. The chapters alternated between psychoanalysis by a psuedo-sentient computer and then flashbacks to the actual story. Even during the story chapters, there was more focus on interpersonal relationships than on adventure. If that's what you are looking for then this book is absolutely for you. The characters were interesting and captivating, though not always well developed. For people who are looking for pure sci-fi adventure, this book isn't bad and definitely worth reading, but nothing exceptional.
Rating: Summary: A complete work in itself. Review: GATEWAY is the first in a 4 book series... but the other books could be considered optional. The setting is rather simple, though the story seems to take on part a life of its own. Humans discover that an ancient race has left them with starships to explore their universe with... only the human beings cannot control, or even understand them. This enigma leads to a simple solution: promise reward to the brave souls who will dare try and pilot one of the craft, and pray they come back alive, as many do not. This is the setup, and the story starts here, but winds up in any of a thousand places. In the end all question of who the ancient beings were who built and left the ships and their nesting place, Gateway Station, remain a mystery. The ending is, however, satisfying enough to leave it at just that. For those who want to know what becomes of the "hero" of the story, Robinette Broadhead, and know the identity of the older-than-time alien civilization of the Heechee, read on.
Rating: Summary: An outstanding story Review: "Gateway" tells the story of the ultimate futuristic gold rush. In the 21st century, an asteroid known as Gateway is discovered containing hundreds of ancient space ships, all of them with pre-programmed courses already set. The builders of the ships are referred to as Heechees, but very little is known of who they were, why they built the asteroid, or why the Heechee disappeared. Since no human knows how to steer the ships or predict the destinations, explorers have to get in the ships, activate the program, and then go where it takes them. Some discover vast wealth; many never return or come back dead because they have run out of food or air. Robinette Broadhead becomes a Gateway prospector as one of the few avenues of advancement open to a poor person on Earth. This book tells of his trips interspersed with his conversations with a computerized therapist. The setting is interesting, and the story is very effective. I would recommend this book highly. This is the opener of a series which suffers from what might be called the "Dune" Effect: a terrific first book, with diminishing returns in subsequent volumes. Pohl ultimately does resolve the mystery of the Heechees, along with other questions not introduced in this book; unfortunately the answers are less interesting than the questions, and the story loses momentum well before the end of the series. I would recommend the sequel, "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon", but the final two volumes aren't up to snuff.
Rating: Summary: A Satisfying Read Review: Gateway is the first book in Pohl's wonderful Heechee Saga. It details the adventures of Robinette Broadhead, told in flashback. In the beginning of the book we learn that Broadhead had struck it rich, but do not know why. We learn his past through a series of therapy sessions with his psychologist (in the present), and through a telling of events in the past. Broadhead is a successful gateway prospector. Not too long ago in the story's history, humans stumbled upon the remnants of technology possessed by an advanced race. One of these prized artifacts was a huge spacestation with a nest of thousands of ships. This spacestation was termed Gateway, as these ships were found to have preprogrammed destinations. Unfortunately, humankind has not found out how to change the course of the ships, only to be led to their preprogrammed destination, and back. The problem was, the ancient race (termed the 'Heechee') had left for nearly half a million years, so some of these destinations became disaster areas, such as nearby a star that had undergone a supernova. Thus the adventure was on. Those who could afford the trip to gateway risked their lives on board these Heechee ships. If something of scientific value (such as more Heechee technology) was found at a destination, a bonus was given to the lucky prospector. More people died than strike it rich however... The last 30 pages or so is hard to put down as the story comes to a climax. Broadhead is one of the lucky people to strike it rich. But how? Read and find out!
Rating: Summary: Old fashioned future scenario Review: Yeah, a good book and an interesting read since the reason why the character became so rich keeps you turning the pages. But steady on, because right now we are on the brink of the 21st Century and reading this is like watching an old black and white Flash Gordon series. It's science fiction, yes, but its hopelessly outdated now. You can't help but smile at some of the old concepts being bandied around in this book, such as Freudian analysis and the description of the plastic robot psychologist. I found the whole basis of the book to be flawed and typical of science fiction from the 50's to the 80's i.e stary eyed characters without a hint of true human maliciousness which has dominated our species for centuries and also wide sweeping comments concerning space travel which simply havent stood the test of time for the modern reader. A classic? Lets just say it sums up the whole of science fiction literature before the words 'digital' and 'nanotech" and 'virtual' became household words even for children. A classic to be compared with Dickens or Tolstoy? No. However, save yourself 30 years of sci-fi literature from 1950-1980 (with the possible exception of 2001) and read it and smile.
Rating: Summary: An outstanding story Review: "Gateway" tells the story of the ultimate futuristic gold rush. In the 21st century, an asteroid known as Gateway is discovered containing hundreds of ancient space ships, all of them with pre-programmed courses already set. The builders of the ships are referred to as Heechees, but very little is known of who they were, why they built the asteroid, or why the Heechee disappeared. Since no human knows how to steer the ships or predict the destinations, explorers have to get in the ships, activate the program, and then go where it takes them. Some discover vast wealth; many never return or come back dead because they have run out of food or air. Robinette Broadhead becomes a Gateway prospector as one of the few avenues of advancement open to a poor person on Earth. This book tells of his trips interspersed with his conversations with a computerized therapist. The setting is interesting, and the story is very effective. I would recommend this book highly. This is the opener of a series which suffers from what might be called the "Dune" Effect: a terrific first book, with diminishing returns in subsequent volumes. Pohl ultimately does resolve the mystery of the Heechees, along with other questions not introduced in this book; unfortunately the answers are less interesting than the questions, and the story loses momentum well before the end of the series. I would recommend the sequel, "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon", but the final two volumes aren't up to snuff.
Rating: Summary: Despite structural flaws, a satisfying read Review: Frederik Pohl has always been one of my favourite SF authors. As a double Hugo/Nebula winner for 1997's best novel, that makes it (at least nominally) one of the best of the best. In the mid-21st century, tunnels and artifacts are discovered on Venus. This discovery leads in turn to the far more lucrative discovery of Gateway, an asteroid orbiting the sun outside the elliptical plane, tunnelled out and housing nearly 1000 spaceships abandoned half a million years ago by a mysterious race that humans have labelled the Heechee. These fully-functional ships are capable of faster-than-light travel and can hold one to five passengers. The problem is, no one knows how to operate the controls. Prospectors have spent their life's savings to travel to Gateway and travel in one of the ships to destinations unknown, hoping to make a major scientific or commercial discovery. Some do and hit it big. Most don't. Many don't come back. The protagonist, millionaire Robinette Broadhead, is one of the ones who hit it big. We find out two important things about him at the beginning of Gateway. First, on one of his trips he made a major discovery worth 18 million dollars. Second, he is a very screwed-up man; we first meet him lying on a mat in the office of his digital shrink, Sigfrid. Structurally, the novel's chapters alternate between Broadhead's sessions with Sigfrid, and flashbacks to Broadhead's experiences on Gateway. Unfortunately the book's structure is its major weakness. There is simply too much Sigfrid; Broadhead's appointments with the shrink could have been removed by half without harming the story. Besides, reading Freudian interpretation after interpretation of Broadhead's dreams and word choices starts to get monotonous. It is the flashback sequences on Gateway and beyond that make this novel interesting by far. Pohl has done an excellent job of preserving the mystery of the Heechee. They are never revealed, even at the denouement of the story. Their presence is felt only through the tunnels of Gateway, the rare half-million-year-old artifacts they left behind, and their still-functional spaceships with their cryptic controls, the function of which can only be guessed at (more often than not wrongly). Interspersed throughout the book are page-long sidebars containing snapshots of life on or about Gateway: classified ads, trip reports, academic lectures. In addition to helping create a general impression of the risks of being a Gateway prospector, some of these little diversions provide clues to how the story ends, and are worth reading carefully. If you're a hard SF fan and haven't picked up Gateway yet, you owe it to yourself. Despite its literary flaws, it's on my list of must-read SF novels.
Rating: Summary: A fine beginning. Review: I'm always reluctant to start a new series of Sci-fi novels because of the usual let-down that ensues after a fine beginning novel. I've read the sequel, "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon," and I was thoroughly disappointed. It took me over a year to even bother to start the third book, which I am reading now and so far it doesn't look too promising, either. So, what I'm trying to say, in so many run-on sentences, is to read the first book only. It has a great mystery at its heart, and does what all masterful Sci-fi does best: raises more questions than it answers. There are a few down moments, but they are forgivable given that I was there with the characters pondering the mysteries of the Heechee and subconciously fearful for their well-being when they do travel to the stars. Some never return; some return with their entrails splattered all over the inside of the ship. It's a dice game with the craft of the Heechee. But those who return with artifacts and knowledge are likely to become rich beyond their wildest dreams. For some reason, much like Dan Simmons' "Endymion," I keep having memory flashes from this novel. I was there in spirit. The great Sci-fi novels take you on a journey into the unknown and sometimes beyond. This is one of those novels.
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