Jumping Off the Planet [School & Library Binding]

D. Gerrold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001

A trip to the Moon? Sounds like the perfect family vacation. Only for 13-year-old Charles "Chigger" Dingillian his family is anything but perfect. His parents fight so much they put the 'dis' into dysfunctional. So when he and his brothers find themselves halfway to the Moon Chigger hits on a plan: if his parents can't find a way to work things out, why not just divorce them? Sound crazy? Until it works. Charles and his brothers are on their own. But their bid for freedom hits a roadblock when Chigger suspects they are targets of an interstellar manhunt. What do these Big Corporations want? And why? Their only hope is to jump off the planet...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nebula- and Hugo-winner Gerrold, who scripted the classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," gives an engaging new twist to the "growing up novel"--growing right off the planet Earth. Costarring with Gerrold's precocious 13-year-old hero, Charles "Chigger" Dingillian, is the Beanstalk, a dizzying orbital elevator system running on magnetic induction that lifts humanity from the exhausted Earth it is devouring to the Moon, the planets and, eventually, the stars. In this first volume of the projected Starsiders Trilogy, Chigger, the always overlooked middle sibling and neither child nor adult, is the human battleground for his divorced parents: a wimpy musician father who kidnaps his boys to give them a chance at a better life off Earth and a newly lesbian mother who venomously chases them into space. Chigger bridges the gap separating his older brother, Weird, and his younger, Stinky, as they ride the Beanstalk between the festering Earth, teeming with crazies and plagues, and the burgeoning new off-world societies. With the boys caught up in the smuggling and big-business intrigue that simmers in a world where international corporatism has made all borders irrelevant, Gerrold pulls off Chigger's choices with just the right mix of preteen braggadocio and heartbreak. The science here is every bit as convincing as the fiction, adding a satisfying intellectual dimension to the start of a classy take on an old, old tale: an everyboy climbs a beanstalk to discover who he will be as a man. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Twenty-first-century Earth is desperately overcrowded, and Charles Dingillian's father offers his three sons a trip to the moon. Actually, he is kidnapping the boys from their mother--and couriering key data in an illegal financial transaction. He is also a wimp, Charles' mother is bisexual, and Charles' older brother is gay. Oh--and the younger one is an obnoxious brat. Clearly we're not in Heinlein's Kansas. But cut through all the characterization-by-dysfunctionality, and a genuinely powerful coming-of-age story remains, with characters as sympathetic as they are bizarre and a vividly depicted future society. The legal scenes are worthy of Heinlein, and Gerrold's depiction of the giant space elevator, the Beanstalk, vividly fills in its technological details, its appearance, the life aboard it, the society of its permanent residents, and its potential for disaster. The first book of the Starsiders Trilogy suggests that Gerrold is obliquely approaching the territory of Heinlein's juveniles. Like much of Gerrold's work, this is sometimes over-the-top but always recognizably the creation of a major talent. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Topeka Bindery (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613554817
• ISBN-13: 978-0613554817
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,294,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Gerrold is a figment of his own imagination.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From The author of "The Trouble With Tribbles, March 1, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jumping Off The Planet (Hardcover)

Thirteen-year-old Charles feels as if he and his brothers are possessions that his divorced parents battle over. His mother loathes his father because she believes her three progenies ruined her career as a singer. His father detests his mother for her infidelity. Now his mother wants to terminate her former spouse's visitation privileges. However, the court awards him custody of his children for one month each year. He takes Charles, Douglas, and Bobby to Mexico where they catch a train to Beanstalk City. There they ride an elevator that reaches beyond the atmosphere and serves as the jumping off point for the moon and other space colonies.

Initially, the Dingillian siblings think they are enjoying a family adventure, but the older two brothers (Charles and Douglas) soon believe their father plans to abduct the trio. Though a bit unsettled and frightened, they realize their father wants to make up for his past indiscretions and broken promises to them. However, they soon feel like pawns again when they learn their father is involved in a plot to change the world order. That latest betrayal shatters the sense of well being leading the boys down a course that will alter their lives forever.

Anyone who likes the works of Norton or Star Trek's "The Trouble with Tribbles" should immediately jump on JUMPING OFF THE PLANET. The tale is set in an alien, high tech environment, but deals with human problems caused by the divorce wars. David Gerrold has created a trio of memorable characters who deserve to continue as stars in an ongoing series. Anyone who enjoys a thought provoking science fiction tale will fully relish Mr. Gerrold's latest novel.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced yet thoughtful science fiction. A+, May 28, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: Jumping Off The Planet (Hardcover)

When this novel first slid across my desk, part of me was thrilled to have another David Gerrold novel to read, while part of me dreaded dealing with a story line wrapped around a dysfunctional family -- seen primarily from the perspective of an adolescent. I am now extremely happy to tell you that the story line reels you in, and moves along at a pace like a run away train. The characters are believable and wonderfully real in their strengths and weaknesses.

The "world building" that Gerrold did in creating this novel is reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke's "Fountains of Paradise" but in the Western hemisphere of a not-so-distant future. The balance of science to storyline is handled well, and the twists of story along the way are entertaining, if not exceptionally new. It is by no means a 'juvenile' novel, but instead should appeal to a much wider readership. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Before the Chtorr, February 19, 2004

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jumping Off The Planet (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is hard to classify but if you have read Gerrold's War Against The Chtorr books you will be familiar with the style.

The story concerns three brothers spending a visitation with their father. He suggests a trip to the Moon and, against all previous behavior patterns, actually seems to follow through on the idea.

Getting to the Moon involves using a space elevator located in Ecuador at Sheffield Clarke. This is one of two currently in operation.

But nothing is quite so simple. Mom thinks Dad is trying to kidnap the children. Where did Dad get the money? What about all of the strange characters who are interested in the family? Needless to say, it gets quite complex.

The whole story is seen through the eyes of the middle son (Charles or Chigger). Because of this, events and characters often seem more incidental than they really are.

The story is also fleshed out with loads of discussions on planetary economics, physics, biology, etc. There are also complications from the overcrowded Earth. Plagues are starting to spread over vast sections of the planet and there have been reports of giant pink caterpillars that can eat horses (Chtorr?).

Kids may star in this book, but it is really aimed at the thinking reader. This is not a fluff piece or an action yarn. But it is very entertaining and a good first piece to the series.