A SAGA OF COSMIC DIMENSIONS . To the Stars is set in an uncertain, strife - torn future when the first starships of man are traveling across the galaxy but not without extracting a terrible price from their crews. The novel's thought - provoking opening line, ''Space is deep, Man is small and Time is his relentless enemy,'' powerfully captures the challenges facing the brave men and women of these vessels, people who must give up their former lives to explore space as entire generations and whole societies come and go on Earth, while those aboard remain essentially untouched by the passage of time in a vessel traveling at nearly the speed of light. ''This is indeed golden SF from the Golden Age.'' - Publishers Weekly Starred Review