Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon’s Egg | 1980 | Robert L. Forward | Buy |
| 2 | Starquake | 1985 | Robert L. Forward | Buy |
The Cheela series consists of two novels, Dragon’s Egg (1980) and Starquake (1985). Dragon’s Egg introduces the cheela, a species of intelligent creatures living on the surface of a neutron star called Dragon’s Egg. The cheela are tiny, flat, and experience time at a rate millions of times faster than humans, which means their civilization develops from primitive origins to spacefaring technology within the span of a single human expedition.
Starquake continues the story after a catastrophic event resets cheela civilization, forcing them to rebuild. Both books are considered classics of hard science fiction for the way Forward uses real physics to create a genuinely alien form of life and society.