Tau Zero

By: Poul Anderson

Narrated by: Neil Hellegers

This science fiction novel describes the epic voyage of the spacecraft Leonora Christine, which will take a 40-strong crew to a planet some 30 light years distant.

From practically the very first minute, Tau Zero sets scientific realities in dramatic tension with the very real emotional and psychological states of the travelers, exploring the effect of time contraction due to traveling at near-light speed on the human psyche. This tension is a dynamic that Anderson explores with great success over the course of the novel, as 50 crewmembers settle in for the long journey together. While they are a highly trained team of scientists and researchers and therefore professionals, they are also a community of individuals, each of them trying to create for him or herself a life in a whole new space - or, literally, in space.

It isn't long, however, before the voyage takes a turn for the worse. The ship passes through a small, uncharted nebula that makes it impossible to decelerate the ship. Their only hope is to do the opposite and speed up. But acceleration towards and within the speed of light means that time outside the spaceship passes even more rapidly, sending the crew deeper into space and further into an unknown future.

©2016 Poul Anderson (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Nice story, poor telling

The story was interesting, looking continuously at the effects of long-term high speed travel, from physics and psychology perspectives. However the readers method is so staccato and compressed, it is not relaxing and does not flow smoothly. The result is that sounds angry and ultraintense.

Incredibly great sci fi

Mind bending on a level I haven’t seen touched in years of listening to the greats. The story is amazing and the performance is very good too, the “noir” thing is way overhyped in other reviews, I can understand everything fine and I’d listen to something else narrated by the same guy.

Not as Expected

This is more of a soap opera that takes place in space then a scifi book. It was good for what it was but not what I was expecting.

Brilliantly envisioned

Brilliant story. One of my favorite story of all time. I was sceptical about the narrator in the beginning, but as the story drew on I think he did a very good job. I cannot recommend enough.

A classic Sci-Fi

Story was very good, but the narrator was stilted, overly dramatoc, and ruined the flow of the story.