Tau Zero (Gollancz SF collector's edition) (Paperback)

Now then, I have to say this, with as much care as I can. This is THE only ScFi book I have ever read where it is certain, quite certain, that everything could actually happen. This is quite a remarkable claim, and I have to be very cautious! Perhaps some of the real terror in the book is becasue of this extreme realism. The ship could be built. The navigational difficulties would indeed be related to the spacial distortions of the star field. And the red shift and blue shifts are just like that... What we know about relativity points to the bizarre flight of the ship really holding up.

Poul makes a real attempt to convey the awful separation and exile of the inhabitants. To lose not only the earth... but anything which could remotely be called human, or even his descendants... This is the basis for the worst sort of nightmare for many of us. The claustrophobic nature of the ship and the equalling unsatisfactory nature of the relationships... And yet, there is an ending which satisfies in some sense.

This is novel in which there is a overwhelming, quite overbearing sense of grandeur. You will probably read certain sections quite frequently - I have literally worn out previous editions. But beware, you will feel a strong empathy for these lost souls, and my goodness, it would be nice to make sure that you don't sleep alone, Pascal was right when he spoke of the terror of the great spaces.

The story is of a space ship with a crew of 50 (25 men, 25 women) who set off on a long voyage to possibly colonize another planet when mid-way through their journey their engine is damaged and they keep accelerating forever. This in itself is a great premise as the author can explore ideas like inertia, time-dilation and a theoretical type of near-light speed engine all so well-explained that even somebody with just a cursory knowledge of physics would understand. What gives it life though, is the 60’s-influence through the whole book. As in keeping with other novels of the time seemingly everyone is sleeping with everyone else. I didn’t mind this until a particular passage where a woman offers herself to a needed scientist who hasn’t got any in a while. It just seemed a little too optimistic to me. I’d like to believe that a pretty woman would offer herself to me if I was feeling depressed and I was a vital team member but it just doesn’t seem realistic. Maybe in 1970 it was. I was also strangely disturbed by the future presented where Sweden is the near-fascist world ruler. Quite chilling because the author wasn’t being sarcastic.

The book is quite short at 190 pages and it does go by pretty quickly but because the subject is about one ship and its voyage there are no annoying sub-plots or out of place scenes thrown in to shore it up. Neat little book!!