Camelot 30k

by Robert L. Forward

Book Overview

Four astronauts journey to a cold planet only thirty degrees above absolute zero and inhabited by tiny aliens who have created a complex civilization. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812516478
• ISBN13: 9780812516470
• Release Date: August 1996
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Another favorite

RLF is another one of my favorite authors... Too bad he died... If you like hard science fiction - you will like this book. MJL

What an imagination!

Out on the edge of the solar system is a planet shrouded in cold and ice. On this planet Earthians (is that a word?) land and discover a race of tiny creatures, technologically developed. This is the story of that meeting and is perhaps one of the five best scifi novels of that year.In what is perhaps a parody or even a parable, we learn of the kerack civilization, its music, art and manners. Communication is accomplished through tiny robots are lowered to the surface and via VR, an astronaut explores the surface and the culture. Our heroine, Merlene, a lower-class citizen of this world, is the vehicle by which we are introduced to this strange yet inviting world. Like many races on Earth, society is based on a queen and workers, with all the accompanying niches of warrior, wizard children, etc. As the story progresses we slowly understand that warfare has been a way of life for these people but now has progressed to a point that is potentially all-consuming. We slowly realize that events are building toward something we can barely fathom: The denizens of the city are preparing a nuclear blasts through biological means. This explosion destroys Camalor, Merlene's city, but in the process propogates genes into space. The ending is a tour de force. One human elects to remain on the planet and Merlene has an epiphany and at last understands that she is to be the new leader, the queen without a city, a Jeremiah-like prophet for peace. She begins her journey with the remaining human "bot" beseeching all those who hear her voice with a final plea, "You be listening to the message o'Merlene. You be believing that message and you will be saved." Priceless!!!

Fascinating Concept

As with his outstanding work Saturn Rukh, Forward does an excellent job of imagining the sort of totally alien anatomy/physiology/culture that one would expect to evolve on other worlds. Highly recommended to fans of hard SF.

Slow start, but worth being persisten

It took me almost half of the book to get jazzed about this one, but I did get jazzed. This is a tour de force description of an alien culture. They are the Keracks, only a few centimeters high, living a medieval-like existence, but with advanced chemistry and metallurgical skills, on a comet, with an ambient temperature of only 30°K, out beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are an insect-like race with an ant-like culture living in individual city-states that are extremely hostile towards each other. There is a collective mind, but individuality is also developed, along with specialization and sophisticated arts. Forward's substantial use of chemistry and nuclear physics quickly outstrips my paltry knowledge, but it's fundamental to his weaving a fascinating tale of evolution and procreation, along with the beginnings of salvation that borrows from the story of Jesus Christ. Really a fascinating book!

Life on the shores of space

I could not put this book down, even after reading it for the third time. The science is fantastic and drove me back to low temperature physics books several times in order to verify Forward's facts.I especially liked the implied inefficiency of goverment and the toading approach of mission control to the bottom line. Having worked all too often with and for the government, I well understand the mission crew's ire at the junk they were forced to use.The civilization on Ice is facinating, at the least. A hive entity with individuality within the members of the hive sufficient to allow independent thought and initiative. Unlike the Bugs in Starship Troopers, these are people, with their own wants and desires and their own abilities.This is a book that covers it all: Science, personal interactions, government ineptitude and political cowardness, all set against the Kuiper Belt and low temperature physics. A great read.