Iceworld by Hal Clement

First published in 1953

Iceworld is a clever story, constructed in a clever fashion. The first chapter leaves the impression that the reader is reading about human explorers in an alien solar system until Clement reveals that the explorers are in fact aliens who are observing Earth. Although that revelation comes so soon that discussing it here won't ruin your enjoyment of the story, I'll refrain from revealing anything else about the plot except to explain that the aliens are on a trade mission, supplying precious metals to a happy human in exchange for a surprising product. Suffice it to say that this is an offbeat and intelligent story, one that depends on thought rather than mindless action -- although there is some pulse-pounding (but nonviolent) action toward the novel's end. Given the glut of novels about interstellar war, it's nice to look back on a novel that imagined alien and human interaction where the species weren't trying to kill each other.

Iceworld was published in 1953, when science fiction was still associated with a sense of wonder. In some ways, the story is surprisingly sophisticated; in others, it is a bit naïve. The naiveté shows in Hal Clement's depiction of alien personalities. His aliens, in thought and behavior, are virtually indistinguishable from humans. This is a forgivable sin, however, because the story's charm derives from that very fact: the conflict between a greedy alien trader and a noble alien scientist is recognizable to its human audience precisely because greed and nobility are human traits. Maybe Clement imagined those to be universal traits, likely to be present in any intelligent species, and maybe they are. In any event, Iceworld is a fun, smart story about aliens who have some of the same problems as humans, despite their vastly different biochemistry.

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