''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 Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

's surface that act as cosmic jets using ionized

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

. 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.

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 ...

'' 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'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' 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