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ISBN: 9781482146004
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ISBN: 9781470898809
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ISBN: 9781470898786
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Leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline were prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided—and secretly spied upon—by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. What they weren't prepared for, however, was the Smoke Ring—an immense, gaseous envelope that had formed around a neutron star directly in their path. The Smoke Ring was home to a variety of plant and animal life-forms evolved to thrive in conditions of continual free fall. When Discipline encountered it, something went wrong. The crew abandoned ship and fled to the unlikely space oasis. Five hundred years later, the descendants of the Discipline crew living on the Smoke Ring no longer remember their origins. Earth is more myth than memory, and no recollection of the State remains. But Kendy remembers. And just outside the Smoke Ring, Discipline waits patiently to make contact with its wayward children.
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Summary
Summary
Winner of the 1985 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Finalist for the 1985 Hugo Award for Best Novel
Nominated for the 1984 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Leaving Earth, the crew of the spaceship Discipline were prepared for a routine assignment. Dispatched by the all-powerful State on a mission of interstellar exploration and colonization, Discipline was aided—and secretly spied upon—by Sharls Davis Kendy, an emotionless computer intelligence programmed to monitor the loyalty and obedience of the crew. What they weren't prepared for, however, was the Smoke Ring—an immense, gaseous envelope that had formed around a neutron star directly in their path. The Smoke Ring was home to a variety of plant and animal life-forms evolved to thrive in conditions of continual free fall. When Discipline encountered it, something went wrong. The crew abandoned ship and fled to the unlikely space oasis.
Five hundred years later, the descendants of the Discipline crew living on the Smoke Ring no longer remember their origins. Earth is more myth than memory, and no recollection of the State remains. But Kendy remembers. And just outside the Smoke Ring, Discipline waits patiently to make contact with its wayward children.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Reviews
Reviews
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Niven Imagines How Environment Might Affect Evolution
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This audiobook is one of the more original sci-fi stories out there in terms of world-building. Many generations after their human ancestors escaped the tyrannical clutches of their HAL-like ship computer, a diversity of clans, tribes, and societies have formed in the smoke ring (a gas torus) that the ship was observing before the great escape.
Within the smoke ring, gravity and the lack of it varies greatly from place to place and results in the humanoids evolving to varying shapes and sizes dependent on where they were born and raised. Basic functions like building and maintaining a fire or collecting water is completely different than it is on Earth and present major challenges. Larry Niven really dives into the science aspect without sacrificing the fun of the fiction.
What I found particularly enjoyable was the morphology of words that we are familiar with. Not only did Niven explore the rapid physical evolution of the Earth-descendants living in the smoke ring (a gas torus), but he also playfully imagines how words and names might change over time. I was left with some questions and found some things to be doubtful, like how the Navy members all have swords when metal is almost completely nonexistent, with exception to that which originated from the ship. In the meantime, the ship continues to watch them from a distance and wait for its chance to swoop in and take control of its treacherous runaways. Tom Weiner brings a richness to the story via his varied voicing of the diverse cast of characters.
Details
Details
Available Formats : | Digital Download, Digital Rental, CD, MP3 CD |
Category: | Fiction/Science Fiction |
Runtime: | 7.67 |
Audience: | Adult |
Language: | English |
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