Hal Clement - [Iceworld] (1953)
- [Mission of Gravity] (1954)
Two science fiction novels from the 1950's by Hal Clement who has come to be known as one of the early leaders of the hard science fiction sub genre, which has been defined as concern for science accuracy and logic. The term Hard Science fiction usually frightens me a little as I am not a science graduate, but as in most things there are degrees of hardness. Jules Verne was one of the first to write in this way, taking delight in explaining (sometimes at great length) how the science in his novels worked. Hal Clement wrote in a similar vein assuming that his readers had at least a basic knowledge of physics, chemistry and astronomy. No doubt if you have more than a basic knowledge you might enjoy the novels a bit more.

Iceworld (1953)
The surprise factor here is not so much the hard science, but that it soon becomes obvious that the science is somehow askew, the science seems to make sense but the ground rules have changed. Non science readers will pick this up from other references like the main protagonist seems to have a tentacle. Clement pitches his story from the point of view of an alien life form. The weakness and confusion of this approach is that the aliens seem to think and act very similarly to human beings and so we learn that Salman Ken has been recruited as a spy to expose a gang of probable drug smugglers. He is in a science laboratory come space ship which has been trading with a world with an extremely hostile environment. It is so cold that their torpedo like probes can easily malfunction and the crew members dare not attempt a landing on the planet. They have been trading successfully with the planets inhabitants by sending down valuable metals and receiving in exchange a drug that is highly addictive. Salman Ken is curious to find out more about the planet and convinces the smuggling gang that better knowledge would improve the drug supply.

Mission of Gravity (1954)
There is a similar approach in this next novel by Clements, but this time it is the alien planet that has an extremely hostile environment even for the aliens that live on it. Barlennan is the captain of the sailing ship Bree and is at the very limit of his saucer shaped world when he makes landfall. He has rendezvoused with a human space mission which has built a tower at the worlds edge. The saucer shaped world of Mesklin has over 200 times more gravity at the centre than at the poles and Barlennan himself proves to be a centipede like creature just 50 centimetres long who being used to a heavy gravitational pull has an extreme fear of heights. He is also fearful of going over the edge of his world, but after making contact with the humans and their advance scientific knowledge he sees trading opportunities. Barlennan and his crew come into contact with hostile tribes built like themselves, but who have the power of flight and they seek help from the human beings, who are represented by the stoic Charles Lackland their scientific officer. Clement's scientific knowledge helps him to make the hostile environment of Mesklin convincing, the edge of the world is sparsely inhabited because of the violent storms that make travel impossible for certain periods of the Mesklin year and the efforts of Barlennan to cope with the environment and the efforts of Lackland to cope with the gravity create an atmosphere of continual struggle.

It is the situation and world building that give these short novels such a unique approach, they are thoughtful and adequately written. The struggles to cope with extreme environments takes precedence over characterisation and plot mechanics, but these work well enough to make for interesting reading. Both are worth a look for science fiction fans and I would rate Iceworld at 3.5 stars and Mission of Gravity at 4 stars. ( )