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A review by sgpartyhat
Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What would we do if we discovered aliens and they were just a bunch of lil guys? This is the question Forward asks with Dragon's Egg.
Well, not quite. What he really asks is this: what if life formed on a neutron star, something so dense and gravity-soaked that all the atoms around it are squished down to their neutrons? What if the nuclear nature of the aliens' biology meant they experienced life one million times faster than us? What if, from the time we met them to the time we went home (less than 24 hours later), they went from tribal clans to faster-than-light travel? Would we be friends?
His answer is a resounding (and optimistic) yes. And with his own experience as an astrophysicist, it's clear that he's treated the world of Dragon's Egg with love and a whole lot of science. The realistic nature of the world makes the story matter that much more.
Forward is a scientist first, and it comes through in his writing. Furthermore, he's a scientist from the 1970s. Some of the book is dated (the beginning is set in the distant year of 2020), but Forward makes a conscious effort to feature female scientists on the human side of things. He does spend too much time discussing their physical appearance. Luckily for us, the cheela never invent sexism, so they've got that going for them. (They also seem not to have invented homosexuality, which is a real shame.)
The characters do vary a bit, but they're fairly one-sided. That's okay, they aren't the stars - the science is. And there is a lot of it. I had to stretch mental muscles I hadn't used since I dropped my physics major, and even then, I understood about half of the science lingo. But I still understood the story, and it was good to read a book I had to pay attention to.
Drago 's Egg is a hopeful and meticulous take on what it might be like to meet people other than ourselves. It has faith that humanity will, above all else, value curiosity and connection. The science is realistic, and after reading it, I hope the sentiment is, too.
Well, not quite. What he really asks is this: what if life formed on a neutron star, something so dense and gravity-soaked that all the atoms around it are squished down to their neutrons? What if the nuclear nature of the aliens' biology meant they experienced life one million times faster than us? What if, from the time we met them to the time we went home (less than 24 hours later), they went from tribal clans to faster-than-light travel? Would we be friends?
His answer is a resounding (and optimistic) yes. And with his own experience as an astrophysicist, it's clear that he's treated the world of Dragon's Egg with love and a whole lot of science. The realistic nature of the world makes the story matter that much more.
Forward is a scientist first, and it comes through in his writing. Furthermore, he's a scientist from the 1970s. Some of the book is dated (the beginning is set in the distant year of 2020), but Forward makes a conscious effort to feature female scientists on the human side of things. He does spend too much time discussing their physical appearance. Luckily for us, the cheela never invent sexism, so they've got that going for them. (They also seem not to have invented homosexuality, which is a real shame.)
The characters do vary a bit, but they're fairly one-sided. That's okay, they aren't the stars - the science is. And there is a lot of it. I had to stretch mental muscles I hadn't used since I dropped my physics major, and even then, I understood about half of the science lingo. But I still understood the story, and it was good to read a book I had to pay attention to.
Drago 's Egg is a hopeful and meticulous take on what it might be like to meet people other than ourselves. It has faith that humanity will, above all else, value curiosity and connection. The science is realistic, and after reading it, I hope the sentiment is, too.