Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement (1954)
An ideas book: little plot
Book cover blurb
Mesklin is a vast, inhospitable planet, so cold that its oceans are liquid methane, its snows frozen methane, a world where gravity can be a crushing 700 times greater than Earth’s.
But Mesklin holds secrets of inestimable value and only the tiny Mesklinites can help mankind discover them.
And so begins an heroic and appalling journey into the terrible unknown…
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My Review
I didn't get exactly what I was expecting here. But then, do you ever with lesser-known classic Sci-Fi books? Mission of Gravity doesn't follow the first contact formula we usually see today. But was the first contact formula even a formula back in 1954? These days it's the norm for the aliens to be gradually revealed to the reader through the eyes of the human protagonist. Following the getting-to-know-each-other process as it evolves is usually one of the main payoffs. You get none of that here.
You are thrown right into the mix from page one as the story begins from the alien's point of view, the whole first contact having happened several months prior to the book's opening. So we don't get to experience, what I would consider the most interesting portion of the first contact scenario, the introduction. With Clement's approach, we very quickly learn the dynamic between aliens and humans with everything already well established. The drive is the understanding and mutual benefit each offers. Humans are the brains and the aliens are the muscle. Or so we're led to believe.
To be honest, there is little by way of progressive plot in the first third of this 203-page novel. The author spends this time setting the scene and fully introducing the relevant characters and world. But things take a bit of a turn at this point, leaving no doubt that this is where the scene setting ends and the story really begins. At least, this is where the pace picks up and the action and tension begin to build.
However, this book's main focus is not on the characters or situations as much as it is on the planet itself. Discovering the topography and unusuality of the environment and gravitational importance are the drives behind the entire novel. Mission of Gravity is definitely about the ideas more than the narrative. If this kind of thing appeals to you, I'm sure you'll gain a lot from reading it. Personally, I prefer a more character-driven premise.
I have no real complaints. I always try to keep my mind firmly in the era of the book's origin while reading to keep my expectations honest. But there were a couple of aspects I found quite irritating. The main human character, Charles, rarely, if ever, comes up with ideas of his own. He's constantly taking inspiration from colleagues and the aliens around him. Call me finicky but, shouldn't an astronaut charged with discovering new worlds be a thinker? An individual who is more than capable of solutional thinking? Also, I found the writing a little childish - well, not exactly the writing, but more the mentality behind the writing.
Not a favourite by any means, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I was uninterested or bored.
My copy of this novel
Gollancz SF Masterworks paperback edition.
Published in 2005
203 pages
ISBN 9780575077089