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A review by diaryofthebookdragon
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
4.0
As every year, one of my bookish New Years resolutions is to try and read more classics. Especially those in the 'SF and Fantasy Masterworks' series.
So how did this 50 year old sf novel compare to it's modern brethren? I must admit, quite good. In less then 200 pages, Poul Anderson manages to do what Neal Stephenson did on 800+ pages in [book:Seveneves|22816087]. And Poul Anderson did it better.
Tau Zero follows a crew of a spaceship on one journey and the troubles they get into.
+ Short and precise book. No word is wasted.
+ Intense plot. Especially after 40% when the problems start to pile up.
+ Human drama. Not the boring tele-novella kind.
+- Large cast of characters. (The whole crew basically.) But characterisation is very well done and usually it's easy to follow who is who.
- You need good sf background to follow scientific terms in the book. I had to stop multiple times and Google what are Bussard ramjet, Scoopfield webs, ...
Even after 50 years, Tau Zero is a must read for hardcore science fiction fans. Recomended if you are the fan of the genre.
So how did this 50 year old sf novel compare to it's modern brethren? I must admit, quite good. In less then 200 pages, Poul Anderson manages to do what Neal Stephenson did on 800+ pages in [book:Seveneves|22816087]. And Poul Anderson did it better.
Tau Zero follows a crew of a spaceship on one journey and the troubles they get into.
+ Short and precise book. No word is wasted.
+ Intense plot. Especially after 40% when the problems start to pile up.
+ Human drama. Not the boring tele-novella kind.
+- Large cast of characters. (The whole crew basically.) But characterisation is very well done and usually it's easy to follow who is who.
- You need good sf background to follow scientific terms in the book. I had to stop multiple times and Google what are Bussard ramjet, Scoopfield webs, ...
Even after 50 years, Tau Zero is a must read for hardcore science fiction fans. Recomended if you are the fan of the genre.