Into the Wardrobe: READY FOR BLASTOFF! (1990) by Rick North
Ready for Blastoff! is the second entry in “The Young Astronauts” series, a collection of six middle-grade books published in 1990–1991 and “presented by Jack Anderson,” a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and investigative reporter who passed away in 2005. The series is linked to the Young Astronaut Council, Inc., which still exists, providing school enrichment through a “STEM-based space-themed, pre-afterschool television show.” The origin of the Young Astronaut program lies in an oval office meeting between Anderson and then President Reagan in 1984. Anderson noted: “I’ve noticed two things about my grandchildren. They love space. They were excited about space. They hated school.” With a view on declining US student math and science scores, Reagan quickly adapted the idea into a political reality that developed into an international program of conferences, school chapter activities, and this series of stories published by Zebra books. I only found this second volume in the thrift shop, so I haven’t read the first book, but that didn’t really create any difficulty with getting into this one. It begins with a prologue where a UN/NASA international team of seven sixteen-year-old astronauts blasts off from Earth: destination Mars. The prologue introduces each of the team members, their personalities, and the struggles that they have gotten through to reach this momentous occasion. The team consists of Nathan Long (team leader), Karl Muller, Sergei Chuvakin, Alice Thorne, Noemi Velazquez, Genshiro Akamasu, and Lanie Rizzo, who harbors a secret. The prologue also sets up one of the novel’s antagonists, Suki, the leader of another team that will soon follow Long’s team to Mars. The twenty-one short chapters of the novel then flashback in time to show the challenges the team successfully faces leading up to their departure from Earth. These include both physical and mental obstacles, from nausea in zero-G simulations to imposter syndrome. As the characters rise to meet these challenges and trust one another to come together, the story demonstrates to readers qualities of perseverance and teamwork. The diversity of the characters is both a strength and weakness in terms of how well issues are handled, particularly from a present-day perspective. One thing covered well is the issue of socioeconomic privilege, though it’s not of course directly called that in a book from the 1990s. What the novel does less well from a perspective of today is the racial, ethnic, or gender diversity, which definitely comes across as being presented in typical fashion for the era: the diversity is there, but it’s still rather stereotypical and limited. For instance, the Japanese teen loves Godzilla, and the affluent girl loves fashion and shopping. While Nathan Long exists as a typical clean-cut, male leader, he demonstrates support and care, without domineering, bias, or aggressiveness. The name “Rick North” is a house pseudonym used for the Young Astronaut series, and this particular novel is written by John Peel, a prolific author of SF media tie-in franchise novels (from Star Trek to Dr. Who) who might be familiar to many readers out there. In all, Peel does a great job with Ready for Blastoff!, balancing plot and character development well within the book’s short length. He also includes several situations that show the characters using their minds and compassion to overcome mishaps or dangers. Aside from the competitive antagonism the team receives from Suki, most of the story deals with the team members having to deal with training while under the scrutiny of a hostile media writer and her photographer/cameraman. From this one volume of the series, at least, I’m reminded of Mary Robinette Kowal’s recent “Lady Astronaut” series. The two series share a lot in common in terms of themes, albeit Kowal’s for a more adult audience (while still readable by YA). I imagine that the “Young Astronaut” series would have been effective for getting young readers at the time more interested in STEM and space, at least those with nerd proclivities. I’m not sure it would have the same effect on middle grade readers today, though I could see this series being modernized and brought back, for instance through the involvement of an Abigail Harrison (Astronaut Abby) type STEM communication personality.
Book Review: THE IMMORTALITY THIEF by Taran Hunt
Today I’m bringing you a short review from the backlist: Taran Hunt’s The Immortality Thief, first published in October 2022 by Solaris. It’s the first book of “The Kystrom Chronicles” series; the second volume of that series, The Unkillable Princess, is slated for publication in early 2025. Sean Wren is a talented linguist and treasure smuggler, eking out a living as one of the few survivors of a colony destroyed by The Ministers: enigmatic, immortal aliens that have taken political control over most of humanity. Standing alone against them is The Republic, a government that considers Sean and his colleagues as criminals. Capturing Sean and his childhood friend, agents of The Republic force them (using a Suicide-Squadesque bomb-in-your-head method of motivation) to take part in a special covert, off-the-records mission to salvage data from an millennia-old abandoned ship in orbit of a dying star on the edge of known space. As the only speaker of a long-dead language, Sean’s abilities are essential to the mission. Arriving at the derelict station, the team discovers they are not alone. The Republic has failed to mention a previous team was sent to the ship. The Ministers converge upon it, knowing the dangerous scientific knowledge the data on this long-lost ship contains. And the corridors of the ship are stalked by monsters and ghosts of a long forgotten past. My original plan was to review this novel soon after its release for Strange Horizons, then in late 2023 to coincide with the novel’s release in softcover. But each time I sat down to write a review, I found it difficult to organize my thoughts or decide if I really enjoyed the book, or was a bit let down by it. Even now, I’m still trying to decide. On the one hand, its short chapters and fast-paced action make for rapid and entertaining reading through a relatively long novel. But on the other hand, that entertaining plot does feel repetitive, needlessly drawn out in action thrills at the expense of probing deeper into sociopolitical themes and their link to Sean’s traumatic past. The novel is well written as pleasurable genre fun, but as I considered it beneath that exterior, experiential layer, the more it felt like a literary equivalent of empty calories. And there’s, I think, the crux of whether a reader might adore the novel or dislike it. As part of Strange Horizons‘ 2022 in Review, reviewer Eric Primm selected The Immortality Thief as a notable book among several that seemed “to fly under a lot of radars,” describing it: “… [a] science-fiction horror that surprised and delighted. After coercion from the government, Sean Wren explores an abandoned ship that has been lost to time. Racing against him are the Ministers, aliens that rule over half of humanity with an iron fist. It’s fast-paced, tense, and excellent… [It] would make an excellent video game.” I agree wholeheartedly with Primm here. This reads like a video game, from its space opera trope-filled premise, to the execution of its pacing, to the vibes of its complex protagonist: part damaged, part hopeful, part snarky. Hunt very effectively mixes tones of horror, humor, and adventure into the novel, using backstory as foundations of literary sincerity and gravitas – almost like a game might insert those same elements through cut scenes interspersed throughout the action game-play. As speculative fiction, the one element of The Immortality Thief I most appreciated was the visual (color based) form of communication used by the Ministers. Reading how Sean used his linguistic and talents for logic to forge communication with the aliens, and slowly build a partnership of trust with one of them, stands out as the most memorable aspect of the novel for me. Those character interactions might allow the reader to figure out the ‘plot twist’ aspect of the novel a bit earlier than its full reveal in the novel, but don’t necessarily lessen its impact. As I write this I’m starting to conclude that I love all the pieces of The Immortality Thief, but they don’t add together into something that I have equal enthusiasm for. It includes a lot of elements, straddling the border of popcorn entertainment versus complex thematic depth. Succeeding in general breadth, it pulled back from any depth in any single component in favor of doubling down on keeping things broad.
Author Interview: Francesco Dimitri (THE DARK SIDE OF THE SKY)
“All good literature is fantasy. The word ‘realism’ – I don’t buy it. Every writer sees reality from their own point of view, and they bend what they see to make it fit into a story.” — Francesco Dmitri
A Book by its Cover: THE FAMILIAR by Leigh Bardugo
Joke review: “… the more highbrow reader will surely appreciate how Bardugo plays with a lighthearted Hegelian concept and complicates it within an esoteric historical fantasy plot…”
Book Review: GHOST STATION by S.A. Barnes
The novel is a good split between the two genres, though with a more overt presence and vibe of science fiction. I would predict it would be more readily enjoyed by general fans of science fiction that aren’t too into horror compared to the converse.
Movie Review: CIVIL WAR (2024), directed by Alex Garland
The plot of Civil War actually doesn’t matter at all. It’s just a backdrop of events to explore the worst of human selfishness.
