Rocheworld

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

"Rocheworld" is one of my all-time favorite sc-fi reads. I am glad Robert L. Forward was able to expand on his original manuscript to make this new improved version of "Flight of the Dragonfly", --retitled "Rocheworld". This book is about light-sail travel to a very far away twin world system that has very original aquatic aliens--a really grand adventure with four sequels to read.

The book was not written to the author's satisfaction due to time contraints. He was later able to write the "expanded" version titled "Rocheworld", which you should buy if you just want to read the novel. If you want to have the original for your collection, buy this one also.

This is the only Robert Forward book i've read, but I would like to try some more. The "Fluben" are the most interesting aliens i've read about except maybe the "Moties" from "The mote in god's eye". They are very diffrent anatomically from human beings ,which is logical ,and they are all mathematical geniuses. They're all brain. that is, their whole body ( which is a cloud of a dense fluid hovering in the ocean )is allso the thinking organ. They can become smaller, tighter and harder, form a "rock" and in that state they are even more smart then usual ( and the usual is something like 400 i.q's ). Another thing about this book is that the aliens and the humans don't fight, they get along and like each other. the opponent is nature. Buy the book, it's an interesting read.

This is my favorite version of the three similar stories, all by Dr Forward. I first read Flight of the DragonFly (4.5 stars). A couple of years later, I read the full version of Rocheworld (Flight + parts of an earlier Rocheworld edition + additional material) and all of its sequels. I liked it even more than Dragon's Egg, my previous Forward Favorite.