Really enjoyed this. A great author and he really makes you feel like your there. In depth at times, but this is not a bad thing in regards to this book, or most of his others. Interesting and i look forward to the next one in the series!! :)

This book is the best piece of science fiction I have ever read, it takes a truly astonishing imagination to create something like this. The story is based on an alien space station found in earths solar system full of interstellar ships with preset destinations. The adventurers who enter these ships are desperate for a way to change their lives by finding the big score, alien artefacts that will bring them enormous wealth, there is however a catch. There is no way of telling where the ship will go, if it will be a trip that will make their fortune or cost them their life. The glimpses Pohl gives of these flights are often heartbreaking, strange diseases, horrific accidents and perhaps the saddest of all a journey so long that the people on board realise they will not have enough food to last the trip. Part of the draw of the story is finding out about the people who undertake these hazardous journeys, looking at their motivations. The statistics are harsh, there is little chance of finding the riches they all crave and a good chance of never coming back. Frederick Pohl is a wonderful writer. He introduces his main character many years after his time on Gateway. From the start we know that Robinette is repressing a terrible event which happened during one of his flights from Gateway. Through a series of memories we find out what happened to him on the station and on his flights into the unknown regions of space. This is a masterpiece of the genre, any science fiction fan should read this. I would recommend this to anyone it’s a fantastic story whatever your tastes and like all good science fiction an intelligent exploration of humanity.

The strength of this excellent book is the pleasing premise on which it is founded. The theme of a human encounter with the artefacts and machinery of a mysteriously vanished alien civilisation is redolent of ‘Rendezvous with Rama’ by Arthur C Clark published three years prior. However Pohl develops this shared theme brilliantly by introducing a means by which humanity can travel at in access of the speed of the light without the usual literary and scientific objections. In this way he is able to maintain a high degree of scientific verisimilitude. The narrative is cleverly peppered with scientifically accurate contributions about neutron stars, black holes and the dilation of time around such singularities. Pohl brilliantly constructs a tangible space community with a convincing ethos, population and culture skilfully sketched through the inclusion: of resident’s letters, adverts and mission reports. This is a study of fear, desperation and the pioneering spirit of humanity. The claustrophobia of the semi lit Heechee tunnels of Gateway and spacecraft adroitly create tension and suspense throughout. At the heart of the narrative is also a pleasing theme of guilt as the flawed central character struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his own survival. This is developed through the dialogue between Brodhead and his AI psychotherapist the juxtaposition between who serves to illuminate the former and the reader as to what it is to be human. Pohl writes with fluidity and pace and uses comic one-liners to great effect. This is an accomplished piece of writing which is convincing on many levels.

Members of the Gateway community all dream of making it big. On an alien space station with alien ships pre-programmed for there destination, crews of no hopers set out to find the riches of the universe. However some only find their way into body bags and others are never seen again. Told by a man talking to a robot therapist we hear one mans account of his trips into the depths of space. Pohl paints a brilliant picture of the future filled with identifiable characters living like there is no tomorrow, which unfortunately for some there isn't.

Great concept. Always fun to see how writers imagined the future. Pohl may not of had all the tech right but human nature is a constant. Definitely worth a read