Beyond the Blue Event Horizon cover art

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon

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Beyond the Blue Event Horizon

By: Frederik Pohl
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
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About this listen

Frederik Pohl was on a streak when this Hugo Award-finalist novel was published in 1980. Now back in print after an absence of nearly a decade, this unique science fiction novel is as fresh and entertaining as ever. The story begins when the hero of Gateway finances an expedition to a distant alien spaceship that may end famine forever. On the ship, the explorers find a human boy, and evidence that reveals a powerful alien civilization is thriving on a transport ship headed right for Earth….

©1980 Frederik Pohl (P)2012 Audible, Inc. First Contact Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction

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Critic reviews

“Certainly very few books have ever held my attention in such an iron grip right up until the last paragraph, built so irresistibly to such a satisfying series of blockbuster punch lines, left me so breathless with admiration, achieved such truly cosmic scope.” ( Analog)
“The kind of mind-opening conceptualization that makes the universe seem very vast and beautiful indeed. In short, this is a book that fulfills SF’s ability to entertain intelligently.” ( The Chicago Sun-Times)
All stars
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This is the second book in the series and if you haven't already go and read Gateway first. Like Gateway this is a science fiction story focused on exploration, concepts, relationships, science and even politics rather than action sequences. This story is set some years later than Gateway and sees Robin as an older man and head of a company but is a clear progression of the themes and issues explored in Gateway. The new cast of characters are really interesting as is the mission central to the narrative. All in all a good progression of the story and a bit like a lot of middle stories it is setting up future stories rather than wrapping up everything nicely. All in all I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to the next chapter.

A good progression of the Heechee series

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What made the experience of listening to Beyond the Blue Event Horizon the most enjoyable?

The story was progressed in a brilliant way. Excellent story telling. Fiction at its best.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that the characters were very believable and the story moved on in a very logical and enjoyable way.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I enjoyed the introduction of new characters and their story lines.

As Good As Gateway

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Well written,excellently narrated and right up my street. Good descriptive passages created vivid pictures in the mind.

Escapism at its best

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What a fascinating set-up the first 80% of this book had. So many interesting scenarios and questions it raises. The claustrophobic setting of a family trapped on a long-distance spaceship paired with a billionaire trapped by his own investment interests. There was so much potential.

And then for the last two chapters, it was as if Pohl got fed up of writing the book and just wanted to finish it and publish it as quickly as possible. At literally the most exciting point in the plot, he skips ahead to a time where everything worked out perfectly and then retells how everything was resolved as a recollection. Then to make matters worse - obviously panicking and realising with this unsatisfying ending people might not buy the next book in the series - he tacks on an expositional chapters which removes ALL the mystery about the Heechee race and explains everything, setting the scene for a confrontation in the sequel. It's an appalling betrayal of the reader and one all the more poignant because of the excellence of what came before.

I'm (generously) giving this book 3 stars as 80% of it was really good. Next to Gateway though the book appears hugely flawed.

An incomplete book with a dreadful ending

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