The Annals of the Heechee
 Cover of the first edition, published by Del Rey Books. Art by Darrell K. Sweet. | |
| Author | Frederik Pohl |
|---|---|
| Series | Heechee The Heechee Saga Gateway trilogy |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books/Ballantine Books |
Publication date | 1987 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | (first ed.) |
| Preceded by | Heechee Rendezvous |
| Followed by | The Boy Who Would Live Forever |
The Annals of the Heechee is a science fiction novel by the American writer Frederik Pohl, published in 1987 by Ballantine Books. It is about a dead space explorer's machine-stored version who is trying to discover why the Assassins, a mysterious type of pure energy beings, are threatening the stability of the universe. It is part of Pohl's Heechee Saga, which is about the Heechee, a fictional alien race created by Pohl. The Heechee developed advanced technologies, including interstellar space travel, but then disappeared.
Plot
[edit]The novel is about the multimillionaire space explorer Robinette Broadhead's efforts to solve a mystery. Even though he died in a previous novel in the series, his personality is stored on a machine. Broadhead is trying to resolve the issue of the "Assassins", which are pure-energy beings that stopped the expansion of the universe and triggered its contraction. The Assassins have concealed themselves in a black hole. Broadhead and the Heechee are trying to find them. When the Assassins come out, they converse with one of Broadhead's data-gathering computer programs and they reveal that they are not enemies.
Reception
[edit]Kirkus Reviews stated in 1987 that Pohl's Heechee series "...has been growing steadily less involving", and calls The Annals of the Heechee the "...dullest of the lot".[1] Kirkus Reviews' states that the novel has "[n]o plot, a subplot that fizzles, chunks of cosmological explication, uninteresting aliens, and thoroughly boring characters" and calls it "...one of the least engaging Poh[l] [books] in many a year, and thus strictly for Heechee addicts."[2]
David Langford reviewed The Annals of the Heechee for White Dwarf #98, and stated that "Though the quality of writing stays at an unflashy 'good average' throughout, this is a classy example of hard SF as it sometimes used to be."[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Annals of the Heechee". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Reviews. 1 March 1987. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "The Annals of the Heechee". www.kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Reviews. 1 March 1987. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ Langford, Dave (February 1988). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf. No. 98. Games Workshop. p. 19.