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The McAndrew Chronicles
Meet McAndrew. Einstein came close. Heisenberg and Dirac too. But not since Newton has any human had such insight into the nature of reality. And like Newton, McAndrew doesn't just think: he invents things, things like inertialess drives and interstellar spaceships. Unfortunately for his favorite fieldtester, not even McAndrew's inventions always work right the first time, and when you're four light years from Earth that can be a problem. It's a good thing the beautiful and daring Jeannie Roker brought McAndrew along for a little warmth in the cold depths of space.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
2 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Charles Sheffield
217 books171 followersCharles A. Sheffield (June 25, 1935 – November 2, 2002), was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronomical Society.
His novel The Web Between the Worlds, featuring the construction of a space elevator, was published almost simultaneously with Arthur C. Clarke's novel about that very same subject, The Fountains of Paradise, a coincidence that amused them both.
For some years he was the chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company analysing remote sensing satellite data. This resulted in many technical papers and two popular non-fiction books, Earthwatch and Man on Earth, both collections of false colour and enhanced images of Earth from space.
He won the Nebula and Hugo awards for his novelette "Georgia on My Mind" and the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons.
Sheffield was Toastmaster at BucConeer, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore.
He had been writing a column for the Baen Books web site; his last column concerned the discovery of the brain tumour that led to his death.
He was married to writer Nancy Kress.
His novel The Web Between the Worlds, featuring the construction of a space elevator, was published almost simultaneously with Arthur C. Clarke's novel about that very same subject, The Fountains of Paradise, a coincidence that amused them both.
For some years he was the chief scientist of Earth Satellite Corporation, a company analysing remote sensing satellite data. This resulted in many technical papers and two popular non-fiction books, Earthwatch and Man on Earth, both collections of false colour and enhanced images of Earth from space.
He won the Nebula and Hugo awards for his novelette "Georgia on My Mind" and the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for his novel Brother to Dragons.
Sheffield was Toastmaster at BucConeer, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore.
He had been writing a column for the Baen Books web site; his last column concerned the discovery of the brain tumour that led to his death.
He was married to writer Nancy Kress.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 13, 2021
This is a series of novelettes featuring pilot and engineer Jeannie Roker and her partner, the titular McAndrew, a mad-genius scientist/inventor. It's good, hard-sf with considerable warmth, romance, and humor. Sheffield at the top of his form.
January 6, 2020
The set of short stories around McAndrew (Arthur Morton "McAndrew") are long time favorites of mine and stories I consider to be among the "classic gems" of hard science fiction.
Abstract: These stories are an interlinked set of short stories showcasing the adventures of Arthur McAndrew (an unworldly physicist) and his partner Jeanie Roker (a practical test engineer).
These stories are classic "hard" science fiction. Every story is a well-thought out extrapolation from existing physics. There is even a "cribsheet" for each story on where the science stops and the science fiction begins (depending on the version, this cribsheet either follows the story or is in an Appendix). As part of this, each story has a central defining scientific concept and the plot of each story builds and supports that concept. In addition to being scientifically grounded, the stories generally have a well-defined plot and typically a wide streak of humor.
As with most "hard" science fiction, the character development is secondary to the plot and science, but nonetheless the characters are solid and believable (particularly after you read several of the stories to get the overall feel of the characters). A particularly nice feature of the various characters is the strong avoidance of traditional science fiction stereotypes. Keep in mind these stories were written between about 1978 and 1990, making this very exceptional for the era and about nominal for today. Saying this another way, the stories feel very contemporary in spite of their age.
As perhaps the most important example of this avoidance of stereotypes of the their era, the stories are all written from the 1st person view of Jeanie Roker (cargo pilot and holder of degrees in Electrical and Gravitational Engineering). The remaining key characters in the story (including McAndrew) work at the "Institute", where his associates are described by the head of the institute as: "But take the people here at the institute, Wenig looks like a mortician, Gowers could pass as a dumb-blonde hooker, and Siclaro reminds me of a gorilla. And each of them a mind in a million."
Note: This is a new review simply because I've recently joined Goodreads. The stories have been in my personal library for many years. Note also that I've posted a duplicate review to the various versions of the McAndrew stories.
Abstract: These stories are an interlinked set of short stories showcasing the adventures of Arthur McAndrew (an unworldly physicist) and his partner Jeanie Roker (a practical test engineer).
These stories are classic "hard" science fiction. Every story is a well-thought out extrapolation from existing physics. There is even a "cribsheet" for each story on where the science stops and the science fiction begins (depending on the version, this cribsheet either follows the story or is in an Appendix). As part of this, each story has a central defining scientific concept and the plot of each story builds and supports that concept. In addition to being scientifically grounded, the stories generally have a well-defined plot and typically a wide streak of humor.
As with most "hard" science fiction, the character development is secondary to the plot and science, but nonetheless the characters are solid and believable (particularly after you read several of the stories to get the overall feel of the characters). A particularly nice feature of the various characters is the strong avoidance of traditional science fiction stereotypes. Keep in mind these stories were written between about 1978 and 1990, making this very exceptional for the era and about nominal for today. Saying this another way, the stories feel very contemporary in spite of their age.
As perhaps the most important example of this avoidance of stereotypes of the their era, the stories are all written from the 1st person view of Jeanie Roker (cargo pilot and holder of degrees in Electrical and Gravitational Engineering). The remaining key characters in the story (including McAndrew) work at the "Institute", where his associates are described by the head of the institute as: "But take the people here at the institute, Wenig looks like a mortician, Gowers could pass as a dumb-blonde hooker, and Siclaro reminds me of a gorilla. And each of them a mind in a million."
Note: This is a new review simply because I've recently joined Goodreads. The stories have been in my personal library for many years. Note also that I've posted a duplicate review to the various versions of the McAndrew stories.
April 7, 2015
The McAndrew Chronicles (1983) 242 pages by Charles Sheffield
Five novelettes packaged into one book. I've had subscriptions to Analog and F&SF since the early eighties, and I let my subscription to IAsfm lapse about six years ago. So some or all of the stories were familiar having been previously published.
They are told from the point of view of Jeannie Roker, a spaceship pilot who does the Earth to Titan run. Being that the title of the book is The McAndrew Chronicles, McAndrew, the super scientist/engineer is the other lead character. His major work is with Kerr-Newman black holes, a.k.a. kernels.
The stories have continuity. In the first story Roker mentions to McAndrew that she'd like to go faster that the 2.5g limit that the human body can withstand. In the second story he has actually invented a ship which has a way, gravitationally, to counter the thrust of the engines.
If you like the short story format, and I do, this book has the advantage that you don't have to learn new characters for each story. I enjoyed the book even though I had read the stories 25 years ago.
Five novelettes packaged into one book. I've had subscriptions to Analog and F&SF since the early eighties, and I let my subscription to IAsfm lapse about six years ago. So some or all of the stories were familiar having been previously published.
They are told from the point of view of Jeannie Roker, a spaceship pilot who does the Earth to Titan run. Being that the title of the book is The McAndrew Chronicles, McAndrew, the super scientist/engineer is the other lead character. His major work is with Kerr-Newman black holes, a.k.a. kernels.
The stories have continuity. In the first story Roker mentions to McAndrew that she'd like to go faster that the 2.5g limit that the human body can withstand. In the second story he has actually invented a ship which has a way, gravitationally, to counter the thrust of the engines.
If you like the short story format, and I do, this book has the advantage that you don't have to learn new characters for each story. I enjoyed the book even though I had read the stories 25 years ago.
July 23, 2023
This has been a reliable comfort-read for years, and is one of my favorite Sheffields. Jeanie Roker, a spaceship pilot who's the taxi-driver for super-scientist McAndrew, who specializes in Kerr-Newman black holes. My memory is somewhat dim, but McAndrew works for an Institute of Knowledge of some sort, which also employs Jeanie, who's the viewpoint character and a likeable narrator.
Here's a sample story, "Killing Vector":
http://www.baen.com/Chapters/06715785...
And here's another, not collected here. I should reread it. I miss Sheffield. "McAndrew and the Law": http://www.baen.com/Chapters/07434883...
You can read more of the details at John Loyd's review, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If you missed these years ago, keep an eye out for the collection, which is readily available used.
7/23/23 reread: still good, but the stories are showing their age now.
Here's a sample story, "Killing Vector":
http://www.baen.com/Chapters/06715785...
And here's another, not collected here. I should reread it. I miss Sheffield. "McAndrew and the Law": http://www.baen.com/Chapters/07434883...
You can read more of the details at John Loyd's review, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If you missed these years ago, keep an eye out for the collection, which is readily available used.
7/23/23 reread: still good, but the stories are showing their age now.
December 30, 2019
(english below) No me ha gustado. Me gusta la ciencia-ficción hard y me encanta leer las explicaciones sobre nuevas tecnologías o descubrimientos, pero la historia ha de ser buena. No ocurre aquí. Las explicaciones científicas deben acompañar a la historia y no convertirse en el centro de la historia. Aquí casi parece lo contrario. Los protagonistas disponen de una nave espacial recién construida con la que pueden hacer una exploración hasta nuevos sistemas solares, pero en la historia se malgasta (en mi opinión). Las aventuras son en general aburridas y frustrantes, porque o bien acaban antes de que el lector pueda engancharse o tienen un desenlace que se ve venir pero que por alguna razón los protagonistas no acaban de adivinar. Lo único salvable es el personaje femenino de Jeanie, la narradora de la historia y capitana de nave espacial, es uno de los mejores personajes que me he encontrado.
ENGLISH
I didn't like it. I like hard science fiction and I love reading explanations about new technologies or discoveries, but the story has to be good. It is not the case here. Scientific explanations should accompany the story and not become the center of the story. The protagonists have a newly built spaceship with which they can explore new solar systems, but what they do with it is disappointing (in my opinion). The adventures are generally boring and frustrating, because they either end before the reader can get hooked, or they have an outcome that one can see coming but for some reason the protagonists can't quite guess at. The only thing that can be saved is the female character of Jeanie, the story's narrator and spaceship captain, who is one of the best characters I've ever met.
ENGLISH
I didn't like it. I like hard science fiction and I love reading explanations about new technologies or discoveries, but the story has to be good. It is not the case here. Scientific explanations should accompany the story and not become the center of the story. The protagonists have a newly built spaceship with which they can explore new solar systems, but what they do with it is disappointing (in my opinion). The adventures are generally boring and frustrating, because they either end before the reader can get hooked, or they have an outcome that one can see coming but for some reason the protagonists can't quite guess at. The only thing that can be saved is the female character of Jeanie, the story's narrator and spaceship captain, who is one of the best characters I've ever met.
July 21, 2025
Des nouvelles très diverses et toutes situées dans l'espace, mon premier roman de "hard science", cette branche de la SF qui ne fait qu'extrapoler à partir de théories en vogue ou débattues au moment de l'écriture (ici les années 80) ; des personnages attachants et des éclairages passionnants sur toutes les problématiques des futurs voyages lointains dans l'espace (une fois qu'on parviendra à atteindre quelques vitesses démentes comme dans les vaisseaux du savant Mc Andrew où on a trouvé le moyen de faire supporter au corps humain une accélération constante de 100G); Bien écrit, une traduction soignée et des personnages convaincants. Et des suspenses à vous faire prolonger la lecture jusqu'à des heures indues.
May 31, 2023
Ciencia y ficción científica.
A pesar de ser una obra de CF-Hard, se entiende bastante bien. Charles Sheffield a través del personaje principal, McAndrew, físico de vocación, explica de forma más sencilla muchos problemas físicos a la capitana Jeannie Roker, que no es tan brillante en la materia.
La novela consta de 5 crónicas que en su momento fueron publicadas por separado y aunque cada "aventura" trata de un tema central diferente la historia es lineal.
¿Por qué ficción científica? Porque Sheffield sabe lo que escribe y aún "inventando", nadie sabe si algún día esos hechos podrán ser realidad. Al final del libro hay unos apéndices maravillosos dónde lo explica.
Seas físic@, astrónom@, biólog@, ingenier@, científic@ o simplemente tengas ganas de soñar, este libro te gustará.
A pesar de ser una obra de CF-Hard, se entiende bastante bien. Charles Sheffield a través del personaje principal, McAndrew, físico de vocación, explica de forma más sencilla muchos problemas físicos a la capitana Jeannie Roker, que no es tan brillante en la materia.
La novela consta de 5 crónicas que en su momento fueron publicadas por separado y aunque cada "aventura" trata de un tema central diferente la historia es lineal.
¿Por qué ficción científica? Porque Sheffield sabe lo que escribe y aún "inventando", nadie sabe si algún día esos hechos podrán ser realidad. Al final del libro hay unos apéndices maravillosos dónde lo explica.
Seas físic@, astrónom@, biólog@, ingenier@, científic@ o simplemente tengas ganas de soñar, este libro te gustará.
January 5, 2019
6/10. Media de los 4 libros leídos del autor : 6/10.
Tres Hugos, un Nébula, un Campbell como reseñables de este físico y escritor, uno de los mejores representantes de la gama Hard en CF. Me quedo con su novela "Proteo".
Tres Hugos, un Nébula, un Campbell como reseñables de este físico y escritor, uno de los mejores representantes de la gama Hard en CF. Me quedo con su novela "Proteo".
June 18, 2017
concise and understandable conclusion
July 14, 2021
A Genious physicist and a female space freigher captain are a couple. He makes one invention after another that enhance space flight.
I have mixed feelings about this one. The Stories are kind of formulaic but nontheless entertaining. One thing I really liked, was the chapter about the science behind the book. There's a lot of physics and astronomy in the stories. For an interested layman like me, it was difficult to see, where the science ended and the fiction began. So the last chapter was really welcome.
Ich habe die deutsche Version gelesen, die recht verstümmelt war. Nicht nur fehlen einzelne Stories. In den vorhandenen fehlen ganze Sätze usw. Von meinem Lieblings-Hass-Übersetzer Walter Brumm übersetzt.
Kritik:
Anfangs recht schematisch, dann besser. Unglaubwürdige Plot-Twists und -auflösungen. Schema: Problem -> actionreiche, wissenschaftlich basierte Lösung.
Gut: zum Schluss erklärt der Autor, was Fakt (bzw. damals aktuelle Theorie) und was Fiktion/Spekulation/großzügige Auslegung des theoretisch Möglichen ist. Da es in der Ich-Form geschrieben ist, weiß man halt, dass alles gut gehen wird, was die Spannung schon trübt. Ausserdem
zu lang
I have mixed feelings about this one. The Stories are kind of formulaic but nontheless entertaining. One thing I really liked, was the chapter about the science behind the book. There's a lot of physics and astronomy in the stories. For an interested layman like me, it was difficult to see, where the science ended and the fiction began. So the last chapter was really welcome.
Ich habe die deutsche Version gelesen, die recht verstümmelt war. Nicht nur fehlen einzelne Stories. In den vorhandenen fehlen ganze Sätze usw. Von meinem Lieblings-Hass-Übersetzer Walter Brumm übersetzt.
Kritik:
Anfangs recht schematisch, dann besser. Unglaubwürdige Plot-Twists und -auflösungen. Schema: Problem -> actionreiche, wissenschaftlich basierte Lösung.
Gut: zum Schluss erklärt der Autor, was Fakt (bzw. damals aktuelle Theorie) und was Fiktion/Spekulation/großzügige Auslegung des theoretisch Möglichen ist. Da es in der Ich-Form geschrieben ist, weiß man halt, dass alles gut gehen wird, was die Spannung schon trübt. Ausserdem
zu lang
April 7, 2024
This book made me want to fall asleep, but it was so confusing that I forgot what I was doing and threw it in the donate pile.
September 14, 2011
This is one of the writers early characters and an early series. These stories were originally printed in a sci fi magazine where they became quite popular. The story is about an odd genius called McAndrew and his partner. This series is high science to be sure from thrust ratios, to gravitational irregularities it has it all. No warp drives, no transporters. Just a guy shaking his fist at the universe. The other plot involves McAndrews partner who shows us all the bonuses and pitfalls of working with a true genius.
May 7, 2015
1989 grade C+
related shorts
related shorts
July 1, 2020
De la hard science réaliste. Du coup, c'est sérieux (une bonne postface faisant le lien entre le roman( les differentes nouvelles, en fait) et la science, mais le sense of wonder est un peu perdu.
March 7, 2015
Malo de solemnidad.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews