Robert L. Forward is a consulting scientist, future technologist, lecturer, and science fact and fiction writer. He is the owner and Chief Scientist of Forward Unlimited, a consultant firm specializing in exotic physics and advanced space propulsion, and a partner and chief scientist of Tethers Unlimited, a partnership formed in 1994 with Dr. Robert P. Hoyt, specializing in highly survivable space tethers. He is the author of ten science fiction novels, the sequel to Dragon's Egg, and three works of science fact plus numerous popular science articles and short stories.
I was hooked to this SF after reeding only a few pages. Forward has created a whole new world which is far different from our earth. It is not a planet but a star. The alien life forms existing on this world are strange and totally different from aliens we usually read or see in science fiction works. It is a must read for all SF fans as it portrays an entirely different image of the alien life forms.