[Heechee Saga 1] Gateway (original 1977; edition 1978)

This 1976 classic has aged extremely well, creating a believably bleak future for the human race. Even more importantly, it's sharply (if not always appealingly) characterised, and very cleverly structured, switching between the past tense narrative and the narrator's "present" psychotherapy sections, while being liberally peppered with the asides and advertisements that make up life on Gateway itself (a similar technique was employed to excellent effect in Brunner's 'Stand on Zanzibar'). It's one of those books that I admired more than I enjoyed, but I found it impressive enough that I'll definitely be trying more of Pohl's work. ( )

Pohl won a Hugo and a Nebula for Gateway, deservedly so.

Frederik Pohl was, of course, one of the Golden Age writers of SF. But Gateway showed that he was hardly stuck in the 1950s. It was very innovative for its time. The general tone is quite modern. Much of the book is about the therapy of Robinette Broadhead, an ex-astronaut with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD is understandable, since his spaceflights were taken in several alien spacecraft that no one knew how to operate; operating out of an abandoned alien base in the solar system, the "prospectors" of Gateway faced an extremely high casualty rate.

Robinette Broadhead is a complex character; unpleasant in some ways, and often not admirable. But since the story is told from his point of view, in first person, it's clear that we're not getting an objective picture of himself or, probably, his experiences.

Pohl also put whole-page inserts in the book, including conversational program read-outs from Robinette's therapist (a computer program), excerpts from science lectures, classified ads, and letters - all of them relevant to the story, of course, and many of them quite funny. The novel itself is not a comedy, I should note, but there are many very amusing moments.

I'll also quickly note that Pohl's representation of future society is dystopian and rather prescient. Desperate poverty is, apparently, the norm for most of the world's population. People sell organs and body parts to the rich in order to survive. Much of the environment is hideously despoiled, although there are domed enclaves where the elite live. Health care is more than ever a matter of life and death, priced beyond the ability of most to pay; but for the wealthy, life is comfortable and long. A look at current health care statistics makes the world of Gateway seem not very unlikely. Except that we're unlikely to find an alien base with FTL spacecraft in nearby space, of course.

The ending is rather touching. No spoilers, but one of the strongest and most likable characters in the book is Robinette's therapist; I've always found his final remark oddly moving. It's a pity that he (it) wasn't given more of a role in the sequels. ( )

4.5*

read as part of the "read 12 grandmasters in 2012" challenge, this book was a shining light of awesome in the murk of older works riddled with the problematic racism & sexual politics of their eras. it also happens to be a particularly marvelous example of the plot spinning out an excellent "what if?".

"rich man or dead man" says the back cover of my copy, and that sums it up pretty well. the future of the human race is believably gritty: overpopulation, overpollution, a scrape for survival for all but the super-rich. when Rob wins a lottery, he uses all the winnings for a ticket to gateway and the opportunity to become a prospector - flights outbound to uncertain destinations in the galaxy usually end up as a bust, sometimes result in injury or death for the prospectors, but on a few occasions a great find means everyone involved strikes it rich for life. that's the great "what if?" of this story - what is everyone willing to risk for the chance to live in comfort?

alternating between flashbacks of time spent at gateway and time spent in the shrink's couch to deal with what happened at gateway, the novel subtly, slowly builds up tension while allowing the reader to get to know Rob very well without huge info dumps. it's both technically masterful and an exciting read, well deserving of the hugo/nebula heaped upon it. ( )

I first read this book my sophomore year in high school when I started wolfing down every bit of sci-fi I could get my grubby adolescent hands on.

I remember I loved the Heechee Saga, but in the way of old memories (and having read all of the available books at once), things got fuzzy so I could only "sorta kinda" tell you what the story arc is about.

Delightfully, the suck fairy has not found her evil little ways into this book. A sci-fi classic, this book remains relevant and doesn't feel dated the way a lot of older books can.

It's 99% character development. The world in the future isn't a pretty place, with too many people, where life is cheap, but living is expensive. Humanity has stumbled across the artifacts of an advanced space faring species, and is trying to discover more about it, but that's only the backdrop of the book.

The book is about Robinette Broadhead, a serf on the planet Earth who manages to make it to Gateway to try his hand at being a prospector. The story is told in alternating chapters, either currently while living his prospectors' life and as flashbacks as he discusses life with his "shrink". These chapters mesh remarkably well and the means of advancing the story this way is wonderful.

This book is a standalone (not intending to be the start to a series) and is one of my favorite reads of all time. ( )

I first read this book my sophomore year in high school when I started wolfing down every bit of sci-fi I could get my grubby adolescent hands on.

I remember I loved the Heechee Saga, but in the way of old memories (and having read all of the available books at once), things got fuzzy so I could only "sorta kinda" tell you what the story arc is about.

Delightfully, the suck fairy has not found her evil little ways into this book. A sci-fi classic, this book remains relevant and doesn't feel dated the way a lot of older books can.

It's 99% character development. The world in the future isn't a pretty place, with too many people, where life is cheap, but living is expensive. Humanity has stumbled across the artifacts of an advanced space faring species, and is trying to discover more about it, but that's only the backdrop of the book.

The book is about Robinette Broadhead, a serf on the planet Earth who manages to make it to Gateway to try his hand at being a prospector. The story is told in alternating chapters, either currently while living his prospectors' life and as flashbacks as he discusses life with his "shrink". These chapters mesh remarkably well and the means of advancing the story this way is wonderful.

This book is a standalone (not intending to be the start to a series) and is one of my favorite reads of all time. ( )