Half Life [School & Library Binding]

Hal Clement (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

Seventy-five years from now, the human race on Earth is in trouble -- perhaps even facing extinction -- because of the rapid evolution of diseases. A crew of young men and women travel to the moons of Saturn to investigate the biochemistry of the pre-life conditions there in the slim hope of discovering something that might save Earth. Nearly half of them have died on the way when the book opens, for they all have incurable diseases, doing most of their exploration with virtual-reality machinery. They race to find answers across the surface of an alien landscape with death close behind...and gaining. Half Life is pure hard SF adventure, and Clement is the best. Half Life is his first novel in this decade and very much upholds his own high standard -- this is one of the hard SF novels of the 1990s.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his first novel since 1987's Still River, SFWA Grand Master Clement imagines a time 75 years in the future when life on Earth, from plant to human, has fallen into an unstoppable decline and medical science cannot hold back a new wave of plagues. A group is sent to investigate primordial life on Titan, one of Saturn's moons, in hope that understanding how life begins will help humans forestall their extinction. The 50 crew members are all infected with the incurable diseases that are ravaging Earth, their number determined by a calculation of their half-life (the time it will take for half of them to die). They are "persuadees," trained in the disciplines of military action and scientific thought. Because of their fragile health, they mostly remain locked in their separate quarantined rooms and control their equipment via virtual reality hookups. One of the crew strategically kills himselfAunable to continue suffering the pain of his illness and in order to provoke a crucial advance in the group's knowledgeAwhich lends a different meaning to the term half-life. As they wait for each other to die, the crew members become absorbed in their work and emotionally distant from each other. This distance, and the lack of consistent character development, makes it difficult for the reader to feel sympathy for them. Though the action is abundant, much of it is relayed through flavorless dialogue that grows monotonous, ultimately impeding the narrative. A good start and intriguing background won't suffice to carry readers all the way through this disappointing novel by one of the SF greats. (Sept.) FYI: Clement, who's 77, published his first short story 57 years ago.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Set in the 21st century, when numerous new diseases threaten the existence of the human race, a crew of terminally ill scientists and researchers undertake a one-way journey to the moons of Saturn. There they race against time to find a clue to the origins of life that will help them develop a means of combating the illnesses of Earth's population. Minimal characterization and fast-paced action interspersed with a wealth of scientific detail mark the first novel in ten years from sf veteran Clement. Suitable for large sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Topeka Bindery (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061327864X
• ISBN-13: 978-0613278645
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,265,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars *hard* sci-fi, March 15, 2000

By 

Ethan Fremen "mindlace" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Half Life (Hardcover)

The hardest of hard sci-fi, Half-Life is one of the best books in the genre I've read. A gripping story line, with plot- and characterizations- that are in line with the described world.

If you're looking for a challenging, intellectually rigorous read, this is the book for you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read, September 30, 2002

By 

"phaley9" (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Half Life (Paperback)

This is definitely an idea book; what else would you expect from Hal Clement? In that it is hard science fiction, the writing is a little dry, but certainly does not read like a term paper.

In critique of Mr. Clement's writing, I would only say that he tells us more about what is going on rather than showing us. Also the obstacles his intrepid band of scientists must overcome are quite standard fair for science fiction. And his General Order 6 device gives the dialogue the feel of Star Trek: The Next Conversation; I would have preferred more action. But the way he sets up this story really leaves him no alternatives. These are the reasons that I give this book only a four.

It is certainly worth both your investment of time and money if you truly like hard (and I mean tungsten hard) science fiction.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Damn this Synapse Amplification Syndrome!, September 21, 2000

By 

Adam Rutkowski (Lennox Head, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Half Life (Paperback)

This is a book rather heavy on conversation. There is always something going on, but it is through the discussions of the protagonists that the story develops.

There is also a lot of science. Real science. Clement has obviously thought this part of the book out well, and although the plot line is fairly simple, and the character development minimal, if you like hard sci-fi, you will like this book.

The flight sequences tend to get a bit repetitive, and in such a short book, they shouldn't have taken up such a large portion of it. Also, I have trouble accepting the premise of all of these terminally ill people being sent of a space mission. Since two of them are healthy, surely a full complement of healthy people could have been assembled. We are not given any reason why this particular group was chosen for the mission. Besides these two faults, the book is great reading.