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Rocheworld #1
Rocheworld
Powered by a revolutionary laser-driven stardrive, the first interstellar expedition would reach the double planet circling Barnard's Star in a mere twenty years. Some of the world's finest scientists were abaord that ship, and they would arrive prepared for adventure, danger and - to them, most important of all - the thrill of scientific discovery. But what they would find, both in terms of danger and discovery, would surpass all their expectations.
Publisher's note: Sometimes it takes a big book to bring life to a big concept; a much shorter, substantially different version of this novel was published in hardcover in 1982 (paperback from Baen), but that version was rushed to publication before the author was ready. Now, with an additional 50 thousand words - longer than most novels! - Robert Forward offers us the novel that Flight Of The Dragonfly should have been: Rocheworld! If you liked Flight of the Dragonfly you'll love Rocheworld.
Publisher's note: Sometimes it takes a big book to bring life to a big concept; a much shorter, substantially different version of this novel was published in hardcover in 1982 (paperback from Baen), but that version was rushed to publication before the author was ready. Now, with an additional 50 thousand words - longer than most novels! - Robert Forward offers us the novel that Flight Of The Dragonfly should have been: Rocheworld! If you liked Flight of the Dragonfly you'll love Rocheworld.
470 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1984
17 people are currently reading
1044 people want to read
About the author
Robert L. Forward
50 books190 followersRobert Lull Forward, commonly known as Robert L. Forward, (August 15, 1932 - September 21, 2002) was an American physicist and science fiction writer. His fiction is noted for its scientific credibility, and uses many ideas developed during his work as an aerospace engineer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
November 14, 2012
Even science fiction fans have been known to call their favourite genre a "literature of ideas," as implicitly opposed to a "literature of style." Characters can be transparent; plots can be simple; the prose itself can be clunky. I'd like to think this is starting to change, but I've learned by now not to confuse likes with actualities. I think.
When I saw Robert L. Forward's 1985 novel Rocheworld at the BMV in the Annex, I had to buy it. At $4.19, it was quite inexpensive, but more to the point Rocheworldhas been one of my favourite science fiction novels since I was an adolescent, maybe even before adolescence. Re-reading it after a decade, I'm pleased to find that my memories hold true.
Rocheworldis not high literature. The characters lack much depth, with their likes and dislikes being superficial and a somewhat surprising lack of conflict (and not unsurprising hookups between multiple couples) prevailing throughout, with the singular exception of a bitter senator and his proxy crewmember, the former eventually relenting and giving the central character George Gudunov his general's star and the latter being replaced by a Mexican geologist working on Titan even before the light-sailed STL starship leaves Sol system. The Barnard's Star system is full of wonders, explored in this book and its sequels, with ubiquitous life and interesting challenges which are never lethal. It would be harsh to describe this book as all setting, but not too harsh.
But what a setting! The laser-propelled solar sail interstellar craft--a propulsion method that Forward himself designed, and remains plausible to this day--is superb. The Barnard's Star planetary system, notwithstanding the confirmation a decade after the fact that Barnard's Star can't host the near-brown dwarf Gargantua, is well-designed and interesting, so much so that I wish that Forward was right. The titular Rocheworld, a very close binary of two rocky worlds so near each other that they share an atmosphere and ocean in common, is a remarkable construct. And the life in the oceans of Rocheworld, including the intelligent flouwen (calling them brilliant shapeshifting jellyfish known for their loves of mathematics and surfing wouldn't be inaccurate), is interesting. Forward's world is well-designed indeed.
Most importantly to me, Forward's universe is fundamentally optimistic in a way I find quite cheerful. People mean well and do their best; reason and patience allow for the anticipation of problems and effective responses; effort can yield positive results. And if Forward's characters can do this, and if we can do this, then we can all enjoy a universe full of wonders and delights. Yes, it's a great way to educate people in science, but it's also a great thing to read when you''re down or concerned.
When I saw Robert L. Forward's 1985 novel Rocheworld at the BMV in the Annex, I had to buy it. At $4.19, it was quite inexpensive, but more to the point Rocheworldhas been one of my favourite science fiction novels since I was an adolescent, maybe even before adolescence. Re-reading it after a decade, I'm pleased to find that my memories hold true.
Rocheworldis not high literature. The characters lack much depth, with their likes and dislikes being superficial and a somewhat surprising lack of conflict (and not unsurprising hookups between multiple couples) prevailing throughout, with the singular exception of a bitter senator and his proxy crewmember, the former eventually relenting and giving the central character George Gudunov his general's star and the latter being replaced by a Mexican geologist working on Titan even before the light-sailed STL starship leaves Sol system. The Barnard's Star system is full of wonders, explored in this book and its sequels, with ubiquitous life and interesting challenges which are never lethal. It would be harsh to describe this book as all setting, but not too harsh.
But what a setting! The laser-propelled solar sail interstellar craft--a propulsion method that Forward himself designed, and remains plausible to this day--is superb. The Barnard's Star planetary system, notwithstanding the confirmation a decade after the fact that Barnard's Star can't host the near-brown dwarf Gargantua, is well-designed and interesting, so much so that I wish that Forward was right. The titular Rocheworld, a very close binary of two rocky worlds so near each other that they share an atmosphere and ocean in common, is a remarkable construct. And the life in the oceans of Rocheworld, including the intelligent flouwen (calling them brilliant shapeshifting jellyfish known for their loves of mathematics and surfing wouldn't be inaccurate), is interesting. Forward's world is well-designed indeed.
Most importantly to me, Forward's universe is fundamentally optimistic in a way I find quite cheerful. People mean well and do their best; reason and patience allow for the anticipation of problems and effective responses; effort can yield positive results. And if Forward's characters can do this, and if we can do this, then we can all enjoy a universe full of wonders and delights. Yes, it's a great way to educate people in science, but it's also a great thing to read when you''re down or concerned.
May 27, 2020
don't usually read hard science fiction and it took a minute for me to give in to this, but it was great. it's not a great STORY, especially if you're into people, if you like PEOPLE in your books, but it will take you all the way into space. or, like, it miniaturizes space into an elegant physicist's model, and then you're miniaturized, too, and you get to zoom & roam around. right, that's what that would look like from here, ok and what about from there? it forced my brain to do a thing it doesn't usually do on its own.
April 1, 2020
7/10 y se queda en tres estrellas a pesar de la parte Hard.
A ver, el comienzo es bastante coñazo, sí. Los personajes flojillos, sí…pero cuando coge velocidad yo la he gozado con la parte de CF Hard y con el suspense del “primer encuentro”.
El mundo que crea es consistente (obvio, leñe, que el colega este es físico) y la parte de ingeniería se sostiene. La parte de mareas entre los dos mundos es una gozada aunque un pelín límite en cuanto a credibilidad.
En total ha pesado demasiado la parte coñazo y la de personajes. Una lástima porque el concepto me ha gustado un montón.
A ver, el comienzo es bastante coñazo, sí. Los personajes flojillos, sí…pero cuando coge velocidad yo la he gozado con la parte de CF Hard y con el suspense del “primer encuentro”.
El mundo que crea es consistente (obvio, leñe, que el colega este es físico) y la parte de ingeniería se sostiene. La parte de mareas entre los dos mundos es una gozada aunque un pelín límite en cuanto a credibilidad.
En total ha pesado demasiado la parte coñazo y la de personajes. Una lástima porque el concepto me ha gustado un montón.
October 21, 2017
Tengo aprecio por el autor por su trabajo teórico relativo al viaje interestelar. Además, el libro tiene algunas cualidades. La ciencia está tratada con respeto. Los hechos son científicamente plausibles. Y, sobre todo, ha acabado con mi insomnio. Cada vez que lo cogía, me quedaba dormido.
April 28, 2021
I don't want to sound like the well-preserved curmudgeon sitting in his rocking chair, bemoaning how it was better in the olden days - I might be one, but I try not to sound like it. Yet reading books like Rocheworld always makes me wonder why no one seems to be writing science fiction like this anymore. By the way, if you happen to know of authors who are writing this kind of material, I would love to know their names. Even the modern science fiction that can be classified as "hard" is just not the same: grittier, darker, dystopian, pessimistic. That's what it seems to come down to, really; books like Rocheworld are optimistic about the future. It's the same reason why the new Star Trek series that came out in the last couple of years don't really feel like Star Trek.
Rather than lamenting the decline of science fiction, we should probably spend time talking about how wonderful Rocheworld is, and why you should absolutely go find a copy as soon as possible. Granted, that may be a little difficult, because it's no longer in print. However, I was able to find a lightly used copy without much difficulty, so I imagine you can, too. Just be sure you look for the complete Rocheworld, and not one of the earlier versions, sometimes titled Flight of the Dragonfly. The book is from back in the days when many science fiction novels were published in short, serialized form in magazines, so Flight of the Dragonfly is about a hundred thousand words shorter than the complete Rocheworld.
This book was added to my reading list last year when I was looking for, of all things, research papers on gravitationally stable planetary formations. It turns out that there is not a lot of content written about hypothetical double-lobed stable close-contact binary planets, and that Rocheworld is one of the few serious treatments. Yes, despite being labeled as science fiction and containing its fair share of fictional elements, I would classify this as a serious treatment of close contact binary planets (sometimes called overcontact binaries, because of the shared atmosphere). If you read it, you will understand why: Robert L Forward was clearly passionate about his particular topic, and did rigorous research, engineering, and mathematics to support the book. There is even an in-world "congressional briefing transcript" at the end that includes engineering diagrams covering the details of the peculiar orbit (a 3:1 resonance orbit, which should sound familiar if you read our TESS post), the construction and layout of the spacecraft, landers, and interstellar laser propulsion system, and the biological characteristics of the peculiar Eau-lobe aliens.
In places, the book almost becomes self-aware, flirting with the "fourth wall." Forward pokes fun at pulp science fiction novels of the time, and flat-out declares that there won't be any distractions from interpersonal drama in this novel. Some people might be disappointed by that, but not me. It's an idea story to the core, and I'm glad that the author didn't try to pollute it with distracting elements. That's not to say that the characters are flat or boring - they have far more personality than the characters in, say, Ringworld - but it does mean that there isn't internal politicking or intra-crew arguments that become a major part of the plot. Everyone is competent, and works well together to accomplish their mission and address whatever external challenges arise.
As I was reading it, I couldn't help thinking how the technologies described for a scientifically semi-viable interstellar mission in this book first published in 1984 are little changed in the past forty years. Everything, with the notable exception of the No-Die drug (which is more of a plot element than a technology, anyway), is still a reasonable extrapolation of current technologies and well-established physical principles. That isn't surprising in and of itself, but what is surprising is that similar, modern works tend to include remarkably similar extrapolated technologies, just with the dates changed. After the breakneck pace of innovation and scientific advances of the twentieth century (someone born in 1900 could very reasonably have grown up walking or riding a horse everywhere, and have been alive to see commercial air travel become commonplace and people walking on the Moon), the twenty first century has so far featured different kinds of innovation. The pace hasn't changed, but the type has. Instead of remarkable innovations in the physical realm, it's probably safe to say that most of the major innovation of the past two or three decades has been cyber-related. This is just something to think about; I don't have a deep and insightful conclusion for this observation.
Some other reviewers of Rocheworld complained it was too scientific, and got too bogged down in details. To those people, I would like to say that I think you are missing the point. If you don't want a scientifically detailed novel, don't pick up a science fiction novel semi-famous for being one of the only serious treatments of overcontact binary planetoids. To everyone else, I would like to say that I really hope you consider adding Rocheworld to your reading list.
April 28, 2025
3.5 🌟 stars... a bit dated, but not a bad hard sci fi story of an unusual planetary system and the cast of characters that are exploring it...also some cool aliens...
February 22, 2018
It's sort of disappointing to read a book with your name on the cover and be this disappointed by it. Thing is, I found Forward's Dragon's Egg to be one of the best hard-SF books I've ever read, so my hopes were high-ish for this one. The main problem with it is something I found to be a problem with Dragon's Egg: The characters are impossibly wooden. With Dragon's Egg, I sort of tolerated that because most of the characters were aliens living in a vaguely tribal social structure for most of the book; it was easy to comprehend. Also, the science was vastly more interesting. Unfortunately, here the humans and their bland interactions are far more important than they were in Dragon's Egg. The result is a series of lengthy vignettes about extremely boring people. I'm also far less clear on planetary dynamics than I am on stellar dynamics, with the result that I could never really picture the world(s) covered. I found them unnecessarily complicated, frankly. The book sort of buries its lead in that a fairly interesting alien race gets lost in the push-pull of a very complicated setting. Or maybe the setting wasn't complicated... seriously, I couldn't really tell.
I would say this one is probably not worth your time unless you're positively obsessed with planet-building. Read Dragon's Egg, though. It's brilliant.
I would say this one is probably not worth your time unless you're positively obsessed with planet-building. Read Dragon's Egg, though. It's brilliant.
January 14, 2024
The note on the rear cover of this edition explains why Rocheworld feels so bloated as one trudges through its less compelling sections: the author added fifty thousand words to the version of the story that the original editors deemed worthy of publication.
The novel's opening chapters drag along tediously through various unnecessary subplots and the introduction of an excessive number of principal characters who lack adequate differentiation despite the detailed cast-of-characters appendix that makes an unhelpful appearance in the very last pages.
The depressing final chapter of the narrative manages to leave the reader with both an unsatisfying denouement and a bleak sense of finality. This is then inexplicably followed by dozens of superfluous pages that could have been more sensibly incorporated into an earlier portion of the book.
The science fiction elements of Rocheworld are intriguing, but the pacing and the actual storytelling leave much to be desired.
The novel's opening chapters drag along tediously through various unnecessary subplots and the introduction of an excessive number of principal characters who lack adequate differentiation despite the detailed cast-of-characters appendix that makes an unhelpful appearance in the very last pages.
The depressing final chapter of the narrative manages to leave the reader with both an unsatisfying denouement and a bleak sense of finality. This is then inexplicably followed by dozens of superfluous pages that could have been more sensibly incorporated into an earlier portion of the book.
The science fiction elements of Rocheworld are intriguing, but the pacing and the actual storytelling leave much to be desired.
June 16, 2022
I tried...I really did. I just couldn't get going with this and I quit half-way through. Technical, complicated. Just wasn't holding my interest and there are too many books out here that will. I guess I am not really made for hard science fiction but I guess I will keep trying. I usually give books I don't finish a 1 star. I gave it a two because even though it wasn't for me, it was well written.
May 8, 2014
I couldn't finish it. I wanted to, so very much, but I just couldn't get through it.
It was off to a strong start, a very solid hard sci-fi novel. Detailed science, plausible, well-explained. But, eventually it got bogged down in silly minutiae. I appreciated knowing how things like shed hair would be dealt with, but I didn't need to know exactly how much of which foods everybody on the mission was rationed, and I especially didn't need to know how much they ate in one sitting.
The first couple of characters were promising, but proved to be flat or have no development, and after a good couple dozen were introduced I couldn't keep track of them (and, it seemed, neither could the author - inconsistent accents and speech patterns in ESL characters, quick and easy tropes / roles for everyone).
I really did try, and to be fair I am happy I read the early tech specs, but I feel this "novel" would have been more enjoyable as a theoretical how-to on interstellar travel.
It was off to a strong start, a very solid hard sci-fi novel. Detailed science, plausible, well-explained. But, eventually it got bogged down in silly minutiae. I appreciated knowing how things like shed hair would be dealt with, but I didn't need to know exactly how much of which foods everybody on the mission was rationed, and I especially didn't need to know how much they ate in one sitting.
The first couple of characters were promising, but proved to be flat or have no development, and after a good couple dozen were introduced I couldn't keep track of them (and, it seemed, neither could the author - inconsistent accents and speech patterns in ESL characters, quick and easy tropes / roles for everyone).
I really did try, and to be fair I am happy I read the early tech specs, but I feel this "novel" would have been more enjoyable as a theoretical how-to on interstellar travel.
October 29, 2008
Two things I remember loving about this book. One, it is a somewhat-realistic hard SF portrayal of sending a large scale mission to a nearby star with the intention of colonization. And two, we encounter an utterly fascinating, alien race of.... aliens. I detest that aliens are almost always more or less human with funny ears or different color skin. The small group of intelligent life forms found on Rocheworld is alien in every way.
October 27, 2009
At one point, our sassy black captain bellows, "This isn't a science fiction novel." But it is, and not a good one. Even the character's who are based on ammonia are two-dimensional and dull.
November 18, 2015
A tecnologically plausible journey to a next star using a laser sail an the adventures in a planet of the sistem till eventually find inteligent specimens
August 25, 2018
It was a wonderful story with some amazing ideas, but, there was a bit too much science that went over my head. It took me out of the story every once in awhile.
May 13, 2024
This book may not be as good for readers who want the explorers to be at the new world closer to the beginning of the book. The first 17% of Rocheworld is about planning, crew selection, technology, "office politics," etc. Then the spaceship actually begins its acceleration from our solar system towards the Barnard system. The book is overly optimistic about this taking place not too far in our future, but at the same time it is scientifically realistic enough to describe a flight with a maximum speed of 20% of light speed. (The spaceship uses a light sail aided by a large laser system in our Solar System.) This means it will take 40 years to get there and there's no suspended animation trope for the crew. Forward's solution in this book is a drug that slows aging, but also decreases intelligence. Computer-run systems take care of crew members who act like 5-year-old children. The description of this can be amusing. Unfortunately, all but one of the crew members becomes infected by a virus that a last-minute replacement crew member seems to have brought in. The childish crew members are developing a condition that will kill them. The doctor has to be taken off the slow-aging/low intelligence drug for weeks for him to recover enough to treat the crew. Treatment takes time and the doctor can't treat himself and do a good job on the others. As a result, the doctor dies and the others survive. Then, there's more "office politics." Perhaps, it is probable that Earth's first interstellar mission will have at least this much difficulty, but some readers may not want to read speculations on just what problems there will be before reaching a new world as opposed to reading about the positive and/or negative things after reaching the new world.
They arrive "in the Barnard system" 34% into the book. Readers learn more about interpersonal relations of the crew and about the equipment for exploring the system. (Readers who prefer more character development may not find it sufficient.) They actually land on the planet of most interest ("Rocheworld") at 44% into the book.
Rocheworld is/are twin planets gravitationally-locked together close enough that each has a projection towards the other. One is covered with liquid (it's much colder than Earth, water is a minority of the liquid.) The other twin is mainly rock. In their explorations, they find intelligent beings on the liquid-covered world. The aliens are blob-like, able to change their shape as needed. They don't have technology, but do have arts, philosophy, more advanced mathematics than ours, and some are working on sciences. When one of them wants to do intense intellectual thinking for a period of time, it reduces its liquid content and becomes rock-like. Their IQ's are higher than ours. They live long lives and enjoy playful activities (like surfing) and doing math. Towards the end of the book, we discover something surprising about the pair of worlds.
This was an interesting world and interesting aliens. I've speculated that one contributing factor to the Fermi Paradox might be that liquid-covered worlds might make technology difficult, thereby preventing us from seeing evidence of an intelligent race. There are certainly things in the book to think about. Personally, I was skeptical of the widespread alien interest in math on a world where there was little need / practical use for it. The same might be true of their high IQ's, but perhaps that evolved before they reached their dominant position on Rocheworld and now remains even if not essential.
The book also has some adventure / thriller elements. There are some troubles with equipment at times. In particular, their airplane-like shuttle "crashes" in the liquid sea. It floats, but actually getting back to the base camp on the other twin world is a continuing issue.
The last 7% of the book is sort of like an appendix. It has a Congressional hearing in 2076 in which scientists tell the members of Congress about the science related to the mission, describe the crew members and the equipment, review information about the aliens, etc. It may clarify some details for some readers, but it's not like footnotes where you have the option to get those details when they're relevant in the middle of the book.
They arrive "in the Barnard system" 34% into the book. Readers learn more about interpersonal relations of the crew and about the equipment for exploring the system. (Readers who prefer more character development may not find it sufficient.) They actually land on the planet of most interest ("Rocheworld") at 44% into the book.
Rocheworld is/are twin planets gravitationally-locked together close enough that each has a projection towards the other. One is covered with liquid (it's much colder than Earth, water is a minority of the liquid.) The other twin is mainly rock. In their explorations, they find intelligent beings on the liquid-covered world. The aliens are blob-like, able to change their shape as needed. They don't have technology, but do have arts, philosophy, more advanced mathematics than ours, and some are working on sciences. When one of them wants to do intense intellectual thinking for a period of time, it reduces its liquid content and becomes rock-like. Their IQ's are higher than ours. They live long lives and enjoy playful activities (like surfing) and doing math. Towards the end of the book, we discover something surprising about the pair of worlds.
This was an interesting world and interesting aliens. I've speculated that one contributing factor to the Fermi Paradox might be that liquid-covered worlds might make technology difficult, thereby preventing us from seeing evidence of an intelligent race. There are certainly things in the book to think about. Personally, I was skeptical of the widespread alien interest in math on a world where there was little need / practical use for it. The same might be true of their high IQ's, but perhaps that evolved before they reached their dominant position on Rocheworld and now remains even if not essential.
The book also has some adventure / thriller elements. There are some troubles with equipment at times. In particular, their airplane-like shuttle "crashes" in the liquid sea. It floats, but actually getting back to the base camp on the other twin world is a continuing issue.
The last 7% of the book is sort of like an appendix. It has a Congressional hearing in 2076 in which scientists tell the members of Congress about the science related to the mission, describe the crew members and the equipment, review information about the aliens, etc. It may clarify some details for some readers, but it's not like footnotes where you have the option to get those details when they're relevant in the middle of the book.
July 2, 2020
3.5/5
The Flight of the Dragonfly is a semi-hard sci-fi book about interstellar exploration to a Red Dwarf Star called Banard and it's planetary system consisting of a very large Gas Giant called Gargantua and it's moons and the illusive Rocheworld: two egg-shaped planets that are very similar in mass, density and volume and are orbiting each other ferociously fast. One is covered in an ocean of ammonia and water and the other, rock.
This is where the majority of this book takes place in as half the team members are ignored back on the main ship while the other half landed on the planet and this number gets cut down again when 5 crew members decide to take flight on the Dragonfly or SEM and leaving 3 crew members mostly ignored again. It doesn't matter too much though because the characters(human) in this story are as interesting as an old photograph of a stranger you found lying at the ceramic tiled floor of a gas station convenience store and that perfectly fine.
There are both good and bad things the book does narratively and objectively speaking but the book does have its priorities which are...
The Realism.
This sci-fi novel is all about concept, however it does not pull bullshit out of its ass, most of the science in this book is well researched on and was thought thoroughly through by Robert L. Forward. It is however not The Maritian; it isn't purely based on already existing theories, but that, it turns out, to be one of the strong suit of its novel.
The Alien.
The Aliens in this story are fascinating with widely different cultures, practices, methods of communication, forms, concepts etc. If you have read a lot of sci-fi it may now be cliche but this feels like one of the pioneers of such alien aliens.
Now the bad.
Well, in my total honesty, I'd say there isn't anything worth mentioning except tw0 minor criticism.
First of all, the characters are painfully one dimensional, making their interactions feel forced sometimes. There are notably outliers but even the outliers are at best two dimensional. At fucking best. (My favorite is David btw because of his magically sonovideo performances. I can feel in goose bumpy vibes from reading about those.)However, I can overlook this because character depth and growth was not obviously the intent of the author.
Lastly, the direction. they were garbage. disorienting and messy. I can kinda English-teacher my way into thinking that the ups and down and west and east and fucking north-eastern-south-west's were deliberately a choice by the author to show the disorienting nature of space which has no natural compass but it's just makes the space portion of the novel a tipsy drag to read through as you try to wrap your head around the dimensions of space.
Conclusion?
Truly Lastly, I give this as an average read. It shows some roots of the sci-fi genres evolution and I'd say it's a pretty middle-ground introduction into science fiction as a genre and also a must-read for die-hard sci-fi fans who wants to learn about obscure old science fiction worlds( and who has nothing more to read)
3.5/5
The Flight of the Dragonfly is a semi-hard sci-fi book about interstellar exploration to a Red Dwarf Star called Banard and it's planetary system consisting of a very large Gas Giant called Gargantua and it's moons and the illusive Rocheworld: two egg-shaped planets that are very similar in mass, density and volume and are orbiting each other ferociously fast. One is covered in an ocean of ammonia and water and the other, rock.
This is where the majority of this book takes place in as half the team members are ignored back on the main ship while the other half landed on the planet and this number gets cut down again when 5 crew members decide to take flight on the Dragonfly or SEM and leaving 3 crew members mostly ignored again. It doesn't matter too much though because the characters(human) in this story are as interesting as an old photograph of a stranger you found lying at the ceramic tiled floor of a gas station convenience store and that perfectly fine.
There are both good and bad things the book does narratively and objectively speaking but the book does have its priorities which are...
The Realism.
This sci-fi novel is all about concept, however it does not pull bullshit out of its ass, most of the science in this book is well researched on and was thought thoroughly through by Robert L. Forward. It is however not The Maritian; it isn't purely based on already existing theories, but that, it turns out, to be one of the strong suit of its novel.
The Alien.
The Aliens in this story are fascinating with widely different cultures, practices, methods of communication, forms, concepts etc. If you have read a lot of sci-fi it may now be cliche but this feels like one of the pioneers of such alien aliens.
Now the bad.
Well, in my total honesty, I'd say there isn't anything worth mentioning except tw0 minor criticism.
First of all, the characters are painfully one dimensional, making their interactions feel forced sometimes. There are notably outliers but even the outliers are at best two dimensional. At fucking best. (My favorite is David btw because of his magically sonovideo performances. I can feel in goose bumpy vibes from reading about those.)However, I can overlook this because character depth and growth was not obviously the intent of the author.
Lastly, the direction. they were garbage. disorienting and messy. I can kinda English-teacher my way into thinking that the ups and down and west and east and fucking north-eastern-south-west's were deliberately a choice by the author to show the disorienting nature of space which has no natural compass but it's just makes the space portion of the novel a tipsy drag to read through as you try to wrap your head around the dimensions of space.
Conclusion?
Truly Lastly, I give this as an average read. It shows some roots of the sci-fi genres evolution and I'd say it's a pretty middle-ground introduction into science fiction as a genre and also a must-read for die-hard sci-fi fans who wants to learn about obscure old science fiction worlds( and who has nothing more to read)
3.5/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2022
I don't think you could do better for a detailed scientifically plausible account of interstellar flight in a science fiction novel. The double-planet system they visit is more unlikely, but still not obviously impossible. The story carries you along just fine. But the characters are flat. In the opening chapters we get introduced to each of the twenty explorers selected for this one-way voyage of exploration, and it seems like we're being set up for fermenting mix of different personalities. But once the trip is underway, the differences mostly disappear, and everyone acts pretty much the same. There are no jealousies, petty conflicts, or personal hatreds over 20 years of living together in a can. They banter among themselves, get along with each other, and have sex when they feel like it. Back on Earth, there are some conflicts between military folks added to provide some spice, but they are cartoonish and cringe-inducing to a reader with some military experience.
When exploring, our intrepid and placid crew kind of make things up as they go along. I would expect both more detailed planning and disciplined professionalism on this multi-trillion-dollar epochal voyage of discovery, especially after they've had decades to plan. Then when the mission and their lives are in grave danger, their exploration aircraft ditched in a trackless ocean and unable to fly, their mode of behavior remains bland. I would expect more emotional reactions to their situations, both urgency when called and also awe at their discoveries.
And then there are other improbabilities. Would such a huge expedition really be sent after just one flyby probe visited the system? Could the vast space infrastructure needed to launch it possibly be ready in the mid-21st century? Would there really be almost no voice comms with Earth during the voyage? Would solid, stable astronaut/engineer/scientist types really volunteer for a one-way non-colonizing interstellar trip, doomed to die alone of old age six light-years from home? The ship's human-level AI seems so intelligent and (via its subsidiary robots) so skilled and versatile that one wonders why humans were sent along at all. But a little suspension of disbelief makes any science-fiction story more engaging and interesting, doesn't it?
When exploring, our intrepid and placid crew kind of make things up as they go along. I would expect both more detailed planning and disciplined professionalism on this multi-trillion-dollar epochal voyage of discovery, especially after they've had decades to plan. Then when the mission and their lives are in grave danger, their exploration aircraft ditched in a trackless ocean and unable to fly, their mode of behavior remains bland. I would expect more emotional reactions to their situations, both urgency when called and also awe at their discoveries.
And then there are other improbabilities. Would such a huge expedition really be sent after just one flyby probe visited the system? Could the vast space infrastructure needed to launch it possibly be ready in the mid-21st century? Would there really be almost no voice comms with Earth during the voyage? Would solid, stable astronaut/engineer/scientist types really volunteer for a one-way non-colonizing interstellar trip, doomed to die alone of old age six light-years from home? The ship's human-level AI seems so intelligent and (via its subsidiary robots) so skilled and versatile that one wonders why humans were sent along at all. But a little suspension of disbelief makes any science-fiction story more engaging and interesting, doesn't it?
June 14, 2021
Otra lección magistral sobre el futuro de Robert L. Forward. Aunque me decepcionó un poco la última de sus novelas que leí ("Maestro del tiempo"), aquí vuelve a situarse a la altura de los libros de los Cheela o de "Camelot 30k". Si hay algo que siempre me ha gustado de este autor, es su tendencia a la docencia, a explicar conceptos complicados de forma sencilla. A pesar de ser ciencia ficción "hard", consigue que la mayoría de conceptos que intenta explicar en la novela sean de fácil comprensión. Además, tiene una imaginación desbordante.
Una historia relativamente plausible, con tecnología que podría ser de aplicación en un futuro, si bien no tan cercano como propone el autor.
Como nota negativa, sus personajes (humanos) son un tanto planos, y a veces deja a algunos de lado cuando podría sacarles más partido. En cuanto a los personajes no humanos, me han gustado bastante, con unas personalidades realmente interesantes.
Una historia relativamente plausible, con tecnología que podría ser de aplicación en un futuro, si bien no tan cercano como propone el autor.
Como nota negativa, sus personajes (humanos) son un tanto planos, y a veces deja a algunos de lado cuando podría sacarles más partido. En cuanto a los personajes no humanos, me han gustado bastante, con unas personalidades realmente interesantes.
January 22, 2023
3.0 stars, I liked it and there is a chance I will read it again
Rocheworld is technical science fiction, set in an astounding world, wrapped in real physical effects, with truly alien aliens, and a decent adventure. But the beginning is really dry, with dull characters and a petty conflict. For the most part, people get along too well, especially since they are cooped up in a spaceship. The end just tapers off, kind of just filling in the details, though it is not as dry as the beginning.
Four stars for the middle, three for the end, and two for the beginning.
From a physics perspective, it invokes no unusual technologies (fusion and mild AI are hardly revolutionary); from an engineering and geopolitical perspective, it's naive, though these faults are easy to overlook by stretching the timeline and shifting international trends.
Rocheworld is technical science fiction, set in an astounding world, wrapped in real physical effects, with truly alien aliens, and a decent adventure. But the beginning is really dry, with dull characters and a petty conflict. For the most part, people get along too well, especially since they are cooped up in a spaceship. The end just tapers off, kind of just filling in the details, though it is not as dry as the beginning.
Four stars for the middle, three for the end, and two for the beginning.
From a physics perspective, it invokes no unusual technologies (fusion and mild AI are hardly revolutionary); from an engineering and geopolitical perspective, it's naive, though these faults are easy to overlook by stretching the timeline and shifting international trends.
March 7, 2022
3.4 stars out of 5 - I read a library hardbound over the past few evenings after seeing it recommended as a relatively painless primer on the use of light sails for interstellar exploration. It served that purpose but was only so so as a novel. The characters were only thinly drawn, and the action in the Barnard's Star system was a few steps too improbable. That said, its Nivenesque sea dwelling alien was interesting, and the technological insight demonstrated by the author (writing in 1980 or so) was amazing.
April 27, 2022
This is one of my all time favorite hard science fiction books. I even managed to get my wife to read it who doesn't particularly care for science fiction. However, she loves dragonflies. I did warn her that although the title includes Dragonfly, it's not a story about dragonflies. It took some dedication for her to get past the introduction. However, in the end she enjoyed reading it even though it's not her cup of tea.
February 20, 2025
The science and technology was fun. The 2-dimensional characters were hideous. At least the male characters were 2-dimensional, the women something less, minus 2-D maybe? I kept visualizing the science and technology in the book as being a good foundation for a movie, but then the humans would show up in the story and all I could picture were crude cardboard human cut-outs. Read the book to the end to see if it would end as badly as I thought. Was not disappointed on that front.
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October 23, 2025Powered by a revolutionary laser-driven stardrive, the first interstellar expedition would reach the double planet circling Barnard's Star in a mere twenty years. Some of the world's finest scientists were aboard that ship, and they would arrive prepared for adventure, danger and - to them, most important of all - the thrill of scientific discovery. But what they would find, both in terms of danger and discovery, would surpass all their expectations.
May 5, 2020
NOTE: This review is about the 155000 word version published in 1993.
If one just skips interactions between humans, which are completely unrealistic, the book is a gem.
It feels like the author understands the mathematically and logically inclined animals much better than his fellow humans.
Many interesting ideas and lots of science. Overall book is quite enjoyable.
If one just skips interactions between humans, which are completely unrealistic, the book is a gem.
It feels like the author understands the mathematically and logically inclined animals much better than his fellow humans.
Many interesting ideas and lots of science. Overall book is quite enjoyable.
October 7, 2023
Los alienígenas de este hombre siguen siendo fascinantes y sus mundos creíbles, pero en este libro pesa demasiado la perspectiva humana y es un lastre. En partes se disfruta y en partes de vuelve cansino y pesado.
No da todo su potencial es novela y es algo decepcionante considerando sus otras obras maestras que son «Misión de gravedad» y «Huevo del dragón».
No da todo su potencial es novela y es algo decepcionante considerando sus otras obras maestras que son «Misión de gravedad» y «Huevo del dragón».
February 15, 2025
I could not get past half way and I am rather amazed I made it that far! Besides the cardboard-thin and cardboard-flat characters, I had to rage quit when a world renowned female scientist decides to dance around the ship naked ... Yup, all world renowned scientists, female or male, do that on their way to the discovery/adventure of the century. Grrrrrr ...
October 22, 2017
Lots of science in this, with highs and lows entirely from the action. Characters are all variations of no-nonsense scientists. A good read if you are stressed and don't need a bunch of sad things bringing you down.
For good science, but more character drama, read Dragon's Egg.
For good science, but more character drama, read Dragon's Egg.
September 25, 2020
Ciencia ficción dura, con una descripción detallada de la tecnología y los conceptos físicos que aparecen en el libro. La historia es entretenida y está bien contada, pero tengo la impresión de que se podría haber sacado mucho más provecho de los personajes y de la trama.
December 4, 2017
Two words: interplanetary waterfall! Hard science fiction fans will enjoy this thrill ride!
March 26, 2018
Good scientifically valid story
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