Hal Clement

Hal Clement's work is characterized by complex physical science ideas, lending a seriousness to hard science fiction.

Clement's first story was published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine in 1942, during the “Golden Age of Science Fiction.” His most famous work is the series beginning with the novel Mission of Gravity (1953) and loosely followed by Close to Critical (1958), and Star Light (1971).

Mission of Gravity is set on the planet of Mesklin, the high-gravity conditions of which profoundly affect life on its surface. The plot concerns the efforts of the centipede-like Mesklinite Captain Barlennan as he assists a human team with recovering a vital component from a crashed space probe.

The vividness of imagination so evident in Mission of Gravity informed much of Clement's subsequent work. This quality, coupled with his evident sense of wonder at the marvels of the universe, has made him a figure of enduring importance to the genre.