Mission of gravity

Hardcover, 224 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 1954 by Doubleday.

OCLC Number:: 5030545

(2 reviews)

Mesklin is a vast, inhospitable, disc-shaped planet, so cold that its oceans are liquid methane and its snows are frozen ammonia. It is a world spinning dizzyingly, a world where gravity can be a crushing 700 times greater than Earth's, a world too hostile for human explorers. But the planet holds secrets of inestimable value, and an unmanned probe that has crashed close to one of its poles must be recovered. Only the Mesklinites, the small creatures so bizarrely adapted to their harsh environment, can help.

And so Barlennan, the resourceful and courageous captain of the Mesklinite ship Bree, sets out on an heroic and appalling journey into the terrible unknown. For him and his people, the prize to be gained is as great as that for mankind...

Hal Clement's MISSION OF GRAVITY is universally regarded as one of the most important and best loved novels in the genre. The …

Mesklin is a vast, inhospitable, disc-shaped planet, so cold that its oceans are liquid methane and its snows are frozen ammonia. It is a world spinning dizzyingly, a world where gravity can be a crushing 700 times greater than Earth's, a world too hostile for human explorers. But the planet holds secrets of inestimable value, and an unmanned probe that has crashed close to one of its poles must be recovered. Only the Mesklinites, the small creatures so bizarrely adapted to their harsh environment, can help.

And so Barlennan, the resourceful and courageous captain of the Mesklinite ship Bree, sets out on an heroic and appalling journey into the terrible unknown. For him and his people, the prize to be gained is as great as that for mankind...

Hal Clement's MISSION OF GRAVITY is universally regarded as one of the most important and best loved novels in the genre. The remarkable and sympathetic depiction of an alien species and the plausible and scientifically based realisation of the strange world they inhabit make it a major landmark in the history of hard SF. From Goodreads

12 editions

Thom reviewed Mission of gravity by Hal Clement

Review of 'Mission of gravity' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book focuses on the Science of Science Fiction - an adventure story about earthly contact with the 18 inch centipedes of Mesklin.

Certain facts (their size, the length of their day, and so on) are discovered over the first few chapters, though contact has been going on for a while before the story opens. Through their journeys, we examine some interesting facts about high gravity worlds and the effects on biology, chemistry, and physics.

Being two difference groups (species), each has their own motivations also, and this comes out well. Barlennan is a savvy trader, the ideal explorer in an unknown land. The human crew is kept busy in an Apollo 13 like scramble to solve various problems.

For the right (technically minded) audience, recommended!

Hotapulveri

rated it

May 28, 2020