Humanity, Mortality and Isolation | Tau Zero by Poul Anderson

Published in 1970 and coming in at 160 pages this is a short king of a scifi novel. It took 4 hours to read and a lot of thought afterward about my own humanity and how I would handle the isolation of space myself so far removed from everything I know and love. Please excuse the packed bags under my eyes, yes I do feel as tired as I look, but this was a lovely distraction.

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[BBsBooks]

Hello! YouTube is hiding/deleting comments from me. I get the notifications and when I go to reply to the comments they are gone :( If I haven't hearted or responded to your comments please know it's not because I don't want to, it's because I can't. (I'm sorry Stephen)

[sethball]

It's a fabulous book. And I'm also dazzled when something under 200 pages accomplishes so much. It's like "How did you give six hundred pages of experience in so few pages?!". In the age of long tomes, it's nice to find the really great short reads. Anyway, great hearing you speak about it so passionately.

[willp]

Every time your new videos show up on my feed i just smile widely and watch the video - that simple. You & Bookpilled elicited this reaction without fail. Thanks for always brightening my day!

[mrwizardalien]

I just read this book as well! I found it very interesting, and was surprised at how much focus the characters got (compared with the few other classic scifi books I've read which tend to ignore character arcs). I really enjoyed it, once the science started sinking in, I definitely want to read more from Poul Anderson now.

[distantearth]

Great review and great book. Love your description, and the sentiment at the end of the video.

[Scottlp]

I remember reading this ages ago, back in my Asimov/Niven days. Great book and wild hard science ride. Good review—I had forgotten the emphasis on character which was less common in those days.

[willp]

What you said when you got a little emotional made me emotional because your observations were so poignant. Life (and death) is an existential trip. Anyways, I found a paperback version of Tau Zero at my local used bookstore 2 weeks ago & you got me excited to read it. Bumping it up on my tbr. (can't lie, jealous of your hardcover, but the edition i found is also barcode-less, so that's a win!) Thanks always for your wonderful energy.

[mediumjohnsilver]

I have that same edition of _Tau Zero_ and read it about twenty years ago. What stuck with me after all this time is not so much the characters, but the science fiction concepts. Near the end, when the ship is passing through galaxies like the _thup thup thup_ of a motorboat cruising across waves… wow.

[bookssongsandothermagic]

Love your book reviews and this one is especially good. I’ll be looking out for this one. Great video.

[Greg_M]

Thanks for the excellent overview of Tau Zero. I'm acquiring the book now. And, subscribed. :)

[gongo]

Tau zero has been on my tbr for awhile, just gotta find a vintage copy.

[willinnewhaven]

Poul's parents were Danes, not Swedes. The people I heard address him called him something between Paul and Pole, but it wasn't exactly either. What a wonderful review of a great book.

[tragicslip]

Poul has long books, Poul has short books, all their own reward. Sometimes buried, more often gleaming but just out of sight: Fireball's simulated mind in Harvest of Stars, Tau's older brother Enemy Stars, There will be Time.

[paznewis]

Hat suits you bonny lass. All the best from Scotland. 🙏😺

[dpattn]

The Swedes are my people! I should read this. It’s interesting you are finding books with more of a balance of characters, it almost seemed to me like they didn’t exist back then but I’m glad misogyny isn’t as prevalent as I thought it was for older books.

[Calcprof]

I belive his name is pronounced somewhere between Paul and Pull. Poul Anderson was always a favorite at science fiction conventions. Incredibly friendly and outgoing.

[LiamsLyceum]

I read this earlier this year and man was it a wild ride.

[fretmyster]

Hi I enjoy your reviews. I’ve added this book to my list it sounds right up my street. By the way I discovered you via Bookpilled

[Hibernicus]

Actually I believe Poul Anderson's ancestry was Danish, not Swedish. This is one of my favorite books from Anderson though, and Anderson is my favorite science fiction author, beating out even Heinlein. He's also one of the few people who could write fantasy and hard science fiction with equal facility. As good as his novels are, Anderson's short stories (which are all collected in book form, you just have to look in the used book market, as they are all sadly out of print by now) are just as good. And a _lot_ of his work is very thought provoking.

[SixDasher]

Sounds a lot like the movie Aniara (2018).