griddleoctopus's review against another edition
4.0
Hard scientific mid-C20th SF from an English astronomer. Good on science, just okay on characterisation, big things happen in passing. Nice to read some hard SF though!
meggle_shmeggle's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
sfletcher26's review against another edition
3.0
A fun though very dated science fiction story by the physicist and astronomer Fred Hoyle, a man famously wrong, for his opposition to The Big Bang and inflalationary universe.
overly didactic at times and gloriously reductionist but still a great old school ripping Scifi yarn.
overly didactic at times and gloriously reductionist but still a great old school ripping Scifi yarn.
misanthrope's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
An excellent read. Above par first contact story with big ideas. I would read more from this author.
sopranoreader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
provaprova's review against another edition
4.0
Good frame story, good science, good possibilities - the black cloud is still a novel proposal and interesting to think about in a panspermia context. Mind candy. (And short enough it doesn't wear out its welcome.)
exlibris007's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
corymojojojo's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. This is classic, pure hard sci-fi at its best. The book is basically one big science problem that Hoyle models in detail and shows you all his work on the way. The lack of pathos is more than excused by how straight up scientific this book is in a way that is accessible and fascinating (even for how dated the technology is). Hoyle was apparently a genius astrophysicist and it’s quite obvious from his writing. He threw a team of scientists in a room to solve the great mystery of the coming apocalypse, and we get to see everything they come up with and what it took to get their conclusions. This is a science-focused book and I loved it for staying true to that the whole way through. It even poses some great questions about our place in the universe that I imagine will stick with me.
garthranzz's review against another edition
3.0
Not the best of Hoyle's work but a good read nonetheless. A lot would probably have issue with the amount of science in this book, the processes we might now laugh at in the Internet age. But taken for when it was written and Hoyle's own standing in the scientific community it's a good story and worth a try.