Reviews

Tau Zero by Poul Anderson

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tsitua's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

burns_cheadle's review against another edition

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3.0

Manned spaceflight is a hellish proposition at the best of times—profound isolation, incomprehensible distances, searing radiation—but the scenario at play in [b:Tau Zero|240617|Tau Zero|Poul Anderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389216838l/240617._SY75_.jpg|598009] by [a:Poul Anderson|32278|Poul Anderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1218818842p2/32278.jpg] beggers even the most nightmarish imagination. An interstellar craft is locked in an ever-increasing acceleration approaching the speed of light and the crew is powerless to avoid the inevitable consequences of relativistic effects. This is a SF classic, replete with the quaint anachronisms of a worldview and scientific understanding fifty years out of date. Much of that can be forgiven and, perhaps, even found charming in its own way. The novel, however, suffers from an overbearing hard SF obsession with technical details at the expense of character development and dialogue. The main characters are two-dimensional and lack the kinds of motivating conflicts (other than basic survival) a reader might expect from a diverse cast of humans under constant existential threat. Anderson tells, rather than shows, us the symptoms of depression and despair as a general condition rather than unique expressions of behaviour. Still, the story has enough drive to keep us turning pages to the end...and just a little beyond.

randybaggins's review against another edition

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4.0

I'd often imagined that there was such a book as this, and it happened to be Tau Zero. While it may struggle in character development, Poul Anderson takes the reader on the ultimate interstellar journey imaginable.

bionicbeaver's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

radina's review against another edition

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2.0

The plot of this book was fairly interesting, but it was hidden behind the author's description of his 50 OC's. Overall I think this book could have been 1/4 as long and more interesting for it. I also found the main character (Reymont) very unappealing, and there was a lot of weird sexism which maybe is expected for old sci fi, but still unpleasant. The cool science brings it up to 2 stars, but I still wouldn't recommend it.

david_harold_nicholson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sleepgoodbooksbetter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I loved the topic, the writing, the tension and all of that. However, it read a little like a soap opera with all of their issues. The characters were a little shallow, and the book was very obviously written by a man. It could’ve made a cool short story to explore philosophical concepts, but it also worked very well as a book in the end.