Greetings, and a Request for Help!

[Cisne]

After years of not reading nearly as much as I'd like to, I've started enjoying books again. My main interests are science fiction and fantasy, and I'm trying desperately to find the name or the author of a book I read years ago and would love to reread.

It involved a planet that orbited super close to a star, and as a consequence the lifeform on the planet was very thin and flattened to the planet's surface. Despite this, they became sentient over the course of the book, and as I remember were kind of like intelligent planaria or flatworm, and a whole civilization rose during the short time span a human probe came across the planet while investigating the star. The probe's scanning beam became a religious experience for the inhabitants of the planet if it happened to sweep across them in the course of its scanning...and at one point, toward the end of the probe's visit, the inhabitants managed to launch their own spaceflight to send one of them up to where the probe orbited.

I remember the theme of the inhabitants of the planet thinking that the beings in the probe were gods, and the humans in the probe being completely unaware of the fact that there were intelligent creatures on the planet because their life was so different from what they were used to seeing. To the humans, their visit was only for a matter of days, but many generations of the planet's inhabitants passed during that same time span.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! My fiance is a huge science fiction fan, and he doesn't know this book. I'd love to give him a copy.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dave]

I haven't read this book, but I remember someone asking about it here before. The part where you said that "to the humans, their visit was only for a matter of days, but many generations of the planet's inhabitants passed during that same time span," starting ringing bells. So, I'm sure someone else here is going to be able to help you. Welcome to Chronicles!

 

[Pyan]

The book is Dragons Egg, by David Brin.

And don't you dare just disappear, now you know!...

Read, post, get involved- if you or your fiance love SFF, this is the site to belong to...

Welcome to the Chrons!

 

[Ian Whates]

The book is Dragons Egg, by David Brin.

Phew! You had me worried there for a minute, Py. I thought, 'Here's a David Brin I've never heard of!'

Of course, it isn't... Nice bit of misdirection, sir!

 

[Pyan]

Just shows what being away on holiday in the North does to my brain...of course, it's by Robert Forward, not David Brin....*extreme embarrassment...*

 

[Cisne]

Pyan, and all, thank you! I actually found this when in a fit of stubborn I searched every way but sideways, came across a listing of planest from Science Fiction on Wikipedia, ran down the list...and there it was! I've ordered a copy (it's not on Kindle yet, boohoo!) and am amusing myself with a few other books while I wait.

Thanks again, and I'll see about coming back. I'm afraid my tastes may be a bit plebian compared to some of the board's denizens, but who knows, with enough exposure maybe you all can broaden my horizons.