''Cusp'' is a 2005

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

novel by American writer Robert A. Metzger. It deals with two perpendicular rings running along the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's surface that act as cosmic jets using ionized

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

. In this universe, the fusion of organic and non-organic material is an everyday thing. Multiple characters are portrayed in the story, and it is told from a

third-person narrative Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

Literary significance and reception

Carl Hays reviewing for ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' magazine said that "Metzger’s background as a telecommunications scientist enables a brilliant, sprawling vision of humanity in the late twenty-first century." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' was mixed in their coverage saying that ''Cusp'' was "Overcomplicated by several orders of magnitude, with anonymous characters mystifyingly associated with a ferocious and largely unfathomable plot. Still, minds will boggle at the extravagance of Metzger's imagination.

References

2005 American novels 2005 science fiction novels Third-person narrative novels {{2000s-sf-novel-stub