Heart of the Comet

The plot concerns an attempt to colonize Halley’s Comet.

I would not say that Heart of the Comet is a great novel. It is hard, hard science fiction, which can make it difficult to follow for many readers. Characterization is often sacrificed for exploring the many ‘what ifs’ posited. But regardless, this book did get me thinking and actually even changed my mind about something, both signs of a book that’s worth reading.

In the future, hibernation technology has been developed, so it is possible for the story to follow the same set of characters over 100+ years as they convene with the comet, build their colony and settle in underground chambers for a trip to the outer solar system, then back around the sun.

There they discover show more that primitive life is already established on the comet. At first, it is a battle for survival as the molds and worms, multiplying in the heat generated by the colony, almost take over the habitat while causing a plethora of deadly diseases. But the colonists eventually adapt to the alien lifeforms and even enter into symbiotic relationships with some of them in order to better survive their hostile environment. The comet’s life becomes sources of food, light, even protection for some from the vacuum of space, while the colonists change too in their relationship to that life — they are no longer strictly human anymore. This incites a conflict with the people back home on Earth, who are terrified of allowing the comet back into the inner solar system, forcing the colonists to accept that Halley is now their permanent home, and where are they going to go?

There is a lot more going on in this book, which I won’t get into, but the principle thing the novel got me thinking about was how adaptable humankind is. It seemed perfectly believable that we could settle in such an implausible, hostile, alien environment and not only survive, but make it home. This got me thinking about global warming. Yes, the effects of global warming may be devastating to our current way of life, but maybe the approach of trying to stop or reverse it isn’t the best one. Maybe we should be thinking instead of how we can adapt to the changes, and how we can make the changes work for us.

Adaptability has been our greatest weapon in the battle for survival as a species, after all. I’m not arguing that we need to make all of nature over to suit us, bend it to our will — this approach has clearly caused the problems we are now facing. But we should be thinking about how we can adapt ourselves to these changes, while using our ingenuity to survive the period of change.

A book worth reading is a book that helps you think about the world in a new way. Heart of the Comet was such a book for me. show less

This book is a fun read that kept me up waaay too late to finish it.

Don't let the age of the book scare you, it could have been written a couple of years ago just as easily.

There are two big plot drivers in this book, the politics of small and large groups including a straight up love triangle, and Halley's Comet itself.

The comet parts are straight up hard sci-fi, with realistic sounding discussions of orbits, heating and outgassing and much much more. The biology on the other hand to my completely untrained mind get pretty out of hand pretty quickly. No matter, overall it's a great way to keep the whole thing moving along.

The book has several examples of small group dynamics - what happens when you put a very small group of people in show more a small area and put them under very high stress for long periods of time.

The resulting racism is probably foreshadowed too much, but once it bubbles over it seems all too depressingly real, and again and again drives the comet's inhabitants up to and over the brink.

Oddly the bulk of the conflict just evaporates for no real reason shortly before the conclusion, and that magical transition to utopia is probably my biggest beef with the book. The ending that comes out of that and the miraculous biology falls a bit flat.

Well worth reading, a great start and a weak ending producing a solid and a half stars. show less

A bit dated and somewhat clunky, but full of interesting themes and some great ideas, covering a wide gamut of sci-fi motifs.

Great work of sci-fi, an interesting idea explored and thought out with hard science and great characters.

"Heart of the Comet" held my attention and was quick read for me. It raised many question for me to ponder. All these ideas were mixed into an passable action adventure story.

Signed by both authors

Compuesta de exiliados de un mundo devastado por el miedo y los conflictos políticos, la valerosa tripulación multinacional de Halley se está dividiendo a causa de los prejuicios y diferencias que la han acompañado desde su lugar de origen. Pero cuando aparece una especie de musgo en los pozos y corredores excavados en el núcleo del cometa, todos deben unirse en la lucha por la mera supervivencia. El futuro de la colonia Halley, y quizá de toda la humanidad, queda en manos de sólo tres personas que demuestran su capacidad para dirigirlo