The Trouble With Tycho

by Clifford D. Simak

Ace Double D-517, printed with "Bring Back Yesterday" by A. Bertram Chandler

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Novels, Adventure

Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

"He was honored by fans with three Hugo awards and by colleagues with one Nebula award and was named the third Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) in 1977." (Wikipedia)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford...

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trouble With Tycho was originally published in the October 1960 issue of the Cele Goldsmith edited Amazing Stories Magazine, a year before the famous Kennedy speech before congress in May of 1961, and two years before the one at Rice University in September of 1962. It was then published in book form by Ace in their Double line, and eventually by itself with the nifty Michael Whelan cover. Simak portrays the environment realistically, though he does have a variety of life forms inhabiting the Moon; lichens, microbes, and some crystalline based electrical beings. The story has aged pretty well with a couple of exceptions. At one point a character opens a barrel of water and throws and it stays in liquid form, which I'm not sure is scientifically accurate. There is some sexist content, but it's on the part of the protagonist, not the writer. (The main character, Chris Jackson, is amazed at finding Amelia on the Moon because she's a woman. He eventually tells her that he'll "swat her fanny" is she doesn't do what he tells her is in her best interest, and he's unsure "...if she was going to cry or jump me like a wildcat.") Actually, Amelia proves to be a strong and resourceful character, probably one of Simak's best females. It's a nicely plotted and paced piece, with an entertaining look at Lunar exploration. The ending can be interpreted in a sort of spiritual way, but Simak is never preachy or judgmental. It's a good, quick read from an sf grandmaster.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun Simak yarn and a quick read.

Featuring prospectors on the moon, it’s got an old west, frontier town feel that fits well with Simak’s signature “pastoral” style. This was written before the moon landings, so he takes some liberties with what was likely to be found on the moon. The story still works fine and had good characters but reading it today it might have been better to set it on some other planet.

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ace Double Novel D517
The Trouble With Tycho, Clifford Simak, grade A-. (Also ACE 82442 115 pages)
Bring Back Yesterday, A. Bertram Chandler, grade B+

1982 Grade A-
2024 Grade B+

This short (115 page) paperback novel has clearly been cut down to fit an ACE double novel. I found several missing transition areas I had to read twice to make sure I did not miss anything. But it is still a fun classic old SciFi story.

Simak is one of the great writers of old social/physical SciFi and tends to be a little abstract. His average book quality is grade B although some of his later novels are grade A. The end of this story is rather repetitive and verbose but easy to speed read. A miner on the moon investigates the dangerous mystery of the missing missions into Tycho crater, solves and fixes the problem, and survives. Not only that, he finds the mother load of valuables.

[Steve Rainwater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trouble with Tycho is an enjoyable older Simak novella.

It was originally published in the October 1960 issue of Amazing Stories with cover art by Alex Schomburg and three interior illustrations by Virgil Finlay. I read the April 1983 Ace Science Fiction paperback edition with cover art by Michael Whelan.

The story involves a lunar prospector, Chris, who teams up with an undocumented immigrant from Earth, Amelia, and a visiting scientist, Brill, to go on an illegal expedition to the lunar crater Tycho. The crater is off limits because every manned mission that's entered the crater has been lost, including one of the early Earth missions to the moon with two spaceships, as well as some later lunar surface expeditions. There are rumors about what's in the crater. Some say it's haunted but everyone agrees there's danger of some kind there.

Chris hopes to find the mother load of rare and valuable lunar lichens in Tycho, Amelia hopes to get rich by claiming salvage rights on the lost ships, and Brill hopes to solve the mystery of why the only life ever found on the moon, rare lichens and small, friendly energy creatures called "hounds", seem to be located in the vicinity of Tycho.

Getting into the crater turns out to be easy. Getting out alive may be more challenging.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOD. This book was great. As a new fan to sci-fi, I didn't quite know what to expect. If you like sci-fi, read it.

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il racconto lungo che da il titolo al volume non mi è spiaciuto nonostante si veda proprio che è datato. Una specie di space opera wester con i cercatori di preziosi sulla Luna che poteva anche essere vagamente plausibile nel 1960, ma che per essere gradita oggi necessita di una gran bella dose di sospensione dell'incredulità.
Tra i racconti che lo concludono, tutti quantomeno gradevoli, il mio preferito è "Operazione Stinky" su questa puzzola che non è una puzzola e questo bracciante beone ubriacone alle prese con l'aviazione USA. Veramente spassoso.

[Graham Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simak's got the goods! This novella is a tight little adventure with a great sci-fi flourish. Not hard sci-fi, and dated in parts, but it'd make for a fantastic throwback movie. 

[Djordje · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: ★★★★

[Joe Rodeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This close encounters story is rather dated. The hero/narrator has a good sense of humor. Recommended for third grade level for light weight, kid stuff, action/adventure appeal. Too many unanswered questions.

[Hélène Thebault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ces novellas de Clifford Simak sont un peu datées mais plaisantes à lire. Qui aujourd'hui écrit de la SF qui soit juste de l'anticipation ? Pas de post-apocalyptique, de dystopie ou d'utopie, juste un monde futuriste avec quelques avancées technologiques. C'est fun, c'est léger et un peu old school.
Dans l'édition que j'ai dénichée, Les épaves de Tycho sont accompagnées de Bouillon de culture et La littérature des sphères.
C'est surtout cette histoire qui a retenu mon attention. La Terre a été englobée dans un univers fourmillant de vie extraterrestre et ses habitants se sont démarqués par une caractéristique unique : la capacité de mentir et d'inventer des récits. Nous sommes donc toustes des auteurices et pour réaliser notre plein potentiel nous n'avons besoin que d'une chose, un raconteur, une machine sophistiquée qui écrit des histoires à partir d'un matériau brut qu'on lui fournit. Tout s'achète, les personnages, les styles d'écriture, les intrigues... Avec ça, qui écrirait encore à la main ?

[Ian Martyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered Clifford D. Simak through the X Minus One radio show, and I have to say that Trouble With Tycho reads a lot like an X Minus One episode. When I was reading it, I could imagine the actor playing Jackon's voice speaking the text with some of the familiar X Minus One music in the background. This book is over quickly, unfortunately, but it's an exciting, fast-paced jaunt around the moon that has some surprises in it. While it's not deeply insightful like many of the other science fiction books I've read this year, it's not meant to be, and if you take it as a space adventure book, it works really well. There's no fluff here, just pure story.

There are some noticeable typos in the beginning that may have been fixed in later editions (I'm reading a copy with a cigarette ad from the 1970s in the middle of it), but I have to say that it was a bit surprising to see such glaring errors in a print edition.

[N. M. D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young prospector living in a small community on the moon gives in to the temptation to make a name for himself by venturing into the massive Tycho crater, where a number of expeditions went and never left.

This is my third Simak book and it's a bit of a let down, but the other two were pretty stellar. I can't expect home runs every time. It's first person, which I don't love, and the narrator is not very interesting. The other few characters have zero development. Most of this book is descriptions of the moon; the barren, soundless, colorless, uncaring—and eventually ominious—moon. This would have worked better at novelette length than as the short novel it is, because it had a short story worth of story to give. There are a couple of really interesting ideas that get no time (plenty of time to describe the moon though) and for a second it was heading for a pretty somber ending, which it would have benefited from greatly.

[OleksandrD · Rating 4 out of 5]

За что люблю олдскульную фантастику, так это за то, что всё просто- одна книга, простой язык, и всё по существу. Благодаря этому прочитал эту книгу буквально за один вечер. В целом, книга, на мой взгляд, пересекается с фильмами "Луна" с Сэмом Роквелом и с ещё одним mockumentary про Луну...Забыл как называется.

И опять, переводчики на русский жгут. Никогда бы не подумал, что "Trouble with Tycho" можно перевести как "Зловещий кратер Тихо".

Симак изображает колонизацию Луны аналогично колонизации европейцами США. Основной контингент на Луне- старатели, искатели приключений и авантюристы. Однако, у краткости и олдскульности тут есть и недостаток- персонажи не раскрыты. И, я думаю, можно было бы немного понагнетать атмосферы. А так достаточно неплохой сайенс фикшн. Природу собачек и кристаллов Симак решил не раскрывать, но у него такое встречается не редко- события просто происходят.

[Tom Britz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trouble With Tycho is a quick and exciting read.
Chris jackson is a prospector on the moon. Usually scratching out an existence by collecting the mysterious lichen that is found on the outside rim of Tycho crater. No-one ventured into the crater. There were stories told about the long lost 3rd moon expedition and the observatory crew that were going to build an observatory inside the crater also the rescue mission that went in search of the missing observatory crew, none ever came out. The crater would more than likely have kept its secrets, but for Chris running into a young woman prospector, Amelia, who happened to be there illegally. She had a story about her brother finding an old body. One of the rescue team? And she knew about a diary found on the body.
This was pure Simak a rousing tale of adventure with a highly satisfactory end. Read it!

[Philip Athans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A particularly fun and satisfying Ace SF Double experience that showcases two similar yet distinct approaches to early SF. A. Bertram Chandler’s Bring Back Yesterday is an SF take on a noir detective novel, set in the far future on a distant planet and its dangerously unique moon, with a lovelorn merchant spaceman filling the role of gumshoe. In The Trouble With Tycho, Clifford Simak reimagines the Western but set on Earth’s Moon, where lunar prospectors dare to chase down the “Treasure Trove in the Haunted Crater.” Both stories move quickly, showcase much better than average, evocative and engaging writing, and expand well past the strict boundaries of the mixed pulp genres from which they begin. Might be hard to find, but well worth the effort!

[Marcus Beard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris, a hardened moon-miner (I think?), recounts his journey into 'Tycho', one of the most dangerous and mysterious places on the moon.

It's a short novella that reads like outlaws hunting for bison in the old west. It's gritty, harsh, and not as other-worldly as something like Destiny Doll. Definitely a pace slower than other sci-fi I've read recently.

[Lidia Auricchio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lettura piacevolissima. All'ombra di Thyco mi ha fatto rivivere l'emozione di Viaggio al centro della terra. Operazione Stinchy mi ha fatto divertire. Tutti belli. Ma gli ultimi due racconti, Padre Fondatore e Scena di morte, andavano oltre il fantastico, approdando al poetico ed al filosofico. Capolavori.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny how similar the cover design is on this to the Perry Rhodan books I've been reading.. also Ace paperbacks, of course.

This is one of a little pile of Clifford Simak books I got on my recent library adventure. It's really a novella.. and may well be a repurposed one. Pretty typical of Moon-based sci fi written in the early sixties.

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally don't read short stories or novellas as I prefer to get lost in a read for longer. Clifford Simak is the exception. Even a short story by him is so deeply fleshed out that the reader is fully satisfied. As one of his earlier writings, this didn't quite have the magic to come, although the story still sucks you right into to his reality.

[Susan Rainwater · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fun little classic SF story that probably started out as a novella in the pulps. Worth a quick read if you run into it, but not one of Simak's best.

[Opalears · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly very bad?

[Otis Doss III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Simak.

[Dr. Benway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Più che il romanzo breve che dà il titolo a questo volume Urania Collezione ho apprezzato i racconti che lo accompagnano.

[Eric N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick adventure/mystery,I enjoyed it but wished it was longer! Nice Michael Whelan cover.

[Matteo Pellegrini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una strana maledizione sembra incombere sul grande cratere di Tycho, la più impervia e la più affascinante regione della Luna. Tre spedizioni sono precipitate, all'interno del grande cratere, e nessuno ha mai fatto ritorno da quella zona... e i coloni della Luna, costretti a vivere un'esistenza precaria tra i mille pericoli del solitario satellite senz'aria dell'azzurra Terra, hanno fatto di Tycho un mito e una leggenda, tanto da evitarne le insidie, anche se, così si dice nelle basi lunari, all'interno del cratere dovrebbero trovarsi incredibili ricchezze... quelle ricchezze che non esistono in nessun altro punto della Luna, avamposto umano verso gli spazi ignoti, satellite che sembra privo di misteri e ricchissimo d'insidie per gli esploratori umani. Ma forse la Luna non è così priva di misteri come hanno pensato tutti, dopo le prime spedizioni, e anche nel vicino futuro, quando uomini vivranno stabilmente sulla sua superficie polverosa e aspra. E Chris Jackson, cercatore lunare, uno di quegli uomini che cercheranno di strappare alla Luna le scarse ricchezze che il nostro satellite può offrire, non immagina neppure lontanamente il mistero che la Luna nasconde gelosamente... un mistero che dimostra come nell'immensità dell'universo tutte le certezze della scienza e degli uomini possano essere messe in dubbio o cancellate dalle mille forme che la vita e l'energia possono assumere, anche nelle distese dello spazio.

[Antonella Sacco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo romanzo, del 1961, è ambientato sulla Luna, dove i Terrestri hanno installato delle colonie. La Luna è descritta come è realmente (o quasi), senza ossigeno né atmosfera e senza vita, ad eccezione di licheni e cosiddetti levrieri, ovvero piccoli esseri che scintillano e volano, apparentemente costituiti di energia pura; le persone che abitano sulla Luna vivono all'interno delle colonie, che sono ambienti chiusi in cui circola l'ossigeno, e, per muoversi, utilizzano dei mezzi appositi (detti trattori) e delle tute collegate a respiratori.
La trama è semplice, un giovane ricercatore (che solitamente raccoglie i licheni che nascono in alcune zone della Luna e che contengono dei microbi utilizzati per guarire le malattie mentali) incontra una ricercatrice che lo convince ad intraprendere un'esplorazione molto pericolosa: quella di scendere nel cratere Tycho, in cui sono scomparse due spedizioni provenienti dalla Terra e una squadra di soccorso: scoprendo il motivo di queste sparizioni o ritrovando le astronavi potrebbero diventare ricchi.
La storia si differenzia dalle altre che ho letto di Simak (a parte Fuga dal futuro in cui l'elemento avventura è altrettanto presente) perché è soprattutto un'avventura. Non mancano i motivi di riflessione sull'uomo e sulla vita, che danno a questo romanzo un particolare spessore. Insomma, si tratta di un libro simakiano a tutti gli effetti.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this short Clifford D. Simak novel in the 1960's. It takes place on the moon where a space miner and a female companion seek their fortune in a forbidden mysterious crater on the moon.

[Happy (Mara) Hodges · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a fun adventure with non-organic life forms, but too human-centered. What right do humans have to . . . well, I'm not going to spoil it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure moon sci-fi adventure. Although this is more of a novella than a novel.

[Ty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Odd, soft-science thriller with an evil force in a moon crater.