Heavy Time

by C.J. Cherryh

Book Overview

Asteroid miners Bird and Ben encounter an adrift ship in an asteroid belt that's inhabited by a half-crazy spacer named Dekker. When they tow the ship, they find their livelihoods--and their lives--in deadly danger. Proves that high-tech science fiction need not sacrifice literary values.--Publishers Weekly.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446362239
• ISBN13: 9780446362238
• Release Date: March 1992
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

4 & 1/2 Stars Hard Sci-Fi

This is a very good story for old school Sci-Fi fans... It assumes you understand a bit of science, physics, and physiology. If you don't get that part, it will seem too dull of a story, as it is essential to understanding the politics, and motivation for the characters. That being said, this is an excellent look at corporate greed, and politics as they might be in a distant future. The more things change the more they stay the same... Personally I really liked the troubled refugee (Paul Decker) that deals with his talents, and weaknesses while trying to recover his senses and sanity after he is rescued from his broken craft. The real protagonist is Ben Pollard, a futuristic "sea dog" of a spacer, who wants to be rich enough to see an ocean someday. This gritty story is continued in "Hell Burner" where Ben is called in to help the "Moonbeam" again when the Alliance needs his talents despite his fragile nature. This is an utterly believable kind of Science Fiction tale, giving not only the big picture of the future, but some of the day to day details of life. A very good tale, that is also available in the omnibus edition "Devil to the Belt".

Pretty decent space politics

Could easily be an X-Files government conspiracy episode in space. Surprisingly entertaining for a story without many subplots. The universe it takes place in seems pretty interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading the other books by Cherryh set in this universe.

Consummate skill from C.J. Cherryh

I am a devoted fan of C. J. Cherryh thanks to her fantasy novels Chernevog and Russalka. Her talent for science fiction, it appears, equals her talent for fantasy: she is alarmingly versatile in her style and subject matter. Heavy time is what the crew of a spacecraft needs, after concluding a mission, to restabilise metabolism, bodily functions and psychological processes. But when your heavy time is spent on a space station inhabited chiefly by those who have never seen a mountain or a snake, run by a company that would rather kill than lose profit or power, where your every movement and transaction is logged and controlled by said company, perhaps you are better off taking your chances in deep space. The two-man crew of a mining vessel picks up a distress signal, and they rescue a distraught young pilot whose mind is half gone, but who remembers enough to cause serious problems for the company. Perhaps they can get the break they've always longed for by claiming salvage rights on his ship. But maybe the repercussions - moral and political - will be too vast. One thing's for sure: the consequences of this trip will not be straightforward for anybody. Cherryh pours her almost full-stop-less prose straight into the consciousness; her characters are grit-tough, but you love them for it; the technical detail makes you ache to get your head round it and the plot is speedy, supercharged, breathtaking. This novel is considered a science fiction classic, and deservedly so. It's stunningly visual: I'd love to see it on film. I didn't want to put this book down; I'll certainly be on the lookout for the rest of the series. Cherryh's skill is consummate.

Heavytime-Merchanter Universe

C.J. Cherryh is one of my favorite authors. I have to say that her Merchanter universe is perhaps the best conceived..the most developed and the most logical future world that I have read about. Heavy Time takes the readers back to the very beginning of the Merchanter timeline..the beginning of the Earth Company Wars. I recommend reading Heavy Time and the immediate sequel Hellburner together..they go best that way. Cherryh as always has believable characters in believable situations. You find yourself certain that someday in the not so distant future this is how things are going to be....With plenty of suspense..action..and even a touch of romance this is an excellent novel.

A Great & Heavy Read

I am a huge fan of CJ Cherryh work and Heavy Time was one of the first books I read of hers. Looking back, it is a slighty easier read for those who are familiar with CJ's Merchant/Union Universe. Heavy Time is the earliest book in the timeline of the series. Having read it several times, I can thoughly recommend it. With not a lot of exposition, it is a well plotted story with complex characters that although you some times dislike them, they are flawed in ways that makes them very believable. In this book Cherryh has told a gritty a some times dark story, dealing with themes as the abuse of corporate power, personal selfishness and sacrifice, plus nobody writes beliveable politics in SF like Cherryh does. If you like this book, read HellBurner which is a direct sequel to the events that happened in this book.