About the Book
Hal Clement is a Grand Master of SF, and, of the living Grand Masters, is the one most associated with the subgenre of Hard SF. From his classic stories in the 1940s through his novels of the 1950s and on to the recent Half Life, he has made a lasting impression on SF readers. And on writers too: Clement is the model for many writers of how to write Hard SF, and this book contains the principal products of his method most often held up as exemplars. Here are the classic Mission of Gravity, its sequel, Starlight, and Whirligig World, the famous essay Clement published in Astounding SF in 1953. It describes the rigorous process he used to create his memorable planet, Mesklin, whose odd shape causes gravity to vary widely from place to place. It is on Mesklin that all the stories herein are set.
