First published 1979
Robinette Broadhead arrives at Gateway, a hollowed-out asteroid where humanity has found hundreds of abandoned alien spacecraft. The Heechee vanished long ago, leaving behind ships that still function but cannot be reprogrammed. Each vessel has a preset destination locked into its navigation system. Broadhead joins the ranks of prospectors willing to climb aboard these mysterious craft and activate their controls, never knowing where they will emerge from faster-than-light travel. Some expeditions return with alien artifacts worth millions. Others come back with dead crews or disappear entirely into the void between stars. The Corporation pays handsomely for successful missions, but the odds favor disaster. Broadhead must choose between the grinding poverty of an overpopulated Earth and the terrifying lottery of Heechee exploration. Each launch becomes a test of nerve as much as luck, with survival rates that would make any rational person flee.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, space-opera
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Gateway, Earth
Period: future
313 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Del Rey