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Singularity Station
BORDER POST OF ETERNITY
Robotic minds made interstellar travel possible, but human minds still controlled the destination and purpose of such flight. Conflict develops only when a programmed brain cannot evaluate beyond what is visible and substantial, whereas the human mind is capable of infinite imagination - including that which is unreal.
Such was the problem at the singularity in space in which the ALTAIR STAR and a hundred other vessels had come to grief. At that spot, natiral laws seem subverted - and some other universe's rules impinged.
For Buchanan, the station meant a chance to observe and maybe rescue his lost vessel. For the robotic navigators of oncoming spaceships, the meaning was different. And at Singularity Station the only inevitable was conflict.
Robotic minds made interstellar travel possible, but human minds still controlled the destination and purpose of such flight. Conflict develops only when a programmed brain cannot evaluate beyond what is visible and substantial, whereas the human mind is capable of infinite imagination - including that which is unreal.
Such was the problem at the singularity in space in which the ALTAIR STAR and a hundred other vessels had come to grief. At that spot, natiral laws seem subverted - and some other universe's rules impinged.
For Buchanan, the station meant a chance to observe and maybe rescue his lost vessel. For the robotic navigators of oncoming spaceships, the meaning was different. And at Singularity Station the only inevitable was conflict.
176 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 13, 2020
DAW Collectors #84
Cover Artist: Chris Foss
Name: Ball, Brian Neville, Birthplace: Cheshire, England, UK, (19 June 1932)
Alternate Names: Brian Kinsey-Jones.
Al Buchanan is a man wrecked by depression. His command, the massive spaceship the Altair Star, was sucked into the the Jansky Singularity (which contains a black hole and a vast sargasso see of trapped spaceships). The robots who controlled most of the functions of the vessel ejected the control module saving Buchanan but condemning the rest to death — or rather, whatever state exists inside of the singularity.
Buchanan is judged innocent of losing his command due to the failure of the robots to relinquish their control of the vessel in the last moments. In this post-calamity state, he meets Liz Deffant, an intelligent and resourceful biologist, who becomes his fiancé. However, their relationship does not last due to his instability and she decides to head back to her home planet.
For fans of space opera OR pulp.
Cover Artist: Chris Foss
Name: Ball, Brian Neville, Birthplace: Cheshire, England, UK, (19 June 1932)
Alternate Names: Brian Kinsey-Jones.
Al Buchanan is a man wrecked by depression. His command, the massive spaceship the Altair Star, was sucked into the the Jansky Singularity (which contains a black hole and a vast sargasso see of trapped spaceships). The robots who controlled most of the functions of the vessel ejected the control module saving Buchanan but condemning the rest to death — or rather, whatever state exists inside of the singularity.
Buchanan is judged innocent of losing his command due to the failure of the robots to relinquish their control of the vessel in the last moments. In this post-calamity state, he meets Liz Deffant, an intelligent and resourceful biologist, who becomes his fiancé. However, their relationship does not last due to his instability and she decides to head back to her home planet.
For fans of space opera OR pulp.
February 6, 2013
Sole survivor of shipwreck ventures into black hole after his lost command, despite his shaky nerves, while his girlfriend ends up taken hostage on a prison ship commandeered by mad neurosurgeon. Good times. Lots going on in this novel, complete with a mad scientist, robotic spaceship AIs, a captured (but not helpless) female protagonist, and the psychologically scarred male protagonist descending into a black hole after a Sargasso Sea of lost starships. An exhilarating forgotten gem of a novel. Recommended to anyone who loves a good SF adventure.
(Full review found here.)
(Full review found here.)
September 11, 2024
1st read for Sci-Fi September.
Fun and interesting book dealing with survivor's guilt.
Buchannan is our first character, the only person to successfully escape the singularity and is now put in charge to find out what happened to the rest of his crew 3 years ago. Liz is Buchannan's ex-fiancé hitching a ride on a prisoner transport, I'll give you 3 guesses what happens ... :p.
Should you find this one, i would suggest picking it up. Its a fun space romp
Fun and interesting book dealing with survivor's guilt.
Buchannan is our first character, the only person to successfully escape the singularity and is now put in charge to find out what happened to the rest of his crew 3 years ago. Liz is Buchannan's ex-fiancé hitching a ride on a prisoner transport, I'll give you 3 guesses what happens ... :p.
Should you find this one, i would suggest picking it up. Its a fun space romp
January 27, 2020
4/5 (Good)
If one were to distill 70s space opera in a decanter filled with SF pulp the result would be Singularity Station (1973). Combined with the dynamic Chris Foss cover — I’ve never enjoyed his work but it does embody the vigor and explosiveness [..]
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
If one were to distill 70s space opera in a decanter filled with SF pulp the result would be Singularity Station (1973). Combined with the dynamic Chris Foss cover — I’ve never enjoyed his work but it does embody the vigor and explosiveness [..]
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
September 12, 2009
Fast paced 1973 sci-fi suspense novel/novella based on the new discoveries about black holes and pulsars. Scientifically well done for the era. From our old sci-fi paperback stash that we're beginning to read again.
January 10, 2011
Real old fashioned 'hard-core' SF although i dislike the switching between the main characters, the story is fast paced, and not boring.
March 23, 2015
I love old Sci-Fi, but did not care for this. It may have been the writing technique?
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May 12, 2019I have the german edition: Erstarrt in der Zeit
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews