A short novel (novella? novelette?) by Frederik Pohl which is a definite oddball. An interstellar trader is drawing close to the isolated colony planet of Slowyear (so named because one orbit of the planet takes about 18 Earth years and so each season is over 4 years long). Pohl chooses to focus on a couple of characters, who seem more focused on their own relationship issues. There is a 'twist' at the end, but it is well foreshadowed, and given what we are told about Slowyear's peculiar infant mortality problem, not one that took me unawares in any way. A decent read, though not an outstanding one. ( )