Heart of the Comet [Hardcover]

Gregory Benford (Author), David Brin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1986

An odyssey of discovery, from a shattered society through the solar system with a handful of men and women who ride a cold, hurtling ball of ice to the shaky promise of a distant, unknowable future.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To celebrate the rturn of Halley's comet this year, two of SF's best young writers have collaborated on this long, intriguing but ultimately depressing novel that begins with the next fly-by in 2061. An ambitious expedition uses the iceball as a natural spaceship but their discoveries soon include a deadly viral lifeform that decimates the crew. Then, the already volatile conflicts between factions explode into violent confrontation as the Orthos attack the genetically enhanced Percells. Against this background, the novel highlights the love affair of biologist Saul Lintz, who helped create the Percells, and Percell computer engineer Virginia Herbert, who is pioneering a biologically based computer possessing genuine artificial intelligence. Although they eventually save the mission from itself and a hostile Earth, the multiple examples of mankind's perversity make this a frustrating experience. 40,000 first printing; $40,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 489 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Spectra; 1st edition (February 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553051253
• ISBN-13: 978-0553051254
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great example of "hard" sci-fi, September 27, 2000

By 

"deblock" (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart of the Comet (A Bantam Spectra Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

My dad, who got me started on sci-fi as a kid, recently complained that too much of today's sci-fi is more fantasy than science. I'm going to send him this book for Christmas, because it tackles so many areas -- space travel, biology, even sociology. I thought it was one of the best hard sci-fi books I've read, ever.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Hard Science, September 20, 2002

By 

Eric Callman "Mr. E" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart of the Comet (A Bantam Spectra Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this book immensely! The perfect balance of exploring scientific concepts and telling a riveting story. Like "Earth" (novel by David Brin), some of the scientific ideas are a little farfetched, but not just silly. They are well thought out, and explained in relatively simple terms. There are explorations of biology (the interplay of hostile and symbiotic microscopic life forms - germs), astrophysics (using sublimation to steer a comet), and even the psycology (small groups of people under stress - a la "Lord of the Flies"). I think this is why it took two authors to write this book... there are just too many interesting concepts going on for just one person to have thouroughly researched. Oh, and did I mention that it has lots of action and a great story. Not nearly as dry as you might guess from the title - quite a treat.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Hard Science Fiction Book, May 12, 1999

By 

Jay A. Weinstein - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart of the Comet (A Bantam Spectra Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

Finally!! The blurbs on the book cover do it justice. What a woderful book written by two science fiction masters. I had put ofrf reading this book and had it for several years. I picked it up after a friend recommended it and WOW!. It is truly a world building story and the characters are lovingly portrayed and the plot moves along quickly. This is one "hard" science fiction book that does not get bogged down in science facts and details. Just enough to keep you interested. I can;t say enough good things about this book. Too bad these two authors didn;t collaborate on another project.