The good:
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Hard science fiction: neutron stars, gravity, magnetic fields, nuclear forces, evolution, etc.
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Unique setting: a neutron star with surface gravity 67 billion times that of earth. It’s fascinating to think about what sort of creatures could live in such a place.
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Unique alien race: instead of the boring humanoid alien trope, this book focuses on the Cheela, intelligent creatures the size of a sesame seed, with a flattened shape, eyes that only see ultraviolet, and the ability to morph parts of their body into limbs, pouches, and other shapes.
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Unique time frame: the neutron star’s chemical processes occur about 1 million times faster than that of earth, so the Cheela live life—and evolve—at a pace roughly 1 million times faster than humans (30 human seconds is about 1 year in Cheela life).
The not so good:
- Hard science fiction: one of the flaws with some hard sci fi books is that they focus on the science and technology above all else. The result is a book with flat, boring characters and relatively little conflict or emotion.
Rating: 4 stars
Yevgeniy Brikman
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