Customer Reviews

The Colors of Space (Annotated)

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This was Bradley's third published book, originally published in slightly abridged format in 1963, later re-issued in 1983 in its complete form. Readers picking up the later release may be surprised by the relative unsophistication of this book compared to other works she was writing in eighties.

Technically, this is a semi-juvenile, with a protagonist, Bart Steele, who has just graduated from the Space Academy, ready to return to his Vegan home, where his father manages a fleet of inter-planetary space ships. Interstellar travel is the sole province of the alien Lhari, and humans can only ride as passengers in cold sleep in their vessels, supposedly due to the inability of the human body to withstand the stresses of hyperspace travel. The Lhari have formed a simple relationship with the Mentorians, humans who have had a slight genetic shift that allows them to withstand very high light illumination levels. The Lhari, who are also color blind, normally prefer these high light levels, matching their home world's level of illumination. Bart, who is half Mentorian, can also see farther into the optical spectrum than normal, allowing him to see an eighth `color'. This provides the basis for the book's title, and plays a role in the final plot resolution. The Mentorians provide translation, color interpretation, and other services for the Lhari, setting them somewhat apart from the rest of humanity, who look upon them with some suspiscion.

The story revolves around Bart being co-opted to find the secret of the Lhari warp-drive fueling material by surgically changing his appearance so he could pass as a Lhari and having him ship out as a crew member on a Lhari ship that is home world bound. During the trip, he naturally finds that many of his Lhari crewmates are neither ogres nor saints, and comes to question the moral rightness of `stealing' this secret. The story is told as a very straight line progression, without any real surprises, and is therefore quite predictable in terms of final outcome, both in external society sense and in terms of Bart's development. Thematically, this book restricts itself to `different is not necessarily bad' and `the end does not justify the means', providing little in the way of fresh insight.

In general, a pretty standard space-opera plot typical of the late fifties and early sixties in science fiction, good for some mild entertainment, but also clearly showing that Bradley had not yet found her unique and powerful voice.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Humans have reached the stars, but not under their own power. The Lhari hold the monopoly on space travel and have no intention of giving it up. And humans may value the ability to travel faster than the speed of light, may appreciate the economic opportunities the Lhari have brought them, but they resent the Lhari for keeping their monopoly and they'll do anything to learn the secrets.

The Lhari don't just keep the technology secret, they've spread the word that humans can only survive faster-than-light travel in cold-sleep. But what if that's a lie? Bart Steele's father believed that humans could find their own way to the stars but now he's dead and Bart is on the run. He joins up with the conspiracy in an audacious plan to infiltrate a Lhari ship--disguised as a Lhari. If he survives the first jump, he'll know the Lhari were lying. Of course, first he has to survive.

On board the Lhari ship, Bart is surprised to discover that the Lhari are more like humans than he'd guessed possible. They have personalities, desire company and friendship, value loyalty, and seem mostly kind. Yet, they are keeping humans from attaining their full potential. When he learns the full ramifications of the plot to learn the space travel secret, his most fundamental beliefs come into conflict.

Author Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known for her Darkover World series, and THE COLORS OF SPACE is certainly a less mature and complex story than she would later create. Still, Bradley's writing is already clear and her story-telling fast-paced and engaging. Bart Steele makes an intriguing character, faced with the loss of his father, the forced separation from his friends, and especially the loss of his certainty about human entitlement.

Written in the early 1960s, COLORS has some strong messages (perhaps a bit heavy-handed but still important) about the importance of character vs. differences in skin tone or facial characteristics. Fortunately, these add to, rather than detract from, the adventure.

THE COLORS OF SPACE has a young adult feel to it and was written at a time when most science fiction was pitched toward adolescent males. The resolution to Bart's problems, and to the mystery of space travel relied way too much on coincidence, and the Lhari were, perhaps, unbelievably noble and forgiving. Still, if you're looking for an enjoyable quick read, or if your a fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley and want to see how her early work stands up to her more developed fantasy, THE COLORS OF SPACE is worth the look.

This is an interesting and charming story that holds up by today's standards. It has the same hopefulness that the original Star Trek gave us -- that someday we could learn to be better than we seem to be now and that we could join a community in the stars in peace. And it's all the more special because it's out of copyright. I listened to the mp3 from librivox. I'll definitely watch for more of this author's books here on Amazon.

A straight forward tale but well told, the twist is that one set of Aliens the Lhari have faster than light travel but also they are colour blind. Although other races can travel on faster than light spaceships they have to travel in suspended animation or they will die. Against this background a Human / Mentorian, Bart the main character of the story has found out that faster than light travel does not kill all except Lhari and with the help of plastic surgery so he can impersonate a Lhari manages to get a place on a Lhari ship to try and find the origin of the fuel that the Lhari use to enable faster than light travel.
Although the story is simple and linear it is well told, descriptive and makes the reader emphasise with both sides. All of the characters and places are well described. This is one of Marion Zimmer Bradleys earlier works and well worth reading. Although quite expensive in print it is out of copyright and may be downloaded in a number of formats including Kindle from project Gutenburg although these files are missing the original images.