GATEWAY – Frederick Pohl

This is the only Frederick Pohl (and therefore only Heechee saga) book I’ve read, but I look forward to reading more. The plot device of discovering the technologies for interstellar travel is a handy way of bypassing explanations of faster than light travel and its development. It also adds the potential for further encounters with the alien race behind the technology.

This novel uses flashbacks for incrementally drip-feeding the eventual reveal the memory that the central character is struggling to remember/forget. One review likened this to the final episode of MASH… and there are some similarities, but the novel came first and the flashback story-telling technique wasn’t so commonplace at the time of writing.

It’s a clever yarn. Without spoiling the climax, the science behind the big reveal is on the money and provides for a jaw-dropping resolution. Characterisation was a little two-dimensional, but still it’s a great concept and well told.