Tau Zero [Import] [Hardcover]

Poul Anderson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday Direct; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156865278X
• ISBN-13: 978-1568652788
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,325,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Full-speed SF, September 13, 2000

By 

J. L. Probert - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tau Zero (Mass Market Paperback)

A space-ship designed to travel at speed, carrying explorers intending to colonise a distant star, gets into a bit of trouble and has its deceleration mechanism knocked out. Result - ship goes faster and faster and cannot stop. But this is no precursor of Speed for the space adventure generation. Despite the somewhat two-dimensional aspect of most of the characters, Anderson's novel develops into a meditation on life, the universe and everything. As the ship reaches almost unimaginable speeds, the universe outside the ship begins to observably age, leading to an inevitable conclusion with perhaps unexpected consequences. A well-handled science fiction meditation on the meaning of existence.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Classic But Clumsy, September 21, 2006

By 

S. Singer (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tau Zero (SF Collector's Edition) (Gollancz Sf Collector's Edition) (Paperback)

Poul Anderson's Tau Zero is one of the most revered Science Fiction classics - and with good reason. However, that doesn't mean it isn't sometimes tediously boring, the characters aren't one-dimensional, and the writing isn't down right clumsy. What saves the book from being chucked on to the ash heap of oblivion is the saving grace of most classic sci-fi - namely, one heck of a good idea. In Zero, Anderson acknowledges our collective desire to visit the stars and our yearning for a light speed drive to get there. However, asks Anderson, what would happen if such a device malfunctioned and we couldn't slow down? As we traveled fast and faster through space-time (yes, Anderson adds the temporal component) not only would we get farther away from Earth, we'd also move far into the future and the universe, itself, might appear to age right before our eyes! Now that's a scary concept! Such creativity makes up for a lot. That's why anyone who really likes the above situation would probably enjoy the book. However, be prepared to put up with some coal among that diamond of a concept.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars epic, light speed, promiscuous adventure - yeah!, June 13, 2007

By 

M-I-K-E 2theD "2theD" (The Big Mango, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tau Zero (Paperback)

This is perhaps the most epic book I've ever read. It's more epic than any "end of Earth" book and far more epic than any "human survivalist" story. This combines both "end of the entire universe" kind of story and "humans fight for survival" sort of story.

The spaceship, Leonora Christine, driven by a Bussard engine from earth becomes handicapped on its way to an earth-like planet. From there, the ship cannot decelerate and continues to pick up speed through 99% of light speed... and continues to climb to a billionth of a percent of light speed. Besides the 50 crew on the ship, the Leonora Christine itself feels like a character in need of sympathy. She hurls the crew through intrastellar space, time, the Milky Way, interstellar space, other remote galaxies and even further! Mind blowing originality. Wow.

The crew are a mild bunch of scientists and engineers. Being stuck together for three years with likelihood of being stuck together for possibly forever on their mission, they form non-traditional bonds. By that I mean they all have multiple partners. From this act, all the characters inevitably become involved with one another in one way or another, whether they like it or not. Self sufficient or self destructive?