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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scientists Know Best!, 15 Feb 2006
This engrossing and peculiarly British work by Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (“astronomer, writer, broadcaster and television personality”) draws heavily, one presumes, on his experiences working within the astronomical communities of both Britain and the US.
A combination of observations by astronomers in the UK and the US lead to the discovery of an immense black cloud due to intersect with the Earth’s solar orbit in sixteen months time. A sceptical Dr Chris Kingsley is finally convinced and travels with the Astronomer Royal (addressed fondly as A.R.) to America where they compare notes with fellow-scientists. Narrowly escaping benign internment in the US in the name of security, Kingsley takes his findings to the British government and cleverly manoeuvres the security forces into setting up a secure ‘Think Tank’ in the Cotswolds comprised of astronomers and related scientists.
Despite some rather stilted dialogue and occasional tautology Hoyle deftly captures the spirit and nature of the political machine and those who exist within it.
With the arrival of the cloud, widespread panic is accompanied by the discovery that that the cloud is driven by an intelligent gaseous agency with which they are eventually able to communicate.
Ironically, the scientists find it easier to communicate with the alien than with their own politicians who, fearful of the destructive power which the cloud can command, fire atomic weapons upon it.
The nature of the cloud being is interesting and well thought out. The cloud creatures normally exist in deep space but return to suns to employ the Sun’s energy to effectively ‘recharge their batteries’ before heading off into space again.
It’s interesting to see a Nineteen Fifties novel in which the alien is both superior and benign, reflecting a view of Humanity as aggressive, arrogant and not a little stupid.
The catastrophic effects of the Cloud’s impact are – perhaps due to an innate habit on the part of Hoyle – reduced to a mere statistical report. It’s not exactly a ‘cosy catastrophe’ in the sense that ‘Earth Abides’ or some of John Wyndham’s work is but the horrific consequences of the Cloud’s arrival are certainly downplayed.
Extreme heat, freezing conditions and ensuing floods wipe out a hefty percentage of the world’s population but the author concentrates – perhaps wisely – on the scientific and political aspects, this being ultimately a portrait of the uneasy relationship between politicians and scientists.
Like Asimov, who made the point in his Foundation trilogy, Hoyle advocates a political system which is in essence, a technocracy.
It's a naive novel in many senses, but hasn't dated badly, and is still a damned good read.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
For collectors only, 28 Jun 2008
Hoyle is most well-known as an astronomer. However, he also dabbled in writing science fiction. And, I'm sorry to say, he wasn't very good at it, at least if this, his most well-known story, is anything to go by. The story itself is actually a fairly imaginative and well thought out example of the catastrophic fiction so popular with British authors of the time - doom, gloom, a new ice age. But it's the wooden characters, the wholly implausible actions of those "off-stage", poor dialogue and over-long expository sections that consign this to the dustbin of literature. As an example its sub-genre it's interesting, but as a story it ain't. Only recommended for collectors.
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