Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Way Out West,
By
This review is from: Mars is My Destination (Paperback)
Frank Belknap Long's _Mars Is My Destination_ (1962) is a paperback original, with a good cover by John Schoenherr. Its weakness may be quickly stated. It is a space opera with a plot much like that of a Western. The scenario of the agent from Earth sent to Mars to tame the shenanigans of two rival energy corporations is a bit like the Marshal sent to Dodge City to settle a feud between the cattlemen and the sheepherders. And the agent's wife who threatens to divorce him if he goes to Mars is like the bride-to-be who will not marry unless the Marshal promises to hang up his six-shooters. There is even a showdown at the end that reminds us of similar scenes at High Noon.It might be pertinant to ask the question: What is wrong with all this? Is science fiction a genre so pure that it cannot stand to be blended with the Western? Or the detective story? Or the romance? Or the spy thriller? Of course not. Pure science fiction (like the "pure-blooded Englishman") is a myth. The problem comes when a _stock_ plot from one genre is transplanted to another genre, with only a few cosmetic changes. If you could tell the story just as well as a Western, why disguise it as sf? Nevertheless, Long doesn't acquit himself too badly. Granted that he is working with a stock plot and stock characters. But he creates a sympathetic hero, he keeps the action moving briskly, and there are some futuristic scenes-- an underground transit center in Chicago, a robot room in a spaceship, a Martian spaceport with "spider-web tracery" (65) spiraling down, and the Martian desert seen through the windows of a speeding ambulance-- that are well handled. So if you are looking for light entertainment and are willing to put your brain on hold, you just may enjoy this one.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
