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There and Back Again

4.0 out of 5 stars (33)
3.7 on Goodreads
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Book details

  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tor Science Fiction
  4. Publication date
    October 15, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0812541723
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0812541724
  8. See all details
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Book overview

Bailey was heading home in his steam-powered rocket when he found a message pod. It was only by luck that he spotted it, disabled and drifting in an eccentric orbit around a large M-type asteroid. Strange to find a message pod so far from interstellar trade routes, drifting through the Asteroid Belt around Old Sol. Bailey picked up the message pod, and notified its owners that he had it. And that was the beginning of the adventure. The next thing he knew, the legendary Gitana, adventurer extraordinaire, was arriving at Bailey's asteroid home, and then he was on a starship, heading for the center of the galaxy!

Review

"This lighthearted space opera delivers old-fashioned sense of wonder in a simple, but not simplistic, adventure."--Starlog

"Murphy cheekily but confidently rewrites a classic in this delightful space opera."--Booklist

About the author

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Pat Murphy
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Product information

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4 stars and above

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
33 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

RDD
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A Delightful Space Opera Parody of “The Hobbit”!
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2021
Pat Murphy’s “There and Back Again, by Max Merriwell” adapts J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in the style of space opera, focusing on a norbit named Bailey Beldon living in an asteroid who finds himself on a quest with a group of clones and a pataphysicist named Gitana,... See more
Pat Murphy’s “There and Back Again, by Max Merriwell” adapts J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in the style of space opera, focusing on a norbit named Bailey Beldon living in an asteroid who finds himself on a quest with a group of clones and a pataphysicist named Gitana, traveling through a series of wormholes in search of the ultimate Snark, a piece of alien technology left behind by the mysterious alien civilization that built the wormholes. In addition to “The Hobbit,” Murphy incorporates elements of Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark” as a form of old Earth popular culture that shapes the cultural touchstones people use, similar to memes in our own society. Murphy’s writing blends humor and heart, following the general beats of “The Hobbit” while creating her own world such that the events she references only become clear after the fact. “There and Back Again” is a delightful read and will entertain fans of space opera, Tolkien, or both.
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Keto
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Unique take on an old classic.
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2002
I am a fan of Tolkien's work, the Hobbit and the Rings trilogy. When I initially became aware of this book, I was a little skeptical that the author might be using Tolkiens great story as a crutch for a mediocre writing style. Despite my reservations, I picked it up.... See more
I am a fan of Tolkien's work, the Hobbit and the Rings trilogy. When I initially became aware of this book, I was a little skeptical that the author might be using Tolkiens great story as a crutch for a mediocre writing style. Despite my reservations, I picked it up.
And I was glad I did. This author definitely has her own style, which is solid and distinguishable from Tolkien's. The story does not run parallel to the Hobbit in all ways, which is good.
All in all, this is a good, fun read for sci-fi and fantasy enthusiasts alike.
4 people found this helpful
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E. S. Anderson
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Compare to The Hobbit and Hitchhiker's Guide
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2014
In a tale heavily influenced by Tolkien's The Hobbit, Murphy tells of a norbit, who has a comfortable home in the Asteroid Belt, but is drawn into an adventure to the center of the galaxy with a group of clones called the Farr sibs, and Gitana, an apparently well-known... See more
In a tale heavily influenced by Tolkien's The Hobbit, Murphy tells of a norbit, who has a comfortable home in the Asteroid Belt, but is drawn into an adventure to the center of the galaxy with a group of clones called the Farr sibs, and Gitana, an apparently well-known adventurer.
Like Bilbo Baggins, Bailey is hesitant to leave his peaceful existence, but is also drawn by the spirit of adventure. He comes to learn about the mysteries of the universe and finds himself more useful on this journey than anyone (except Gitana) believed he would be. Run-ins with space pirates, ancient alien artifacts, and spaceship-eating spiders are all par for the course.
Also comparable to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this space opera is cheeky, exhilarating, suspenseful, and moving all at the same time. Pat Murphy (and her pseudonyms) may just be my new favorite author.
(I ordered and read this book in order to get some perspective and back story on Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell which I received from NetGalley in Bad Grrlz' Guide to Reality)
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Rodney Meek
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Reasonably Amusing Diversion
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2001
Well, chances are that if you've decided to read this book, you're gonna enjoy it. You'd have to be dumber than a box of rocks not to realize from the outset that this is the lite-SF version of Tolkien's "The Hobbit". So, by your mere choice to pick this up... See more
Well, chances are that if you've decided to read this book, you're gonna enjoy it. You'd have to be dumber than a box of rocks not to realize from the outset that this is the lite-SF version of Tolkien's "The Hobbit". So, by your mere choice to pick this up anyway, you're likely entering into the game more or less willingly.
Most of the entertainment value comes from finding the parallels between this novel and its far superior source (although it's not really fair to directly compare them, since they are in different genres and are shaded with different meanings). "There and Back Again" is really an homage; it doesn't try to outdo the original or show it up or improve upon it. It simply uses its plot outline as the basis for a minor space opera (operetta?).
Of course, the current story itself is rather too slight to stand on its own. The reader is too aware that the norbits are hobbits and the clones are dwarves and the Boojum is Smaug; knowing the plot of the predecessor means that everything here is, by design, predictable, so there are no real surprises or much tension. One is meant to merely delight in the flourishes.
The treatment of the clone society is a bit interesting, along with some of the mechanics of the (one-way) wormholes. And another virtue is that lazy readers can easily power through the book in one sitting. Oh, yeah...cool cover.
Nothing to go out of your way to grab, but if someone loans it to you for a long flight from, say, Chicago to San Francisco, you might want to go for it.
3 people found this helpful
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Ranged Healer
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
I bought this when I read that it was the ...
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2015
I bought this when I read that it was the "sci-fi" take on The Hobbit and it kinda is, but really isn't.
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Discerning Reader
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Really fun read, a "space opera" in all the good ways
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2006
"There and Back Again" is a truly fun book. It will eaily stand on it own, but for those who love "The Hobbit" they will see many similar themes, perhaps even a retelling of the great hero epic. I really liked this book. The main character is a norbit (those... See more
"There and Back Again" is a truly fun book. It will eaily stand on it own, but for those who love "The Hobbit" they will see many similar themes, perhaps even a retelling of the great hero epic. I really liked this book.

The main character is a norbit (those who live "in-orbit" among the asteroids in the belt). He meets with members of the Farr clone (I do not want to give away more, but these characters are neat) and they travel through worm holes in search for ancient artifacts and information. It is really fun and well worth the time to read.

The writing style is one that flows very well. I especially liked the base 12 number system.

Check it out!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2015
This book is a good read. It is just like the Hobbit only in space and the future.
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Richard R. Horton
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful Retelling of the Hobbit as Space Opera
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2000
Pat Murphy's new novel, _There and Back Again, by Max Merriwell_, purports to be a space opera by one Max Merriwell, who Murphy in an afterword suggests is a 50ish SF writer from a sort of alternate timeline. There's also an afterword by "Merriwell", in which... See more
Pat Murphy's new novel, _There and Back Again, by Max Merriwell_, purports to be a space opera by one Max Merriwell, who Murphy in an afterword suggests is a 50ish SF writer from a sort of alternate timeline. There's also an afterword by "Merriwell", in which he acknowledges the obvious fact that this book borrows its plot very directly from _The Hobbit_, as signaled by the title. It's a very enjoyable book, though rather light. Some have complained that it takes the ambiguous and dark aspects of _The Hobbit_ and nicens them too much. This is a valid criticism, but perhaps it asks more of the book than Murphy intended. It is what it is. It's not as good as Tolkien, it's not as true as Tolkien, but I think it does what its trying to do. To that end, the parallels with _The Hobbit_ work as a game for the reader, though perhaps not a very difficult one: they are thumpingly obvious. And indeed, Murphy does back away from the darker implications: her Ring-analog is not nearly as dangerous as Tolkien's Ring, her Gollum-analog is only briefly onstage. But it is fun to see her ways of making science fictional parallels with the elements of the Hobbit: for example hobbits become norbits (people who live "in orbit") while the Shire becomes the homey Asteroid belt. There are also nice references to Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark": Murphy uses quotes from the Carroll poem as chapter headings, and builds the plot around a search for a particular Snark, which is the term used in her future for the mysterious and valuable but dangerous artifacts of the "Old Ones" (vanished aliens).
Briefly, the story is about a norbit named Bailey Beldon, who becomes involved with an expedition of clone sisters from a powerful clone family to the Galactic Center. One of their other sisters has found a wormhole route to the Galactic Center and evidence that a trove of Snarks awaits there. The expedition meets a number of dangers on the way: Reconstructionists (a scary bunch), pirates, space spiders (natch!), warring factions, and of course a Boojum. Much is made (to some good use) of the effects of time dilation on space travellers; some jokes are made at Bailey's expense, many interesting characters are encountered. I quite enjoyed the book, and took the various sillinesses (the super crowded asteroid belt, the implausible space spiders, etc.) as part and parcel of the light package.
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