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Mission Of Gravity by Hal Clement (SF Masterworks # 62)
01/11/2005 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Gollancz. 203 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 6.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-575-07708-5. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out websites: www.orionbooks.co.uk
The reason the late Hal Clement is revered in the SF community was in the way he brought his alien worlds to life. Not for him the desire for Earth-like worlds but the reality of worlds unlike our own with alien species that truly were alien.
'Mission Of Gravity' has to be one of the best examples of this and long over-due in Gollancz' SF Masterworks collection - even more so as Clement's work rarely appeared outside of the USA.
Mesklin is a planet totally inhospitable to human life. Snows of frozen methane and at the equator the gravity is 700 times that of Earth. Humans are there studying it and actually have a base at one of the poles where the gravity is significantly less. They've also managed to befriend the local sentient inhabitants which can best be described as a form of super-strong worm with legs and have been using them to lay probes in the areas of extreme gravity. Then an accident happens and a human is lost in another part of Mesklin and Barlennan and some of his people go to his rescue.
The summary does not do this book justice. Despite being originally released in 1954, this book is as new and brimming with ideas now as it was then. It hasn't dated largely because of Hal Clement's skill with research and employing it to bring Mesklin to life that it could be called another character in the book.
If you want to learn how to write SF then this is a good book to learn the cardinal lesson of applying your research to make it a reality and not taking the easy route. If you want a book that is pure SF and a good read then you haven't lost anything neither. If you're of the old school then you probably own a copy of this book already and having a less well-worn copy in your hands seems a good idea. If you've never encountered Hal Clement before then this is one journey you're going to really enjoy. Have I sold you on this book already?
GF Willmetts
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