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The Black Cloud (Penguin science fiction)
  
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The Black Cloud (Penguin science fiction) (Paperback)

by Fred Hoyle (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New impression edition (Jan 1971)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140014667
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140014662
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 372,002 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An astronomer's 'frolic', 27 Jan 2004
By Emma (Cheltenham, Gloucestershire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
Fred Hoyle worked as one of Cambridge's most eminent astronomers for many years and sadly died recently. He described this little book as a frolic, but it is frighteningly believable. Hoyle has worked in many of the scientific institutions he portrays, and therefore they too are very real.

This is the story of a black cloub which approaches the earth, slowly enveloping it, and causing massive disruption to its weather. According to physics, the cloud should not be behaving in this way, and a small band of scientists (including one who is, I suspect, modelled on Hoyle himself!) guess that some kind of intelligence is driving it. The book climaxes with their attempts to communicate with it, and the difficulties involved (unlike Star Trek, immediate understanding is not assumed...).

I bought this book for 80p from a charity shop in Cambridge and I shall not be selling it. As Hoyle himself says in his preface 'there is very little here that could not conceivably happen'. Perhaps I will need it for reference...

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Scientific insight, 13 Jul 2006
By Loose Bones (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews
Fred Hoyle was famed for his unorthodox views on panspermia and the steady-state universe (as opposed to terrestrial evolution and the big bang theory) as well as his brilliant astronomy. Both beliefs are exercised in this book when the interstellar cloud impinging on the solar system is found to be alive and intelligent (as revealed in the "spoilers" of other reviews - this aspect is reminiscent of Olaf Stapleton's better "Star Maker"). Surprising elitist but anarchic political views are also expressed through the self-seeking hero-scientists who are portrayed as "decent chaps" manipulating nations' governments; a cynical British promotion of Plato's despotic Republic.

The book is very readable - the plot rolls along, keeping the reader intrigued. I appreciated the occasional mathematical parts (though they're sometimes obvious and ridiculous to imagine scientists discussing). I found the understated descriptions of the cataclysmic events' effects effective - though not as strong as Greg Egan's "Diaspora". The stereotyped characterisation, even beyond the undifferentiated male boffins, was the weakest part. But this is genuine "hard" science-fiction - defined as story-telling through the exposition of science. It also has interesting relevance to global warming, and a refreshingly down-beat climax.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Old fashioned, but still enjoyable, 26 April 2009
The author was an excellent astronomer and as a side-line he dabbled in writing a few science fiction stories. This is his best and most enjoyable novel. It chronicles the discovery of the black cloud of the title, its investigation and the ultimate surprising revelations about its origins.

The characters are all thinly drawn, but as Hoyle was basing them on real people that he worked with, I can only presume they are reasonable potrayals of the scientists and the way they operated at that time. And that is perhaps the most interesting aspect of this story. I got a real sense of how people worked in this environment from someone who did work in this field, along with the politics involved. The actual cloud itself was less interesting to me, but having read some of Hoyle's non-fiction I found this an essential read.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Good story, good science
I don't often read science fiction but I read, and enjoyed, this book on the recommendation of Richard Dawkins (Oxford Book of Science Writing). Read more
Published 9 months ago by Nicholas Warren

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