Imagine a starship, traversing the galaxy at sublight speeds, enough time passing for generations to die and be born in between stars. By itself, that could be dull. But what if every single part of the story was in itself an action-packed golden age pulp sci-fi short story that leaves you on the edge of your seat? Now we’re talking.
The Story
As a world-ending event approaches Earth, a Hail Mary is launched: a starship whose mission is to colonize another star with the remnants of humanity. The drive does not work as well as anticipated, and the ship must travel on at well under light speed, years and decades passing on its journey. All the usual mutiny, power struggles, and alien encounters add up over the course of an amazing book.
The Characters
We see multiple generations of families locked in a power struggle, including the Lesbees, the Brownes, and the Telliers. A caste system emerges in which fathers teach sons to fulfill the same shipboard role... but not everything goes smoothly. Ruthlessness, double-crosses, and tense high-stakes action accompany character growth and change.
All in all, the characters are gripping, entertaining, and full of cunning and wild reverses. Their morality is questionable and not all their hearts are in the right place. It’s spaceship mutiny pulp at its best, with a shocking amount of character development within its 172 pages.
The World
More like… the universe. Though focused on a starship, this novel ranges from Earth to other stars, alien worlds, and the nature of the universe. In a classic exploration-novel style we’re introduced to more of the universe as the ship visits more places, and by the end we have a picture that encompasses the fate of humanity and our destiny among the stars. Excellent world-scaling.
Politics
None, other than the evolution of a completely different society and political system on board the ship.
Content Warning
Clean other than executions, assassinations, murders, and bigamy.
Who is it for?
Anyone who loves the stories of the pulp magazines of the science fiction golden age will appreciate this novel, which consists of excellent pulp stories mashed together to create an utterly coherent and extremely entertaining whole.
Why buy it?
The foundational multigenerational starship novel, and best I’ve read. Incredibly entertaining.
Van Vogt was the central Canadian science fiction writer of the 1940s, and he remains one of the nation's finest.