nicanical
Gateway's premise is captivating: the titular Gateway is an alien space station discovered with hundreds of ready-to-go ships; people figure out how to plot destinations but the Heechee's (the name given to the aliens) coordinate system remains opaque—travelers scarcely know whether they're headed for a valuable discovery or certain death. Despite this risk, a gold rush commences.
Frederik Pohl's writing style is simple and straightforward. Protagonist Robinette's survivor's guilt and suppressed memories make him an unreliable narrator, but otherwise, Pohl clearly lets readers know what's going on.
Structurally, Gateway alternates between two narrative streams: one in the past on Gateway and one in the present back on Earth, with the present stream exploring Robinette's psychological trauma. Iain M. Banks's Use of Weapons employs a similar structure to good effect, using flashbacks to hone into events relevant to Cheradenine's psychological profile. Gateway, on the other hand, simply has Robinette harassing his machine therapist over and over until revealing his suppressed memories. These therapy sessions do not bless Robinette's character with mitigating nuance. They also fail to rehabilitate Robinette of whupping the tar out of his girlfriend Klara—if Pohl's intention was for Robinette to be more sympathetic, the therapy sessions would have been good for that.
Gateway's premise is captivating: the titular Gateway is an alien space station discovered with hundreds of ready-to-go ships; people figure out how to plot destinations but the Heechee's (the name given to the aliens) coordinate system remains opaque—travelers scarcely know whether they're headed for a valuable discovery or certain death. Despite this risk, a gold rush commences.
Frederik Pohl's writing style is simple and straightforward. Protagonist Robinette's survivor's guilt and suppressed memories make him an unreliable narrator, but otherwise, Pohl clearly lets readers know what's going on.
Structurally, Gateway alternates between two narrative streams: one in the past on Gateway and one in the present back on Earth, with the present stream exploring Robinette's psychological trauma. Iain M. Banks's Use of Weapons employs a similar structure to good effect, using flashbacks to hone into events relevant to Cheradenine's psychological profile. Gateway, on the other hand, simply has Robinette harassing his machine therapist over and over until revealing his suppressed memories. These therapy sessions do not bless Robinette's character with mitigating nuance. They also fail to rehabilitate Robinette of whupping the tar out of his girlfriend Klara—if Pohl's intention was for Robinette to be more sympathetic, the therapy sessions would have been good for that.