Gateway

Gateway By Frederik Pohl

An alien space station is found in our solar system with a thousand docked ships, all can take you someplace in the universe, but you have little say as to where. It could be a place you make your fortune, or it could be somewhere dangerous that changes your life for the worse. Hell, it could even lead you straight into a sun, or bring you back as paste? Is the risk worth taking?

Gateway is a brilliant concept, and is perfectly executed by Frederik Pohl. You get such a sense of the enormous danger on offer throughout the book, the desperation, the waste of human life. But also, the need to explore, the desire to bring back a fortune. To discover new technology, or a way to help the floundering human race.

Central to the story is Robbie/Rob/Bob. We learn about the three different times he took the trip in a Gateway ship, and how each journey went, knowing at some point he struck gold due to his vast fortune… but at what personal cost?

Robbie is an absolute mess of a human being. Confused about his sexuality. Riddled with guilt. He thinks of himself as a coward, yet anyone who ever goes near Gateway should be considered brave. He commits unforgivable acts, yet is clearly an incredibly trouble human being who is desperately trying to find his way. He might be the most complex character I've read in a long time, and for some, probably the most divisive too.

The story is structured around his visits to a robo-psychiatrist who he calls Sigfrid, and constantly abuses. We switch between his therapy sessions, and time spent on Gateway, learning about the woman he’s conquered, and the guilt he’s racked up. We know something has gone horrible wrong with the big love is his life, but don’t know to what extent. Sigfrid does his best to coax it out of Robbie, but Rob wants to keep everything buried inside him.

Gateway is fantastically written with a brilliant lead character. The concept is amazing, and it’s good to know there are other books in the series as I'll be reading them one day. I enjoyed every page of this book and think it’s one of the best I've read in a while. Everything about the story is interesting, and the formatting seemed incredibly inventive for the time as well. I’d consider this an absolute must read for any fans of the genre.