Mission of Gravity

Adventurous reader Duncan Lawie, throwing himself in the way of the books being hurled at you by well-meaning bookstores, wrote this review of Mission of Gravity. If your taste in Science Fiction runs to the adventurous and thoughtful, Duncan may just turn you on to a work he says is "elegant and simple."

Mission of Gravity author Hal Clement pages 200 publisher UK: Gollancz USA: NESFA Press rating 9.5 reviewer Duncan Lawie ISBN 1-886778-08-6 summary Summary: Low tech aliens on a high-pressure trek impossible for humans -- brilliantly simple, simply brilliant. Hal Clement is a writer of the golden age of science fiction, having been first published in Astounding SF in the early 1940s. As well as painting, he spent many years as a high school science teacher and his love of science is apparent in his writing. His ability to communicate this passion and the display of ideas in his work makes him one of the architects of hard science fiction. Mission of Gravity is the work which defined Clement's reputation, at least in part through the concurrent publication of an article in which he explained the world building behind the novel, which is included in a new NESFA Press publication.

The blueprint for Mission of Gravity is so simple that the tale might almost be expected to tell itself. It is a further grace of the book that it often feels as if this is exactly what is happening. A human exploration mission has lost a valuable probe on the planet Mesklin. This massive planet spins at such a rate that there is a extreme gravity gradient from the poles to the distorted equatorial bulge. The story opens near the equator where native "Mesklinites," exploring north, have made friends with the strange human visitors. Clement is not interested in the potential confusion of first contact so the lead alien -- Barlennan, captain of the trader ship Bree -- has already learned English and has agreed to undertake a further long journey to the polar regions to recover the probe. He and his crew are from a high gravity zone and professional travellers, so such an adventure holds the promise of profit for both human and Mesklinite.

The subsequent adventure is so absorbing because the planetary science is integral and integrated into both the setting and the mental characteristics of the alien protagonists. Barlennan -- alongside at least some of his shipmates -- has a raw intelligence equal to that of his human mentors, but it is informed by their wholly different environment. They are hard-shelled, many-legged crawlers, with eyes low to the ground and an almost irrational fear of anything falling; evolved for and adapted to living in over 700 gravities. The sail-powered ship in which they cross oceans is a series of flat rafts tied together, the concept of a "hollow boat" being wholly unknown to them. In common with many heroes of this era of science fiction, they display a love for knowledge and a wiry resilience. Though they change as they learn, these aliens retain a character and approach which ensures they are not mistaken for humans in disguise. The novel's transit of the planet is aided by radio contact with the human base on the planet's moon, allowing much interchange of information. As this territory is unknown to Barlennan's society, the reader can share the "newness" from the Mesklinite perspective as well as the human. The protagonists show a clear joy in learning about the world around them, both through exploration on their own world and through the new concepts of science they gain from their human confederates.

While Clement is clearly of the view that a rounded grounding in science is essential for the modern citizen, he doesn't grind this into either the reader or the players. Explanations are brief yet sufficient to intrigue those not already familiar with the underlying science, offering a trigger for independent research and a key with which to unlock the potentially dry tomes of pure science. The book is so deeply embedded in a positive scientific worldview that it can communicate the desirability of learning almost without noticing it is doing so. Mission of Gravity is elegant and simple, fun, filled with wonder and a joy to read.

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