Fred Hoyle, "The Black Cloud"

"The Black Cloud." Hoyle is a terrific writer and brings to bear his expertise as a scientist in producing a novel that is engrossing, with the dialogue delightfully flavored with his subtle British sense of humor. I particulary enjoy the interaction between the dignified 'Astronomer Royal' and the chief character and maverick & rather unstable Professor Kingsly. The book begins with a description of a cold wintry January morning on the prime meridian in England, with the natives huddled around their fireplaces moaning about the weather, and quickly moves to Mt. Palomar above the California orange groves, where an underpaid Norwegian grad assistant finds that certain photographic plates (didn't have CDC's back then) taken of the Orion region of the sky show that an entire circle of stars is blinking on and off when compared with the plate taken somewhat earlier….a condition that shouldn't exist…and the action starts from there….of course the culprit is the "Black Cloud" heading straight for the solar system. I'm a fan of Heinlein, Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, et. al…but I gotta say this is my number one favorite of all time. Anybody who likes sci-fi within the realm of what actually could happen as told by a writer grounded in science…and who's got a flare for SETI will love this book. And the way he writes, I find myself visualizing being right there on the scene., whether at Mt. Palomar, Pasadena, or Nortonstowe out in the English countryside (where they all end up). Always felt it was too bad Hoyle wasn't a more prolific writer of novels….