I'm a bit of a Sci-Fi nut, and here is yet another in a long line of bad (not that bad) 50's books that I like so much.This is the first of a classic series of 50’s-style science fiction novels from an accomplished writer from the golden era of the genre. A story about a small band of loyal heroes out to save the solar system from Earth’s old and evil aristocracy bent on revolution, and horrible floating alien beings from Barnard’s Star bent on invasion and annihilation of the human race! The science in the fiction is generally quite good, especially considering that the book was actually conceived in the 1940’s (maybe even earlier).
A few exceptions- like breathable air on Mars, (and Mars’ peewee moon Phobos, although it was artificial), and breathable air on Pluto’s moon! On the other hand, faster than light travel was explained well (plausibly), and a description of the inside of an interstellar gas cloud was awesome.
An awful lot happens in this book- action and betrayal on Mars and Phobos, a trip to Pluto, an inter-stellar chase, arrival at Barnard’s Star, action and adventure on a planet there, a journey across the planet, imprisonment and escape from the planet, a race back to Earth, and a final showdown there. Something odd- the whole story is a “future memory” recorded and read at the beginning, but never mentioned again; almost as if the author forgot about it.
Character development was very limited, but that’s forgivable, as it is a common attribute in 50’s science fiction -- in fact, I think it must have been a rule that they had to follow to get published :-)
This book was a fun read, and I’ll be looking for further stories about the Legion of Space! But maybe not right away though...
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