The Setup
Tau Zero was published by Poul Anderson in 1970, though I didn't get around to reading it, in e-book form on my iPhone, until this spring. The story follows the crew of a Bussard ramjet on the way to colonize a planet circling a nearby star. Sadly, the plan goes awry.
What I Liked
- The scale of the story is quite grand.
- The vision of a few dozen people hurtling through intersteller space in a small, claustrophobic ship are well realized.
- Some implications of relativistic travel are interestingly explored.
What I Disliked
- The characters are not well fleshed out.
The Bottom Line
Tau Zero was a very enjoyable read. I give it 8.0 out of 10.
