Science Fiction Book Review: Gateway by Frederik Pohl

"Science fiction, outside of poetry, is the only literary field which has no limits, no parameters whatsoever."
- Theodore Sturgeon -

I recently re-read Gateway, an old favorite.

Why would you want to read "Gateway?"

The Heechee are mysterious.
Image courtesy of Reimund Bertrams and http://pixabay.com

The Heechee are a mysterious, vanished alien race.

A Heechee lander touches down.
Image courtesy of Andy and http://pixabay.com

Humanity is shocked and amazed to find remnants of Heechee technology abandoned in our solar system. Many of the artifacts are still functional even after an estimated half-million years.

The first major find is a spaceship,

buried in a tunnel on Venus. The adventurer who found it accidentally activated it, causing it to fly to Gateway. Gateway is an asteroid that has been converted into a space station by the Heechee. They placed in an orbit around the Sun, perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic.

Hundreds of Heechee spaceships are docked at Gateway, most of them still functional after 500,000 years. Gateway Inc., a multinational corporation, has been established to oversee exploration by the use of these ships.

Every flight is a gamble.
Image courtesy of Reimund Bertrams and http://pixabay.com

Depending on the size of the ship,

prospectors go out alone, or in groups of three or five, seeking other abandoned Heechee technology. If they succeed, Gateway Corporation rewards the prospectors with bounties and royalties on future technology development.

Robinette Broadhead is one such prospector.

He has escaped a menial job in the food mines on earth, having won enough in a lottery to pay for passage to Gateway.

His fears and failures are real, and progressively revealed as we read of his sessions with an artificially intelligent shrink. We also ride along as he goes on several missions. All in all, his adventures make for a very engaging story.

Destination, unknown.
Image courtesy of Reimund Bertrams and http://pixabay.com

Since first reading Gateway decades ago,

I have been intrigued by what I consider a remarkable plot device.

Each Heechee ship is pre-programmed with a destination. Prospectors are only able to start the ship on its way, and must then hope for the best.

Once started, ships head for an unknown location. Many never return. Space for provisions is limited. Prospectors gamble with their lives on each flight. Air and other essentials may not last the round trip.

I've often thought this scenario would make an outstanding basis for an adventure game.

There are other books in the series:

Like most series, the subsequent books have their good and bad points. I've so enjoyed re-reading Gateway that I hope to re-read them all. I suggest you at least try Gateway. Then see if you have the stomach for more adventure.

The Blue Event Horizon?
Image courtesy of Jakob and http://pixabay.com

_FIN

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