Scan barcode
A review by katmarhan
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
3.0
7/10
This is a book of contrasts. There are the very human stories of the Herter-Hall expedition, of Wan, and even of Robin and Essie, which are engaging, frightening, frustrating, funny, and sad. These stories are set against a backdrop of alien technology and actions and serious theories and questions about physics, astrophysics, and astronomy. It is those theories and questions that require some pretty hefty infodumps, mostly handled by the Albert Einstein computer program/personality. While they are central to the overall story, they also pull the reader out of the flow of the characters’ lives, notwithstanding Pohl’s efforts to make Albert a unique character and relieve a little of the tedium of the infodumps. And then there’s the tantalizing final chapter—our first from the Heechee POV!
This is a book of contrasts. There are the very human stories of the Herter-Hall expedition, of Wan, and even of Robin and Essie, which are engaging, frightening, frustrating, funny, and sad. These stories are set against a backdrop of alien technology and actions and serious theories and questions about physics, astrophysics, and astronomy. It is those theories and questions that require some pretty hefty infodumps, mostly handled by the Albert Einstein computer program/personality. While they are central to the overall story, they also pull the reader out of the flow of the characters’ lives, notwithstanding Pohl’s efforts to make Albert a unique character and relieve a little of the tedium of the infodumps. And then there’s the tantalizing final chapter—our first from the Heechee POV!