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Gateway (Heechee Saga #1)

by Frederik Pohl, Boris Vallejo (Cover artist)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 13,246 ratings · 418 reviews

Rich or dead. Those were the choices Gateway offered. Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe & on reaches of unimaginable horror. The humans who rode the alien Heechee spacecraft stored on the planetoid couldn't know whether the trip would make them millionaires or corpses.
When Bob Broadhead came out to Gateway, he thought his problem was simple--wait till t...more

Mass Market Paperback, #25378 1st Ballantine edition, 313 pages

Published January 12th 1978 by Del Rey / Ballantine (first published 1977)

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Jun 20, 2012 Joel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, audiobooks, sci-fi-fantasy, sf-masterworks

Can you like a book when you kind of hate the main character? Especially when that character is the first-person narrator? The answer, for me, for this book anyway, is apparently "not all that much."

Gateway is one of those sci-fi classics that I am supposed to have absorbed if I want to consider myself well read in the genre. It's one of the rare Hugo/Nebula double winners (not to mention the Locus and Campbell awards, which pretty much covers all of them)! It is by one of the stalwarts of geek...more Can you like a book when you kind of hate the main character? Especially when that character is the first-person narrator? The answer, for me, for this book anyway, is apparently "not all that much."

Gateway is one of those sci-fi classics that I am supposed to have absorbed if I want to consider myself well read in the genre. It's one of the rare Hugo/Nebula double winners (not to mention the Locus and Campbell awards, which pretty much covers all of them)! It is by one of the stalwarts of geek writing, the man who, as an editor, made sure Dhalgren was published, fergoshsakes! (And congratulations to Fred Pohl, by the way, on still being alive and engaging with the fandom at the approximate age of 103!)

A good portion of the book still holds up pretty well. The imagining parts. The setup is pretty simple: Earth discovers a mysterious alien space station built into an asteroid around, I don't remember, Venus or something. It is full of little ships. No one knows how or why the ships came to be there, but they have figured out that if you get inside one and push a button, it will take you somewhere very far away, very quickly. Relatively speaking. It also might take you very, very far away, but not so fast that you don't run out of food and wind up arriving there dead, or with nothing to eat on the way back but your fellow shipmates. But ~~greedy~~ brave souls are still willing to risk these death lottery missions because a rare few of them result in the discovery of yet more alien technology, which can then be reverse-engineered and patented and everyone winds up very rich, most particularly the omnipresent Company (TM).

So, to borrow from nerd parlance, this is your signature BDO (big, dumb object) adventure. Unfortunately, our window into this intriguing world is this total asshole. I read the book a few weeks ago and his name has been lost to the mists of time and sleep deprivation, but I remember one thing: what a douchebag. I mean, ok, he had a shitty childhood, growing up mining some unpleasant crap or another on... was it Venus again? But he gets lucky and wins the lottery, and enough money to travel to Gateway and maybe become really rich. And the book is told in an alternating structure, so we know that while he does (become really rich), it also happens in a pretty miserable fashion, and we have to sit in on his whiny sessions with his robot therapist.

Aside from the fact that I just didn't particularly like the structure (too much ominous foreshadowing!), it requires us to spend half the book with the jerk, before we find out why he's such a jerk. Except he was always kind of a jerk, and while his reason for sliding further down into a jerky abyss is ultimately a pretty good one, he also did plenty of stuff earlier in the timeline to evaporate every drop of my sympathy. Like (view spoiler)

For a sci-fi book, it is also very clearly Of Its Time, what with all the casual references to swinging sexuality and dated therapy movements like primal screaming. Which just goes to show how hard it is to write a book set in the future that won't sound rather ridiculous once you've arrived there.

This is the first in a series, and I have heard the later books go a long way to explaining the mysterious alien objects, but I like them just fine all enigmatic and obtuse; over-explaining would make them just one more piece of technology, sans the risk associated with their use -- the drive to explore and discover new things that lights a fire under humanity. Well, that and greed. And I don't know if the narrator comes back (probably not) (EDIT: oh wait, I looked it up, and he does), but there's another reason to get out while the gettin's good (EDIT: indeed).(less)

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Dec 06, 2012 Megan Baxter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Frederik Pohl is still alive? Wow. And won a Hugo as recently as last year, for his blog. That I will have to check out. This is a guy who has been around science fiction for a long time, as a writer and as an editor. And Gateway was my first introduction to his work. Let me just go add him to the list of authors I want to read more of.... (That's not rhetorical - it's on a Sticky on my desktop.) I will want to be reading more of his work.

Gateway is a really good book - not one that knocked me o...more Frederik Pohl is still alive? Wow. And won a Hugo as recently as last year, for his blog. That I will have to check out. This is a guy who has been around science fiction for a long time, as a writer and as an editor. And Gateway was my first introduction to his work. Let me just go add him to the list of authors I want to read more of.... (That's not rhetorical - it's on a Sticky on my desktop.) I will want to be reading more of his work.

Gateway is a really good book - not one that knocked me over, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed, for a whole bunch of reasons.

In a heavily overpopulated solar system, humans have discovered relics of an alien society, but only a few. One of them led people to Gateway, where Heechee ships sit with potential courses preprogrammed, but no way to really control or understand them other than picking a setting and going with it. Crew have no idea where they're going to end up, if they'll survive, or if they even have enough food or water to get where they're going and get back. So, why would anyone prospect? Well, the same reasons as the California Gold Rush - if you hit it rich, you could potentially hit it rich big time. So what if 2/3 of the ships fail to return with live crew? If you're desperate enough, it still sounds pretty appealing.

It did for Robinette Broadhead, at least until he was faced with the prospect of actually going.

Gateway is told by switching back and forth between Robin at his robot psychiatrist's and Robin as he first came to Gateway. Obviously suffering from some sort of trauma, Robin is combative with the psychiatrist he has freely chosen to see, and treats the sessions like games of oneupmanship. Knowing that something obviously goes horribly wrong, Robin's story on Gateway gains a subtle air of menace.

The book is also peppered with science lectures and ads from those buying and selling services to prospectors on Gateway. Some of these may be more important than they appear. Don't skip them. But even those that aren't directly related to the story at hand add important texture.

Pohl switches elegantly between the narrative strains, and Robin is a fascinating, if sometimes annoying, character. But I was also impressed with Pohl's female characters, all of whom are well-rounded. Not perfect, as that would be as annoying as too flawed, but real people. Not cutouts who "gurgle happily" (my least favourite descriptive word for how some science fiction writers think women talk.)

And underlying the psychological makeup of Robin and his experiences, there lurks the larger mystery. Who were the Heechee? Where did they go? Why did they take most of their stuff with them, but not some things? What the heck did they even look like?

I'm looking forward to reading more of the Heechee books, and seeing if any of those questions are answered. But I like them just fine as mysteries too.(less)

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Apr 11, 2008 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

Frederik Pohl is a very good writer, reminiscent of Robert Silverberg - Silverberg is better with characterization and his literary skills are a half-step above, but Pohl's ability to manipulate large amounts of plot arc at a surgical level is incredible and they both create vivid, realistic seeming worlds with real, living characters, none of the Azimov cardboard men, and both develop their themes subtly through plot and characterization, rather than through preachy dialog and other cheap mecha...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: sciencefiction

"Gateway" by Frederik Pohl has long been considered a classic of Science Fiction and deservedly so. It's earned its status honestly and is one of the best books I have ever read.

What separates this from the myriad other science fiction and fantasy offerings out there?

It's the characters.

The Plot

Gateway is an asteroid in our Solar System that was hollowed out and made into a base of operations by the mysterious ancient alien race known as the "Heechee". They abandoned it long before mankind stop...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Apatt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remember reading this when I was 15 or so, I did not like it. I have no recollection of why I did not like it. Now it is years later and I am at the age of (view spoiler), having just re-read the book I can tell you why I did not like it then and why I do like it now. Like my 15 year old self I went in expect a Big Dumb Object fun times, something along the line of Rendezvous With Rama, what I ended up reading turn out to be a fairly slow moving characte...more I remember reading this when I was 15 or so, I did not like it. I have no recollection of why I did not like it. Now it is years later and I am at the age of (view spoiler), having just re-read the book I can tell you why I did not like it then and why I do like it now. Like my 15 year old self I went in expect a Big Dumb Object fun times, something along the line of Rendezvous With Rama, what I ended up reading turn out to be a fairly slow moving character study within a sci-fi setting.

The story concerns one Robinette Broadhead who went to Gateway, an asteroid where fully functional mysterious alien spaceships with FTL capabilities are found. Each one pre-programmed to an unknown destination, some take the travelers to riches in the form alien technological artifacts, vehicles and devices, some go to unknown destinations never to return, or return with dead crews or even no crew.You would think such a setup would be concerned with the mystery of the aliens gradually unfolding and the aliens eventually showing up to say hello, you would be light-years from the truth.

The story is all about Robinette Broadhead and his experiences on Gateway and on his missions to the unknown. Whatever happened to him scarred him psychologically and he is a man with issues (or even more issues than before he even went on his first mission). The story is told in flashbacks with a present day frame story narrated in the first person present tense, taking place entirely within an A.I.-psychiatrist's office. Even though the book is character-centric a lot of world building actually goes on in the background. The Earth and its single colony on Venus are in a state of dystopia, food is scarce and population is overflowing. Life on the Gateway asteroid (actually a space station) is described in detail, together with some hard sf style discreet little infodumps. The aliens (Heechees) never show up and the the rate of return of the humans flying off in their ships is much less than 50%. The narration is also aided by little advertisements, letters and other types of notices interspersed through out the book.

Clearly what Pohl had in mind was to explore the psychological consequences of the circumstances surrounding his protagonist, who is not even written as a particularly amiable fellow. The amazing thing is it works very well, while Broadhead is more of an anti-hero by the end of the book I came to understand and sympathize with his issues. What makes the book remarkable is that it is an exploration of the human psyche rather than the sci-fi environment. The book reminds me of Algis Budrys' Rogue Moon, but the relentless psycho analyses that go on in that book make it almost unbearable for me, Gateway makes the BDO and the alien tech more relevant to the protagonist's personal problems, and is simply better written. Here is a relevant example passage from Gateway:

There are people who never pass a certain point in their emotional development. They cannot live a normal free-and-easy, give-and-take life with a sexual partner for more than a short time. Something inside them will not tolerate happiness. The better it gets, the more they have to destroy it.

I did not expect that from a BDO adventure! This is a book that demands to be read slowly. I really did not like it because at the age of 15 I just wanted the damn Heechee to show up with some cool alien powers, gadgets and weird body parts, they never actually showed up at all (if that is a spoiler I'm sorry, but I consider it fair warning). Even today I found some description of day to day life on Gateway a little slow going.

Gateway deservedly won both the Hugo and Nebula award in 1978 but it really is more of a psychological / emotional novel, this one is not for kids.(less)

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Aug 09, 2007 Abe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

I read this book in 2006 — 30 years after it was first published — and it immediately shot up to my top 10 list of science fiction books. It is highly original, entertaining and thought provoking. It loses none of it's wow! even 30 years after it was written.

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Oct 24, 2009 Manny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 03, 2008 Sarah Sammis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2008, released

At a time of food shortages, a crashing world economy and recently expensive fuel, Gateway by Frederik Pohl is relevant and contemporary. Told in flashback through a series of conversations between a patient and his psychiatrist, Gateway, is an account of Robinette Broadhead's time on Gateway, an alien outpost.

Gateway captures the feeling of adventure of the classic frontier stories bringing to mind the works of Daniel Defoe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London and Jules Verne. Gateway is both a...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Brendan Howard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of science fiction

SO GOOD. SO GOOD. Part of a big Father's Day weekend buying binge of science fiction, zombie fiction, and Ray Bradbury.

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Mar 19, 2007 Michael Fennelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

It's not often that a science fiction novel transcends the genre. Sci-fi authors tend to be singularly focused on their techy premises, more often than not. Human interaction within the genre is often stilted and corny, like the under-developed social skills of a geeky computer science prof. This book is a wonderful exception to the rule. Besides the get-rich-quick plot and the heady scenerio of a black hole and time-stands-still event horizon, the book is funny, sad and thought provoking. It's...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Marc rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really like this one.

The structure of the book is interesting, it runs in two simultaneous threads, one a future thread with the lead character talking to a computerised psychologist. The other thread is back in his past, before the things that have messed him up have actually happened. The threads finally meet in the middle at the end of the book.

The story itself is really cool. Humans have stumbled upon some relics from an alien civilisation, including a huge spaceport with thousands of ti...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Jim Dressner rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

The gateway (asteroid/space station with a thousand interstellar spaceships left by an ancient alien race) was discovered in orbit around the sun, and is run by the "corporation". The spaceships are pre-programmed to go to a specific but unknown location; human crews on these trips have high mortality rates. This sets up an interesting opportunistic environment where people risk life and health for the chance to get rich--like the East India Company in British colonial history, or perhaps a gold...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Perrin Pring rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Almost a year ago I was at a party where I met a girl who told me I should read Gateway by Frederik Pohl. It took me nearly 11 months to get around to it, but when I finally started the book, I couldn't put it down. I read it in two sittings.

Gateway is all about space travel. A race of smart aliens, un-contacted by humans, has left some sort of ship docking station on a planetoid between Earth and Venus. The aliens (the Heechee) have also left ships, which when turned on are preprogrammed to fl...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Sean Mcguire rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another book that I read when much younger, on my mother's advice, from my mother's shelves. When I was young, I thought all science fiction was AMAZING. This is in part because everything was new to me, and in part because I was reading my mother's recommendations from my mother's collection - books that she chose among books she liked well enough to keep. It was quite a disappointment, when I had read all the books in her collection that interested me, to discover that, in fact, there was such...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Nick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I cannot recommend this book. Like alot of science fiction, it is false advertising. The books claims it is about exploring the unknown through these mysterious Heechee spacecraft found on the gateway. The problem is that the book is not about that . the book is about one pscyco guy who is a complete ass-hole. I had 0 sympathy for this guy, and just when you start liking him, he beats the crap out of his girlfriend after she slept with someone else, even though he himself just slept with someone...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Peter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, sci-fi

While I certainly liked how the 'therapy session' chapters and the harder science gateway travel chapters were eventually tied together by the end, like many other reviewers, I did not like the main character. At first I wondered why he was written with so many flaws, but then there's the Aha! moment at the end where you realize why Pohl did what he did. Was it worthwhile to get to that Aha! moment, I guess so, but I have to admit that even though this was a short book, it was a bit of chore to...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Seth Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here's the premise of Gateway: The protagonist wins the lottery and trades his dangerous, crappy life as a Wyoming food miner for a dangerous, exciting life as a space prospector who lives on an asteroid called Gateway.

As a space prospector, he and others like him use ancient alien technology to search for more ancient technology that can be licensed and adapted for the good of humanity (and the mutual profit of the space prospectors and the Gateway Corporation).

I liked this book because it's...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Josh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, aliens, psychology

Considering that Gateway has received multiple science fiction awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and John W. Campbell award, I had very high expectations. Gateway is indeed a creative story, but it suffers from one terrible flaw that made it much less enjoyable than it could have been.

The story is told by Robinette "Bob" Broadhead from two time frames. The first is presumed to be the present and takes place in the office of his AI psychotherapist whom Bob calls "Sigfrid von Shrink." The...more Considering that Gateway has received multiple science fiction awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and John W. Campbell award, I had very high expectations. Gateway is indeed a creative story, but it suffers from one terrible flaw that made it much less enjoyable than it could have been.

The story is told by Robinette "Bob" Broadhead from two time frames. The first is presumed to be the present and takes place in the office of his AI psychotherapist whom Bob calls "Sigfrid von Shrink." The second time frame is the past in which Bob recounts his experiences at Gateway and his various prospecting missions into space using abandoned technology left behind by a mysterious advanced alien species known as the Heechee. From the beginning we know that Bob is seeking therapy to deal with numerous problems, the most urgent of which being the guilt he feels related to something that happened while at Gateway.

The only problem is that I found it very difficult to empathize with a main character who is a whiny, sex-obsessed, egocentric, depressive asshole. Only toward the end of the novel was I able to salvage even a modicum of respect for this guy. I truly dreaded those chapters Bob spent with Sigfrid during which Bob did little but shout at Sigfrid, curse, and obsess about sex. Yes, I know that Bob is a troubled guy and that all of this behavior is intended to display that but, just as I don't enjoy reading about characters' bowel habits, I don't care much about their anal sex fantasies either.

The other half of the story, the part that takes place on Gateway, is far more interesting. While Bob is almost as insufferable here, it is much easier to overlook because the concept of an alien species leaving behind spaceships which are appropriated by a less advanced species is very fascinating. I really enjoyed Bob's prospecting missions. I only wish there had been more of them. The time spent in between missions was less exciting, mostly because it was full of Bob's indecisiveness and being an asshole to pretty much everyone.

Overall, Gateway is a good read. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Had the main character been a bit more tolerable I think the story would have been greatly improved.(less)

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Jul 31, 2011 Jason (FNORDinc) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, reviewed-on-fnordinc

Space scares me.

Scratch that.. When I am on the beach, I do not fear drowning in the ocean. It is not what happens to my body after I am dead that frightens me. I don’t really fear the numerous little nibbly biting things that will slowly devour my corpse until nothing remains.

Space is similar. I do not fear decompression. I don’t really fear the floating forever bit with no boundaries or edges, just an expanse of nothingness with no explanations or hope of understanding in my lifetime. There is...more Space scares me.

Scratch that.. When I am on the beach, I do not fear drowning in the ocean. It is not what happens to my body after I am dead that frightens me. I don’t really fear the numerous little nibbly biting things that will slowly devour my corpse until nothing remains.

Space is similar. I do not fear decompression. I don’t really fear the floating forever bit with no boundaries or edges, just an expanse of nothingness with no explanations or hope of understanding in my lifetime. There is an unknown number of little nibbly biting things who may or may not want to eat my corpse, but they will never have the opportunity due to lack of accessibility by proxy of statistical impossibility/unlikelihood.

With the ocean and space, both are wrought with the essential danger of asphyxiation. Decompression and lack of oxygen in space is not too far removed from increased pressure and lack of oxygen under water. They are all minor details when you get to that level.

What gets me sweating about the ocean/space is just the damnable expansive loneliness. On earth, the ocean represents a finite but tangible removal from all things I know. It is fear manifested. In space, it is the infinite and intangible removal from the same things. In both cases, the simplicity of the fear is nothing more than distance and nothingness. I can’t say it is manifest as there is NOTHING THERE.

Frederik Pohl’s Gateway is great science fiction. It’s focus is on Robinette, would be (nearly accidental) space explorer. Rob was living on the Gateway asteroid and pushing random buttons on alien space craft to see where they will go on autopilot. Each trip from Gateway to the unknown could mean instant death as he pops out of hyperspace into a sun going super nova, or could be safe, but 30 days longer round trip than his food supply will allow. It is a crap shoot.

Coming back to Gateway alive is not enough to earn you a living though. Just returning only pays enough for you to continue to breathe on the asteroid, air costs money, and those who can pay, can leave or be pushed out an airlock. In space, time matters more than on earth. every second it life that someone sold you. Survival is obviously fantastic, but coming back with scientific data that is new and useful is better, as it could earn you bonuses and make you a rich man or woman.

The Gateway novel takes some getting used to and is the only novel in the Gateway series formatted in the way it is. The book primarily flips between Rob Broadhead in his psychiatric sessions on earth (rich as a king) and his flashbacks to Gateway (poor and desperate). the book is filled with off-page notations, side conversations, and bulletin board posts in the asteroid. These can be distracting at times, but in the long view i believe help set the mood. All other books in the series are standard format, real-time, so if you want to read the series but are getting thrown off by the mixed in subtext just ignore these pages.

The last chapter of this book blew my mind and caused all of these space fear thoughts to be rehashed after years of successfully being ignored. It’s damned amazing and makes you rethink what torture truly could be, in relation to those you love. Sometimes the pain in your head is worse than anything you someone could do to you with a knife.

Highly recommended book for sci-fi aficionados.

-- FNORDinc.com
http://www.fnordinc.com/2011/07-29/re...(less)

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Jul 20, 2011 Mike Moore rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is basically a character study of a somewhat pathetic and reprehensible person. The setting is fairly well realized. It would be more interesting if there were any chance or hint that we would ever find out anything about why/how the setting came to be. Perhaps later books in the series deal more with the HeeChee, why Gateway exists, the political makeup of the earth and colonies etc.

But this book isn't about that. It's about Bob Broadhead, a cowardly and not terribly bright prospector...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: science fiction fans

Shelves: classic, favorite, science-fiction

Pohl won a Hugo and a Nebula for Gateway, deservedly so.

Frederik Pohl was, of course, one of the Golden Age writers of SF. But Gateway showed that he was hardly stuck in the 1950s. It was very innovative for its time. The general tone is quite modern. Much of the book is about the therapy of Robinette Broadhead, an ex-astronaut with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD is understandable, since his spaceflights were taken in several alien spacecraft that no one knew how to operate; ope...more Pohl won a Hugo and a Nebula for Gateway, deservedly so.

Frederik Pohl was, of course, one of the Golden Age writers of SF. But Gateway showed that he was hardly stuck in the 1950s. It was very innovative for its time. The general tone is quite modern. Much of the book is about the therapy of Robinette Broadhead, an ex-astronaut with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD is understandable, since his spaceflights were taken in several alien spacecraft that no one knew how to operate; operating out of an abandoned alien base in the solar system, the "prospectors" of Gateway faced an extremely high casualty rate.

Robinette Broadhead is a complex character; unpleasant in some ways, and often not admirable. But since the story is told from his point of view, in first person, it's clear that we're not getting an objective picture of himself or, probably, his experiences.

Pohl also put whole-page inserts in the book, including conversational program read-outs from Robinette's therapist (a computer program), excerpts from science lectures, classified ads, and letters - all of them relevant to the story, of course, and many of them quite funny. The novel itself is not a comedy, I should note, but there are many very amusing moments.

I'll also quickly note that Pohl's representation of future society is dystopian and rather prescient. Desperate poverty is, apparently, the norm for most of the world's population. People sell organs and body parts to the rich in order to survive. Much of the environment is hideously despoiled, although there are domed enclaves where the elite live. Health care is more than ever a matter of life and death, priced beyond the ability of most to pay; but for the wealthy, life is comfortable and long. A look at current health care statistics makes the world of Gateway seem not very unlikely. Except that we're unlikely to find an alien base with FTL spacecraft in nearby space, of course.

The ending is rather touching. No spoilers, but one of the strongest and most likable characters in the book is Robinette's therapist; I've always found his final remark oddly moving. It's a pity that he (it) wasn't given more of a role in the sequels.(less)

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Oct 24, 2010 Simcha Lazarus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although it's been over a year now since I first challenged myself to start reading science fiction, I still find myself intimidated by the hard core stuff. To me, Gateway by Frederik Pohl falls into this category because it's written by a top scifi author and it has a cover featuring spaceships shooting at each other in outer space. That's heavy-duty scifi stuff.

But when I recently found myself in possession of a copy of Gateway I thought it couldn't hurt to take a look inside, just to test the...more

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Sep 08, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Science Fiction Fans

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Shelves: science-fiction, ultimate-reading-list, fiction, novels

Humans have discovered an ancient and abandoned space depot on an asteroid. The ships will take passengers to set headings and bring them back automatically. Since they can't be reverse engineered, the Gateway Corporation allows "prospectors" to take ships out. There's about one chance in four they'll never come back alive--but there's also a chance they could come back rich. This is set in a dystopic society where to not be rich means you can't get "Major Medical" (catastrophic heath care) let...more

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Jul 29, 2010 Jonah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 02, 2010 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is more like it. The second of today's two Hugo-winners, Gateway was tremendously satisfying. The premise is heavier on the "fiction" than the "science"--an ancient and extinct culture from Venus left an asteroid filled with wacky ships that will travel unimaginable distances. Yet, because the controls are inscrutable to humans, crews never know where they're going--or whether they will even return alive. But success can mean great wealth and security on an overcrowded future Earth, so some...more

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Jan 26, 2010 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I originally read this book years ago while in the military. It turned me back on to science fiction and saved me from the doldrums while stationed at Fort Knox.

The book holds up pretty well. There are some anachronisms - our visions of the future have changed radically - but not enough that it really bothers the flow of the book. This is, after all, a *character* story. The character development arc, as revealed by both history and intercut psychiatric sessions, is a finely crafted masterwork....more

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Nov 04, 2009 Don rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is the second book I've read by author Frederik Pohl. JEM was the first book and I enjoyed that one and thought I'd pick up his most famous book Gateway. I thought this book was well written, I like how it keeps jumping from past to present and how the main character is trying to come to grips with himself. Basically the past story is about the main characters experience on Gateway, this abandoned alien made transportation station found out in space. The human race doesn't understand the te...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't have very high expectations going into this novel, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It quickly turned into a book I couldn't put down, and is a great example of really good genre writing (and I'm not using that term in a patronizing way).

The plot is reminiscent of “Stalker/Roadside Picnic,” and probably a million other science fiction stories that take the idea of abusing undecipherable alien technology and exploiting it for science and profit. I've always been a fan of frontier and...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Ania rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Nobody

Recommended to Ania by: goodreads, because I read "Ender's game", "Speaker for the dead" and "the left hand of darkness"

At first I was so excited about this book. I mean think about it: a long gone race of super intelligent beings leave us with an inheritance of a gateway to 1000 locations where unspeakable riches, both financial and scientific, await their rediscovery. The premise sounds great, right? I mean who wouldn't wanna go on an adventure in outer space? To discover just what it is that we've inherited? (And we did, I mean the Heechees left everything in pristine condition, just waiting for us.)

So there I...more At first I was so excited about this book. I mean think about it: a long gone race of super intelligent beings leave us with an inheritance of a gateway to 1000 locations where unspeakable riches, both financial and scientific, await their rediscovery. The premise sounds great, right? I mean who wouldn't wanna go on an adventure in outer space? To discover just what it is that we've inherited? (And we did, I mean the Heechees left everything in pristine condition, just waiting for us.)

So there I was all excited and quickly found out that at least half the book is all about psychotherapy of some guy who's been "traumatized". Hmmm... ok ok... no biggie, I thought to myself. I'll just, you know.. spend half the book discovering the secrets of a forgotten race, and spend the other half with some old guy on the couch reliving his life's regrets, but... perhaps, he'll have a meaningful epiphany? Perhaps it all will not be useless psychobable?

How wrong I was.

The book started off as a 4 stars for me, but about half way through it quickly regressed to a 1 star novel. What I wanted was an adventure of discovery, where, perhaps, some universal meaning is found, so universal that both the Heechee and humans would better understand their place in the cosmos. Hmmm. All I got is a washed up copy of Charlie Sheen. A guy so messed up that even all the Freudian pop-culture the author read up on could not help him. (view spoiler)

It is hard to follow a character one completely does not care for, at least it is hard for me. I mean the guy is so screwed up! Half the time I found myself just practically poking my eyes out hoping he'll finally come out of the closet already and stop this "nonesense" of playing straight. I mean it's so obvious. He cannot form any attachment to any woman he sleeps with (and there's many!). The one he supposedly "loved" (HA!!) he confronts in his dreams. She is "man like" and smells "musky" which he likes. But even her he doesn't treat well... (view spoiler).

And what do you get in the end? I admit I persisted in this book, naively hoping it would improve. Hoping he'll have an epiphany and hoping I'll learn something remotely meaningful about the Heechees. Nope. First, the whole time Robbie (his childlish name) is fighting the very psychological help he's paying for which leads to no results. Second, you'll find out next to nothing about the heechees.

Yield the warning of all the reviewers so far. This book is at least 50% about a selfish asswipe of a man who struggles with issues he dares not face (primarily his attraction to men). The other 50% you'll read about him on Gateway beeing too chicken-poop to even get on a mission hence just walking around and doing nothing.. and sexing it up... hey, it was the 70s when this was written.

Complete utter waste of time. Don't do it, don't even think about it.

Having tried Pohl, (a 4 star novel!) I pretty much know I'll never read him again. If this is the best he can do, I shudder to think what he is like at his worst.

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Jul 21, 2011 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hugo-nebula-winners

A foundational text for me, this is 1970s, New Wave, fun, smart sci fi. Its vibe of the irreverent and the mundane, as seen through the eyes of a protagonist in a high-tension, kinda shitty "space adventure", is just pitch perfect.

Robinette "Bob" Broadhead gets mixed up with other desperate (usually poor) human guinea pigs on the Heechee space station near Earth called "Gateway". The Heechee are a species of mysterious alien life forms that have disappeared from the universe, but not before lit...more

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About Frederik Pohl

Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor & fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited "Galaxy" magazine and its sister magazine "IF", winning the Hugo for "IF" three years in a row. His writing also won him three Hugos and multiple Nebula Awards. He became a Nebula Grand Master in 1993.

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Books by Frederik Pohl

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (Heechee Saga, #2)

The Annals of the Heechee (Heechee Saga, #4)

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“They were two lovely choices. One of them meant giving up every chance of a decent life forever...and the other one scared me out of my mind.” — 35 people liked it

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Gateway (Heechee Saga #1)

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