Starquake [Paperback]

Robert L. Forward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 2001

Starquake, the sequel to Dragons 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...dazzling, beautifully worked-out scientific extrapolations...an adventure that's sure to please fans of 'hard' sf." -- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Robert L. Forward (www.whidbey.com/forward) is a space scientist and businessman, lecturer, futurist and science fact and hard science fiction writer with eleven published books and over one hundred shorter pieces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (January 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595167489
• ISBN-13: 978-0595167487
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent hard-science novel, February 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Starquake (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A sequel. . ., October 2, 2003

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starquake (Paperback)

. . .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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent hard-science novel, February 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Starquake (Mass Market Paperback)

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.