Stopping at Slowyear

Stopping at Slowyear

First edition
Author	Frederik Pohl
Cover artist	Rob Alexander
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Publisher	Axolotl Press
Publication date	1992
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	150
ISBN	0-553-29487-3
OCLC	25808833

Stopping at Slowyear is a 1992 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl.[1][2]

Plot summary

Stopping at Slowyear tells the story of an interstellar cargo vessel which runs between out-of-the-way worlds, as it visits a planet called Slowyear after its 19-year-long revolution around its star.

The crew explore the local culture and find several odd customs. Among these is of a sort of death lottery as a punishment for crimes. If someone commits a crime, they are sentenced to take a pill, which depending on the severity of the infraction will have a different probability of being lethal poison.[3]

Slowyear's principal industry is raising sheep. During their isolation, their sheep have developed a form of scrapie which is lethal to humans without immunity.

Stopping at Slowyear addressed prion diseases[3] years before public awareness of mad cow disease was widespread.

References

1. "Title: Stopping at Slowyear". isfdb.org. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
2. “Review of Stopping at Slowyear.” Library Journal. Library Journals, LLC, 1992.
3. McClintock, Michael W. "The Problem of Stopping at Slowyear." Extrapolation 38, no. 4 (Winter, 1997): 304.

External links

• Stopping at Slowyear title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database