The Voices of Heaven [Mass Market Paperback]

Frederik Pohl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1995

Barry di Hoa had the good life on the Moon: steady work and the love of a good woman. But a rival slipped him a mickey, and he next awoke aboard Gerald Tscharka's ship as it neared the colony planet, Pava, eighteen light-years away.

Pava was the frontier, complete with earthquakes, primitive conditions and hard physical work. The local "doctor" wouldn't treat Barry's little manic-depressive problem without medicine from the Moon. And the Millernarist colonists, who thought suicide was cool fun, didn't thrill him.

Then he made friends with the leps. The large, caterpillar-like, odd-speaking gentle beasts were helping the humans to fashion a life on their planet. In their strange way, they knew things about Pava that might make the difference in the colony's survival. He started to believe he could really enjoy life in this fragile paradise. Except Tscharka was up to soemthing bad, something that would change eveyrthing. Barry knew only he could stop the mad captian, and the captain knew it, too. What neither knew was whether Barry could be manic enough to do it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pohl's ( Gateway ) newest interstellar adventure inverts many of SF's hoariest old chestnuts, polishing them until they shine like the stars to which his ships fly. Barry di Hoa, an antimatter engineer who works on the moon, is almost the archetypal "scientist/hero" except for the flaw of a strange chemical imbalance, which causes him to become a manic-depressive if he is not treated with esoteric drugs. Barry is just about to propose marriage to his girlfriend when his rival for her affections kidnaps him and sends him to the far-flung outpost of Pava, a multireligious melting pot. A quarter of Pava's settlers are the suicidal Millenarists who profess to believe that the world is so evil that everyone should kill themselves and thereby reduce the incidence of sin. Pohl takes the time-honored theme of evil religious fanatics standing in the way of progress and adds yet another cliche, that of the "bug-eyed" monster--here given a benign spin in the figure of a helpful and friendly caterpillar-shaped Lep alien named Geronimo, who becomes Barry's best friend. The colonists' religious problems, disturbances among the Lep labor force and Barry's personal "madness" all come to a head at the same time. Although the crisis has a simple solution, the slight skewing of familiar themes gives a piquant slant to the proceedings. The novel reminds the reader just how much fun these world-building stories can be, especially when they are written by a master like Pohl.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Shanghaied to a planet light-years away from his lunar home, fuelmaster Barry di Hoa is forced to adjust to life on the seismically unstable planet Pava, where a colony of religious fanatics awaits the end of the world. As he befriends indigenous aliens and gradually uncovers a malevolent plot to bring about "the Millennium," di Hoa's experiences follow the pattern of classic sf adventure, enlivened by the author's acerbic wit and storytelling expertise. A good purchase for most sf collections.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (July 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812535189
• ISBN-13: 978-0812535181
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,399,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A 'real-life' sci-fi novel, December 3, 2000

By 

Shane Tiernan (St. Petersburg, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voices of Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)

There are no studly, over-muscled do-gooders in this book fighting hordes of aliens or saving defenseless Baywatchesque females. The hero is a nice guy with a bit of a psychological problem and some 'real-life' problems as well. The situation, while futuristic (a space colony complete with a friendly alien race) is extremely matter of fact. This makes it a bit slow (and downright boring at times) but very 'immersive'. The main character was fleshed out well and I really felt that I knew him by the end of the story. The ending was also very interesting.

If Pohl was trying to write something different I think he achieved his purpose. I wouldn't want to read many books like this but it was a fairly fresh approach to sci-fi (although I can't claim to be a sci-fi expert). I did this book on tape unabridged and I would recommend it in this format. The narrator sounded a bit amateurish at first, but after one side of the first tape I realized he was perfect for the somewhat simple main character (narrator).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and very grounded, July 3, 2003

By 

Thomas Veil "thomasveil" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voices of Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)

I was mostly satisfied by The Voices of Heaven. As science fiction novels go, it was highly accessible. In fact, its central story and themes could have fit easily within other genres, though the futuristic element is rendered easily and plausibly.

The story is basically one that could easily be adapted into a novel about a European colonist in the Americas - with Native Americans being substituted for the alien Leps.

Pohl writes masterfully within the voice of his intelligent but often clueless narrator. The author has a real gift for rendering characters - even fairly unsympathetic ones - as real tangible human beings. The character of Tscharka is particularly well-done - we do get a sense of his positive attributes, though they are not frequently displayed.

At its core, this is a novel about what people need in life, about religion, and about dislocation. As science fiction novels go, it is readily concrete and not at all disorienting or confusing. The storyline is consistently engaging, but not always tense.

I agree about the audio narration of this book - Johnny Heller does a fine job as the narrator.

3.0 out of 5 stars lukewarm, January 16, 2012

By 

Darren C. Barnes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voices of Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)

I am pretty lukewarm after having just finished it. I guess I was craving a little more action. There were some interesting and thought provoking ideas including the 'interview' format. That said, it just didn't pack any punch. Even the way the protagonist thwarts the antagonist is very very lackluster. Overall, some interesting sci-fi concepts that could have been ratcheted up a few levels.