Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Mission to the Stars by A.E. van Vogt

(pb; 1952 – originally titled The Mixed Men)

From the back cover

“In the far distant future. . .

“The colonies of Fifty Suns have been hidden for eons from warring invaders in an ocean of stars. But now the warship St Cluster, of Imperial Earth, has found them─and prepares to conquer the colonists.

“Fifty Suns must crush the titanic Earth forces or be enslaved. But, torn by internal rebellion, it cannot mount a unified defense.

“It falls to one man, Peter Maltby, to unite the warring factions of Fifty Suns and guide them to victory.

“But first he must resolve his own crossed loyalties. For Captain Maltby is also the passionate lover of Lady Laurr, Grand Commander of the Star Cluster and a warrior of Imperial Earth.”


Review

Mission is an excellent, genre-transcendent science fiction novel that deftly moves between space war, action, political machinations, and love story, its characters largely stock, but sometimes surprising in their decisions and actions. If you’re looking for a burn-through, smart-minded and 174-page adventure-in-the-stars read, this may catch your fancy─this is not surprising, since Vogt consistently delivers on the promise of his deft, often surprising takes on stock genre tales. This is one of my favorite reads of 2020.

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