To the Stars [Hardcover]

L. Ron Hubbard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

Set in an uncertain, strife-torn future when the first starships of man are traveling across the galaxy--but not without extracting a terrible price from their crews.

The novel's thought-provoking opening line, "Space is deep, Man is small and Time is his relentless enemy," powerfully captures the challenges facing the brave men and women of these vessels--people who must give up their former lives to explore space as entire generations and whole societies come and go on Earth, while those aboard remain essentially untouched by the passage of time in a vessel traveling at nearly the speed of light.

This immersing, remarkably ruthless drama begins when Alan Corday, a naively unseasoned but brialliant young engineer, is shanghaied from the spaceport at New Chicago and taken aboard the "Hound of Heaven"--bound for the stars.

Commanded by a distantly mysterious but charismatic leader by the name of Captain Jocelyn, the "Hound" traverses teh galaxy in an effort to keep a lifeline between Earth and the first colonies in other star systems. But in the time span of a few crossings, conditions on Earth grow gradually worse and more dangerous, while those aboard are increasingly treated as outcasts and a threat to the powers that control the planet.

Against his will, Corday is mercilessly driven by Jocelyn to use his untested intellect and abilities to serve the ship and the beleaguered space colonies. But as events unfold among the turbulent reaches of the galaxy, and during the perilous returns to Earth, Corday discovers a startling truth about his destiny that will give a whole new meaning to man's place in the stars.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hubbard (1911–1986) was one of the great pulp writers, and this brief SF novel, initially published in two parts in 1950 by John W. Campbell in Astounding Science Fiction, is one of his finest works. In it, Hubbard embraces one of SF's deepest goals, to explore the emotional consequences of technological advance, by imagining the effect upon star-faring humans of the "basic equation of mass and time.... AS MASS APPROACHES INFINITY, TIME APPROACHES ZERO." That is, as those who travel to distant stars at near light speed experience, say, the passing of a year, those left behind will experience the passing of decades, centuries. And so young nobleman Alan Corday responds in horror when, on Earth, he's kidnapped to the interstellar trader Hound of Heaven by order of its notorious Captain Jocelyn, who needs a new officer. Alan resists joining starship society, but when he returns home from several adventures in hopes of rejoining his fiancée, he finds her an ancient amnesiac and himself a man out of time, with no real home but that of the cursed starship. In heated prose ("The quivering Hound of Heaven hurled herself on course, blazing bow to bridge with particle flame..."), Hubbard brilliantly evokes the vastness of space and the tragedy of those who would conquer it. The novel's turning point—Alan's reckoning with time's implacability—is narrated suspensefully, but comes as no surprise; what does impress immensely is Hubbard's handling of the bitter consequences of Alan's realization, as well as his believable detailing of starship society. Readers used to today's bloated SF tomes will appreciate Hubbard's ability to pack an epic into relatively few pages—this is indeed golden SF from the Golden Age.
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Review

"A leader among the crew of fast, versatile wordsmiths.: -- Publishers Weekly

"Anyone who doubts the sheer creative and visionary genius of L. Ron Hubbard need just read this novel!" -- Paul Goat Allen, Explorations B&N

'To the Stars, by L. Ron Hubbard, is one of the greatest science fiction novels that has ever been written." -- Jerry Pournelle, Author

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Galaxy Pr Llc (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592121756
• ISBN-13: 978-1592121755
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,607,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 230 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and '40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ahead of its Time, December 9, 2004

By 

Adlen Hosier "Sunnygirl" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To the Stars (Hardcover)

Science Fiction is not my typical reading genre but I was interested in the problem posed by the book about space travel as it nears the speed of light. I was very pleasantly surprised by the depth of the story and how fascinated I was with Alan Corday's increasingly difficult situation. Mr. Hubbard has a unique way of making the characters more important than the science fiction. I really loved reading this book and have recommended it to several people. I'd love to see a movie based on this. I'd also to comment that this story was written over 50 years go and must be one of the first if not the first to use the time dilation problem in a story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Hubbard, December 14, 2004

By 

Sarah Harling (Pasadena) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To the Stars (Hardcover)

L Ron Hubbard is an excellent SF writer and I have enjoyed his other stories - like Battlefield Earth. The book was awesome.

To the Stars, written 50 years ago, illustrates how innovative and forward thinking Hubbard was as an SF writer.

His ability to tell a story and bring his characters so vivdly to life is unsurpassed. I was immediately drawn into the dilemma of Alex Corday and the crew.

And the fact that he was one of the first to use the time/speed idea highlights his position as one of the greats of SF.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but 200 pages too short..., May 23, 2005

By 

William Greer Jr. (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: To the Stars (Hardcover)

First, I must admit that I am neither a die-hard Sci-Fi fan, nor even an L. Ron Hubbard fan. I am, however, a Chick Corea fan. Corea, a jazz pianist who is very much a Hubbard guy, recently released a recording en homage to this book. I had to check it out for myself.

I have to say that the framework, the bones, for a top-10-books-of-my-life quality read are here. The fundamental premise, the relative effect upon time as mass approaches light speed, is sufficiently mind-blowing to warrant reading the book. However, I found the plot and character development to fall somewhat short of the book's promise. Here are my gripes, enumerated:

- The story ultimately asks the reader to understand the deep personal nature of the relationship between Corday and Jocelyn when, in my opinion, it does little to develop that relationship throughout. Admittedly, much of what the story reveals is done as an epiphany, but I would like to have seen a little more foundation.
- The "Hound of Heaven" (and why does it have that name?) visits Earth several times during the story. For certain reasons, the "circumstances" on Earth are very different upon each visit. I thought that the details and stories surrounding and resulting from each visit, especially the final one, could have been expanded substantially, adding value to the story.
- A certain romance develops in the book. Or, I should say, develops in the final paragraph of the book. It's easy to see it coming; I thought Hubbard poorly ignored it until the denouement.
- There is another planet called "Johnny's Landing" (and why does it have that name?) which the "Hound" visits a couple of times. Again, there seems to be much to say of these visits, and many stories to tell, none of which are told.

Ultimately, I felt that I had read an abridged version of a great book, which amounted to a fair book in my estimation. Also, while I realize the book was written in a far different time Sci-Fi wise, it seems Hubbard could have arrived upon a better title than "To The Stars", which seems a trifle mailed-in to me.