Dragon's Egg: A Novel

“In science fiction there is only a handful of books that stretch the mind—and this is one of them.”—Arthur C. Clarke

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.

Praise for Dragon’s Egg

“Bob Forward writes in the tradition of Hal Clement’s Mission of Gravity and carries it a giant step (how else?) forward.”—Isaac Asimov

“Dragon’s Egg is superb. I couldn’t have written it; it required too much real physics.”—Larry Niven

“This is one for the real science-fiction fan.”—Frank Herbert

“Robert L. Forward tells a good story and asks a profound question. If we run into a race of creatures who live a hundred years while we live an hour, what can they say to us or we to them?”—Freeman J. Dyson

“Forward has impeccable scientific credentials, and . . . big, original, speculative ideas.”—The Washington Post