Star Light
Cover of second edition (paperback)
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| Author | Hal Clement |
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| Cover artist | H. R. Van Dongen |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Mesklin |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
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Publication date
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June - September 1970 (serial) September 1971 (book) |
| Media type | Print (Magazine, Paperback & Hardback) |
| Pages | 279 (paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 5372883 |
| Preceded by | Mission of Gravity |
Star Light is a science fiction novel by Hal Clement. It is the sequel to one of Clement's earlier books, Mission of Gravity. The novel was serialized in four parts in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact Magazine from June to September 1970. Star Light was first published as a paperback book by Ballantine Books in September 1971.
Star Light is set several decades after the events of Mission of Gravity. It takes place mostly on the supergiant planet Dhrawn, which some suspect of being a failed star. The planet has an ammonia/water atmosphere with some oxygen, at temperatures ranging from 70 Kelvins to almost the freezing point of water. The planet rotates extremely slowly, taking around two months for one revolution. It also has a long eccentric orbit around its star, which is a red dwarf, Lalande 21185. Much of the planet's heat seems to come from within. The gravity at the surface is 40 times the Earth's. Almost everything about the planet defies scientific theory, including its size, lack of hydrogen, its temperature, and the presence of free oxygen in its atmosphere.
A consortium of spacefaring races, including humans, recruits Mesklinites, the centipede-like natives of the high-gravity planet Mesklin, to explore Dhrawn. The recruits include Barlennan and Dondragmer, respectively the Captain and First Mate of the Bree, a merchant vessel of Mesklin, which sailed to Mesklin's south pole to rescue a probe sent by humans. Now, thanks to institutes of learning set up on Mesklin, the natives have produced capable explorers who can go where other races cannot.
Barlennan is in command of the main base on Dhrawn while Dondragmer commands a "land cruiser", the Kwembly. This is a tracked vehicle about 30 meters long, 6 meters high and the same wide. It is designed to move like a large worm on independently steerable trucks. The power is supplied by self-contained fusion generators but the controls are simple pulley-and-rope systems using Mesklinite materials which the crew can repair by themselves. There are several more cruisers, and each has audio/video links for communication with satellites.
The humans and others are on a satellite in synchronous orbit above the explorers on the ground. Unfortunately the planet's slow rotation means that they are about 10 million kilometers above the surface, and signals take over 30 seconds to travel to the satellite. Real-time conversations are therefore impossible.
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