Dragon's Egg

Cheela, Book 1

By: Robert L. Forward

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms - the cheela-living on Dragon's Egg, a neutron star where one Earth hour is equivalent to hundreds of their years. The cheela culturally evolve from savagery to the discovery of science, and for a brief time, men are their diligent teachers.

©1980 Dr. Robert L. Forward (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

“Forward has impeccable scientific credentials, and...big, original, speculative ideas." ( The Washington Post)

Classic Hard Science Fiction

I love the writings of Dr. Forward. There is nothing like science fiction written by an actual physicist. I am hoping it will not take Audible long to release the second and third Cheela books as Audible titles. It has been decades since I read these books with my eyes, and now I am loving to re-read this one with my ears. :)

Very Fun Concept

Fun world building, but a bit too technical at times. Some parts were a bit slow, and I would've liked to see the humans play a more interesting part.

An amazing look into life on a neutron star

Robert L Forward did an excellent job of deduction when describing life on a neutron star. Then took it to the next level by letting a human spacecraft contact the neutron star beings. Both species have a first encounter that makes for a wonderful book.

Hard Sci-fi

This was great. Astrophysics and speculative biology with a cool narrative tying it all together.

Intense and Intriguing

Normally I can listen to a book while working, but I found that this one was so engaging in its idea and execution that I was enthralled and couldn't focus on anything else. While the Cheela did exhibit a disproportionate amount of human characteristics, leaving me to remember that Forward is a physicist and not a xenobiologist, I still found the thought expirements and ideas that the story stimulated to be joyous and intriguing experiences. Definitely a recommend listen.

The Wait Is Over

I've periodically been searching for Dragon's Egg in audio format for several years. Having read the paper version many years ago I wanted to re-enjoy this book again but paper reading is a thing of the past for me. Thank You Audible for this addition to your listings. Dragon's Egg is one of...if not THE...most original Sci-Fi stories ever published and at no point does it ever disappoint. For anyone who has not read it and is looking for a GREAT STORY...look no further! Now we start a new wait for "Starquake".

Loved it all over again!

One of the things I find awesome about the times we live in is that it is becoming easier and easier to answer nagging questions. I first read this book in the far flung year of 1981 I thought the story was pretty good then and the science of the book made real sense to a teenager who had astronomy, astronauts, and space in general on the brain! Fast forward a few years (ok, almost 3 decades if you're going to be picky) and audible has thousands of books in audio format. Well I couldn't remember the name of the book that impressed me way back when to save my life but a simple internet search with a part of the plot I remembered vividly and viola! there it is! Ain't technology great!? So, on to the story. As the audio book unfolded I found myself remembering each chapter and it was like reconnecting with a lost friend. The very concept of two species evolving divergently as a result of a single cosmic event was so well thought out that the book read more like history than fiction. I am not going to spoil it by providing a ton of details, but I am going to suggest that you listen to it yourself. I will note one thing that is structurally different between reading and listening; events unfold on a very tight timeline and it seemed easier to recognize the passage of time reading the book with it's time stamps, than it was listening to it because the time stamps didn't have that visual connection to their passing. All in all a great story and the narration was spot on. Looking forward to the second Cheela book.

Brilliant!

If you are a true science fiction fan you need to read this. Hard sci-fi in an approachable, intuitive way that is entertaining and amazing. To not read it is to have a gaping hole in your library.

Good story, questionable plosibility

I have read this and the sequal so was happy to get the audible book as well and hope they will do Starquake some time. While these are fun stories, and I enjoy them, I only question how plosible the books are. That may just be readig too deep into things though and does not mean they are not worth a read or listen.

Slow but worth it

The last chapter really felt like it went by in 20 seconds. So much excitement.