The Getaway Special [Hardcover]

Jerry Oltion (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2001

In the tradition of Poul Anderson's Operation Chaos, Jerry Oltion, a rising star of science fiction and a Nebula Award-winning author, returns with a novel of intergalactic travel, a mad scientist, and otherworldly allies.

Allen Meisner is a member of INSANE, the International Network of Scientists Against Nuclear Extermination. A card-carrying mad scientist, he develops a hyperdrive engine capable of taking anyone to the stars for just a few dollars. But after a demonstration aboard a space ship goes awry, Allen learns that there's no such thing as a free ride.

Allen's ideas do not have quite the effect he desires. While the ability to travel great distances excites some, it terrifies others. Earth is in chaos as governments prepare for war to control this unleashed power. With everyone waiting for the bomb-now propelled by hyperdrive-to fall, Allen and his shuttle pilot, Judy Gallagher, look for a way to save humanity.

With electronic parts from Radio Shack and a plastic septic tank from a lumberyard, they build their own spacecraft and go in search of habitable planets. Armed with new allies, an intelligent butterfly, and a temperamental tree, they return to Earth for a final showdown between fear and freedom.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This follow-up to Oltion's Abandon in Place (2000) borrows the character of self-proclaimed mad scientist Allen Meisner to initiate an enjoyable tale of interstellar exploration. What makes Allen "mad" is humanity's failure to avoid the threat of nuclear extermination by spreading throughout the universe, so when he invents a cheap, easy-to-build hyperdrive for spaceships, he makes sure everyone has access to the plans. Within a few days, people are heading for the stars in anything that will hold air; Allen and his lover, Judy, an adventurous ex-space shuttle pilot, take off in a plastic septic tank. The story could become merely zany at this point, but Oltion has a more serious purpose. Alan and Judy keep having to improvise solutions to serious problems. They succeed not just because they're smart but because they're confident that solutions can be found. If humanity seems trapped in a rut at the novel's beginning, the real problem is that too many people would rather avoid responsibility and let others do the thinking. While Alan and Judy don't discover a simple or safe universe, the challenges stimulate them, make them more fully human. So the author is returning to SF's roots. The novel's headlong pace calls to mind Doc Smith's breezy 1928 space opera, The Skylark of Space, and it's startling that after all this time people still are timidly waiting for personal, unrestricted space travel. Oltion makes an entertaining but forceful argument for seeking personal fulfillment through escape. (Dec. 20)award.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Allen Meisner's business card identifies him as a member of INSANE (the International Network of Scientists Against Nuclear Extermination). He is worried; reasoning that the only hope for survival is to get out of here, he's been theorizing about a cheap, almost instantaneous mode of faster-than-light travel. In an experiment that he carried aboard the shuttle Discovery in two small "getaway special" canisters, his "hyperdrive" proves wildly successful (if a bit dicey to control, at first). He broadcasts the formula, and the whole world now knows how to go off-planet in any vehicle that can be made airtight for a few hours. Judy Gallagher, a pilot on the fateful shuttle flight, is soon in cahoots with Meisner, escaping from Earthly powers desperate to control the new technology. They build a ship (a customized septic tank) and head for Alpha Centauri, but in just one of many delicious twists, they find they aren't the first to get there. This is as much fun as science fiction can be-rich in the classic sense of wonder and in the most contemporary questions, and carried aloft by a wild and irresistible humor.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (December 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312877773
• ISBN-13: 978-0312877774
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous novel of personal fulfillment & intersellar travel, December 12, 2001

By 

Edward Alexander Gerster "miamibooks" (South Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Getaway Special (Hardcover)

What if someone came up with a cheap and relatively simple hyperspace device that you could use to transport yourself to distant stars-and all without the support of the traditional military/political/industrial complex? If you are Allen Meisner, a card carrying mad scientist, you make your trials aboard one of the highly visible US space shuttles, then disburse plans and information for free through the Internet, and wait for the thanks of a grateful planet.

Is it no surprise that instead of accolades, the human race goes nuts-governments in chaos, nuclear doom imminent, the whole thing put down as a hoax-and Meisner becoming a fugitive from the law.

Jerry Oltion has created something magnificent in this humorously sarcastic novel of personal fulfillment and interstellar exploration. There is a Spider Robinson-like quality to the dark humor and sometime slapstick adventure, but it is infused with a warped wisdom and very solid writing that makes a true SF adventure. The main characters and the aliens they encounter are funny and clever, stopping just short of becoming caricatures. There is vision mixed with the humor making this an irresistible read. Highly Recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Trip Through Space, September 22, 2003

By 

Patrick Koske-McBride (Brattleboro, VT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Getaway Special (Hardcover)

Jim Oltion takes us on the trip we all wanted to go on when we were kids: through space, using old backyard junk as our spaceship. On the trip, we also meet alien intelligence and, strangely, alien beings seem to think and operate similarly to humans. Oltion revives those fantastical, six-year-old, "I Want To Be an Astronaut" feelings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lighten Up!, March 24, 2002

By 

C. Glover (Langhorne, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Getaway Special (Hardcover)

Is it realistic? Is it hard science? Does it make sense? Probably not. But is it fun? You bet. How cool to think space travel could be for anyone. How cool to think that with a star chart and some nerve you could go anywhere in the universe before lunch. And why shouldn't trees move around? I loved it. I have always wanted to go into space just for the view. The idea I could go in the confort of my minivan is a fun thought. The book did read like a short story, but I am a working wife and mother. I need a quick read sometimes. I need one dimensional characters who are too good to be true, and I need intelligent, beautiful butterflies with timy cameras. I thought this was a great rainy day book and would highly recommend it if you feel like you will keel over from one more super-serious scifi melodrama.