Forward, Robert L.

Average customer rating:

Regretting using your service
Alien aliens, flat humans, and a mind-bending story
Wondering what life on a 65 billion G Neutron Star is like?
Impressive upside down perspectives
Good Hard Sci-Fi

Dragon's Egg (Del Rey Impact)
Robert L. Forward
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Starquake
Rocheworld
Return to Rocheworld
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ASIN: 034543529X

Book Description

In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms--the cheela--living on Dragon's Egg, a neutron star where one Earth hour is equivalent to hundreds of their years. The cheela culturally evolve from savagery to the discovery of science, and for a brief time, men are their diligent teachers . . .

Customer Reviews:

Regretting using your service.......2007-04-03

It took so long I had forgotten I had ordered it and almost bought it at a book store! Beyond that, the cover was horribly bent and torn, it was yellow, the spine was nearly shattered from use, and it wasnt even the same edition I ordered! Ugh!

Alien aliens, flat humans, and a mind-bending story.......2006-08-27

As others have noted, the alien cheela, despite being only 0.5 mm tall, have far more depth than the human characters in this novel. This story is about the cheela, and the humans serve mainly as a plot device. Further, the cheela are a *very* different from us, in almost every way -- size, speed, environment, and culture. This will doubtless put many readers off, as there is little to relate to our frame of reference. If you prefer your aliens to be humans with bumpy noses, look elsewhere.

If, on the other hand, the idea of aliens that really *are* alien appeals to you, this is a great read. Reading about the development of civilization in such an alien context is fascinating. There are parts where the story of the cheela becomes very compelling. Swift-Killer's Climb is nothing short of heroic (yes, something unexciting can still be heroic). The brief "Visit" between humans and Cheela is a blast.

I don't give it five stars, because the human characters *are* flat. It may well be impossible to place both truly alien beings and interesting humans in the same story (as opposed to two different, co-located stories). A separate human story would still be something, though, and it appears the author either did not even try to develop one, or failed completely. The humans are a plot device -- they give the author a reason to tell the story of the cheela, nothing more. Likewise, the human discovery of the "Egg" and the expedition reads as very contrived. Every work of fiction is contrived, of course, but good fiction keeps the reader from noticing. These drawbacks mar what would otherwise be a true masterpiece of science fiction.

While it is radical fiction, this book is based on a strong foundation in reality -- both science fact and scientific speculation. The successful combination of strict science and pure fantasy is part of what makes for great "hard sci-fi", and this book has it, in spades. It truly does "stretch the mind", as one cover blurb says.

Strangely, I also found the story to be inspirational. The aliens live their lives in fullness in their frame of reference, but a cheela lifespan is only 30 of our minutes. Reconciling those differences and establishing a conversation over many generations is, to me, a truly noble act, for humans and cheela alike. Despite the differences between them and us, the cheela are people. If I can be as good a person as the cheela in this story, I will have lived my life well.

Wondering what life on a 65 billion G Neutron Star is like?.......2005-12-07

Ever wonder what life would be like on a 60 billion gravity Neutron Star? Right, probably not. Well, this guy did. And, he wrote a really good story about it.

Dragon's Egg tells a wildly imaginative story of the Cheela, a species of creature that lives on a neutron star. As a consequence of living on a neutron star, molecular chemistry and life itself advances at a rate millions of times faster than us humans are used to. The book tells their story from the Cheela's absolute beginnings when life began on the star all the way to their achievement of becoming sentient beings. In this way, the author makes many interesting and funny parallels to how humans may have evolved from primordial slime to what we are now.

The story focuses on the Cheela, but also includes the side-story of a group of space-exploring humans who happen to be in orbit around the Cheela's home star taking studies. What the humans don't realize is that their presence in the night sky has caused great influence on the Cheela; most notably their ever changing religious beliefs. When the Cheela finally make contact with their supposed human-Gods, they have more to teach them than the humans have to teach the Cheela.

A really fun, imagination-expanding read.

Impressive upside down perspectives.......2005-02-25

A friend of mine lent me this book and told me it was "hard" Sci Fi. I discovered this is one of those books you find very difficult not to believe the story really happened. Backed by true physics, this story will take you to a place where evolution takes place in hours and society develops in minutes. Great for those who have a rock-solid point of view, since the story gives so many twists to the perspective of society (our society by comparision looks so dull), even the purists will love it. Excellent and intriguing at the end. Strongly recommended.

Good Hard Sci-Fi.......2004-12-03

I read this back in the 80's, after reading a recommendation in a book by Arthur C. Clarke. Altho Forward was not the only scientist to speculate on the possibliity of exotic life on a neutron star (Steven Baxter does a better job of it in his excellent novel, FLUX ), and altho the character development and writing style are at times severely lacking in Dragon's Egg, the author does tell a story worth reading. The technological details will fascinate some, and bore others, but the concept of life existing under such conditions will hold your attention, and the characters do sort of grow on you after awhile. The accelerated time frame of the Cheela is suspect, but it does add an interesting twist to the tale, particularly when their technology starts to bypass that of their human visitors.
This is not in the running for the greatest science-fiction novel ever written. And of this author's works, I personally liked Flight of the Dragonfly better. (Later expanded into Rocheworld, which I haven't read.) Dragon's Egg is , however, quite an interesting yarn taking place in one of the unlikeliest of locales. Read it and enjoy, as well as the sequel, Starquake.

Average customer rating:

The implausable made comprehensible
Works in the Classroom
There are greener pastures, so skip this one
Technically acurate and ingenious ideas for science fiction
very good discussion of exotic propulsion etc.

Indistinguishable From Magic
Robert L. Forward
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Rocheworld

ASIN: 0671876864

Customer Reviews:

The implausable made comprehensible.......2002-01-18

Sorry, I love big words. The fiction was not impressive, but the science is. Dr Forward is one of the big guns theoretical physics and it shows. He explores the ways impossible science-fiction concepts like antigravity, time travel, or faster-than-light travel might be done (if the gray areas of physics have the right answers), and sometimes ways it could be done (with a lot of engineerng).

Works in the Classroom.......2001-06-05

This is an excellent book for the introduction of physics concepts. By blending science fiction and science fact Dr. Forward puts concepts commonly misundersttod into the grasp of the laity. I have found this book very useful in my Physics courses. My students tend to enjoy it as well. Dr. Forward draws on his background at JPL to give sound techincal explanations and his ability as a science fiction writer to give the concepts life.

WARNING! If you are looking for a piece of fluffy fantasy fiction this is not the book for you.

There are greener pastures, so skip this one.......1999-11-02

I bought this, partially because some of the reviews I saw compared it to similar books by Charles Sheffield, a master at writing stories coupled with science fact essays. This is a hard act to follow, but Forward has been writing for long enough that I was at least hoping for entertainment.

After reading this, I regretfully conclude that this is not a book I would buy, and I wish that I had returned it after reading it.

I found every fiction story was contrived, and not intriguing enough to hold my interest. This was regrettable, as Forward clearly sees some quite amazing possibilities in the high power densities antimatter brings, and the impact of easy travel within the solar system. I did not, however, come away from the stories with a sense of wonder, or a sense that I had "seen the future."

Even were this entirely a science fact book, I would have misgivings. Forward seems quite intent on pointing out the number of patents he holds. At several occasions, I felt the book was moving from entertainment or education vehicle into self promotion. I am not above that myself, but I find it entertains poorly.

Forward clearly understands the material, and explains it well, but the level he chose to pitch it at was not satisfying to me. I felt that he was using a bit too much fancy footwork, and a bit too little solid explanation. See Sheffield's "Dancing with Myself" for a collection of essays with similar focus, but with more meat on the scientific bones.

In essense, a well thought out book, but one that does not deliver on the implicit promise of such a powerful and wide reaching set of technologies.

Technically acurate and ingenious ideas for science fiction.......1998-11-30

As a particle physicist I learned much from this book. When Forward discusses situations about which I know some details he almost always has it right, so I trust him when he discusses situations about which I know little. The short stories that follow the technical chapters are ingenious, although they do not all relate well to the preceding technical chapter. I would like to have had more discussion about the relative probabilities of the various scientific theories yielding useful technology.

very good discussion of exotic propulsion etc........1998-07-07

i bought the book purely for its scientific content and have not read the short stories. but the information concerning exotic forms of propulsion and loopholes in modern day physics is very good. another good book relating to this is the starflight handbook by eugene f. mallove & gregory l. matloff.

Dragon's Egg/Starquake: 2-in-1 (Two Novels in One)

Average customer rating:

One of the best in the 'Hard Sci-Fi' arena
Top Of The Line Science Fiction
One of the best science fiction books I have ever read
excellent hard-science novels
Good scientific piece, yet very boring.

Dragon's Egg/Starquake: 2-in-1 (Two Novels in One)
Robert L. Forward
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345388984
Release Date: 1994-07-02

Customer Reviews:

One of the best in the 'Hard Sci-Fi' arena.......1999-02-22

This is 'the' book that hooked me on 'hard Sci-Fi'. It is way out there but it is also very plausible. The story grabs you and pulls you in..you live it as the main characters.. not knowing what is going on.. and you discover, with them, great things. The aliens are us!

Top Of The Line Science Fiction.......1998-10-17

This is the very best in Scifi that I have read. I have loaned it out to numerous people who felt the same way and one friend wouldn't let go so I am searching for another copy now! It has twists and turns that leave you breathless and the characters are extremely well developed. Read this!

One of the best science fiction books I have ever read.......1998-06-25

Dragon's Egg, I feel, is a better book thn Starquake, but they are both excellent stories. The narrative device used, especially in Dragon's Egg, adds interest as it leaves the reader to make a very important discovery about the Cheela. In addition, Dragon's Egg gives historians something to chew on as it is not only based on hard science but also historical theory as well. Would such a different society pass through the same developmental stages as human society? Dragons Egg is one of my four all-time favourite books; I re-read it (again) to celebrate World Book Day and it is still an excellent read. There are not many books that can stand re-reading and still maintain the reader's interest. Ideal for people who think they don't like "hard" science fiction.

excellent hard-science novels.......1998-02-03

If you're not excited by feeling your mind being stretched by science that is right at the very edge of theoretical physics, then you may be someone who thinks this book is "boring". If you aren't filled with wonder as an entire utterly alien civilization is presented to you, then you might not like this book.

But if you're enraptured by a plausible alien civilization that uses almost future-magic technology which is nevertheless comprehensible (especially if you're an avid reader of physics journals or popularizations), then this book will be one of your favorites.

Negatives: Bob Forward is at his best when writing about the science; he is weakest when writing dialog. For the alien dialog, this isn't really a problem, but sometimes the way his human characters phrase their sentences will make one wince. I found this fairly easy to overlook, but others may not.

Good scientific piece, yet very boring........1997-04-10

This book gives a fantastic look into the scientific aspects of neutron stars, but is very boring to read as a novel

Average customer rating:

Among the best hard SF books ever written
Good, but not as good as number one
Good but not as good as the first one
A sequel. . .
A great book.

Starquake
Robert L. Forward
Manufacturer: Backinprint.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Dragon's Egg (Del Rey Impact)
Rocheworld
Return to Rocheworld
Timemaster
Rescued from Paradise

ASIN: 0595167489

Book Description

Starquake, the sequel to Dragon’s Egg, takes place on the surface of a neutron star. The gravity is 67 billion Earth gravities. The native “cheela”, the size of sesame seeds, live a million times faster than their human friends in orbit. After a starquake, the humans have only one day to save the remains of cheela civilization from extinction.

Customer Reviews:

Among the best hard SF books ever written.......2006-05-23

The key attractions of this story and its sequel "Starquake" are:

1) Life based on neutronic interactions vs electronic/chemical interactions
2) Communication between two races, one which is 1 million times faster than the other.
3) "Monopole-pumped black hole dust" used in Cheela anti-gravity machines
4) Life on a neutron star with a surface gravity 67 BILLION times earth gravity, and a surface temperature of 8200 K.
5) Faster-than-light technology / time-travel technology, described almost believably
6) Cheela waiting, bored, while their ship accelerates to half the speed of light, over 1 kilometer of acceleration, in order to reach escape velocity from their home. 50% light-speed, over 1 km??
7) Rise and fall and rise of Cheela empires, with several very interesting characters
8) A very plausible description of how humans may nullify the tidal forces near neutron stars, and go into close orbit.

Good, but not as good as number one.......2004-09-10

I get the idea that Dr. Forward just wanted to write a sequel. This book's premise is interesting - the cheela, due to their sped-up lifetime, have only one day (human time) for their earthling friends to figure out how to save them. I didn't like the characters as much and the story didn't hold my interest as much as the first book, but I still recommend it to fans of "Dragon's Egg" and those who love really scientific sci-fi.

Good but not as good as the first one.......2004-01-06

The book is good but is a pale book compared to dragon's egg (the first part) which is such an excellent book. So skip this one because nothing new is here. On the other side if you have not yet read Dragon's egg ...Don't hesitate any longer.

A sequel. . ........2003-10-02

. . .and in my experience, sequels can be difficult to make "work". Robert Forward, brilliant in "Dragon's Egg" is less brilliant here, primarily because this novel requires more actual "storytelling", character development, and plot than "hard science" -- and hard science is what Forward does best.

Nevertheless, if you enjoyed "Dragon's Egg" and wish to delve more deeply into the lives of the Cheela, you won't be disappointed. I'm rounding up to four stars.

A great book........2001-03-04

This is the second book in a two part series. The star has, yes, you guessed it, a starquake, and things get a little weird. We have barbarian hordes vs.robots. We also have a space station and the discovery of immortality both created by an accident.

Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics (Wiley Science Edition)

Average customer rating:

Excellent book

Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics (Wiley Science Edition)
Robert L. Forward , and Joel Davis
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Antimatter: The Ultimate Mirror
The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

ASIN: 0471628123

Book Description

For nearly four decades the fictional spaceships of the "Star Trek" universe have been powered by antimatter. But antimatter is not science fiction, and neither is the idea of using it for space propulsion. In Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics, renowned physicist Dr. Robert L. Forward and science writer Joel Davis show why, and how.

Mirror Matter is the answer to the skeptics who say that using antimatter is too risky, too difficult, or too expensive. Forward and Davis describe how to make, capture, store, and use antimatter. Mirror Matter explains, step-by-step, how to greatly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of antimatter production; how antimatter can be captured and safely stored until it is used; and how it can improve the propulsion capability of interplanetary rocket engines by one to two orders of magnitude.

If the solar system is to one day be our big backyard, it will come about using "mirror matter" for space propulsion.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2003-06-21

This is a great book and has changed my life you should try it.

Average customer rating:

Would have been better off as a short essay
Interesting
What an imagination!
I really enjoyed the book. . .
Go back to the masters!

Camelot 30K
Robert L. Forward
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Rocheworld

ASIN: 0812516478

Customer Reviews:

Would have been better off as a short essay.......2006-09-25

This is basically hundreds of pages of text, masquerading as a story. What he
really wants to do here is tell everyone about this cool idea he had about
what aliens might be like if they lived near Pluto...and if they were insects.

90% of the book then explains how all this works followed up with a really implausible stretch ending which feels like just an excuse to explain one
of Teller's worst ideas.

If I was smart, I would have stopped reading this book after 50 pages.

Interesting.......2004-02-04

A truly interesting concept and story arc; some people have criticized it for the fact that there's so little plot, but as an anthropologist I found the cultural study to be quite cool. On the down side, the characters *are* rather two dimensional, as others have noted, and in fact the appendices to the book give the whole plot twist away. I didn't look at them until after I had finished the book, but even so, I kind of had an idea where it was going.

But I still liked Merlene.

What an imagination!.......2003-12-28

Out on the edge of the solar system is a planet shrouded in cold and ice. On this planet Earthians (is that a word?) land and discover a race of tiny creatures, technologically developed. This is the story of that meeting and is perhaps one of the five best scifi novels of that year.

In what is perhaps a parody or even a parable, we learn of the kerack civilization, its music, art and manners. Communication is accomplished through tiny robots are lowered to the surface and via VR, an astronaut explores the surface and the culture. Our heroine, Merlene, a lower-class citizen of this world, is the vehicle by which we are introduced to this strange yet inviting world. Like many races on Earth, society is based on a queen and workers, with all the accompanying niches of warrior, wizard children, etc.

As the story progresses we slowly understand that warfare has been a way of life for these people but now has progressed to a point that is potentially all-consuming. We slowly realize that events are building toward something we can barely fathom: The denizens of the city are preparing a nuclear blasts through biological means. This explosion destroys Camalor, Merlene's city, but in the process propogates genes into space.

The ending is a tour de force. One human elects to remain on the planet and Merlene has an epiphany and at last understands that she is to be the new leader, the queen without a city, a Jeremiah-like prophet for peace. She begins her journey with the remaining human "bot" beseeching all those who hear her voice with a final plea, "You be listening to the message o'Merlene. You be believing that message and you will be saved." Priceless!!!

I really enjoyed the book. . ........2003-10-01

. . .but once again, it is evident that Robert Forward's scientific achievements, which are many, are not matched with great writing skills.

This book hypothesizes an alien race, living on a frozen world on the very edges of the Solar System, in an existence only 30 degrees (Kelvin) above Absolute Zero. The science is extremely well-conceived, the aliens (once one accepts the science) are believable, and the character development in all the humans (and all but one of the aliens) is virtually non-existant. Even the dialogue seems stilted.

But then again, one does not read Forward for character development! In this respect, the true Forward fan will not be disappointed.

The book does get rather "preachy" toward the end -- and I find this a bit annoying -- but overall, the book is a good read, with the caveats previously mentioned.

Go back to the masters!.......2002-08-24

If this is an example of a book by Robert L. Forward, I'll be pleased to avoid them in the future. Now, don't get me wrong: just because I prefer fantasy to hard sf, doesn't mean I don't appreciate good hard sf. I grew up on Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, Niven and Clement. I read Brin, Card and Cherryh, and sample a lot of newcomers like Watts' _Starfish_. But if I hadn't been forced to finish this for a book discussion group, I doubt I would have continued past page 50, my benchmark to quit if I don't care about anything in the book: ideas, world, characters, etc. Not only does this book have no interesting storyline, it has constant intrusions of scientific explanations.

Okay, okay, so you want to know something about it. Life is found on a cometary body beyond the orbit of Pluto, living only 30 degrees above absolute zero (30K, get it?). We go to explore it, of course, which is the basis of the entire story, as we humans examine their culture and figure out what makes it work physically. It's an interesting puzzle (hence the two stars), worthy of Clement's _Mission of Gravity_, to which it is compared (although I found Mission much easier to read not too long ago). But if you're not a chemist or a physicist, you'll probably find your eyes glazing over as you skim paragraph after paragraph of scientific explanation, hunting for the next step in the simple storyline. The aliens were marginally interesting, but not enough to keep me reading under normal circumstances.

Amazon.com

Five carefully selected people, each with the chance to earn $1 billion. The catch? They have to descend into Saturn's upper atmosphere and establish a factory that will produce meta, the fuel that powers interplanetary flight. With only enough meta to get them to Saturn, failure will cost them their lives. And all too soon the crew becomes marooned on the back of what they dub a Rukh, a 4-kilometer-long creature that swims in Saturn's upper atmosphere and has two brains, male and female. This engaging book by physicist Robert L. Forward evokes the sense of wonder of old-time science fiction.

Book Description

In the near future five intrepid men and women have been paid a billion dollars each to risk the first voyage into the upper atmosphere of Saturn. The goal: to convert atmospheric chemicals into fuel to power interplanetary spaceships. But no one anticipates a crash landing on one of the enormous flying creatures known as rukhs that live in Saturn's atmosphere.

Customer Reviews:

entertaining "hard science" fiction.......2006-09-26

Robert Forward is a scientist who writes fiction. He thinks and describes in terms of science problems and then writes a fictional story around it. The story is of the first manned expedition to Saturn. The science behind the mission is well substantiated and interesting, (but most likely only to geeks like myself.) In Forward's world, Saturn is inhabited with creatures that "swim" in it's dense atmosphere. We are introduced to the intelligent, apex predator life forms that have an interesting first contact with the humans. The characters are interesting, but the writing is a little Tom Clancy-ish. Characters have fairly basic personalties and their interactions are a little stale.

The yarn is a good one and the predicament, of possibly being stranded is very interesting.

Old-Fashioned SF.......2003-09-25

Spoilers!!

This is typical Forward: wooden characters whose interactions with each other are totally unbelievable, endless detail of beautiful, real near-future science, silly excuse-for-a-plot, and gorgeous, staggering vistas of real otherworlds and their realistic, amazingly creative inhabitants. The ruus, huge gasbags flying in the atmosphere of Saturn, are far more interesting than the humans who contact them, but Forward always does this. The scenes are giant, brilliantly colored, animated Chesley Bonestell movies: the ruus diving to hunt; the humans "climbing down Saturn's Rings" with the aid of the (real) Hoytether, a kind of super rope which Forward marketed; the funeral of an aged rukh whose flockmates sing as she falls endlessly to the lethal gas layers below; the final battle with an alien monster myth-made-real. If you value character and plot, take your business elswhere. For science and the sheer pleasure of the view, read this!

Great Hard SF.......2003-04-26

I loved this book. I could hardly put it down. Being a science-oriented person, I had no problem with all the science. It did not seem dry or boring at all. The speculation as to the nature of intelligent life in a non-Terran ecosystem was fascinating. I highly recommend this book.

Another good book by Forward.......2001-09-10

Can life exist in a gas giant's atmosphere? Intelligent life is
a hard thing to find anywhere in the universe and this book gives us a whale of a story about a sea so far away. A mission of modern science has been to find other intelligent life and communicate with it. Very few unique kinds of intelligent life have been invented by hard science fiction writers. Robert Forward is one of the best at it.

Don't Read This Book. . ........2000-12-22

. . .for depth of character development! Like many of Forward's novels, there is a definite weakness in that department. HOWEVER, if you like "hard" science fiction -- sci fi which grasps the best that current scientific understanding has to offer, you will thoroughly enjoy this engaging book.

Forward writes of a mission to Saturn's atmosphere in order to build a fuel factory from the (almost) limitless supply of helium contained there. In the process, the crew discovers life -- life supremely suited to its environment.

4.5 for the science, 3 for the plot, 1.5 for the shallow characters. Overall, a 3 -- and a good read.

Return to Rocheworld
Average customer rating:

A vehicle for scientific speculation. Fascinating!

Return to Rocheworld
Robert L. Forward
Manufacturer: Backinprint.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Rocheworld

Rescued from Paradise

Ocean Under the Ice

Marooned on Eden

Starquake

ASIN: 0595166164

Book Description

Return to Rocheworld is the first of four sequels to the science fiction novel Rocheworld by Robert L. Forward (Baen Books, New York, 1990). The other sequels that follow this one are: Ocean Under the Ice, Marooned on Eden, and Rescued from Paradise. In Return to Rocheworld, the humans from Earth and their multiton jelly-blob alien friends, the “flouwen” from the ocean-covered lobe of the double-planet Rocheworld, fly to the desert-dry lobe of Rocheworld where they discover ancient ancestors of the flouwen, adapted to the harsh life on the dry lobe.

Customer Reviews:

A vehicle for scientific speculation. Fascinating!.......2000-12-02

This is the second title (out of five) in the Rocheworld Saga. The humans sent to Barnard's system discovered intelligent (in the most stringent sense of the word) life on Rocheworld, a weird double planet subject to complex dynamics and tidal forces. These aliens -the flouwen- are aquatic amoeba-like creatures living in the oceans of Eau, one of the lobes of the double planet. The flouwen are centuries ahead of us in Mathematics, but have no technology.

In this book, the flouwen are explored more in depth. We learn about their physiology and social structure. Using human technology, the flouwen get into space for the first time, and help the humans in their exploration of Roche, the second lobe of Rocheworld. Then, two longly-separated evolutionary branches meet again...

As with many other Forward's books, neither plot nor characterization are the strongest points in this novel. However, Forward manages once again to put together so much thought-provoking scientific speculation that makes you forget any other deficiencies.

Customer Reviews:

Great Hard SciFi.......2005-10-28

Like most of Robert Forward's books, this one is for those who love Science at least as much as fiction. Though the life forms in Rocheworld were not as interesting as those he created in Dragon's Egg, I appreciate the fact that he continued to challenge the idea that all life should be (even remotely) like that on Earth. The idea of a culture far beyond ours intellectually, without the least bit of industry or technology also questions assumptions about what is an "advanced" civilization. But I think my favorite parts of this book were the ideas for long-distance space travel (Forward pioneered the use of solar sails) and the physics of the double-egg shaped world, including the tides and "snow" under the ammonia ocean.

Excellent!.......2005-03-22

"Rocheworld" is one of my all-time favorite sc-fi reads. I am glad Robert L. Forward was able to expand on his original manuscript to make this new improved version of "Flight of the Dragonfly", --retitled "Rocheworld". This book is about light-sail travel to a very far away twin world system that has very original aquatic aliens--a really grand adventure with four sequels to read.

Terrible Book -- Immature Writing.......2003-09-29

To say the least, I'm very upset with the other three reviews here which all gave this book a five star rating. It's just not so. This book is terrible. Essentially, it's like reading a comic book. All the characters are one-sided, extreme caricatures. I got through about page forty (where the main "characters" are picking their crew) before I couldn't take it any more. Every new "character" was a new oddball. I mean, forget about these people being characters in a book. Just think about them as forming a small crew who are going on a one-way mission in a tin can. They'll be en-route for forty years and studying the new system for twenty more. No organization in the universe would pick these people as crew. They wouldn't make it to Mars orbit before they ended up killing each other. Every member of the crew would have been psychologically screened until their brains fell out of their heads. The people who survived that screening and were deemed capable of living in extremely close quarters with a couple of handfuls of other people for the rest of their lives would have trained together for YEARS just to make sure everything was OK. This book is a joke as science fiction. Either that, or it was written for the youth market. Terrible, terrible book. Avoid.

Uniqe aliens. sensitive and smart........2000-05-30

This is the only Robert Forward book i've read, but I would like to try some more. The "Fluben" are the most interesting aliens i've read about except maybe the "Moties" from "The mote in god's eye". They are very diffrent anatomically from human beings ,which is logical ,and they are all mathematical geniuses. They're all brain. that is, their whole body ( which is a cloud of a dense fluid hovering in the ocean )is allso the thinking organ. They can become smaller, tighter and harder, form a "rock" and in that state they are even more smart then usual ( and the usual is something like 400 i.q's ). Another thing about this book is that the aliens and the humans don't fight, they get along and like each other. the opponent is nature. Buy the book, it's an interesting read.

Forward is my favorite living Hard SF writer.......1999-02-22

This is my favorite version of the three similar stories, all by Dr Forward. I first read Flight of the DragonFly (4.5 stars). A couple of years later, I read the full version of Rocheworld (Flight + parts of an earlier Rocheworld edition + additional material) and all of its sequels. I liked it even more than Dragon's Egg, my previous Forward Favorite.

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Dragon's Egg
Robert L. forward
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRIVKI

Authors:

Authors

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