I read Needle and its sequel way back when I was a teenager, but haven’t read any other Hal Clement since. Mission of Gravity has an interesting premise. Since I don’t have much “physics” background, I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to appreciate the science.

Although the book is short, it took me a couple of weeks to read, on and off, which is very unlike me for books that I don’t abandon. I think it was because the plot (exploration/journey to find a sort-of-McGuffin) was so non-compelling and meandering: really, just a background to explore the science. I wasn’t especially curious about the outcome, nor worried about any of the characters. Both humans and Mesklinites were there to discover explain things to each other. Perils were technical rather than due to clashes of personality or culture.

This novel is essentially a string of thought experiments working through what might happen on such a planet as the author envisages. If you go in with those expectations, you won’t be disappointed.