Rendezvous on a Lost World

The Rim World #2

by A. Bertram Chandler

THE ROBOT ROAD TO FARAWAY

His was a dream few spacemen ever saw come true. Alan Kemp was an obsessed man - driven by the realization of a dream into the black emptiness between the stars.

In a rebuilt, second-hand, obsolete ship, Kemp and his three comrades too off - determined to set up a shuttle between the planets at the Rim of the galaxy.

But trouble - in the form of two lost colonies, one inhabited by giant mechanical insects and the other ruled by the descendants of a murderous pirate - threatened. Kemp's crew began to wonder: just how much will a man sacrifice to realize a dream?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

124 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Arthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912–6 June 1984) was an Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Paul T. Sherman, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M.

He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Dream Dies is better known as Rendezvous on a Lost World, the title given it by Ace when they released it in book format shortly after it appeared in the February 1961 issue of Amazing Stories magazine, which was edited by the under-appreciated Cele Goldsmith. It's listed as the second book in Chandler's Rim World series, best known as the home of John Grimes, though he isn't mentioned in this book. It's an uncharacteristically melancholy space opera about a man who wins a lottery, buys an obsolete starship, and sets off to start an independent trading company with three of his friends. Alan Kemp, the owner, mistreats his crew and everyone he encounters, and it's hard to believe anyone would stick with this futuristic Captain Bligh. The story involves a lot of AI speculation that was ahead of its time. The first chapter of the book is: When the dream dies, what of the dreamer? And the last chapter (not really a spoiler) is: When the dreamer dies, what of the dream? Which pretty much sums up the theme as well as the tone of the novel. It's a pretty good (if a little too bleak for me) book, but not a good introduction to Chandler's Rim universe.

[Michael Bacon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alan Kemp is a twat. When he wins the lottery, instead of investing it wisely he decides to buy a dangerously obsolete, uninsurable space hulk and fill it with tat in the hope of barely breaking even. He somehow talks three of his friends into joining him on this ridiculous exercise. The ship gets thrown massively off course because it's dreadful, forcing the crew to drift aimlessly from one incredibly unfortunate encounter to the next.

They end up trapped on a planet where a compulsively servile AI builds four artificial women to please them. These robot women cook, clean, perform sexual favours and repeatedly risk their lives for the crew, three of them dying in the process of escape. Kemp's responses range from sulking and tantrum to disrespecting the women's corpses and allowing the last survivor to sell herself into sexual slavery, an act of selflessness necessary in order to save his ungrateful ass AGAIN. He drinks while operating machinery, repeatedly implies his purser is 'expendable' (which, admittedly, is true), burns a column of armoured cavalry to death with his ship's engines, and at one point in the novel contemplates killing a whole town full of people, a proposed act of genocide which he justifies with the observation that his victims are the grandchildren of pirates.

Which is not to imply for a moment that the novel is unaware how awful Kemp is. In fact the whole plot is predicated on Kemp's moral unraveling. But this is less interesting than it sounds. The characters are pretty thin, and it's not so much that Kemp experiences a Walter White-esque arc as a flat trajectory from being an asshole who hasn't done anything morally abhorrent to one that has, largely because the opportunity presented itself.

Even so, I came pretty close to giving the book three stars. Why? Well, it was quite entertaining. At its best it reminds me of Star Trek TOS; yes, it's shonky, absurd; a lot of the performances are wooden; calling the sexual politics questionable is generous. But its heart is in the right place: it aspires to empathy and ethical sophistication even if it keeps falling short. Even so, it's a comparison in which Rendezvous on a Lost World must lose out. TOS achieves what it aspires to just that bit more often, and is just that sliver more cerebral, more humane. And at the end of the day Kemp is no Kirk, Spock or Bones: none of the crew are. When his dream comes to an end, it's hard to feel any real sympathy, or anything much at all. 'Forget it Jake, it's Rim World.'

[Tom Britz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rendezvous On A Lost World is one of the first "Rim World" novels that A. Bertram Chandler made his career from. This one has no mention of Commander Grimes though Fantastic Fiction has it listed first under that series. This was also my first read of an A. Bertram Chandler novel. I found his writing to be very capable and he told a good story.
The story is about one man's dream of owning his own rim runner, a ship that trades among the planets out along the rim of the galaxy. Through a "lucky" series of events Allan Kemp wins a lottery and buys an old retro ship of a design that is many decades past. Three of his friends are recruited as his crew, and Kemp's dream has begun. They name the ship "Lucky Lady" but to be honest, luck wasn't i store for this particular lady. On their maiden voyage they run afoul of a magnetic storm and are deposited light years away with no idea where they are. They are in fairly quick succession on a planet where everything seems perfect, the air and flora and fauna are not only livable but exceptional, however there are no inhabitants, but there are machines. The crew are quickly kidnapped by these machines in order to fulfill the machine's purpose of serving humans.
Needless to say being held captive, even when you are treated royally is no mans goal. Even after the machines create women for the four men they scheme and eventually manage to get away, however the women die when they are taken away from the machine world, except one. The crew moves on to have more adventures, only to eventually end in disappointment. They make it home, but none are the same. Dreams are not always worthwhile.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rendezvous on a Lost World (1961) 105 pages by A. Bertram Chandler.

Alan Kemp, one of George's crew mates on a rim runner, wins the lottery. While they are enjoying some of those winnings an old gaussjammer from a lost colony arrives on the planet. This gives Kemp an idea. He'll buy the old ship, set up his own business and cut a few weeks travel time off getting back to his beloved Veronica.

With the addition of Jim and Dudley they set off and get caught in a magnetic storm. And the adventures start.

The story deals with artificial intelligence, a robot being just a machine or having humanity, and the effects on the Lucky Lady's crew.

Chandler did well in a short novel of exploring that relationship while continuing to follow the adventures of George and his three friends.

[Rees Pozzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tough to give more than a 2.

By the end, I'm left wondering why on Earth the crew signed up to go on this seemingly unplanned, disastrous trip with their "friend" Alan. When he is not constantly reprimanding them or snarling at them, he's judging their every move. Sounds like a hoot to be stuck in a tiny spaceship with for years!

Also, the first use men can think of for the "machine" women is the obvious, misogynistic sexual one.
Some interesting moments about humanity and morality. Themes of "Do androids dream" but handled in a much less skilful way. Strange hints at a deeper plot at the end that didn't really land in my opinion

It was alright, at least it's a short book.