Heechee Rendezvous

While Pohl's Heechee Rendezvous is ostensibly about humanity making first contact with the mysterious alien Heechee, the author spends a lot more time and energy describing the relationship between the main character, eccentric millionaire Robin Broadhead, and his AI servant nicknamed "Albert Einstein". The book encourages the reader to think about whether there's that much of a difference between human intelligence and artificial intelligence, especially as Albert is programmed to become more and more human, and Robin "dies" but is preserved in AI form. Unsurprisingly, both characters experience existential crises (sometimes it seems like Robin's whole life is a series of existential crises) as they deal with their new humanity or lack show more thereof. The first contact plotlines really serve as more of a setting to the story. One the whole, the book is enjoyable enough if you accept that it's not really going to explore first contact themes. show less

8/10
This book brings the Heechee out of storage, so to speak, and into the world. Some readers dislike Pohl’s style in these tales of the Heechee and of Robinette Broadhead, but I enjoy it. The hard science parts are not overwhelming and the human aspects—love, guilt, ambition, fear—are explored in creative and novel ways.

Pohl does have a way of writing rather unlikable characters, or maybe just emphasizing the unlikable aspects of ordinary characters, or maybe just showing humans as they are, full of faults and fears and general messiness. Essie is a bit unrealistically smart, talented, and unselfish, but a marvelously grounding character for both Robin and the Albert computer program.

This was originally the finale of the Heechee show more trilogy, but Pohl has gone on to write 2 more books in the Heechee saga, and I’m looking forward to reading them. show less

After delving into three books of the Heechee series, I've decided to take a breather from the cosmic mysteries that Frederik Pohl has woven together. "Heechee Rendezvous" left me with a sense of both accomplishment and frustration, much like its predecessors.

The anticipation built up across the series finally materializes in this installment, as we meet the elusive Heechee. It's undeniably cool to dive deeper into their enigmatic world, but just when you think you've reached the pinnacle of revelation, Pohl throws another curveball—an even greater threat. It left me questioning if I had the energy to invest in yet another layer of complexity.

The novel, like the others, follows the pattern of being one big tease. While the book is show more undeniably good, it lacks the spark that makes it truly stand out. It feels like treading familiar ground, making it difficult for the plot to leave a lasting imprint on my memory.

One notable aspect is how Pohl manages to evoke strong emotions towards the characters. Wan, in particular, succeeded in making me dislike him, adding a layer of complexity to the narrative. However, the central character, Robin, remains consistent in his essence—typical Robin, as expected.

One day post-read, and the details of the plot seem to be slipping through the cracks of my memory. This is not a sign of a compelling narrative. As a reader, I yearn for a story that lingers, leaving me pondering its intricacies long after I've turned the last page. Unfortunately, "Heechee Rendezvous" didn't quite achieve that.

Pohl's exploration of advanced Heechee technology and the impending threat to both Heechee and humans is undoubtedly intriguing, but the execution falls slightly short of making this book truly special. It's a good read, but not one that will be etched in my memory for its uniqueness.

In conclusion, "Heechee Rendezvous" serves as a decent addition to the Heechee series, providing some answers while posing new questions. However, for now, I find myself taking a hiatus from the Heechee universe, hoping that a fresh perspective might rekindle my enthusiasm for the cosmic mysteries that Pohl has crafted. show less

The conclusion of the Heechee series by Fredrik Pohl pulls out all the stops combining many scifi ideas such as AI, AI emotions/mental issues, uploaded human minds, black holes, FTL, Aliens, solar sails, space launch accelerators, overpopulation, wealth inequality, war and wraps it up in a nice little package. The characters are thrust pell mell into rapidly changing times and the resulting strife that comes with them, but some thoughtful characters will help to make it turn out well. I definitely recommend this series.

The cover says this is the gripping finale to the Heechee Saga. Unfortunately, I didn't find this quite so gripping. By this point, Robinette Broadhead's future wasn't as uncertain as the Heechee technology. I still enjoyed it, but I enjoyed the first two books more.

...Given the high standard Pohl sets in the first novel of this series, Heechee Rendezvous is a bit of a disappointment. It is entertaining in a way but simply not very well written. Robinette is not the most sympathetic of characters. This is something I can deal with but Pohl somehow manages to continually make him get on the reader's nerves. Quite an achievement, but when I start feeling it is a blessing the book is only 273 pages long, he may have overdone it just a bit. Still, if you enjoy the riddle the Heechee pose, it is very readable. Just don't expect Pohl to rise to the level he attained in the 1970s.

Full Random Comments review

As with the second installation, I enjoyed this book more than Gateway. I was disappointed that we had no real resolution - the Heechee came back... and that's the end of the book. Throughout the book, Robin describes various people as his friend (or soon to be friend), but the book ends before those relationships actually get established. There's no description of how humans and Heechee finally learn to live together. It just seemed as though we spent a very, very long time getting to the point of the entire Saga, and by then, it's over.

We spend a lot of time on the Missing Mass theory. We spend a lot of time on Alber's foibles and personality quirks. We spend a lot of time talking about how rotten Wan is.

We spend almost no time show more dealing with Klara's return from the black hole. We spent almost two full books with Robin pining for her - feeling massive guilt about abandoning her in the black hole. But we spent about two paragraphs on the resolution of their relationship. We spent 3 full books dealing with the Heechee as the mythical godlike race - and then almost no time at all in how humanity deals with the Heechee. We spent no time at all with Paul, Lurvy and Janine from book 2.

In all, I guess we just didn't have enough loose ends tied up for my liking. show less