Michael Lauck's Blog, page 6
May 23, 2018
A Review Of Murray Leinster’s Men Into Space
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON GOODREADS
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First of all, it is important to remember that Men Into Space is actually a television tie-in book. It is entirely possible, in fact, that it is the first adult science fiction television tie-in book. Sure, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet had a series of novels but Tom Corbett was really aimed at a younger audience. The television show Men Into Space ran from 1959 to 1960 and followed Major Ed McCauley (portrayed by William Lundigan), the most experienced astronaut in the space program, as he commands dangerous missions or helps troubleshoot problems. He is the only consistent character from episode to episode. There are no aliens or space fights in the show, either. Men Into Space episodes concentrate on the problems and perils inherent in space travel.
The TV show is important because Murray Leinster’s book follows the television show’s format. Each of the six chapters is its own stand-alone episode with McCauley as the only constant. The book is not a retelling of Men Into Space episodes, though. Instead it serves as a prequel to the show, highlighting key missions in McCauley’s career (and the problems and perils he faces). You don’t have to be familiar with Men Into Space the series to follow the book or read the book to follow the series, for that matter.
In a way, Leinster’s Men Into Space reads almost like an alternative history book. The methods and technology presented (multi-stage rockets, sliderules, analog radio) were what we really did use to get to the moon. It all seems very familiar. In this book, though, we did not stop there. We built a space station, a moon base and headed to Mars with Apollo-style equipment. This is not the swashbuckling adventures of space opera or even the social commentary (mixed with swashbuckling space opera) of a Star Trek.
I am a fan of the television show Men Into Space, I am a fan of Murray Leinster and guess what? I enjoyed this book. I deducted one star because it was not as good as many of his other stories, partially because one of Leinster’s strengths is his ability to conceive of unknown technologies. It is, at times, a bit of a dry read but it is a very accurate approximation of the show’s mood. I deducted another star because the story in the sixth and final chapter was a serious disappointment. The set up was good, the main point of conflict interesting but the resolution depended on a completely ridiculous plot twist (the only one in the entire book). Had it occurred somewhere in the middle chapters I might have been a bit more charitable but instead it ended the book on a sour note.
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May 14, 2018
A 58 year old paperback I picked up on the Internet kicks off a...
A 58 year old paperback I picked up on the Internet kicks off a discussion of classic science fiction author Murray Leinster, the pioneering TV show Men Into Space and golden age science fiction stories on old time radio!
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May 12, 2018
Early Science Fiction TV, Radio and Murray Leinster
I had heard of Men Into Space but I had also heard it was a lost series, like so many early TV shows. Syndicated by Ziv in 1960, it was arguably the first serious non-anthology science fiction series and definitely the first serious American TV show dedicated to space travel. The show's main character, and the only character in every episode, is Colonel McCauley (portrayed by William Lundigan). The most experienced man in the US space program, it follows him as he troubleshoots problems and commands missions to orbit and the moon. When the broadcast silence fiction television network Comet came to St. Louis a couple of years ago, I was thrilled to see Men Into Space was a regular part of their weekend line up. I was hooked from the first episode. I even bought a McCauley space helmet on eBay. The show is dated scientifically and socially, but at its core it is hard science fiction adventure. No aliens, no rayguns. no vague science to replace what is otherwise basically magic. The special effects are not groundbreaking, but they don't detract from the story, either. Now that I am in the Kansas City area, I still watch. (Even if you don't have Comet in your area, you can stream it from their website!) And recently I found out there was a novelization and, better yet, it was written by Murray Leinster!
I am a big Murray Leinster fan, but he is one of those great (and prolific) writers from science fiction's golden age who just isn't recognized anymore. It is hard to find his works, unless you are willing to settle for old paperbacks that smell like gramma's basement. I think the main reason this happened was because his work did not ever jump to television. Two movies were made that were based on his books, though. As far as I recall, The Navy vs The Night Monsters is a late sixties kid friendly matinee fare (and pretty forgettable!) based on The Monster at the End of the World. Amicus, the great British science fiction and horror studio, also adapted his story The Wailing Asteroid into their late 1960s film The Terrornauts, which is fun but not exactly high art.
Where Leinster's stories shined was radio. The two great NBC golden age science fiction radio shows, Dimension X and X Minus One, adapted several of his works including A Logic Named Joe (which kind of pegged the whole Alexa/Siri/smart house thing), First Contact (which might have been the first use of a "universal translator" in science fiction and, yes, did later form the basis of a lawsuit against the Star Trek franchise), The Lost, Sam, This Is You and If You Was A Moklin. Another early science fiction radio show, Exploring Tomorrow, did a production of First Contact as well and NPR's science fiction radio revival show 2000x also produced Leinster's story Mad Planet around 1999. All this glorious radio (and it is glorious radio; you really should download some Dimension X and X Minus One if you haven't heard any; they are both on Archive.org.) is amazing but it hasn't kept Leinster's name in the science fiction main stream, and that is a shame!
Okay, that's enough from me! I am anxious to read this 58 year old paperback which, thankfully, doesn't even smell like gramma's basement! If you want to hear (and see) me rant poetic about all this and probably a bit more, you can see it on YouTube.
April 22, 2018
DC Has A Star Trek Problem... Does All Of Sci Fi?
I am retooling my mailing list; I think that all my future free stories will be made available first to mailing list members. It is free to join over at my website Swords And Rayguns; please take a second to sign up and drop me a line, too!
DC Comic's Star Trek Discovery Problem
Science fiction and fantasy author Michael Lauck explains how Star Trek: Discovery has created a big problem for DC Comics… even though DC doesn’t even do Star Trek comics anymore! Also, goodbyes to Harry Anderson and Art Bell. Please take a second to join the mailing list on Michael’s website SwordsAndRayguns.com, all future free content from the site will be available for mail list members first!
March 31, 2018
Author Michael Lauck rambles on about Judge Dredd a bit, zeroing...
Author Michael Lauck rambles on about Judge Dredd a bit, zeroing in on the book Jduge Dredd: Year One Omnibus (which collections three print stories covering Dredd’s early days on the streets.
March 29, 2018
This is literally what the inside of my head is like…...
This is literally what the inside of my head is like… samurais on jetpacks. WE ARE LIVING IN THE GREATEST TIME EVER!
February 25, 2018
Free Stuff On Amazon!
And speaking of The Grand Tournament, things are arranged on Amazon now so that if you buy a new paperback copy of it then you can get a Kindle ebook copy for free. That isn't until the end of the month, either, that is until Amazon doesn't let me offer that any more... I figure if you lay out $9.95 for the hard copy you deserve a convenient Kindle version as a bonus. More authors should do that!
I'm working on the follow up to The Heist, my science fiction novel. This next book, and most of the books that follow in the Black Sky Rangers series, will actually not be a novel but two separate stories in one novel length release. I like to think of Black Sky Rangers as if it was a TV show, so The Heist is the two hour premiere and the other books will collect two regular episodes.
And if you do read any (or all) of my books, please leave a review here and/or over on Amazon. It helps me not only grow as a writer and storyteller but also increases my visibility (especially those Amazon reviews).
Okay, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading!
February 8, 2018
Now On Kindle Unlimited...
And if you aren't a Kindle Unlimited reader but you aren't sure about (or can't justify) spending the $1.95... well, I am getting along with Book 2. I am aiming for late spring but whenever it comes out I am sure there will be some kind of deal on the first book.
And if you have read one of my books, please take a second to leave a review here or over on Amazon. It let's me know what y'all like (and hate) so I can tell a better story.... and it helps other readers find me. I really do appreciate it.
January 21, 2018
Free Stuff
All that being said, check out the book marks I have over on my website https://swordsandrayguns.com/FreeStor.... They are free to download and print out. I suggest using something thick like cardstock. They are based on the covers of my books so they are pretty black ink intensive... I'd also suggest printing them at work! There are a couple of free stories on that page, too.
While you are over there, please let me know if you have any issues with my new HTTPS secure site... it is an experiment because of the Google ranking preference for HTTPS over HTTP. I don't do any commerce over the site.
