Gateway

Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe...and on reaches of unimaginable horror.

When prospector Bob Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Robinette Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he is...in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!

BONUS AUDIO: In an exclusive introduction, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer explains why Gateway is one of science fiction's all-time greatest novels.

PLEASE NOTE: Some changes were made to the original text with the permission of the author.

©1977 Frederik Pohl (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 1978
• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1978
• John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Best Novel, 1978

Angst, Massive Amounts of Angst

If you want to wander around for a while in a mind filled with copious amounts of self-persecution for things he has no control over and who spends plenty of time torturing himself about not wanting to risk the opportunity of either throwing his life away in a splashy/squishy manner or striking it rich (with no real choice in which he gets), then this is the book for you. And let's not forget the interludes in the psychologist's office, where he blames all of his life's choices or failure to choose on his mommy issues.

Amazing story

I read this story when I was very young, it made me look at the world differently.

The audio book made me feel nostalgic and newly exhilarated simultaneously.

Missing some of the stuff I liked best about the physics book, but still good

I was a little wary when I saw the note about words being removed with the author’s permission because I had a sneaking suspicion what they would be… and I was right. :(

All the sidebars are missing! Every poster, every notification from the Gateway Corporation, every classified ad, every transcript of astrophysics lectures is gone. Sure, they don’t have a ton of weight to add to the story, but they’re a clever way of adding world-building to the novel without dumping a ton of exposition on you over many chapters or, worse yet, via a prologue and epilogue. I especially miss the mission reports, since they give you a quick look at how dangerous the trips are, and you don’t have to wait for Bob to Shanghai himself into another ship just to find out what they’re like.

I bought this book to replace a very, very old recording I have from back when they only made audiobooks for niche markets and they were terribly expensive. I like the modern outlook on audiobooks much better, but I’m still going to hang on to my old copy. The audio quality of my old one is atrocious, but it holds closer to the original publication.

The narrator did a good job emoting and his accents were subtle, rather than hackneyed, except in cases where it was reasonable for that character to have a thick accent: e.g., someone whose English is rudimentary. I’m glad I bought this, and since the same narrator performs for the rest of the series, I’ll probably buy them, too.

incomplete

it says it's unabridged but it's not. it's missing many pages of made up machine code....
there's many pauses of complete silence that cause newer bluetooth headphones and speakers to cut out causing many words to be left out after the silence making it harder to folow the story....

Overall enjoyable read

Where does Gateway rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This audiobook, really kept me on the edge of my seat ready for something substantial to happen. Which unfortunately never did. Still an enjoyable book.

Have you listened to any of Oliver Wyman and Robert J. Sawyer ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Never have before, but I'm a fan now. He saved this book by his performance.

Any additional comments?

the psycho-analysis parts are pure brilliance. This book is really about a guy who faces up to his feelings and fears, rather than the space opera I was expecting. Those parts of the book are what really save it.