http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-of-mission-of-gravity-by-hal.htm... ( )

Brilliant. Super satisfying hard sci fi. I mean there is not a single reference to a female of any species, but without reference there is no patronisation. And the science and interplay is fabulous ( )

Good, fast read. Much in the way of Asimov's best books, but still somehow insufficient for today. ( )

King Solomon's Mines in Space

Mission of Gravity is a sf classic because of its compelling world building: an extremely fast-spinning planet with a gravity 700 times that of earth at its poles. It is marred however by totally unconvincing inhabitants. The Mesklinites encountered by the "Earthmen"--back in 1953, the idea of female scientists or astronauts apparently was inconceivable even for a science fiction author--speak better English than most native speakers on earth, and they behave and think like humans. Also their civilization is entirely human even though they are caterpillars. With a captain and first mate, even the command structure of the raft Bree is that of a western European/American ship. Convincing alien life is also part of compelling world building and the novel entirely fails in that respect. Nothing on Mesklin feels really alien.

An even bigger problem is the absence of any conflict to drive the story. The leading earthman, Lackland, and leading Mesklinite, Barlennan (yes, the aliens have human names, too), interact so awfully friendly and harmoniously that it becomes boring from very early on. In the beginning there is a hint that Barlennan has a hidden agenda; but in the end that turns out to be nothing bad really. Also, the title's second meaning of "something of great importance" doesn't come into its own: the information gathered about the planet by the lost probe that the Mesklinites have to recover is no doubt scientifically interesting but not really a matter of life and death.

One could also mention the colonialist subtext of the novel. The Mesklinite explorers and their superior Terran mentors behave like European explorers in "Dark Africa". They hunt big game, are attacked by primitive natives and trade peacefully with friendly primitives, making maps along the way to make the unknown territory controllable. But I guess all that was only normal in the 1950s western view of the world. ( )

This book surely must be the record-holder for having the most endearing arthropodic character in fiction and possibly for weirdest planet in fiction! Of course the two are connected; if a planet has a surface gravitational pull never less than three times that of Earth and varying up to 700x that of Earth, intelligent life isn't going to look just like a human with maybe a weird looking forehead or nose.

Clement has very carefully worked out what the consequences of his rapidly spinning, exceedingly cold planet are and built a jolly adventure story round them, with a somewhat piratical, canny, mischievous explorer-trader as the protagonist asked to rescue the science probe visiting humans have lost and are unable to rescue themselves.

Long considered a genre classic and deservingly so. ( )