Customer Reviews

The Enemy Stars

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Poul Anderson, who passed away in 2001, was one of the true super luminaries in the field of science fiction, and it is unfortunate indeed that much of his writing, amounting to more than one hundred books, is hard to find and thus eroding from collective science fiction memory. The Enemy Stars is one of his earlier novels and serves as a wonderful way for readers to introduce or reintroduce themselves to this science fiction legend. This rather short novel first appeared in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction with the title We Have Fed Our Seas in August and September 1958. The title was changed, for reasons I certainly don't understand, to The Enemy Stars, and the book was nominated for a Hugo award for best science fiction novel of 1959. In 1979, Anderson went back and slightly revised the novel, principally updating the hard science fiction aspects of the tale based on the knowledge gained over the course of the twenty years since the book was written.

I can't say I was blown away by this novel, although it is certainly a good read. In my opinion, it is too short; it took me a while to get really acquainted with each of the characters, and by that time there was too little insight left to share before the rapidly approaching ending. There are some wonderful ideas wrapped into this narrative, but I didn't feel as if enough of them were given the time and care to make them truly flourish. The historical context of the drama also wasn't exploited as much as I would have liked. Basically, at some time in the future, Earth and its colonial satellites and planets maintain a tough alliance, with suspicion and dislike seemingly bred into the respective settlers. The government is some type of one-world entity called the Protectorate, but we don't learn much about the system beyond the fact that many men oppose it both philosophically and practically. In this world, a spaceship exists far out in space, a ship launched by a country that no longer exists. Scientists can effectively "beam up" to the ship across vast distances in space, and four very different men do so in order to study a newly discovered dark star. Naturally, something goes wrong, and the foursome must look death in the face and work together in order to survive. Any truths we learn from the novel come out over the course of this life and death drama in space.

The Enemy Stars didn't really provide the level of philosophical revelation I half expected at the end, and certain parts of the story (especially that concerning Earth's government) never got the attention they seemed to deserve, yet this was still an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. The science is definitely of the hard science fiction variety, yet the human element takes its rightful place at the core of the novel. Man's infinite search for truth, for a reason for being, is what Anderson approaches via The Enemy Stars, and while he might not have put a spotlight on the true answer of existence, he does manage to sweep his flashlight of imagination over some important and meaningful aspects of that ultimate answer.

The Enemy Stars is Poul Anderson at his best except for the title. When it first appeared in Astounding Magazine, the title was We Have Fed Our Seas. It's a quote from Kipling that will make your hair stand on end when you read it in the context of the story. I can't explain it here without spoiling the plot for the quote gives the theme. Briefly, the story begins by introducing four men from utterly different backgrounds who are going to spend a few weeks doing research manning a space ship. The idea here is utterly fascinating. The space ship carries a matter transmitter that lets people move easily into space. People come and go routinely--and then something goes horribly wrong. The rest of the novel is the four men struggling to cope and find a way out of a hopeless situation.

The premise of this sci fi novel is interesting enough: four men are sent out to investigate the discovery of a dead star. They arrive on the ship by means of a matter transmitter (like a teleporting device) because the ship is already so deep into space. Now you know that tragedy will eventually strike, but it's difficult to get around the science to the real reason for the accident. Occasionally Pohl gets too deep into scientific statistics, but then again, some people enjoy that realism. I, however, don't. The flat characters add little to the book. There are lots of conversations between them after the accident, but these are not deep characters; you understand most of them pretty quickly after they are introduced. Although there is a nice dose of suspense, the lack of any interesting plot or characters made this a book I wished I hadn't spent any time on even though I finished in two days. Science fiction fans should look elsewhere for excitement.

Rear cover: `The black star was not part of Creation. It was a fossil sun, left over from a Universe that had died before this one was born, circled by an iron tomb than had once been a planet. When the black star called, four men went to the galaxy's edge. Only one came back. But he did not come back alone...'

Honestly, that summarizes 90% of the book. There is little left out of the synopsis so that there aren't many surprises for the reader. Even the end tag to the synopsis points to an obvious climax. Being only 152 pages, it's a quick read as many of Anderson's tend to be. His idea of an ancient burnt out core of a star resonates with another one of his novels Mirkheim where humans and aliens politically negotiate over the remnants of a supernova blasts planet. Likewise here in Enemy Stars, the black core of an ancient supernova has stripped the surrounding planets to their respective nuclei.

What isn't mentioned in the summary is the four `spacemen' who are willing to `mattercasted' to the far-flung starship en route of being diverted to this new found astronomical relic. Once near the star, the ship is disabled by the stars bizarre properties and its' mattercaster is ruined. With limited resources, the dwindling space posse must somehow repair the ship to produce thrust AND create a new mattercaster from scratch. However implausible the construction may be, all items are easy to reproduce except for the 4 kilograms of germanium, which must be sought after elsewhere.

As mentioned in the overview, only one man makes it back to earth. What sacrifices did he have to suffer? Each man had their own motivation for self-sacrifice for the greater good of the crew. Though Anderson says that he thinks this is one of his better stories (revised in 1979 from the 1958 edition) I think many of other Anderson's novels can trump this (i.e. Tau Zero, Brain Wave, Star Fox and Planet of No Return).

"The Enemy Stars" by Poul Anderson, © 1958, new material © 1979.

This is a sad story of four men who try to study the stars from up close. They are recruited and sent, by way of matter transfer, to a ship near the star. They make some choices and have to adapt and persevere because the choices put them in danger.

The fellows are a disparate lot, one rich, one poor, but educated, one ornery and mad, and one sad and reconciled to his fate. These four come together and find out how to live and work together, which is just the first challenge they have.

They try to approach the dead star they are studying and it damages the ship. They try to fix it and lose the first man. They try something else that sort of works and crash land on a planet, losing the second person. The one fellow says the sea does not forgive mistakes and it is the same out here. This could be a simile for life in general.

This one was never in our public library, and since it was written in 1958, it was probably out of print in the paperback version when I started reading science fiction.

I learned of its existence recently when I was reading a list of what Anderson regarded as his 5 best books. I knew the other four were wonderful, so it stood to reason a fifth one which I had never heard of was worth tracking down.

Perhaps the reason this book wasn't more popular is on account of how the author began by introducing four very interesting characters as the crew of the Southern Cross, but then went on to put them all into a nearly impossible situation. The jacket of the hardcover version broadly hints that some of crewmen wouldn't be returning home, so my mood was quite downbeat at the beginning of this small book.

All the dreaded tragedies do eventually happen, but the theme of the book is that the heroism of all concerned made the sacrifices worthwhile.

For me it's a keeper.

A few minutes surfing the inter-webs reveals that this 1950s sci-fi work by Poul Anderson arouses some controversy. People looking for Anderson's pulp-infused sprawling space opera works of the period will be disappointed with the simplicity of the plot and the restrained horizons it explores. Readers looking for the social character pieces that crop up in the next decade will be disappointed with the occasionally pallid attempts to create sympathetic characters and moving emotional narrative arcs.

For most of the novel a wonderful middle ground is reached between these two camps despite the work's rather hackneyed end (in my humble opinion) which weakens the general effect. Likewise, Anderson's desperate attempts to make us feel for his characters occasionally pushes the novel into the realm of melodrama sci-fi (a la the film version of On the Beach).

That said, Anderson's retreat from grand space opera themes does afford at least valiant attempts to create well-rounded/believable characters. And for a 1950s work, he succeeds.... Likewise, the absence of a grand space opera plot means that Anderson focuses on the interactions of his characters in an unusual environment.

Plot Summary (limited spoilers)

The Southern Cross, a deep space exploration vehicle, is sent off to explore a burned out sun. Humans have discovered technology, as in Star Trek, to matter transport. When, the space ship reaches the sun, a crew is beamed onto the vessel to carry out scientific tasks. The exploration expedition is framed against a future society which spans stars. Each new colony is suppressed by the Protectorate -- tensions which are manifest in the crew. The crew of the expedition each has their own motivations, backgrounds, prejudices, and ulterior motives.

Eventually a series of disasters strike the space craft preventing them from beaming back to earth. The crew attempt to solve the problem. In the course of these events, the facades break down between the characters, and the psychological problems of being stranded in space without a way home emerge. Poul Anderson balances the points of tension between characters and the suspense of repairing the space ship quite well. I will not give away the ending...

Final Thoughts

Don't expect space opera. Expect a valiant attempt to create well-rounded characters... expect a plot which facilitates the unraveling the characters' prejudices and of course, the laborious finding of common ground... The general mystery of the surroundings is absent from the work. All in all, a worthwhile attempt at breaking from the pulp sci-fi restraints of the 60s. Sections do come of as melodramatic. I found the premise somewhat simplistic and predictable, but, it's a vehicle for Anderson's more human themes... Definitely, worth finding.

A few minutes surfing the inter-webs reveals that this 1950s sci-fi work by Poul Anderson arouses some controversy. People looking for Anderson's pulp-infused sprawling space opera works of the period will be disappointed with the simplicity of the plot and the restrained horizons it explores. Readers looking for the social character pieces that crop up in the next decade will be disappointed with the occasionally pallid attempts to create sympathetic characters and moving emotional narrative arcs.

For most of the novel a wonderful middle ground is reached between these two camps despite the work's rather hackneyed end (in my humble opinion) which weakens the general effect. Likewise, Anderson's desperate attempts to make us feel for his characters occasionally pushes the novel into the realm of melodrama sci-fi (a la the film version of On the Beach).

That said, Anderson's retreat from grand space opera themes does afford at least valiant attempts to create well-rounded/believable characters. And for a 1950s work, he succeeds.... Likewise, the absence of a grand space opera plot means that Anderson focuses on the interactions of his characters in an unusual environment.

Plot Summary (limited spoilers)

The Southern Cross, a deep space exploration vehicle, is sent off to explore a burned out sun. Humans have discovered technology, as in Star Trek, to matter transport. When, the space ship reaches the sun, a crew is beamed onto the vessel to carry out scientific tasks. The exploration expedition is framed against a future society which spans stars. Each new colony is suppressed by the Protectorate -- tensions which are manifest in the crew. The crew of the expedition each has their own motivations, backgrounds, prejudices, and ulterior motives.

Eventually a series of disasters strike the space craft preventing them from beaming back to earth. The crew attempt to solve the problem. In the course of these events, the facades break down between the characters, and the psychological problems of being stranded in space without a way home emerge. Poul Anderson balances the points of tension between characters and the suspense of repairing the space ship quite well. I will not give away the ending...

Final Thoughts

Don't expect space opera. Expect a valiant attempt to create well-rounded characters... expect a plot which facilitates the unraveling the characters' prejudices and of course, the laborious finding of common ground... The general mystery of the surroundings is absent from the work. All in all, a worthwhile attempt at breaking from the pulp sci-fi restraints of the 60s. Sections do come of as melodramatic. I found the premise somewhat simplistic and predictable, but, it's a vehicle for Anderson's more human themes... Definitely, worth finding.

Oh Poul. When it came to big ideas, he was unbeatable. His "Tau Zero" is on my top-10 SF list of all times, reread every couple of years. Now, in "Enemy Stars" there is an excellent idea, 4 spacemen marooned in a disaster stricken spaceship, trying to survive. The story is promising and the science is hard (I read the 1979 revised version) even though a few pages read like an air conditioner manual.

So, Poul Anderson was indeed one of the think tanks of the genre. But, when it came to characters, he just... couldn't make it right. His heroes are so agonizingly predictable and cliché, they can almost give SF a bad name.

His Japanese is annoyingly low key and always sorry. His Russian is pathetically vulgar and aggressive. His Anglo-Saxon is cocky. Had his crew included a Puerto Rican, he would be stealing fellow astronauts' wallets and if there was an Italian, he would be running the Galaxy's local arm Camorra branch. Not to mention his female characters (actually only one) where he becomes even more formulaic.

Even though this trait is evident in every Poul Anderson work I`ve read, in Enemy Stars it is so prominent that brings the novel down to two stars. Read it for the idea behind it, which is great, but do not expect much more.