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Apollo's Outcasts
by
Allen Steele
In the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein's juvenile classics, crafted with a modern sensibility. Jamey Barlowe has been crippled since childhood, the result of being born on the Moon. He lives his life in a wheelchair, only truly free when he is in the water. But then Jameys father sends him, along with five other kids, back to the Moon to escape a political coup detat that...more
Hardcover, 311 pages
Published
November 6th 2012
by Prometheus Books
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I really felt like I ought to like this book a lot more than I did. I've had a hard time putting my finger on just what it was that didn't taste right. But I think I've sort of figured it out.
Jamey was born on the moon, so, when he's returned to and raised on Earth, he's basically crippled, and can't get around except in his "mobile". That's reasonably believable, except that since he's been on Earth since babyhood, I would have expected his body would have begun a certain amount of corrective a...more
Jamey was born on the moon, so, when he's returned to and raised on Earth, he's basically crippled, and can't get around except in his "mobile". That's reasonably believable, except that since he's been on Earth since babyhood, I would have expected his body would have begun a certain amount of corrective a...more
Feb 05, 2013
Wally
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
adventure,
boylit,
boy-hero,
coming-of-age,
doorway-setting,
doorway-plot,
geeks,
sf,
tween,
teen
By 2097, Earth has established at least two working colonies on the Moon, and after a coup d’état in Washington DC, Jamey Barlowe and his sister must flee to the moon since their scientist father is on the wrong side politically of the new president. Jamey has two claims to fame: he was born on the Moon (and is thus physically crippled under Earth’s stronger gravity), and his mother died saving him during a lunar accident. Jamey’s return to the Moon involves a lot of enculturation to the colony...more
When I first heard that Pyr Books would be publishing a book by Allen Steele, I was very excited. A few years back, I had read all of his Coyote books, and he had become one of my favorite authors. I finally was able to get his most recent book a few weeks back and have just finished reading it.
Apollo's Outcasts is another slam dunk for this author. It begins with Jamey Barlowe, the main male character, and his sister being sent to the Moon, along with five other kids, after a political uprising...more
Apollo's Outcasts is another slam dunk for this author. It begins with Jamey Barlowe, the main male character, and his sister being sent to the Moon, along with five other kids, after a political uprising...more
My first exposure to this book was the author's reading of the first chapter at the 2012 World Sci-Fi & Fantasy Convention in Chicago. After that reading, I knew I had to purchase this book. I'm mostly a newcomer to Allen Steele's work, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the works of his I've read thus far and this one is no different.
If you've never read a young adult novel before, don't let it discourage you. They're usually the same as a "full" adult novel, except the main protagonist is still a...more
If you've never read a young adult novel before, don't let it discourage you. They're usually the same as a "full" adult novel, except the main protagonist is still a...more
Very pleased with this. The premise mostly parallels Steele's Coyote books: the US is taken over by a hard right-wing coup, and the various 'suspect intellectuals' who oppossed the now-President are being rounded up and put in camps or simply disappeared. The children of several friends are put on a moon shuttle moments before the gendarmes arrive, and seek political asylum. Our hero was bound to a wheelchair on earth but on the Moon he's free to move, thanks to the lesser gravity.
It's a nice c...more
It's a nice c...more
Comparisons to Heinlein are apt! This reads like The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Junior (a good thing!), though the political situation is different. In a time when YA lit is drowning in dystopias in half-built worlds, I appreciated Apollo's Outcasts as a detailed, "hard science fiction" read. Bonus: it's a single volume work. (I can just imagine how some publishers would have stretched it into a painfully shallow trilogy.) The action sequences in the last quarter are truly exciting. Weaknesses in...more
The story centers on a boy, Jamey, who grew up on Earth. He has a disorder, however, and his bones are weak and he lives in a smart wheelchair-ish device. Circumstances force his father to send he and his sister to the moon, where Jamey gets a chance to shine.
Doesn't everyone, and every kid in particular, want their circumstances to change in such a way that they can shine? To change in such a way that they can do real, meaningful, helpful work for society and excel at it?
I've put this book on t...more
Doesn't everyone, and every kid in particular, want their circumstances to change in such a way that they can shine? To change in such a way that they can do real, meaningful, helpful work for society and excel at it?
I've put this book on t...more
Really enjoyed this. It's billed as a "young adult" novel, but like some of Heinlein's early good stuff, it's appealing to all ages. Anyone who enjoyed Steele's early books like Orbital Decay will find a lot to like here. It's only "young adult" in the age of the protagonist; there's plenty of interesting science, action, and interpersonal stuff here.
Nice to see Steele return to hard sci-fi. The Coyote books were enjoyable, and he built a great universe there, but IMHO Steele is at his best post...more
Nice to see Steele return to hard sci-fi. The Coyote books were enjoyable, and he built a great universe there, but IMHO Steele is at his best post...more
This is a very good young-adult sf adventure in the Heinlein tradition. Much like his Coyote novels, it tells the tales of a group of political refugees and their efforts to make lives for themselves on a new world. The future setting and technology is very realistic, and the characters are convincing. It's also fun from a nostalgic sense-of-wonder standpoint; the relationship of Jamey and Billy was a direct reminder of Roger Manning and Tom Corbett. It's a little hard to believe that such young...more
Ok, I'll be writing up a more complete review in the next few days, but I have to say something.
I received a copy of this title from the publisher in yesterday's mail.
That's right, yesterday's mail.
My oldest had read the cover blurb and was interested but since it is a YA title for slightly older than her Sal and I decided I would read ahead of her just in case.
So I picked it up and started reading, my plan was to get a chapter or two in.
I could not put it down!
Well written and incredibly detail...more
I received a copy of this title from the publisher in yesterday's mail.
That's right, yesterday's mail.
My oldest had read the cover blurb and was interested but since it is a YA title for slightly older than her Sal and I decided I would read ahead of her just in case.
So I picked it up and started reading, my plan was to get a chapter or two in.
I could not put it down!
Well written and incredibly detail...more
I abandoned this one at around 180 pages. I thought I would finish it just for the hell of it, but I was so bored by the lack of plot advancing and the one-note characters that I just decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
The biggest problem is probably the pacing. It takes Jamey almost 100 pages to even get to the moon, and once he's there, not much else happens. This space could be used for all sorts of things, but when nothing happens, it's very, very hard to be engaged in the plot.
Instead of f...more
The biggest problem is probably the pacing. It takes Jamey almost 100 pages to even get to the moon, and once he's there, not much else happens. This space could be used for all sorts of things, but when nothing happens, it's very, very hard to be engaged in the plot.
Instead of f...more
view all 3 comments
Jamey Barlowe was born on the Moon, but moved back to Earth as an infant following his mother’s tragic death. Because his fragile bones can’t handle Earth’s gravity, Jamey needs a wheelchair to get around, but he has learned to live with his disability and lead a normal teenage life. Then, on his sixteenth birthday, Jamey’s father wakes him up in the middle of the night and sends him back to the Moon to escape a military coup in the United States.
Jamey arrives in the lunar mining colony Apollo w...more
Jamey arrives in the lunar mining colony Apollo w...more
Given the overwhelming prevalence of fantasy in YA lit, I’d personally love to see a swing towards some solid, future-looking SF. Having read a novel earlier this year that got it all wrong, it’s refreshing to come across a book that gets just about everything right. I can only hope this catches on as a genre again.
I’m not a Heinlein worshiper, but that’s clearly where Allen Steele draws his inspiration (as one would expect), even going so far as to almost quote him directly in a spot or two. Ho...more
I’m not a Heinlein worshiper, but that’s clearly where Allen Steele draws his inspiration (as one would expect), even going so far as to almost quote him directly in a spot or two. Ho...more
A pleasant read but too many illogical plot holes drove me crazy. I had a hard time finishing this. For more snarkiness, see my status updates.
But, as always, don't let me talk you out of this, if this book sounds interesting to you.
One of many small quibbles: All these comments about no milk for cheese, coffee, etc. on the moon. What about soybeans? Did they somehow become extinct in the future? As far as I know creamer is made from soy, cheese from soy, there is soy milk....
But, as always, don't let me talk you out of this, if this book sounds interesting to you.
One of many small quibbles: All these comments about no milk for cheese, coffee, etc. on the moon. What about soybeans? Did they somehow become extinct in the future? As far as I know creamer is made from soy, cheese from soy, there is soy milk....
This one is a gem. A contemporary YA novel that has lots of appeal for adult readers. Whether it was meant to be or not, Apollo's Outcasts acts as a loving homage to Heinlein's juvenile novels and creates the kind of sense of wonder that makes you wish you could travel to the moon right now.
For more of my non-spoiler review, check out the link:
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.co...
For more of my non-spoiler review, check out the link:
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.co...
Allen Steele's first foray into the Young Adult market does not disappoint. It has everything that Steele does so well in it. Believable, likeable characters, a crackerjack plot the ability to explain technology and a way to weave expostion into plot in such a way as to not damage the momentum of the plot one iota. Simply marvelous, a treat for his long time fans and a great starting point for younger readers to be exposed to his exceptional storytelling.
You can't read Apollo's Outcasts without seeing Heinlein's hand in the margins, including a number of oblique references to one of my favorite's Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, but Steele has doen a terrific job of blending the masters feel for YA with everything we've learned aobut space and lunar science to come up with a YA novel that's fun, fast, and full of coming of age adventure.
This book was pretty terrible, but I read the whole thing anyway because the moon!
The actual STORY is pretty interesting, but the writing is very flat and there isn't any character development. Plus I didn't care at all about the fictional politics I just wanted more THE MOOOOON! Pretty bummed.
The actual STORY is pretty interesting, but the writing is very flat and there isn't any character development. Plus I didn't care at all about the fictional politics I just wanted more THE MOOOOON! Pretty bummed.
3.5/5 stars
Apollo’s Outcasts somehow manages to be nostalgic and refreshing at the same time. Jamey is a wonderful character to follow, and Steele really should be heralded for his understanding and adept use of science. While this book is billed as young adult, it’s easy to see how it could appeal to an audience that spans all ages. It’s adventurous, quick moving, and intense. Steele’s flowing prose will bring the world and situations to life and the fairly short length of the book makes this a...more
Apollo’s Outcasts somehow manages to be nostalgic and refreshing at the same time. Jamey is a wonderful character to follow, and Steele really should be heralded for his understanding and adept use of science. While this book is billed as young adult, it’s easy to see how it could appeal to an audience that spans all ages. It’s adventurous, quick moving, and intense. Steele’s flowing prose will bring the world and situations to life and the fairly short length of the book makes this a...more
Great science fiction. It had a bit too much description for me, but cool science and solid facts. Great adventure as well.
As a fan of the old Young Astronauts series, I enjoyed this one. The author included the perfect level of detail about technology / how toilets in zero g work, at least for my interest. The main character sounded like he was from the 1950s, not the future, but I didn't really mind.
sci-fi, special needs, government conspiracy and orphans
Review coming soon!
Apollo’s Outcasts by Allen Steele is an inspiring throwback to the youthful excitement of space travel carved out by the likes of Robert A. Heinlein.
Read more of my review here:
http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2013/02/...
Read more of my review here:
http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2013/02/...
Great book for a teen or early adult!
Brandi
Read for review in Vector.
I enjoyed this made me think of all the Heinleins I read as a kid that started me on my love of SciFi.
May 17, 2013
Peter
is currently reading it
May 08, 2013
Justin
marked it as to-read
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Allen Mulherin Steele, Jr. is an American science fiction author.
Steele began publishing short stories in 1988. His early novels formed a future history beginning with Orbital Decay and continuing through Labyrinth of Night. Some of his early novels such as Orbital Decay and Lunar Descent were about blue-collar workers working on future construction projects in space. Since 1992, he has tended to...more
More about Allen Steele...
Steele began publishing short stories in 1988. His early novels formed a future history beginning with Orbital Decay and continuing through Labyrinth of Night. Some of his early novels such as Orbital Decay and Lunar Descent were about blue-collar workers working on future construction projects in space. Since 1992, he has tended to...more
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