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Heart of the Comet
It is 2061, and Halley's Comet is starting its long journey out to the far reaches of the solar system. Only this time it is not alone.
Harnessing the mighty ball of ice is the greatest challenge mankind has undertaken - and in a century of ecological disasters and social fragmentation on Earth it is also mankind's greatest hope. So when a series of startling discoveries threatens to jeopardise the mission, the small group of scientists and engineers hurtling further away from their home world find themselves fighting not only for their lives, but for the future of humanity.
Heart of the Comet is a breathtaking tale of scientific endeavour and human courage by two of the most formidable talents in science fiction.
Harnessing the mighty ball of ice is the greatest challenge mankind has undertaken - and in a century of ecological disasters and social fragmentation on Earth it is also mankind's greatest hope. So when a series of startling discoveries threatens to jeopardise the mission, the small group of scientists and engineers hurtling further away from their home world find themselves fighting not only for their lives, but for the future of humanity.
Heart of the Comet is a breathtaking tale of scientific endeavour and human courage by two of the most formidable talents in science fiction.
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1986
59 people are currently reading
1576 people want to read
About the author
David Brin
322 books3,305 followersDavid Brin is a scientist, speaker, and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. A movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Startide Rising won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The Uplift War also won the Hugo Award.
His non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.
Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI, nanotechnology, and philanthropy.
David appears frequently on TV, including "The Universe" and on the History Channel's "Life After People."
Full and updated at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/biography.htm
Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. A movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Startide Rising won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The Uplift War also won the Hugo Award.
His non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.
Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI, nanotechnology, and philanthropy.
David appears frequently on TV, including "The Universe" and on the History Channel's "Life After People."
Full and updated at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/biography.htm
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
January 25, 2023
Grand, sweeping ideas exquisitely detailed on a grand, sweeping canvas!
Never let it be said that Gregory Benford or David Brin were thinking small or holding anything back when they wrote this masterpiece which I am pleased to add to my all-time favourites list.
HEART OF THE COMET is a brilliant variation on the standard sci-fi multi-generation starship theme that blends hard science with the softer sci-fi themes of human psychology in a blender that is no less than our entire solar system. As to the science … well, one might say that there are few branches of modern science that didn’t naturally raise their heads at some point in the story – cryogenics, genetic engineering, astrophysics and orbital mechanics, cloning, exobiology, AI and cybernetics, terraforming, engineering, robotics, speciation and evolution, to name only a few. And be assured that when it comes to the soft sci-fi side of this story, we are not talking about the quiet, soft-spoken, pastoral approach of a Clifford D Simak … not even close. This is hard-hitting stuff, a brutal critique of the ugly side of mankind – racism and bigotry, xenophobia, fundamentalist organized religion, narcissism, selfishness, warfare and violence – that, at times, will leave you short of breath with a lump in your throat and a sense of embarrassment knowing that you belong to a species that acts in this way. Benford’s and Brin’s analysis of human behaviour is unswerving in its accuracy and unflinching in its cruel clarity.
The plot is simple enough! A team of engineers and scientists is sent to Halley’s Comet with the cryogenic ability to put themselves into suspended animation for long stretches of years. Their mission is to create a livable habitat on the comet, to nudge its orbit into a new cycle within the inner solar system, to upgrade our knowledge of comet evolution and the early development of the solar system and, of course, to evaluate the resources of the comet for use by humankind back on earth. But (and I suppose it should be obvious) Murphy’s Law operates throughout the universe and what can go wrong does go wrong! It all starts with the discovery of life-forms on the comet that most closely resemble the bizarre species that we find in the blackest, most pressurized depths of our oceans beside thermal vents fed by the heat at the earth’s core.
No spoilers here but I think it’s safe to say that the ending will please every reader. It won’t leave you smiling by any means but you will nod your head in agreement and gratitude when you are left with a sense of hope and modest optimism for a long-term future. The scientist in you will be gifted with open-ended questions and fodder for countless discussions with friends who share your tastes in reading.
Highly, highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Never let it be said that Gregory Benford or David Brin were thinking small or holding anything back when they wrote this masterpiece which I am pleased to add to my all-time favourites list.
HEART OF THE COMET is a brilliant variation on the standard sci-fi multi-generation starship theme that blends hard science with the softer sci-fi themes of human psychology in a blender that is no less than our entire solar system. As to the science … well, one might say that there are few branches of modern science that didn’t naturally raise their heads at some point in the story – cryogenics, genetic engineering, astrophysics and orbital mechanics, cloning, exobiology, AI and cybernetics, terraforming, engineering, robotics, speciation and evolution, to name only a few. And be assured that when it comes to the soft sci-fi side of this story, we are not talking about the quiet, soft-spoken, pastoral approach of a Clifford D Simak … not even close. This is hard-hitting stuff, a brutal critique of the ugly side of mankind – racism and bigotry, xenophobia, fundamentalist organized religion, narcissism, selfishness, warfare and violence – that, at times, will leave you short of breath with a lump in your throat and a sense of embarrassment knowing that you belong to a species that acts in this way. Benford’s and Brin’s analysis of human behaviour is unswerving in its accuracy and unflinching in its cruel clarity.
The plot is simple enough! A team of engineers and scientists is sent to Halley’s Comet with the cryogenic ability to put themselves into suspended animation for long stretches of years. Their mission is to create a livable habitat on the comet, to nudge its orbit into a new cycle within the inner solar system, to upgrade our knowledge of comet evolution and the early development of the solar system and, of course, to evaluate the resources of the comet for use by humankind back on earth. But (and I suppose it should be obvious) Murphy’s Law operates throughout the universe and what can go wrong does go wrong! It all starts with the discovery of life-forms on the comet that most closely resemble the bizarre species that we find in the blackest, most pressurized depths of our oceans beside thermal vents fed by the heat at the earth’s core.
No spoilers here but I think it’s safe to say that the ending will please every reader. It won’t leave you smiling by any means but you will nod your head in agreement and gratitude when you are left with a sense of hope and modest optimism for a long-term future. The scientist in you will be gifted with open-ended questions and fodder for countless discussions with friends who share your tastes in reading.
Highly, highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
October 5, 2023
He remembered it in grainy detail, despite the seven crowded years that had passed since. Years of learning how space really worked—not the geometric certainty of math and physics classes, where every problem had a pure solution in an orderly universe. Not the serene world of that distant, unattainable yacht. He had learned what space really was—grubby, tough, with plenty of problems that had no solutions at all.
Two renowned hard science fiction authors (both scientists themselves), so you have a good idea of what you are in for. It’s a good story too, although it is reminiscent of other works of that era (the novel was published in 1986, coinciding with that year’s approach of Halley’s Comet). Again, that is something that is difficult to qualify, it is just the general “feel” of the novel, as it were, from the politics and human interaction, to the science of the day.
The great, tumbling ice mountain hurtled outward into the void. Behind it, smaller and fainter with every passing watch, the Hot fell away into the eternal blackness.
In a nutshell, a scientific team is sent to rendezvous with the comet, to perform scientific tests. This, as you may imagine, comes with its own set of challenges. And, as you also may imagine, things don’t go according to plan. In fact, things go to hell in a handbasket, which sets up the rest of the story, as it becomes a question of survival and not just scientific exploration.
He watched the cascade of color on the screens, uncomprehending. In the ceramic cold and silence it was as though he were the last survivor of the years of madness, a lone witness to a final struggle of fragile, organic life against the enclosing chill.
I found some of the sequences a bit on the dry side. Inevitable, for this kind of thing really. I also didn’t warm equally to all the characters. However, I don’t have any real criticism I can bring to bear against Heart Of The Comet. It is a good book.
As far as collaborations go, I would say this one could be called successful.
Forbid, oh Lord, that we should ever forget the rocky worlds—or what we once were.
And what would a novel of this type be without some wonder and mystery? I can gladly confirm that the novel does take some surprising (and occasionally unpredictable) turns, and that the conclusion was to my liking. Fans of hard science fiction from the 1980s will find lots to like here.
This was a scientific discovery, and more.
This was astonishment.
Two renowned hard science fiction authors (both scientists themselves), so you have a good idea of what you are in for. It’s a good story too, although it is reminiscent of other works of that era (the novel was published in 1986, coinciding with that year’s approach of Halley’s Comet). Again, that is something that is difficult to qualify, it is just the general “feel” of the novel, as it were, from the politics and human interaction, to the science of the day.
The great, tumbling ice mountain hurtled outward into the void. Behind it, smaller and fainter with every passing watch, the Hot fell away into the eternal blackness.
In a nutshell, a scientific team is sent to rendezvous with the comet, to perform scientific tests. This, as you may imagine, comes with its own set of challenges. And, as you also may imagine, things don’t go according to plan. In fact, things go to hell in a handbasket, which sets up the rest of the story, as it becomes a question of survival and not just scientific exploration.
He watched the cascade of color on the screens, uncomprehending. In the ceramic cold and silence it was as though he were the last survivor of the years of madness, a lone witness to a final struggle of fragile, organic life against the enclosing chill.
I found some of the sequences a bit on the dry side. Inevitable, for this kind of thing really. I also didn’t warm equally to all the characters. However, I don’t have any real criticism I can bring to bear against Heart Of The Comet. It is a good book.
As far as collaborations go, I would say this one could be called successful.
Forbid, oh Lord, that we should ever forget the rocky worlds—or what we once were.
And what would a novel of this type be without some wonder and mystery? I can gladly confirm that the novel does take some surprising (and occasionally unpredictable) turns, and that the conclusion was to my liking. Fans of hard science fiction from the 1980s will find lots to like here.
This was a scientific discovery, and more.
This was astonishment.
January 25, 2021
HOTC is a fairly early work by Brin and Bedford; for Brin fans, this was published before Startide Rising and the Uplift Saga, but both authors had already won some of science fiction most coveted prizes. Published in 1985, HOTC represents classic 'hard' science fiction and both authors hold doctorates in physics and so forth (and it shows). It is pretty easy for science fiction 'tech' to be quickly outdated and to a modern reader, almost quaint, but these two authors manage to have produced a book that is relatively timeless. HOTC is full of big ideas that hard science fiction is known for and given the quickly moving plot, manages to make up for some of the rather stilted characters (especially when it comes to women).
The novel starts around 2067 and concerns a manned mission to land on the Halley comet and reside there for one orbital pass-- something like 80 years. In part the mission is scientific, but really the main motivation seems to be devising a place to put society's misfits and troublemakers out of the reach of Earth and its fledgling space colonies.
Earth is currently undergoing something of an environmental awakening and the 'excesses' of the 20th century are being slowly addressed, but with much passion. One of the excesses involved gene tinkering on humans, to rectify diseases like Lupus, but the gene designers perhaps went a little too far, with the resulting 'Percells' (named after the scientist Percell who headlines the gene program) being taller and more handsome than the norm, as well as having beefed up immune systems and perhaps intelligence. Percells, for certain factions of humanity, are seen as abominations and a large part of the Halley crew are Percells. The human normals, deemed 'Orthos' (for Orthodox humanity) often fear and distrust the Percells. The end result is a mixed crew of around 300 people almost instantly divided into various factions, but at least at first held together by a charismatic captain of the mission.
Once the crew starts tunneling into Halley for the long haul, however, things quickly start to go amiss. Various life forms abound on Halley, awakened by its recent close pass to the sun, and the crew becomes almost overwhelmed by germs and even organisms! On the long orbit to the outer reaches of the solar system, the crew is forced to evolve to meet the challenges, and our lead, Saul, facilitates this process by custom designing new ways for humans to cope...
To say this is an ambitious novel would be an understatement. The authors delve deeply into the implications of gene 'fixing' and its potential glories and failures. They also manage to challenge basic assumptions of evolution, loosely tying it to ideas like Panspermia, and even propose new phylums of humanity after their interaction with cometary life and human/computer symbiosis. All the while old human prejudices against difference/other come to the fore in sometimes violent conflicts.
Like most hard science fiction, the character development suffers somewhat; the female leads for example, even though they play important roles in the mission, are often lead by their hormones (although this could be said of many of the male characters as well). All in all, a pretty pulse pounding read, and it still reads well after almost 40 years. 4 stars!!
The novel starts around 2067 and concerns a manned mission to land on the Halley comet and reside there for one orbital pass-- something like 80 years. In part the mission is scientific, but really the main motivation seems to be devising a place to put society's misfits and troublemakers out of the reach of Earth and its fledgling space colonies.
Earth is currently undergoing something of an environmental awakening and the 'excesses' of the 20th century are being slowly addressed, but with much passion. One of the excesses involved gene tinkering on humans, to rectify diseases like Lupus, but the gene designers perhaps went a little too far, with the resulting 'Percells' (named after the scientist Percell who headlines the gene program) being taller and more handsome than the norm, as well as having beefed up immune systems and perhaps intelligence. Percells, for certain factions of humanity, are seen as abominations and a large part of the Halley crew are Percells. The human normals, deemed 'Orthos' (for Orthodox humanity) often fear and distrust the Percells. The end result is a mixed crew of around 300 people almost instantly divided into various factions, but at least at first held together by a charismatic captain of the mission.
Once the crew starts tunneling into Halley for the long haul, however, things quickly start to go amiss. Various life forms abound on Halley, awakened by its recent close pass to the sun, and the crew becomes almost overwhelmed by germs and even organisms! On the long orbit to the outer reaches of the solar system, the crew is forced to evolve to meet the challenges, and our lead, Saul, facilitates this process by custom designing new ways for humans to cope...
To say this is an ambitious novel would be an understatement. The authors delve deeply into the implications of gene 'fixing' and its potential glories and failures. They also manage to challenge basic assumptions of evolution, loosely tying it to ideas like Panspermia, and even propose new phylums of humanity after their interaction with cometary life and human/computer symbiosis. All the while old human prejudices against difference/other come to the fore in sometimes violent conflicts.
Like most hard science fiction, the character development suffers somewhat; the female leads for example, even though they play important roles in the mission, are often lead by their hormones (although this could be said of many of the male characters as well). All in all, a pretty pulse pounding read, and it still reads well after almost 40 years. 4 stars!!
October 9, 2010
Ahhhh. A most amazing science fiction / social novel. I felt the need to reread this and wow better than ever! My old paperback copy is falling apart... This is a powerful story, a vision of our solar system that is the drama of Grey's Anatomy meets Star Trek meets well heck this is so different... A MUST read! Imagine an international mission to Halley's Comet to hollow it out and ride it around to redirect it and provide us with it's resources. Add in romance, nazi like hatred, religiosity, genetically modified super-men who have their own disabilities, artificial intelligences, and last but not least (or all)... native life....
May 21, 2008
A very decent hard SF read. People colonize Haley's Comet. There are factions and intrigue. Wackiness ensues.
September 16, 2011
I put off reading this book for a very long time, for mathematical reasons. David Brin is one of my absolute favorite writers; let's say my opinion of him is a 9 out of 10 (and nobody gets a 10). Gregory Benford was an unknown quantity, but probability told me that I wouldn't like his writing as much as Brin's. Even if I rated Benford as an 8, the average of that would be 8.5, lower than my expectations for a Brin book. Are you following me so far?
For the first 100 pages of this book, I had no idea why I was reading it. I couldn't tell what the central conflict was going to be, and the leading candidates--a petty and bizarre prejudice leading to discord, and a plague--both bored me. All I can say is that it got better. Whether it got better enough to warrant slogging through the lengthy exposition, I'm not sure even now. Still, like all of Brin's books this left me with things to think about.
So I guess my self-imposed ban on collaborative novels has been lifted, tentatively.
For the first 100 pages of this book, I had no idea why I was reading it. I couldn't tell what the central conflict was going to be, and the leading candidates--a petty and bizarre prejudice leading to discord, and a plague--both bored me. All I can say is that it got better. Whether it got better enough to warrant slogging through the lengthy exposition, I'm not sure even now. Still, like all of Brin's books this left me with things to think about.
So I guess my self-imposed ban on collaborative novels has been lifted, tentatively.
April 20, 2015
-Mezcla de Hard suave y Soft frío.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. La expedición de la nave Edmund Halley al cometa del mismo nombre, en el año 2061, está en la fase de preparación de las instalaciones y elementos que permitan acceder al cometa a todos los tripulantes (la mayoría hibernados hasta ese momento) para continuar los trabajos de análisis y valoración de sus recursos disponibles. Pero la suma de accidentes, enemistades políticas y genéticas traídas desde la Tierra e incluso el hallazgo de una forma de vida local están poniendo en serio peligro la misión.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. La expedición de la nave Edmund Halley al cometa del mismo nombre, en el año 2061, está en la fase de preparación de las instalaciones y elementos que permitan acceder al cometa a todos los tripulantes (la mayoría hibernados hasta ese momento) para continuar los trabajos de análisis y valoración de sus recursos disponibles. Pero la suma de accidentes, enemistades políticas y genéticas traídas desde la Tierra e incluso el hallazgo de una forma de vida local están poniendo en serio peligro la misión.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
September 24, 2010
I expected so much more from Benford, given how well he did on Timescape.
Stupid people making stupid decisions. They deserved to die, but didn't. Well, some did, but that'd be giving too much away.
"Life is too short to read bad fiction." Skip this one.
Stupid people making stupid decisions. They deserved to die, but didn't. Well, some did, but that'd be giving too much away.
"Life is too short to read bad fiction." Skip this one.
October 13, 2010
How hard is it to marry good science and good fiction? Hard enough judging by the regular sc-fi novels coming out like dandelion seeds. Perhaps you have to go all the way back to 1985 to get at the goods. At least that's what one scientist suggested when I saw his list of best sci-fi books on a blog recently. From the other suggestions by other scientists it was pretty easy to conclude they don't read a lot of any kind of fiction; Dune featured a lot. Jules Verne, H.G. Welles, etc. etc. Sounds like stuff they read when they were 15 before they gave up reading fiction for writing treatises. But this scientist-guy recommended The Heart of the Comet, a book I had never heard of by two authors I knew vaguely were respected in the genre, but had never read.
The cover was as luridly off-putting as one might expect. Large silvery 3D letters in the Richard Donner Superman mode, flying through a region of space looking distinctly icky, like an oil spill. However, between the covers....
Written to cash in on the excitement of Halley's 1986 visit, it tells the story of the NEXT Halley fly-by, in 2061(all dates approximated from what I can remember), when a team of 400 men and women try to colonize the comet for the duration of it's next orbit, returning around 2033. To do this there are nearly insurmountable technical obstacles to overcome, not least of which is the freezing hibernation of good portions of the crew, so that their lives will span the duration of the orbit. Not much is made of the fact that all these people must necessarily be sociopaths, because to undertake such a journey means consigning family and friends to die of old age before your return, but predictably, factions form, tribes are established and eventually war breaks out for hegemony. This is exacerbated by the presence of so-called "Purcells", genetically engineered uber-people named for their creator on Earth, where already they are becoming fast ostracized by the "Orthos", ie; regular folk.
We follow the interior lives of three people: Saul, a Jewish ortho scientist whose work in genetics proves crucial to everyones survival, Virginia, An Hawain Purcell and computer-whiz, who hopes to explore the limits of machine intelligence on the long trip, and Carl, a Purcell who is basically Mr Fix-it in space, who becomes the defacto leader, when the real leader croaks from one of the many diseases the Orthos contract as they come into contact with alien microbes. There's a complicated love-triangle here to, but to me that was the Metro Goldwyn Mayonnaise that sci-fi writers seem to feel their books need in order to be zesty for the common palette. And it goes on for the entire book, too. That's 80 years of not "talking about it."
And, of course, there's indigenous life! Starting as nasty sludge that block the vents (what else?) it quickly mutates as its microbes mix with those of the humans. At the outset of the story it's like any other creatures-in-a-confined space trope, with battles and grizzly deaths, but as time progresses a symbiotic relationship occurs whereby some humans become what is essentially a new species, able to adapt and survive in the harsh environment. Here the book soars in it's plausible explanations of evolutionary selection, genes, and, thanks to Saul's expertise, cloning. Strange hybrid creatures begin to emerge thanks to Saul's discoveries, and also to information sent to him surreptitiously from Earth. Why so sneaky? Through all this the realtionship with the distant Earth becomes more strained. The fear back home is that the Comet has become a kind of Typhoid Mary, it's return heralding a frightening mix of alien microbes with domestic ones, upsetting the "balance" the book asserts is really a chimera. (Shades of the microbes in "War of the Worlds"). To this end they continually try to destroy the comet, which in turn exacerbates the factionalism already rife there. Finally, deep in the center of the comet, Saul makes an extraordinary find, with huge implications for them, their future, and the history of Earth itself (boy, that last sentence sounded like the book flap).
Good stuff:
zero G shenanigans, always a thrill for me as it is ignored by most sci-fi movies for reasons of budget; mind-bending science and tech within the realms of the strictly possible; good characterization, or at least good enough (this isn't Henry James in space); plausibility quotent = high.
Bad stuff: Aforementioned love triangle (get OVER it, people); a lack of imagination, perhaps, in how people would actually behave and communicate. It didn't FEEL true in some places, at least for me; a discussion of the kind of phycological toll such a mission would extract seemed absent.
Overall: it wasn't until I looked at the publication date that I realized this was written over 20 years ago. Nothing feels dated, except perhaps the optimism we were all capable of them. Now, the idea of such a mission seems quaint, and if a book were written about it, it would just be a bunch of f**ing zombies.
The cover was as luridly off-putting as one might expect. Large silvery 3D letters in the Richard Donner Superman mode, flying through a region of space looking distinctly icky, like an oil spill. However, between the covers....
Written to cash in on the excitement of Halley's 1986 visit, it tells the story of the NEXT Halley fly-by, in 2061(all dates approximated from what I can remember), when a team of 400 men and women try to colonize the comet for the duration of it's next orbit, returning around 2033. To do this there are nearly insurmountable technical obstacles to overcome, not least of which is the freezing hibernation of good portions of the crew, so that their lives will span the duration of the orbit. Not much is made of the fact that all these people must necessarily be sociopaths, because to undertake such a journey means consigning family and friends to die of old age before your return, but predictably, factions form, tribes are established and eventually war breaks out for hegemony. This is exacerbated by the presence of so-called "Purcells", genetically engineered uber-people named for their creator on Earth, where already they are becoming fast ostracized by the "Orthos", ie; regular folk.
We follow the interior lives of three people: Saul, a Jewish ortho scientist whose work in genetics proves crucial to everyones survival, Virginia, An Hawain Purcell and computer-whiz, who hopes to explore the limits of machine intelligence on the long trip, and Carl, a Purcell who is basically Mr Fix-it in space, who becomes the defacto leader, when the real leader croaks from one of the many diseases the Orthos contract as they come into contact with alien microbes. There's a complicated love-triangle here to, but to me that was the Metro Goldwyn Mayonnaise that sci-fi writers seem to feel their books need in order to be zesty for the common palette. And it goes on for the entire book, too. That's 80 years of not "talking about it."
And, of course, there's indigenous life! Starting as nasty sludge that block the vents (what else?) it quickly mutates as its microbes mix with those of the humans. At the outset of the story it's like any other creatures-in-a-confined space trope, with battles and grizzly deaths, but as time progresses a symbiotic relationship occurs whereby some humans become what is essentially a new species, able to adapt and survive in the harsh environment. Here the book soars in it's plausible explanations of evolutionary selection, genes, and, thanks to Saul's expertise, cloning. Strange hybrid creatures begin to emerge thanks to Saul's discoveries, and also to information sent to him surreptitiously from Earth. Why so sneaky? Through all this the realtionship with the distant Earth becomes more strained. The fear back home is that the Comet has become a kind of Typhoid Mary, it's return heralding a frightening mix of alien microbes with domestic ones, upsetting the "balance" the book asserts is really a chimera. (Shades of the microbes in "War of the Worlds"). To this end they continually try to destroy the comet, which in turn exacerbates the factionalism already rife there. Finally, deep in the center of the comet, Saul makes an extraordinary find, with huge implications for them, their future, and the history of Earth itself (boy, that last sentence sounded like the book flap).
Good stuff:
zero G shenanigans, always a thrill for me as it is ignored by most sci-fi movies for reasons of budget; mind-bending science and tech within the realms of the strictly possible; good characterization, or at least good enough (this isn't Henry James in space); plausibility quotent = high.
Bad stuff: Aforementioned love triangle (get OVER it, people); a lack of imagination, perhaps, in how people would actually behave and communicate. It didn't FEEL true in some places, at least for me; a discussion of the kind of phycological toll such a mission would extract seemed absent.
Overall: it wasn't until I looked at the publication date that I realized this was written over 20 years ago. Nothing feels dated, except perhaps the optimism we were all capable of them. Now, the idea of such a mission seems quaint, and if a book were written about it, it would just be a bunch of f**ing zombies.
September 3, 2012
Brilliant. Phenomenal. Written in 1986, this "hard science" science fiction book still stands up. Assumptions about Halley's comet, written before it's 1986 appearance in this book, are accurate. There is a lot of math, science, computers, vectors, logarithms, biology ad nauseaum. If you like this, with two astrophysicist authors you get the real deal. If you don't, it's still cool because it's so amazing and true!
This is probably one of the best plotted books I've ever read. As it occurs over 200 years--with the characters periodically entering "slots", deep near-freeze sleep, for years at a time--they "live" long lives. The writing is rich and full when it needs to be, and reflective also when it needs to be. Ultimately, this is a story about human courage and love. I can't recommend it any more highly.
Just re-released this year by Lucky Bat Books.
This is probably one of the best plotted books I've ever read. As it occurs over 200 years--with the characters periodically entering "slots", deep near-freeze sleep, for years at a time--they "live" long lives. The writing is rich and full when it needs to be, and reflective also when it needs to be. Ultimately, this is a story about human courage and love. I can't recommend it any more highly.
Just re-released this year by Lucky Bat Books.
November 15, 2012
So you have a plan - Find a comet, ride it through an orbit, during which you change its orbit, aim it at a dead world, harvest it for its resources and make life on a new world. Well you know from the beginning that this is just going to go so horribly wrong.
Over all a brilliant science fiction book, and though published back in 1986 the science hasn't dated.
Over all a brilliant science fiction book, and though published back in 1986 the science hasn't dated.
October 27, 2013
I'll keep this short because all of the reviews I read before opening this book pretty much sum it up. This book truly is the hardcore science fiction book that I was craving. It was an exciting ride. I would recommend this book to anyone
April 14, 2019
In the top 10 hard SF novels I've read so far.
August 24, 2025
Doi astrofizicieni care scriu împreună o carte științifico-fantastică… Primul impuls al meu, care expiez iute dacă vine peste mine avalanșa de termeni ultra-tehnici, a fost acela de a azvârli cartea cât colo. Chiar și într-o variantă literară, un bal al științei nu e pentru mine, nu am competențele necesare pentru a participa.
Ce scrie un singur astrofizician mai pot înțelege (parțial – părți foarte mici, înconjurat de dicționare și cu un ritm de citit care îl poate face pe un privitor să creadă că dorm), dar cu doi astrofizicieni n-aveam cum să…
Doar că proiectul cosmic David Brin/Gregory Benford nu include și operațiunea de bombardare a cititorilor cu termeni de neînțeles. Nu e timp pentru așa ceva. În cometă, acest sanctuar al științei duse la extrem, este foarte mult de muncă.
Sectoare destinate locuințelor, asigurarea hranei, instalații electrice pentru lumină și căldură, toate trebuie puse rapid în funcțiune. Cititorului i se explică foarte clar, în cuvinte simple, ce este de făcut și ori participă, ori părăsește cometa și se pierde aiurea prin spațiu.
Așa că am citit până la capăt și nu am comentat nimic, ca să nu fiu exclus din colectiv. Am fost de față la toate experimentele științifice, am asistat la instalarea rețelei de tunuri cu cadență rapidă de tragere dispuse circular în jurul cometei și care aveau rolul de a ajusta traiectoria acesteia, am fost martor la evenimente mondene și la accidente nefericite, am participat până și la transformarea unor membri ai echipajului în niște creaturi sinistre ce nu mai aveau aproape nimic omenesc… Am citit tot și am executat tot ce mi-au cerut astrofizicienii, în liniște și fără să creez probleme.
Și voi fi obedient și în continuare, voi răspunde la fiecare solicitare, fac orice, numai să nu fiu expulzat de pe cometă și să mă pierd aiurea prin spațiu…
Nota acordată romanului : 9,6
Ce scrie un singur astrofizician mai pot înțelege (parțial – părți foarte mici, înconjurat de dicționare și cu un ritm de citit care îl poate face pe un privitor să creadă că dorm), dar cu doi astrofizicieni n-aveam cum să…
Doar că proiectul cosmic David Brin/Gregory Benford nu include și operațiunea de bombardare a cititorilor cu termeni de neînțeles. Nu e timp pentru așa ceva. În cometă, acest sanctuar al științei duse la extrem, este foarte mult de muncă.
Sectoare destinate locuințelor, asigurarea hranei, instalații electrice pentru lumină și căldură, toate trebuie puse rapid în funcțiune. Cititorului i se explică foarte clar, în cuvinte simple, ce este de făcut și ori participă, ori părăsește cometa și se pierde aiurea prin spațiu.
Așa că am citit până la capăt și nu am comentat nimic, ca să nu fiu exclus din colectiv. Am fost de față la toate experimentele științifice, am asistat la instalarea rețelei de tunuri cu cadență rapidă de tragere dispuse circular în jurul cometei și care aveau rolul de a ajusta traiectoria acesteia, am fost martor la evenimente mondene și la accidente nefericite, am participat până și la transformarea unor membri ai echipajului în niște creaturi sinistre ce nu mai aveau aproape nimic omenesc… Am citit tot și am executat tot ce mi-au cerut astrofizicienii, în liniște și fără să creez probleme.
Și voi fi obedient și în continuare, voi răspunde la fiecare solicitare, fac orice, numai să nu fiu expulzat de pe cometă și să mă pierd aiurea prin spațiu…
Nota acordată romanului : 9,6
November 16, 2025
I'd seen someone's five-star recommendation for this book. They didn't go into detail about the plot, but their enthusiasm was convincing. So, fool that I was, when I found a battered copy lying in a used bookstore, I thought I'd give it a try. From now on, I'll be taking their recommendations with a very large grain of salt (this wasn't the only book they overrated). This novel made me consider DNF-ing lamentable books in the future. It took a month and a half to slog through, and sapped away my will to read. The only reason I sat to suffer through the last 15% was that some idiot tried to break into my house, and I wanted to be ready in the event of their return.
Once again, a work of so-called "hard science fiction" turns out to be less believable than a fortune cookie and less enjoyable than an instruction manual. The plot is ludicrous, to say the least. In an evidently dystopian future, a group of people is sent out to ride Halley's Comet in some course-changing maneuver. To what? To eventually use the comet as terraforming material for some as yet undecided planet?! The people belong to various factions, some extremist (bordering on terrorist). How did they get clearance? Who's funding this insane operation?! The crew is split between genetically altered humans ("Percells") who are treated with extreme prejudice (for some reason), and normal humans ("Orthos"). Their mutual hatred and distrust for each other are ridiculous, and, though they're supposed to be qualified scientists and technicians, they behave like undisciplined children throughout the story (which spans 72 years). Things get crazier with each time skip, until eventually, the factions degrade into "clans" or "tribes." Only seven decades pass, and the main characters are in and out of cold storage throughout. It's just plain silly.
Whenever two or more authors collaborate, I'm unsure of who's responsible for what. Either way, the writing here is poor, the characters unlikable, and the story inane. Typically, when I read fiction, I can see the characters like actors on a set, each scene playing out in vivid detail. Here, I saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. These guys had no business working on a novel; they should've written science textbooks instead. There's an excess of scientific exposition, and characters constantly play unrealistic recaps of "off-screen" events in their heads (regardless of the intensity of their current situation).
Not everyone will understand this, but many of the paragraphs read so similarly to the descriptions found in Sierra games like King's Quest V and VI that I heard the voices of their narrators in my head the entire time. It's that exact writing style, which doesn't work for a novel.
As I already stated, the authors were inept at conveying things to the reader. But they also left out key information, such as what exactly distinguishes "Percells." Early on, it's hinted that they're unusually tall, perhaps? And it's mentioned throughout that the way they process diseases bypasses certain unpleasant symptoms. But other than that, we get no indication as to what they're like. From where does all the prejudice and hatred originate? Two of the three main characters are "Percells," and the third is their co-creator! You'd think we'd be told such vital info, but no. There was also a recent period of history called "the Hell Century," which is not even remotely explained.
Saul, the aging Jewish "Ortho" main character, is haunted by the memory of some cataclysmic event in Jerusalem, which is handled very obnoxiously. Virginia is a Hawaiian "Percell" with a thing for older men; her poetry is awful. There's really not much to say about Carl.
Certain words are shortened unnecessarily, or there's made-up terminology that makes the characters sound stupid, like they're straight out of Rugrats or something. Examples: "malf" (malfunction), "agro" (agriculture), "oxy" (oxygen), "weirders" (a mutated faction), "purples" (a type of hostile lifeform), "warms" (people with minimal vascular-seizure response), "freezers" (the opposite of "warms"), and viruses with names such as "Node Lodes" and... "Sinus Whinus." There's some kind of position known as a "spacer's crouch." Often, when helmets are worn during a conversation, the narrative will say "[insert character] sent," rather than said, which only served to piss me off.
Characters "shrug" incessantly, especially Saul! If you felt so inclined as to make a drinking game of it, you'd die of alcohol poisoning in no time. But the thing is, this is a low-gravity setting. Wouldn't a non-essential motion like a shrug be problematic? I'm not the scientist here, but I get the distinct feeling it would. I don't know, I don't believe I've ever shrugged, nor do I see shrugs occur out in the wild.
Vocabulary is repetitive, to the point of words appearing twice on a single page (even in touching sentences) or on facing pages. They really liked "glitter" (and similar words). "Almond" is used on a suspicious number of occasions. "Sublime" (chemistry) shows up a lot. The comet is referred to as a "mote" quite often. There are too many "lolling tongues" (that is to say, at least two). And so on.
...
"The microwave unit was drifting backward with ponderous menace." (p. 177)
-
"Figures moved in the dim light, frantically grappling for purchase on the ponderous, awkward bulk." (also p. 177)
...
"... when the sun's licking warmth came to briefly banish the long night... " (p. 203)
-
"... gas flames licking the dark as friends talked far into the night... " (also p. 203)
...
"But the big Hawaiian watched the tank placidly, showing no sign of concern. He hummed softly, placidly, rocking in his spacer's crouch." (p. 218)
...
"... exposing dark, glittering, icy conglomerate... " (p. 316)
-
"... bordered by glittering, faceted structures of hardened crystal." (p. 317/facing page)
-
"... to where stars glittered in their myriads." (p. 336)
-
"The pocked dusty mantle glittered in thin veins... " (p. 337/facing page)
...
"He moved at a steady ground-hugging, ice-gripping lope..." (p. 371)
-
"The belt of launchersloomed above the horizon as he loped along... " (also p. 371)
...
"... a minor steam-storm of hot steam." (You don't say!)
...
Uses of "loom" (verb): 11!
Uses of "lope": 8+ (two on p. 371)
Uses of "here and there": 9+
Uses of "[here] this, [there] that" (or variations): 8
Uses of "to and fro": 2
Metaphorical uses of "finger" (e.g., "Fog curled in chilly fingers around her," "Nostalgia clutched him sweetly with hollow, fuzzy fingers... "): at least 4
Uses of "ponderous": 4 (two on p. 177)
-
Uses of "said lamely": 3
A character says/adds something "unnecessarily": 1 time
Characters "whirl": at least 8 times
Characters "blurt": 5 times
-
Uses of "potato-shaped" (???): 4
Uses of "Rube Goldberg science": 2
Uses of "groundhog": 2
Uses of "adroitly" (It's just so unnatural and clunky): 2
-
Uses of "[insert character] shrugged": ∞
...
Typos:
"Whey they arrived... " (p. 20)
-
"A shrill, horrified scream seem to curdle the air." (p. 143)
-
"... or else there'll none of us see Earth again." (p. ?)
-
"I've always like Carl, she thought." (p. ?)
...
478 pages
2.5/10
I know people like this book, but people like a lot of horrible things. When I rate a book, I factor in how painful it was to read. I can get enjoyment out of a bad book if it's unintentionally funny (Hunted Past Reason), or if it has at least something interesting going for it. But this novel was devoid of anything of value and was consistently and insufferably annoying. It only got worse during the last 25%.
...
"I should never have let Quiverian talk me into giving him otters, Saul thought, regarding the agile creatures. They're just too dangerous."
Once again, a work of so-called "hard science fiction" turns out to be less believable than a fortune cookie and less enjoyable than an instruction manual. The plot is ludicrous, to say the least. In an evidently dystopian future, a group of people is sent out to ride Halley's Comet in some course-changing maneuver. To what? To eventually use the comet as terraforming material for some as yet undecided planet?! The people belong to various factions, some extremist (bordering on terrorist). How did they get clearance? Who's funding this insane operation?! The crew is split between genetically altered humans ("Percells") who are treated with extreme prejudice (for some reason), and normal humans ("Orthos"). Their mutual hatred and distrust for each other are ridiculous, and, though they're supposed to be qualified scientists and technicians, they behave like undisciplined children throughout the story (which spans 72 years). Things get crazier with each time skip, until eventually, the factions degrade into "clans" or "tribes." Only seven decades pass, and the main characters are in and out of cold storage throughout. It's just plain silly.
Whenever two or more authors collaborate, I'm unsure of who's responsible for what. Either way, the writing here is poor, the characters unlikable, and the story inane. Typically, when I read fiction, I can see the characters like actors on a set, each scene playing out in vivid detail. Here, I saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. These guys had no business working on a novel; they should've written science textbooks instead. There's an excess of scientific exposition, and characters constantly play unrealistic recaps of "off-screen" events in their heads (regardless of the intensity of their current situation).
Not everyone will understand this, but many of the paragraphs read so similarly to the descriptions found in Sierra games like King's Quest V and VI that I heard the voices of their narrators in my head the entire time. It's that exact writing style, which doesn't work for a novel.
As I already stated, the authors were inept at conveying things to the reader. But they also left out key information, such as what exactly distinguishes "Percells." Early on, it's hinted that they're unusually tall, perhaps? And it's mentioned throughout that the way they process diseases bypasses certain unpleasant symptoms. But other than that, we get no indication as to what they're like. From where does all the prejudice and hatred originate? Two of the three main characters are "Percells," and the third is their co-creator! You'd think we'd be told such vital info, but no. There was also a recent period of history called "the Hell Century," which is not even remotely explained.
Saul, the aging Jewish "Ortho" main character, is haunted by the memory of some cataclysmic event in Jerusalem, which is handled very obnoxiously. Virginia is a Hawaiian "Percell" with a thing for older men; her poetry is awful. There's really not much to say about Carl.
Certain words are shortened unnecessarily, or there's made-up terminology that makes the characters sound stupid, like they're straight out of Rugrats or something. Examples: "malf" (malfunction), "agro" (agriculture), "oxy" (oxygen), "weirders" (a mutated faction), "purples" (a type of hostile lifeform), "warms" (people with minimal vascular-seizure response), "freezers" (the opposite of "warms"), and viruses with names such as "Node Lodes" and... "Sinus Whinus." There's some kind of position known as a "spacer's crouch." Often, when helmets are worn during a conversation, the narrative will say "[insert character] sent," rather than said, which only served to piss me off.
Characters "shrug" incessantly, especially Saul! If you felt so inclined as to make a drinking game of it, you'd die of alcohol poisoning in no time. But the thing is, this is a low-gravity setting. Wouldn't a non-essential motion like a shrug be problematic? I'm not the scientist here, but I get the distinct feeling it would. I don't know, I don't believe I've ever shrugged, nor do I see shrugs occur out in the wild.
Vocabulary is repetitive, to the point of words appearing twice on a single page (even in touching sentences) or on facing pages. They really liked "glitter" (and similar words). "Almond" is used on a suspicious number of occasions. "Sublime" (chemistry) shows up a lot. The comet is referred to as a "mote" quite often. There are too many "lolling tongues" (that is to say, at least two). And so on.
...
"The microwave unit was drifting backward with ponderous menace." (p. 177)
-
"Figures moved in the dim light, frantically grappling for purchase on the ponderous, awkward bulk." (also p. 177)
...
"... when the sun's licking warmth came to briefly banish the long night... " (p. 203)
-
"... gas flames licking the dark as friends talked far into the night... " (also p. 203)
...
"But the big Hawaiian watched the tank placidly, showing no sign of concern. He hummed softly, placidly, rocking in his spacer's crouch." (p. 218)
...
"... exposing dark, glittering, icy conglomerate... " (p. 316)
-
"... bordered by glittering, faceted structures of hardened crystal." (p. 317/facing page)
-
"... to where stars glittered in their myriads." (p. 336)
-
"The pocked dusty mantle glittered in thin veins... " (p. 337/facing page)
...
"He moved at a steady ground-hugging, ice-gripping lope..." (p. 371)
-
"The belt of launchers
...
"... a minor steam-storm of hot steam." (You don't say!)
...
Uses of "loom" (verb): 11!
Uses of "lope": 8+ (two on p. 371)
Uses of "here and there": 9+
Uses of "[here] this, [there] that" (or variations): 8
Uses of "to and fro": 2
Metaphorical uses of "finger" (e.g., "Fog curled in chilly fingers around her," "Nostalgia clutched him sweetly with hollow, fuzzy fingers... "): at least 4
Uses of "ponderous": 4 (two on p. 177)
-
Uses of "said lamely": 3
A character says/adds something "unnecessarily": 1 time
Characters "whirl": at least 8 times
Characters "blurt": 5 times
-
Uses of "potato-shaped" (???): 4
Uses of "Rube Goldberg science": 2
Uses of "groundhog": 2
Uses of "adroitly" (It's just so unnatural and clunky): 2
-
Uses of "[insert character] shrugged": ∞
...
Typos:
"Whey they arrived... " (p. 20)
-
"A shrill, horrified scream seem to curdle the air." (p. 143)
-
"... or else there'll none of us see Earth again." (p. ?)
-
"I've always like Carl, she thought." (p. ?)
...
478 pages
2.5/10
I know people like this book, but people like a lot of horrible things. When I rate a book, I factor in how painful it was to read. I can get enjoyment out of a bad book if it's unintentionally funny (Hunted Past Reason), or if it has at least something interesting going for it. But this novel was devoid of anything of value and was consistently and insufferably annoying. It only got worse during the last 25%.
...
"I should never have let Quiverian talk me into giving him otters, Saul thought, regarding the agile creatures. They're just too dangerous."
March 11, 2021
Heart of the Comet by David Brin and Gregory Benford is a hard science fiction tale full of science, ideas, exploration, and discovery. Brin and Benford tell the story of an expedition to the comet Halley by a team of 400 scientists, engineers, doctors, and many others. This book is jam packed full of incredible concepts and exploration of the comet. The expedition team have to figure out how to live on Halley for decades, and along the way they make startling discoveries. This novel has everything from colonization, astrobiology, AI, gene editing and everything else under the ice. We follow three main characters, Virginia who is an AI/computer programming expert, Saul who is a scientist specialized in gene editing and medicine, and Carl who is the operation officer tasked with operating the big equipment needed to survive on the comet.
Heart of the Comet is a dense read. If you are looking for something quick and easy, this book is not it. However, if you are looking for hard science fiction and a compelling story, this is the book for you. I would compare this book closely with Red Mars. Typically in hard scifi novels, character development takes a back seat, not so for this novel. Brin and Benford create complex, and emotional main characters that grow and change throughout the story.
The novel also explores the continuing issue of human conflict and tribalism. Throughout the decades long Halley expedition, factions vie for control.
Overall, I really enjoyed Heart of the Comet. It is dense and descriptive and full of ideas that need to be digested, but it is also a compelling and engrossing story. This novel is a great example of what a good hard science fiction story is capable of being.
Heart of the Comet is a dense read. If you are looking for something quick and easy, this book is not it. However, if you are looking for hard science fiction and a compelling story, this is the book for you. I would compare this book closely with Red Mars. Typically in hard scifi novels, character development takes a back seat, not so for this novel. Brin and Benford create complex, and emotional main characters that grow and change throughout the story.
The novel also explores the continuing issue of human conflict and tribalism. Throughout the decades long Halley expedition, factions vie for control.
Overall, I really enjoyed Heart of the Comet. It is dense and descriptive and full of ideas that need to be digested, but it is also a compelling and engrossing story. This novel is a great example of what a good hard science fiction story is capable of being.
February 14, 2018
An immersive story one I highly recommend.
September 24, 2020
I have just finished this kindle version of David Brin and Gregory Benford's collaboration. Although it seemed as if I would never finish it, due to being more and more tired each night I thoroughly enjoyed this preposterous speculation written in advance of the actual close encounter with Halley's Comet. The politics of gene enhanced humanity, versus naturals frustrated me but added some realistic drama. The discovery of life was predictable but creatively realised, as was the use of slots to allow hibernation of crew. The saga was enhanced by their relationship with earth and the characters were interesting enough to get me hooked. It's easy to criticize, and so I will ... say that I think they missed a trick by not having the native life become far more aggressive or otherwise mutated as they approached the sun once again, but what do I know? The transfer of a character into software probably necessitated omitting that possibility to reduce the story length.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2015
Caveat- this is not for beginners. Fantastic, I loved Gregory Benford's Permutation City as well as David Brin's assorted novels, so I dived in. Both authors are brilliant men with real scientific backgrounds backing up their prophetic prose. The book's structure is told through multiple points of view keeping the pace lively and the narrative fresh. The greatest aspect, however, is the amount of real science packed into such a well-paced and entertaining read. I have read many reviews listing this as a space-opera. It is not. It is hard science-fiction at it's absolute diamond-hard best. I especially liked the number of topics they touched upon: trans-humanism, mining of comets, elitism, isolation in space, realistic space travel ad infinitum. Interestingly, many criticize David Brin for his "info dumps", offering that they are weak substitutes for exposition occurring naturally, using dialogue as the device. I am not a P.H.D. Physicist, so using the "info-dump"(a purely textbook like explanation in layman's terms of a doctorate level scientific theory) is preferable to the Micheal Crichton method of using the "dumb" character, only in the book to ask questions such as "wait a minute guys, I did not quite understand that idea," only to have another character explain the doctorate level idea in layman's terms. Info dumps are honest and do not require having unrealistically ignorant individuals on high-level scientific endeavors. I love to learn, and the frontiers of science are often illuminated by our science fiction authors. For Example, The European Space Agency just landed a probe on a comet successfully this year, so the timetable of the novel is shockingly on target. Not only that, but the ideas of legendary scientist Von Neumann are implied in the narrative. Get it, Read it, Twice. The ending is vertiginous, with the cosmological implications exploding off the page like a sparking, firing live wire. If you like this as much as I clearly do read David Brin's "Existence", and Greg Bear's "Queen of Angels" as follow ups.
December 13, 2021
I'm going to give this 5 stars, but in reality it's more of a 4.5. It deserves more attention.
This was a re-read for me, as I'd read it once before in the mid 90s. The book was better the second time around.
Heart of the Comet begins as a mission to land on Halley's Comet is underway in 2061. The mission is to set up machinery to nudge the comet's orbit on the return trip. It's more complicated than that, but I'll keep this spoiler-free.
The plot follows three central characters during the long trip out beyond Neptune and back; the chapters are split between the three points of view.
Brin and Benford deliver a hard science fiction epic in Heart of the Comet. This book has it all, from cometary science, artificial intelligence, cybernetics, gene splicing, cloning, relationships, politics, love, hate, prejudice, horror, religion, you name it. This novel seems to get short-shrift and is not talked about much, but it deserves to be. This is a welcome and rare (by today's standards) standalone hard science fiction epic in the best sense of the word.
Stylistically, one of the back cover blurbs comes close when they make a (flawed) comparison to Dune. However, you can make that comparison when it comes to how dense this novel can be and how many ideas are packed within it's pages. Although the writing is occasionally slow, there's always something new coming around the bend. I strongly recommend giving it 100 pages before deciding whether or not to continue, to get a feel for the writing style and the slightly odd way the book is structured.
If you like your hard science fiction with a good sense of humanity and an epic touch, this is the book for you.
This was a re-read for me, as I'd read it once before in the mid 90s. The book was better the second time around.
Heart of the Comet begins as a mission to land on Halley's Comet is underway in 2061. The mission is to set up machinery to nudge the comet's orbit on the return trip. It's more complicated than that, but I'll keep this spoiler-free.
The plot follows three central characters during the long trip out beyond Neptune and back; the chapters are split between the three points of view.
Brin and Benford deliver a hard science fiction epic in Heart of the Comet. This book has it all, from cometary science, artificial intelligence, cybernetics, gene splicing, cloning, relationships, politics, love, hate, prejudice, horror, religion, you name it. This novel seems to get short-shrift and is not talked about much, but it deserves to be. This is a welcome and rare (by today's standards) standalone hard science fiction epic in the best sense of the word.
Stylistically, one of the back cover blurbs comes close when they make a (flawed) comparison to Dune. However, you can make that comparison when it comes to how dense this novel can be and how many ideas are packed within it's pages. Although the writing is occasionally slow, there's always something new coming around the bend. I strongly recommend giving it 100 pages before deciding whether or not to continue, to get a feel for the writing style and the slightly odd way the book is structured.
If you like your hard science fiction with a good sense of humanity and an epic touch, this is the book for you.
August 20, 2012
Had to do a pretty hard change of mind frame after the first few chapters. After the opening, I was expecting a sort of hard-SF survival story. That, combined with the Percell/Ortho conflict, would've made a much more interesting story than the one we actually got, I think. Instead, a few chapters in, one of the characters builds a hard AI. And then Saul discovers single-celled life. That would've been a cool side-plot had they stopped it there, but suddenly the life is making everybody sick (why is it adapted to infect humans?), and then there's green gunk growing all over the walls (was it it comfortable at room temperature?) and then there are big purple worms that eat people and there's body parts flying all over the place (what the...?). It's actually quite good as a pulpy pot-boiler sort of story, but the science just keeps getting sillier and sillier as it goes on, and it feels really out of place in what was marketed as hard-SF. Other complaints: Carl is a dick. Having the characters insert nonsense rhyming words into their speech is a really lazy way to do future slang.
I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy it, because it is quite a fun adventure, but it's really not what I look for in a hard science fiction story.
I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy it, because it is quite a fun adventure, but it's really not what I look for in a hard science fiction story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2018
After 76 pages, I had to put it down. 76 pages of not telling us why and how a group of people are on Halley's comet to mine it for water; 76 pages of telling us that half of the people hate "Orthos" (non-gene modified people) and the other half hate "Percells" (gene modified people). The set up was just too heavy handed, lacking subtlety, and didn't induce any interest or care for the characters in me. Didn't need to waste any more time with a racial "us vs them" story I can read in any newspaper these days. By page 76 I was rooting for the comet to explode and take them all with it.
January 10, 2015
This was a solid science fiction, exactly what I would expect from Benford and Brin. Taking place over a hundred years or so, a crew of hundreds of experts in various fields embark on a lifetime mission to inhabit and change the trajectory of the comet Halley. Using hibernation technology and alternating shifts we follow the evolution of the society of people on the comet as they deal with the unforeseen challenges of disease and adaptation in the cold of outer space. Through this story the authors touch on themes of extra-terrestrial life, the origins of life on earth, artificial intelligence, cloning/genetic engineering, and more mundane problems of global climate change, race driven violence and prejudice.
September 15, 2010
Written in 1986 the last time Halley's comet came whizzing by, this sci-fi ride is quite brilliant. Scientifically well researched but of course purely speculative about the nature and origin of Halleybop. A delightful array of characters pepper this tale of occupying and attempting to tame the great comet. The turn of events, of which there are many, were unexpected and engrossing from the start. Just when I thought I knew where it was going it took a turn to a conclusion only far out scientists such as the authors are, could conceive.
The civil war that breaks out on the comet is one of the best battle scenes written.
Read it and read it again. It's worth it.
The civil war that breaks out on the comet is one of the best battle scenes written.
Read it and read it again. It's worth it.
January 10, 2015
This book begins with the coolest of premises, and just never slows down. It was awesome.
Certainly not a sugar coated "here we go out into space" story. There are major obstacles to overcome, from both the environment and the prejudices of the voyagers, changing attitudes towards the mission from Earth, and just the overall harshness of the situation taking a mental toll on all.
The technology of "Sleep Slotting" allows the narrative to jump forward as the principal storytellers are put on ice, subsequently revived.
I was riveted to this book, and unexpectedly so as I had no experience reading Benford, but have always enjoyed Brin. Highly recommended.
Certainly not a sugar coated "here we go out into space" story. There are major obstacles to overcome, from both the environment and the prejudices of the voyagers, changing attitudes towards the mission from Earth, and just the overall harshness of the situation taking a mental toll on all.
The technology of "Sleep Slotting" allows the narrative to jump forward as the principal storytellers are put on ice, subsequently revived.
I was riveted to this book, and unexpectedly so as I had no experience reading Benford, but have always enjoyed Brin. Highly recommended.
February 8, 2015
It was one of the first hard-SF novel I read, maybe twenty years ago. The Rosetta mission made me think about it again. Looking for it, I reread Benford "In the Ocean of Night" and "Across a Sea of Stars" (still interesting but so badly written), then eventually hit the "Heart of the Comet". It did not age, it is an awesome novel and I appreciated it now better than before. It has something different. Less "mechanical" than KS Robinson or Baxter books. And while it assumes a lot of non-obvious developments in the comet proto society, it sticks to initial theme and did not throw aliens or other deus ex machina to keep it going. A very nice read.
October 1, 2023
Classic and traditional hard science fiction, this was an absolutely wonderful read.
The romantic and religious themes were subdued present, and throughout the role of science and technology, completely dominated the entire story
It’s wonderful to read real science fiction, now that the field has mostly been corrupted. And modern science, fantasy is very enjoyable, and the short parables published online in short form are also excellent hard science-fiction, but it is a far cry from this epic novel.
We follow Carl, most of all, because he became the character we admired while Saul started out the same and remained so throughout
The ending is perfect
The romantic and religious themes were subdued present, and throughout the role of science and technology, completely dominated the entire story
It’s wonderful to read real science fiction, now that the field has mostly been corrupted. And modern science, fantasy is very enjoyable, and the short parables published online in short form are also excellent hard science-fiction, but it is a far cry from this epic novel.
We follow Carl, most of all, because he became the character we admired while Saul started out the same and remained so throughout
The ending is perfect
January 1, 2016
I found this book especially transporting to read during the Christmas season, where I could escape to Halley's Comet and the people who were colonizing it. The book covers almost one-hundred years and is filled with interesting science that makes what happens in the story, adaption to Halley life and Halley's new use believable. By the end of the story you see evolution in process and are sorry to lose such good friends.
January 27, 2025
I’m so in awe of everything Brin writes. Highly decorated worlds filled with deeply developed characters, they’re a joy to read and so hard to put down once started. Carl’s character alone is a masterpiece.
I did not enjoy the inclusion of a Zionist character in this book, it was unexpected but made sense given Brin’s background.
This is the third of Brin’s books that I’ve read, and I’m glad to see that poetry remains a strong part of his writing. This book was just so good
I did not enjoy the inclusion of a Zionist character in this book, it was unexpected but made sense given Brin’s background.
This is the third of Brin’s books that I’ve read, and I’m glad to see that poetry remains a strong part of his writing. This book was just so good
September 14, 2007
First book I read by this author and instantly loved it. Anyone who is interested in space colonization and hard SF would enjoy it. Benford did a bang up job creating a space mission to Comet Halley, and encorporated many ideas into his novel that make it an interesting read. Including biocomputers, cryogenic hibernation for long voyages, and extrapolating Earth's culture in the future.
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