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Mesklin #3
Star Light
The return of Barlennan Dhrawn was a giant rockball, more than 3,000 times the mass of Earth. Perhaps a planet, perhaps a nearly dead star, the 17 billion square miles of mystery cried out for investigation. But its corrosive atmosphere and crushing gravity assured that no human would ever set foot on its surface. Those hardy, caterpillar-like Mesklinites, on the other hand, were ideally suited to explore Dhrawn, and their leader certainly knew a good deal when he saw one. So Barlennan, a shrewd sea captain if ever there was one, struck a sharp bargain with the Earthmen for his services in leading the expedition. But the humans might not have been so pleased with their side of the bargain, if they had known that Barlennan had plans of his own for Dhrawn The stunning sequel to the classic SF novel Mission of Gravity.
279 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
About the author
Hal Clement
178 books115 followersHarry Clement Stubbs better known by the pen name
Hal Clement
, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre.
Further details at Wikipedia.
Further details at Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 10, 2020
This is a 1971 follow-up to Hal Clement's 1954 classic Mission of Gravity.
This hard sf novel is set half on the surface of the ammonia/water high gravity planet Dhrawn told from an alien non-native point of view, and half on an orbiting space station told from a human point of view. The aliens, that resemble intelligent house centipedes, have been brought from their high gravity home planet Mesklin by the humans, and given a unbalanced mixture of high and low technology suitable to their primitive background. But don't underestimate the wily Mesklinites, who connive to obtain more and more technology from the somewhat foolish humans. Yes, I cheered for the aliens! The intricate plotting is dependent on information control through time-delay communication from planet to space station. But the ending is somewhat weak, more a logical outcome than dramatic.
This hard sf novel is set half on the surface of the ammonia/water high gravity planet Dhrawn told from an alien non-native point of view, and half on an orbiting space station told from a human point of view. The aliens, that resemble intelligent house centipedes, have been brought from their high gravity home planet Mesklin by the humans, and given a unbalanced mixture of high and low technology suitable to their primitive background. But don't underestimate the wily Mesklinites, who connive to obtain more and more technology from the somewhat foolish humans. Yes, I cheered for the aliens! The intricate plotting is dependent on information control through time-delay communication from planet to space station. But the ending is somewhat weak, more a logical outcome than dramatic.
May 15, 2020
Star Light is a sequel to Clement's classic Mission of Gravity. The Mesklinites are enlisted to aid in a rescue mission on yet another super-gravity planet, Dhrawn. The narrative alternates between a human and Mesklinite viewpoint. The aliens are more convincing and sympathetic than the human characters. Clement, who employed the rescue plot frequently, did a terrific job of illustrating scientific puzzles and procedures, but this one doesn't do as well with plot or character as the first volume. It's a fun brain teaser, but not really a great story.
March 9, 2014
The Mesklinites are back. These sentient, caterpillarlike creatures made their first appearance in Hal Clement’s 1954 novel Mission of Gravity. On their home planet, the Mesklinites survive crushing gravity by their low-to-ground bodies and great caution around heights of even a few inches. They thrive on an ammonia rich atmosphere, and oxygen is a stinky poison. Earth has contacted the Mesklinites and we were using them to retrieve an earth probe lost on their disc-shaped planet. Genuine alien/human bonds are formed, but the Mesklinites are merchants who always look toward the own advantage in any deal they make.
Star Light takes place 20 years after the events of Mission of Gravity. Humans have transported a crew of Mesklinites to the giant planet Dhrawn. Its crushing gravity and ammoniac atmosphere makes it impossible for humans to do more than orbit it from an observation craft. The Mesklinites are the surface explorers. They are following human directives, but as in the first novel, they have their own agenda.
I thought Starlight was Clement’s sophomore slump, but I see there was a second Mesklinite novel in 1964. Although the doughty caterpillars remain engaging protagonists, Clement’s plot takes the conventions of hard science fiction to their wonkiest extreme. The land craft humans have given the Mesklinites gets caught in a flood and becomes stuck on a rock as the water and ammonia mix that surrounds it refreezes. Getting the craft off that rock takes up most of the novel. I thought I was reading a very wordy French nouveau roman or some postmodern exercise where all the action surrounded fixing a flat tire. Once again, the Mesklinites have in mind an endgame for their human overseers, but the novel is lots of talk and more detail than I wanted about how to dislodge the stranded land craft. I admit I was skimming for the last hundred pages.
Star Light takes place 20 years after the events of Mission of Gravity. Humans have transported a crew of Mesklinites to the giant planet Dhrawn. Its crushing gravity and ammoniac atmosphere makes it impossible for humans to do more than orbit it from an observation craft. The Mesklinites are the surface explorers. They are following human directives, but as in the first novel, they have their own agenda.
I thought Starlight was Clement’s sophomore slump, but I see there was a second Mesklinite novel in 1964. Although the doughty caterpillars remain engaging protagonists, Clement’s plot takes the conventions of hard science fiction to their wonkiest extreme. The land craft humans have given the Mesklinites gets caught in a flood and becomes stuck on a rock as the water and ammonia mix that surrounds it refreezes. Getting the craft off that rock takes up most of the novel. I thought I was reading a very wordy French nouveau roman or some postmodern exercise where all the action surrounded fixing a flat tire. Once again, the Mesklinites have in mind an endgame for their human overseers, but the novel is lots of talk and more detail than I wanted about how to dislodge the stranded land craft. I admit I was skimming for the last hundred pages.
July 9, 2020
I didn't actively dislike this book, but it was lacking basically all the good qualities of Mission of Gravity. The book mostly focused on some sort of intrigue made for unclear purposes that happened before the start of the book that I didn't really care about at all (and in most ways was just a continuation of Barlennan's attempt at carving out a stronger bargaining position for himself). The characters on both the human and Mesklinite sides were very interchangeable and there was very little in the way of interesting stuff in the way of "What would it be like on a planet with very different surface conditions and climate?"
Mission of Gravity and Close to Critical had all kinds of interesting little counter-intuitive physics things happening in everyday life due to the odd conditions on their respective planets, but I feel like all the stuff about ammonia and water and weird weather or whatever was pretty much completely unimportant to the actual elements of the novel and were completely lost on me.
I really do like this kind of book, like Dichronauts by Greg Egan or Ringworld by Larry Niven, but this one just didn't work for me.
Mission of Gravity and Close to Critical had all kinds of interesting little counter-intuitive physics things happening in everyday life due to the odd conditions on their respective planets, but I feel like all the stuff about ammonia and water and weird weather or whatever was pretty much completely unimportant to the actual elements of the novel and were completely lost on me.
I really do like this kind of book, like Dichronauts by Greg Egan or Ringworld by Larry Niven, but this one just didn't work for me.
November 7, 2012
I may change my rating (upward) later. I liked this book, but I didn't find out until I was two-thirds the way through that is a sequel (actually third in a series). That didn't seem to seriously impact my understanding and enjoyment of the book. However, the action was a little slow paced, and there wasn't really a resolution at the end. In fact, the book seemed to stop in the middle of the story. This was obviously laying the ground for another book in the series, but there wasn't even any cliffhanger, although the mystery of the secret colony remains.
I will go back and read this series from the beginning. The premise is very interesting, and the idea of an intelligent species resembling millipedes and able to withstand gravity thousands of time stronger than Earth's is appealling.
I will go back and read this series from the beginning. The premise is very interesting, and the idea of an intelligent species resembling millipedes and able to withstand gravity thousands of time stronger than Earth's is appealling.
August 7, 2017
I read this because I liked Mission of Gravity so much. This book was so disappointing. Page and pages of unnecessary details, dialogue and explanations. What happened to the idea of discovering new lifeforms and exploring new worlds? It's just a tedious rescue mission tale.
June 16, 2024
The humans have engaged Barlennan and the Mesklinites in a collaborative effort to explore Dhrawn - a giant planet (or dead star?) only the Mesklinites can explore. Most of the novel surrounds the difficulties encountered by one of the Mesklinite-controlled exploratory vessels, the Kwembly, which first gets grounded after a flash-flood, and then, after again being washed away, gets stuck in a slushy, muddy surface. These events however, reveal the real incentive behind the Mesklinites agreement to work with the humans. Barlennan (see Mission of Gravity) craves the knowledge and technology that will help his people make their way forward in the universe... how will the humans react? A decent read, but not quite as engaging as Mission of Gravity.
November 28, 2023
Reading Star Light in 2023 is not so cool. The book is dated, lacks a real end and not much really happens. The worm-like aliens able to stand huge gravity offer very little new here compared to earlier books in the Mesklin series. Star Light probably was better back when made some 70 years ago, so I give it two stars.
February 9, 2019
Interessante la descrizione del pianeta alieno e dei suoi fenomeni fisici.
La narrazione è avvincente, ma la trama generale è debole e lascia nel vago la conclusione di varie situazioni.
La narrazione è avvincente, ma la trama generale è debole e lascia nel vago la conclusione di varie situazioni.
June 7, 2017
Storyline: 1/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 2/5
Every science fiction enthusiast has a right to a small allotment of Golden Age pet favorites. When using these allotments, a reader with preferences and favorites that would normally be subject to criticism, doubt, and ridicule, gets a pass. The era, though having a long list of weaknesses, did produce some zany, curious, imaginative, quirky, charming or just plain fun pieces. Every now and then, a reader comes across one that they connect to despite the wide distance between it and literature. I invoke my allotment to claim Hal Clement's Mesklin books.
This follows from the events in the 1953 Mission of Gravity and and 1964's Close to Critical. Though those two do not directly connect, this 1971 third puts together characters from both of them. Reading the earlier books is not a requirement, though you will understand character motivations and background elements better if you have. Thematically and stylistically this is just another in the series, despite it coming well after the Golden Age. What Clement does that is so different from other authors in the field is to make science the center of the story. The hard science fiction is not an embellishment; the problems, opportunities, and discoveries all hinge on scientific puzzles Clement has put together so that he can solve them for you. I like these in the way I cheer for an underdog that simply isn't good enough to be playing at the level he is. But when you see someone with so much enthusiasm, character, devotion, and ambition working so hard, it is difficult to not to root for them. Nothing appears to come easy to Clement. You can tell the scientific details and ideas were the result of a lot of thinking and chemistry text-referencing. You can see how he labors to fill in and smooth over every possible plot hole. You watch the necessary character attributes appear so that they can serve their part in character and plot development. This is the most competently written of the three in the series; Clement has a much better handle on balancing and shifting between perspectives, for instance. He's also come around to see the influence of sociology in the field and makes an attempt to update the novel accordingly. It is also the least interesting of the three books. Somewhere along the way of building all his chemistry and astrophysics puzzles, Clement forgot to make the novel itself fun. Somehow, I still enjoyed and have a real fondness for it.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 2/5
Every science fiction enthusiast has a right to a small allotment of Golden Age pet favorites. When using these allotments, a reader with preferences and favorites that would normally be subject to criticism, doubt, and ridicule, gets a pass. The era, though having a long list of weaknesses, did produce some zany, curious, imaginative, quirky, charming or just plain fun pieces. Every now and then, a reader comes across one that they connect to despite the wide distance between it and literature. I invoke my allotment to claim Hal Clement's Mesklin books.
This follows from the events in the 1953 Mission of Gravity and and 1964's Close to Critical. Though those two do not directly connect, this 1971 third puts together characters from both of them. Reading the earlier books is not a requirement, though you will understand character motivations and background elements better if you have. Thematically and stylistically this is just another in the series, despite it coming well after the Golden Age. What Clement does that is so different from other authors in the field is to make science the center of the story. The hard science fiction is not an embellishment; the problems, opportunities, and discoveries all hinge on scientific puzzles Clement has put together so that he can solve them for you. I like these in the way I cheer for an underdog that simply isn't good enough to be playing at the level he is. But when you see someone with so much enthusiasm, character, devotion, and ambition working so hard, it is difficult to not to root for them. Nothing appears to come easy to Clement. You can tell the scientific details and ideas were the result of a lot of thinking and chemistry text-referencing. You can see how he labors to fill in and smooth over every possible plot hole. You watch the necessary character attributes appear so that they can serve their part in character and plot development. This is the most competently written of the three in the series; Clement has a much better handle on balancing and shifting between perspectives, for instance. He's also come around to see the influence of sociology in the field and makes an attempt to update the novel accordingly. It is also the least interesting of the three books. Somewhere along the way of building all his chemistry and astrophysics puzzles, Clement forgot to make the novel itself fun. Somehow, I still enjoyed and have a real fondness for it.
November 11, 2019
This book merges the Mission of Gravity and the Close to Critical into one universe (if that wasn't done before). The premise promises another strange planet, but the book is not that focused on the planet, which isn't that strange from what is actually described. Because that isn't much. The planet is slow and most of the setting given is just some unusual take on a polar expedition. The core story... isn't. There is enough plot to make it good entertainment, but there is no ark. And with the main theme being diplomacy and politics everything is very vague, including the ending. When the reason for the incident in Close to Critical was left out it was kind of underwhelming, but the book did have good ending for all interconnected stories. Here, the declared goal was to find out if the planet is a star, and that was not discovered by the end of the book. Even the lore of the shared universe wasn't expanded much.
The writing is still somewhat stilted and the "remarks from future reports" are distracting and have no closure.
Well it's a quality pastime, but after two great works it doesn't meet the expectations, especially being a sequel to both.
The writing is still somewhat stilted and the "remarks from future reports" are distracting and have no closure.
Well it's a quality pastime, but after two great works it doesn't meet the expectations, especially being a sequel to both.
September 11, 2025
I read this in serialized form (as published over 4 parts in the June through September 1970 issues of Analog). It may differ from the final complete publication.
Star Light was one of the most frustrating books I've read in a long time. It's extremely dry, the stakes seemed interesting at first (a sort of Apollo 13-like crisis?), but it sort of gets sidelined by the boring dialogue. The planet Dhrawn just wasn't all that interesting, especially the way that Clement told the story. I don't believe I've read Clement before, but I'm very much inclined to avoid him in the future, even though Mission of Gravity (which I haven't read) sounds much more interesting. I'm intrigued by the thought that an author wants his readers to care about the specific science and engineering, but not when you're hiding half the plot away from us.
Star Light was one of the most frustrating books I've read in a long time. It's extremely dry, the stakes seemed interesting at first (a sort of Apollo 13-like crisis?), but it sort of gets sidelined by the boring dialogue. The planet Dhrawn just wasn't all that interesting, especially the way that Clement told the story. I don't believe I've read Clement before, but I'm very much inclined to avoid him in the future, even though Mission of Gravity (which I haven't read) sounds much more interesting. I'm intrigued by the thought that an author wants his readers to care about the specific science and engineering, but not when you're hiding half the plot away from us.
August 9, 2018
Hal Clement isn't as well known as he should be, probably because his greatest successes were in the Fifties and Sixties. He was one of the writers who really put accurate science into his science fiction, and coupled this with an ability to create interesting characters. This book is a sequel to his most famous (and arguably best) novel, "Mission Of Gravity". The inhabitants of the ultra-high gravity world of Mesklin are back in action, investigating a giant planet that may be a failed star - and, of course, they run into strange conditions that are Clement's specialty. A delightful read.
October 2, 2020
This book was okay, just like the first the ending was pretty blah. It’s an interesting read, but definitely not riveting lol.
February 15, 2024
“Star Light” first appeared in “Analog Science Fiction” from July through September 1970. And after the gripping, fascinating and startlingly original story of “Mission of Gravity”, which introduced the centipede-like Mesklinites, inhabitants of a strange oval-shaped planet with gravity hundreds of times earth-normal at the poles, and with whom humans formed an alliance in order to carry out an important mission in areas where the humans could not venture, the sequel proved, alas, to be quite a disappointment.
The underlying premise of “Star Light” is that the Mesklinites, aided once again by the humans, are supposed to explore another ultra-high-gravity world, Dhrawn, for mineral resources. The humans, however, are hesitant to accept the Mesklinites as fully intelligent beings capable of understanding and using earth technology; so the real agenda of the Mesklinites is to prove to their benefactors that they are indeed intelligent and capable—all the way up to knowing how to use an FTL drive in order to join the humans in exploring the universe. They do this by handling unexpected problems with their surface exploration vehicles when they break down in the extreme environment of Dhrawn, and personnel are either endangered or go missing altogether. As solutions are arrived at, problems are resolved and crew members located and rescued, the humans grudgingly come to respect their small, insect-like allies to a greater degree and to acknowledge their potential as full partners in interstellar exploration. In this sense, at least, the story has a satisfying conclusion.
However, the story is burdened with far too much technical detail, to the degree that it bogs down and becomes downright dull, leaving the reader wondering when there will be a break from the endless descriptions of the exploration vehicles, their propulsion and suspension systems, atmosphere, steering mechanisms, communication devices, and the like; as well as long disquisitions on the environment of Dhrawn and the properties of ammonia, hydrogen and water in all three states of matter and as they interact, and how they hinder the operation of mechanical devices; granted that some of this is necessary in order to show that the Mesklinites are able to handle all the challenges they face, but the presentation seems very padded and leaves the reader starved for a bit more variety and anxious for some advancement of the plot. Some of the space devoted to mechanics could have been used to outline more of the features of Dhrawn; it could have been featured as something other than a dull, flat landscape, perhaps with craters, volcanic activity, methane lakes, fierce storms—more characteristic of earth’s outer planets and their moons—which would have given the Mesklinites additional opportunities to display their ingenuity.
With its limited range of ideas and plot devices, this story probably would have done better as a novelette or novella. As it is, it is reminiscent of many of the hour-long 1963 fourth-season episodes of “Twilight Zone” where the writers were obviously struggling to fill the allotted time and the narrative dragged on and on. Not Mr. Clement’s best effort.
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
The underlying premise of “Star Light” is that the Mesklinites, aided once again by the humans, are supposed to explore another ultra-high-gravity world, Dhrawn, for mineral resources. The humans, however, are hesitant to accept the Mesklinites as fully intelligent beings capable of understanding and using earth technology; so the real agenda of the Mesklinites is to prove to their benefactors that they are indeed intelligent and capable—all the way up to knowing how to use an FTL drive in order to join the humans in exploring the universe. They do this by handling unexpected problems with their surface exploration vehicles when they break down in the extreme environment of Dhrawn, and personnel are either endangered or go missing altogether. As solutions are arrived at, problems are resolved and crew members located and rescued, the humans grudgingly come to respect their small, insect-like allies to a greater degree and to acknowledge their potential as full partners in interstellar exploration. In this sense, at least, the story has a satisfying conclusion.
However, the story is burdened with far too much technical detail, to the degree that it bogs down and becomes downright dull, leaving the reader wondering when there will be a break from the endless descriptions of the exploration vehicles, their propulsion and suspension systems, atmosphere, steering mechanisms, communication devices, and the like; as well as long disquisitions on the environment of Dhrawn and the properties of ammonia, hydrogen and water in all three states of matter and as they interact, and how they hinder the operation of mechanical devices; granted that some of this is necessary in order to show that the Mesklinites are able to handle all the challenges they face, but the presentation seems very padded and leaves the reader starved for a bit more variety and anxious for some advancement of the plot. Some of the space devoted to mechanics could have been used to outline more of the features of Dhrawn; it could have been featured as something other than a dull, flat landscape, perhaps with craters, volcanic activity, methane lakes, fierce storms—more characteristic of earth’s outer planets and their moons—which would have given the Mesklinites additional opportunities to display their ingenuity.
With its limited range of ideas and plot devices, this story probably would have done better as a novelette or novella. As it is, it is reminiscent of many of the hour-long 1963 fourth-season episodes of “Twilight Zone” where the writers were obviously struggling to fill the allotted time and the narrative dragged on and on. Not Mr. Clement’s best effort.
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
February 2, 2022
La novela se ambienta unos cincuenta años después de los acontecimientos de "Misión de gravedad", con un equipo de mesklinitas entre los que se incluye el capitán de aquella, contratados por los humanos como exploradores de una enana marrón (o planeta supergigante; eso es supuestamente algo a dilucidar, aunque al final no se llega a ninguna conclusión).
Las 200 g de la superficie, aunque cómodas para los mesklinitas (acostumbrados a 700), hacen imposible la intervención directa humana, teniendo que conformarse con la supervisión desde la órbita geoestacionaria, a 30 segundos luz.
La trama gira en torno a los problemas que experimenta uno de los grandes vehículos de exploración cuando se enfrenta a condiciones atmosféricas imprevisibles por culpa de una hidrosfera compuesta por una mezcla eutéctica de agua y amoníaco (algo que retrotrae al diagrama de fases de "Cerca del punto crítico", la otra novela de Clement relacionada con "Estrella brillante").
Por desgracia, en este caso ni las circunstancias fisico-químicas están muy bien explicadas ni se percibe que el problema fuera realmente imprevisible. Lo que es peor, es un incidente que se prolonga innecesariamente durante páginas y páginas, con interminables conversaciones entrecortadas entre mesklinitas y humanos, cada uno de ellos reacio por algún motivo a compartir toda la información disponible.
En el fondo, "Estrella brillante" aboga precisamente por el intercambio libre de la información como mejor estrategia procedimental, sugiriendo que un detalle insignificante puede resultar crucial. Por desgracia, la falta de tensión y la frialdad narrativa destruyen por completo el ritmo, de modo que terminas deseando que pase algo.
Sin sentido de la maravilla (al nivel que suele ser habitual en Clement) y sin personajes memorables (de un modo que sí es característico del autor), "Estrella brillante" queda como una idea sugerente mal desarrollada (no ayuda precisamente la traducción más que deficiente de su única edición en español).
Las 200 g de la superficie, aunque cómodas para los mesklinitas (acostumbrados a 700), hacen imposible la intervención directa humana, teniendo que conformarse con la supervisión desde la órbita geoestacionaria, a 30 segundos luz.
La trama gira en torno a los problemas que experimenta uno de los grandes vehículos de exploración cuando se enfrenta a condiciones atmosféricas imprevisibles por culpa de una hidrosfera compuesta por una mezcla eutéctica de agua y amoníaco (algo que retrotrae al diagrama de fases de "Cerca del punto crítico", la otra novela de Clement relacionada con "Estrella brillante").
Por desgracia, en este caso ni las circunstancias fisico-químicas están muy bien explicadas ni se percibe que el problema fuera realmente imprevisible. Lo que es peor, es un incidente que se prolonga innecesariamente durante páginas y páginas, con interminables conversaciones entrecortadas entre mesklinitas y humanos, cada uno de ellos reacio por algún motivo a compartir toda la información disponible.
En el fondo, "Estrella brillante" aboga precisamente por el intercambio libre de la información como mejor estrategia procedimental, sugiriendo que un detalle insignificante puede resultar crucial. Por desgracia, la falta de tensión y la frialdad narrativa destruyen por completo el ritmo, de modo que terminas deseando que pase algo.
Sin sentido de la maravilla (al nivel que suele ser habitual en Clement) y sin personajes memorables (de un modo que sí es característico del autor), "Estrella brillante" queda como una idea sugerente mal desarrollada (no ayuda precisamente la traducción más que deficiente de su única edición en español).
June 30, 2024
Hal Clement is one of the most important hard science fiction writers of all time. He put his astronomy and chemistry training to good use in over twenty books, two of which today's novel of interest, *Star Light*, serves as a sequel too - these two are *Mission of Gravity* and *Close to Critical*. *Star Light* is actually a very deft sequel that has surprisingly potent things to say, even if the novel as a whole isn't as good as *Mission of Gravity*, and I'll tell you why it's not right after summarizing it.
The premise of this book is that the human-alien alliance that vaguely existed in *Close to Critical* has educated Mesklinites (the centipede-like aliens from a high gravity planet in *Mission of Gravity*) so they can hire them to explore the high-gravity world of Dhrawn, which they think might be a failed star. Clement wisely decides to start the story well into the expedition while Dondragmer (first mate of the *Bree* in *MoG*) is off exploring in one of their specially-designed land cruisers despite the crew a different cruiser, the *Esket*, disappearing without a trace not that long ago. We're still getting all of this background information and meeting the crew of the space station above Dhrawn (which includes Easy, the little girl from *Close to Critical*, who's now as an adult with a son who's a good linguist in his own right) when the planet starts to warm and strange water-ammonia interactions make all the ice under Dondragmer's cruiser evaporate, leaving them to float down the river and get stuck on some rocks; their situation gets worse when ...
I don't remember a whole lot of this chunk of the book because, honestly, it's not the most thrilling part of the book. During it, that's all part of the charm.
The highlight of this book was definitely the science, as it frequently is with Clement's novels. I was a bit too out of it to be able to recite all of the cool atmospherics and such from memory, but I remember enough to tell you that a lot of the xenoatmospheric and xenogeological aspects of the book are driven by chemical reactions between water and ammonia, which exist in higher quantities on this world than, say, ours. Wikipedia can tell you more than I can (as can some other reviews that I haven't seen, I'm sure). I don't think that the alien aspects of Dhrawn are quite as good as the hellworlds *Mission of Gravity* or *Close to Critical*, though; both of those environments seemed more fleshed out and diverse. That may be because both narratives also focus on the alien life on both planets, something which is not *Star Light*'s central focus. Still, it just doesn't seem as interesting, and while the confusion of the human meteorologists on the space station is refreshingly realistic, it still didn't mesh into an overwhelmingly enjoyable story for me.
That all being said, on a structural level, this book is laid out very intelligently. It uses the science fiction of *Mission of Gravity* and a character/vague government from *Close to Critical* and never hits us over the head with it; our reunion with both is relatively subtle, and I think this book would stand just fine on just its own merit. That's pretty smart of Clement to do, and it made me feel like I was "in" on some kind of secret or joke that most people wouldn't be. It really checks all the boxes, and reminds me of some of the better-known universes in mid-century science fiction like Asimov's or Heinlein's. Good stuff, and I'll be excited to see if anything ties into this universe in my future Clement reading.
That being said, while this was a very slick sequel to this novels, it never felt as important as either one of them. The prose never struck me as being better than what Clement wrote in decades past (which was nice and fine and serviceable without being confusing but also never beautiful or clever), and the themes and characters only struck me as slight improvements. I mean, I liked Easy and the other humans and the glimpses into their politics that we got, but it never felt like it was really elevating the story past anything else. The themes inherent in the Mesklinite-human relationship are probably the book's strongest, and they really do follow up well upon the Mesklinites' debut; after all, I was rooting for their independence! So Clement can actually paint these decently realistic pictures of species-wide dynamics and evolution even if his characters are-what-they-are. Still, that's not to knock this book; you don't need wonderful characters to tell a cool story about scientific and survivalist perseverance. The relative forgettableness of the middle of the book is a much less forgivable flaw.
Still, the book as a whole was good (and it wasn't like the middle of the book was bad or anything), so it gets a 7/10. I enjoyed it, and it's a more strongly structured book than *Close to Critical* (another 7/10 in my book), even if neither reaches the purity of *Mission of Gravity*. I think I have a decent grasp from Clement now that I've read some of his late-50s and his 70s work, but I'd still like to explore his novels and short stories to see what the rest of the fuss is about, because his ideas always end up as impactful and context-forming for me. I hope this review gave you a bit more context into this book and that you'll read it if any of my compliments tickled your interest; otherwise, thanks for reading, and I hope you can follow this up with a stellar read. Leadburger, signing off.
The premise of this book is that the human-alien alliance that vaguely existed in *Close to Critical* has educated Mesklinites (the centipede-like aliens from a high gravity planet in *Mission of Gravity*) so they can hire them to explore the high-gravity world of Dhrawn, which they think might be a failed star. Clement wisely decides to start the story well into the expedition while Dondragmer (first mate of the *Bree* in *MoG*) is off exploring in one of their specially-designed land cruisers despite the crew a different cruiser, the *Esket*, disappearing without a trace not that long ago. We're still getting all of this background information and meeting the crew of the space station above Dhrawn (which includes Easy, the little girl from *Close to Critical*, who's now as an adult with a son who's a good linguist in his own right) when the planet starts to warm and strange water-ammonia interactions make all the ice under Dondragmer's cruiser evaporate, leaving them to float down the river and get stuck on some rocks; their situation gets worse when ...
I don't remember a whole lot of this chunk of the book because, honestly, it's not the most thrilling part of the book. During it, that's all part of the charm.
The highlight of this book was definitely the science, as it frequently is with Clement's novels. I was a bit too out of it to be able to recite all of the cool atmospherics and such from memory, but I remember enough to tell you that a lot of the xenoatmospheric and xenogeological aspects of the book are driven by chemical reactions between water and ammonia, which exist in higher quantities on this world than, say, ours. Wikipedia can tell you more than I can (as can some other reviews that I haven't seen, I'm sure). I don't think that the alien aspects of Dhrawn are quite as good as the hellworlds *Mission of Gravity* or *Close to Critical*, though; both of those environments seemed more fleshed out and diverse. That may be because both narratives also focus on the alien life on both planets, something which is not *Star Light*'s central focus. Still, it just doesn't seem as interesting, and while the confusion of the human meteorologists on the space station is refreshingly realistic, it still didn't mesh into an overwhelmingly enjoyable story for me.
That all being said, on a structural level, this book is laid out very intelligently. It uses the science fiction of *Mission of Gravity* and a character/vague government from *Close to Critical* and never hits us over the head with it; our reunion with both is relatively subtle, and I think this book would stand just fine on just its own merit. That's pretty smart of Clement to do, and it made me feel like I was "in" on some kind of secret or joke that most people wouldn't be. It really checks all the boxes, and reminds me of some of the better-known universes in mid-century science fiction like Asimov's or Heinlein's. Good stuff, and I'll be excited to see if anything ties into this universe in my future Clement reading.
That being said, while this was a very slick sequel to this novels, it never felt as important as either one of them. The prose never struck me as being better than what Clement wrote in decades past (which was nice and fine and serviceable without being confusing but also never beautiful or clever), and the themes and characters only struck me as slight improvements. I mean, I liked Easy and the other humans and the glimpses into their politics that we got, but it never felt like it was really elevating the story past anything else. The themes inherent in the Mesklinite-human relationship are probably the book's strongest, and they really do follow up well upon the Mesklinites' debut; after all, I was rooting for their independence! So Clement can actually paint these decently realistic pictures of species-wide dynamics and evolution even if his characters are-what-they-are. Still, that's not to knock this book; you don't need wonderful characters to tell a cool story about scientific and survivalist perseverance. The relative forgettableness of the middle of the book is a much less forgivable flaw.
Still, the book as a whole was good (and it wasn't like the middle of the book was bad or anything), so it gets a 7/10. I enjoyed it, and it's a more strongly structured book than *Close to Critical* (another 7/10 in my book), even if neither reaches the purity of *Mission of Gravity*. I think I have a decent grasp from Clement now that I've read some of his late-50s and his 70s work, but I'd still like to explore his novels and short stories to see what the rest of the fuss is about, because his ideas always end up as impactful and context-forming for me. I hope this review gave you a bit more context into this book and that you'll read it if any of my compliments tickled your interest; otherwise, thanks for reading, and I hope you can follow this up with a stellar read. Leadburger, signing off.
April 3, 2024
The planet Mesklin rotates so rapidly its gravity varies from 3g at the equator to hundreds of g at the poles. The native Mesklinites, centipede-like and tolerant of extreme conditions, are ideal for humans to employ to open up planets previously ignored. One such is Dhrawn, a planet so huge it may even be a failed star, at temperatures below 100K (around the melting point of ammonia) and gravity of about 20g. Explorations on the surface are by experienced Mesklinites under the supervision of humans in a satellite a few million kms away. When a sudden warming (comparatively) melts the ammonia and water slurry, it creates a flood that leaves the crawler ship stuck. Their efforts to move on make up the bulk of the book, but we start to suspect the Mesklinites are up to something extra. A survey mission has apparently gone missing and the humans seem more concerned than the Mesklinites. The humans too are playing a deeper game and the attempts by the aliens to construct a secret base without the humans’ knowledge seems justified. Hal Clement’s chemistry textbook of a novel is fascinating if you like scientific puzzles, but may bore those not into engineer porn.
January 30, 2023
Unfortunately, Star Light by Hal Clement never really clicked for me. It read like an unending science lab experiment overlapping a minor story. Though we meet again with Barlennan and his tricky ways, he over-reached here. From his humble non-scientific sailor background he attempts to trick the humans once more. This time into letting them learn to be star pilots. The story was overloaded with science experiments and theories and the story couldn't keep up.
March 27, 2018
This is the second Mesklin novel, but it reads like it's a dozen into a series and you've missed the middle. I enjoyed "Mission of Gravity", but the charm and characterizations that were fleshed out in that story are largely missing from this second book.
January 22, 2019
Ciencia Ficción dura aburrida.
February 22, 2019
Not such a good tale as "Mission of Gravity" . Too much sneaky dishonest aliens for my taste.
July 10, 2021
3.5 out of 5
August 20, 2024
es una forma entretenida de abordar el tema del contacto entre una especie mas desarrollada y otra menos. Los personajes son interesantes y el desarrollo científico de la trama no es truculento.
Read
October 25, 2025Why you might like it: Follow-up to Mission of Gravity's rigor. Rubric match: not yet scored. Uses your engineering/rigor/first-contact/world-building rubric. Tags: planetary, physics
October 16, 2011
I like his books, because they're definitely hard sci-fi, and he spends a lot of time on the science part of it. Specifically it's usually the chemistry he goes into, which is fun. I enjoy them, and two stars for this is maybe a bit harsh, but I had a lot of trouble following along, and it was just kinda boring.
June 29, 2013
Not as interesting as the first two books, this third book still had lots of hard science in it. I feel like this series ended too soon, because we didn't find out what fate befell the Mesklin conspiracy to gain practical independence from the humans, nor did we find out the reason or extent of their incredible life expectancy.
May 22, 2024
1.5 Stars
A dumb book. Apparently 'hard science' means no characterization, no development, no clever ideas, and an extended discussion of how voice tubes on a ship could work. The characters don't really have motivations, the plot doesn't really have stakes, and there is really no point to this book other than to note that the freezing temperature of water changes when ammonia is added.
Dumb.
A dumb book. Apparently 'hard science' means no characterization, no development, no clever ideas, and an extended discussion of how voice tubes on a ship could work. The characters don't really have motivations, the plot doesn't really have stakes, and there is really no point to this book other than to note that the freezing temperature of water changes when ammonia is added.
Dumb.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2025
One of my favorite authors
November 6, 2014
1978 grade C+
1994 grade B-
1994 grade B-
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