Rating: 
Summary: an entertaining diversion: very light reading
Review: Re:"Sir Fred Hoyle, [a] scientist and polymath extraordinaire, [b] was also one of our greatest sci-fi novelists, and [c] it is a pity that his SF works are not better known." [a]: Yes, Hoyle was both a scientist and a science-fiction writer--and a popularizer of science as well, but I don't see that that makes him a polymath, particularly since his science-fiction, though entertaining enough, had no especial literary value. [c]: In the sixties, his science-fiction was very well known, very nearly as well known as that of Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Isaac Asimov. I'd guess that most of his stuff is now out of print for two reasons: 1) Genre fiction tends to be ephemeral, and 2) Hoyle's scientific reputation plummeted (deservedly so) as he continued to promulgate his long-since discredited "steady-state" theory of the universe and to embrace such fantasies as the space-spores "theory" of the origin of life, with no credible evidence or argument to support either. [b]: Hoyle's stuff was probably just as good or better than most or much of Clarke's, Asimov's, and Bradbury's (though I don't think Hoyle ever equaled Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey" or "Childhood's End", nor do I think Hoyle ever equaled Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" or "Fahrenheit 451"-bearing in mind I haven't read either of these last two since before my own childhood's end), but as it happens there have been only TWO great science-fiction writers (I'm not counting great science-fiction works such as "Brave New World" and "Planet of the Apes" written by writers primarily known for non-science-fiction): H. G. Wells and Stanislaw Lem. In any case, "The Black Cloud" is neither Hoyle's best novel nor his worst; it's fairly middling. The exaggerated claims made for it below are patently absurd.
Rating: 
Summary: Very British, but great.
Review: The British spelling maybe what turns some Americans off. For instance in the copy I read I had to think a bit before I figured out what Esquimeaux was. I hope the new copies have Eskimo instead. Also the science is dated. Still I'm glad it's available again. Interesting science, a vast intelligence, funny at times, & pretty clever too. Although it laughs at the idea of a creator it's respectful about the idea that there could be a supreme intelligence. Most of the sf by scientists I've read is transcendental ,or in least agnostic, in this manner. That's why the hard-headed atheist stuff that people who are purely sf authors write confuses me at times. That's neither here nor there if you've got the time read it. If you like it as much as I did buy it at some point.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant (as usual)
Review: There's not much to add to the reviews below. Sir Fred Hoyle, scientist and polymath extraordinaire, was also one of our greatest sci-fi novelists, and it is a pity that his SF works are not better known. Anyway, its all here with a brilliant prescience: scientific discovery, political obtrusiveness, nuclear winter, the steady-state universe theory, the unintelligibility of extraterrestial intelligent life, right down to the tragic ending. Any lover of thoughtful SF should read this excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant (as usual)
Review: There's not much to add to the reviews below. Sir Fred Hoyle, scientist and polymath extraordinaire, was also one of our greatest sci-fi novelists, and it is a pity that his SF works are not better known. Anyway, its all here with a brilliant prescience: scientific discovery, political obtrusiveness, nuclear winter, the steady-state universe theory, the unintelligibility of extraterrestial intelligent life, right down to the tragic ending. Any lover of thoughtful SF should read this excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece that should be a required read.
Review: This book is the pinnacle of all the aspirations of the science fiction novelist. It is also the most striking example I've read of the encounter theme. However, the book is a fallen masterpiece: it has diatribe, fantastic characterization, and its just too slim a volume to explore the ideas presented. If not for these reasons alone this book would be considered by most the finest example of what the genre could afford, and that is why I give it five stars. The only other work that distantly pars with this one is "Rendevous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke; if you liked it, you'll love this.
Rating:
Summary: Why aren't more of Fred Hoyle's books in print?
Review: This book is yet another fine example of a great mind at work to challenge the thinking of an individual. I've been searching for this book for years, and I've also attempted to locate "Ossian's Ride," although I've since learned that it is out of print. To find one of the greatest collection of Sci-Fi short stories, I recommend "Element 79" by Fred Hoyle.
Rating:
Summary: The best science fiction/fact book I have ever read
Review: This book was referred to me during a university level astronomy course. It is a fantastic voyage into the realm of extraterrestrial life that goes far beyond the stereotype of "little green men." This is a believable story, complete with a reasonable assessment of how the politics of alien contact would affect the earth. An excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Good science and good fiction
Review: This is good science and good fiction. What more do you want? The plot moves quickly and intelligently and the characters sound like the guys he knows from his astronomy department at Cambridge. Much of the humor is British of course and the spelling and inside jokes are British too. I like the way he pokes fun at the American tendency to drop bombs on anything they don't understand. Americans haven't changed much from 1957 (when this book was first published) to the present. Hoyle must have been naughty because he got his FRS about twenty years before he got his knighthood. The long delay indicating that the politicians and royals who make up the honor list, had reservations about putting him on it. The only character that needs further development is the cloud. I would have liked to get the cloud's opinion on a whole bunch of topics, but unfortunately the cloud had to move on. Why it's moving on so soon was never quite clear. Perhaps if you read this book, you can let me know.
Rating: 
Summary: Good early '60s hard sf
Review: This was one of the first sf novels that I ever read, when I was about 12 years old. So I have a soft spot for it. Interesting premise--an instellar "black cloud" (that for all it knows thinks it might be immortal) shows up and covers the Earth. This is not such a good thing. Some scientists attempt to contact it, with some good--and some bad--results. Good early '60s, by the man who first suggested the "steady-state" theory of the universe.
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