1978 The Gateway
Frederik Pohl
Read 2/2013, reviewed 4/26/13
4 stars
This book was a surprise to me. I had read several short stories by Pohl and
didn’t care for them. Gateway had me
almost from the get-go. I loved the
construction of the novel: narration of
the main plot, alternating with therapy sessions, interspersed with technical
reports and classifieds. The reports and
classified added a flavoring to the novel.
They were not directly tied with the plot, but added to the feel of
living on the planet as a prospector.
The main character was brash, arrogant, and immature. I can’t say he grows through the novel, but
we get to understand why he is the way he is, and what holds him back from
growing. Sometimes the therapy sessions
are a little annoying, because that’s where you see his immaturity quite
bluntly. But they are necessary in
getting him to a resolution.
The concept of the gateway is really interesting. I really liked the idea of using alien
technology as much as is understood, and having occasional fatal repercussions
because of the lack of full knowledge of how the technology works. It’s an interesting twist, an one of the
earliest concepts of reverse engineering which I’ve encountered. It also explores the concept of a community
of people dealing with a high risk profession.
I could particularly relate to the main character’s fear of risk.
I gave this book 4 stars because I was so quickly engrossed
in the plot, the characters, the concepts, and the irony. I more or less saw the ending coming, but was
pleased by how it unfolded.
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