Brigands of the Moon

Gregg Haljan #1

by Ray Cummings

Our ship the space-flyer Planetara whose home port was Greater New York carried mail and passenger traffic to and from both Venus and Mars.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Short Stories, Adventure

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Raymond King Cummings. His career resulted in some 750 novels and short stories, using also the pen names Ray King, Gabrielle Cummings, and Gabriel Wilson.

See Wikipedia

Reviews

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray Cummings deserves to be ranked among the founding fathers of the Golden-Age of science fiction. His prolific output in the latter years of the Radium-Age really paved the way for many of the beloved adventures fans of the genre have come to expect since World War II.

"Brigands of the Moon," first serialized in "Astounding" and then published by McClurg in complete novel-length in 1931, is a prime example of space opera action. It starts as a crime mystery thriller set on a cruise ship that regularly runs passengers and cargo between Venus, Earth, and Mars. Pirates plan to seize control of the ship and use it to commandeer a valuable radioactive ore being mined on Earth's moon.

The plan of the conspirators is a bit nonsensical, but both heroes and villains alike are equally incompetent. The author tries hard to establish firm technologies and rules for his fictional world, but ultimately it didn't help provide much of a framework for the action, which consists of a lot of rays and light signals and explosions and power failures and flying platforms and stuff. There are also plenty of anachronisms, with advanced futuristic technology co-existing with early 20th Century habits that should have likely been obsolete because of said technology, but whatever. There are enough plot twists and action here to solidly entertain and distract you from the shortcomings of the plot. If you like things like acrobatic ray gun fights in zero gravity, this is for you.

This novel is part of a loose series linked by the themes of "Matter, Space, and Time," which includes many classic Ray Cummings stories. It also introduced readers to Gregg Haljan, a character who would appear again in "Wandl the Invader." He's the navigator of the ship "Planetara," and like Captain Kirk, seems to be a instant magnet for the flirtation of females from any species or planet. Despite this, he's one of the more believable pulp heroes, spending much of his time trying to placate and then outwit his enemies, while often not getting the outcome he hoped.

Any science fiction fan would likely enjoy this action adventure, even if it doesn't have a lot of deep themes or ingenious predictions for the future.

SCORE: Three and a half, rounded to a final rating of four brigands.

[Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have this book in a kindlized version of a Project Gutenberg free ebook, and I let my kindle read it to me on my commute. Although there were some fun ideas in the work, the book was incredibly slow and could have benefited from being cut about 20 percent. There was a lot of redundancy. I can't really recommend it.

[Mike Sobyra]

I just read this book for the second time. I did think it went on too long, but then I realised that I'm reading a book written 90 years ago when most books were slow moving. I'm sure some people would think that Moby Dick could be shorter. When you put this book in the context of the times, it is really extraordinary. You have to remember they were still flying Bi-planes, and couldn't fly across the oceans. The idea of the various rays and listening devices were well ahead of the times. The idea of constant acceleration for space travel is something we are still trying to figure out. When you suspend your preconceived ideas and approaches this becomes an enjoyable read. When you read a classic of any Genre, you always have to read it thinking of the time and the culture in which it was written.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pulpiest pulp that ever pulped.


It's got everything.

✔️ Unnecessary scifi lingo for average words ("bullet projectors" > guns)
✔️ Martian women fawning over average earthmen
✔️ An end note that says it's a totally true story

Is it good? Not really. If it was, why would I be reading it?

[Charles Sheard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It doesn't matter that this isn't literature of the highest sort. It remains enjoyable if for no other reason than it opens a window into the mindset of nearly 90 years ago, and what writers at that time thought of the future and scientific advancement. Everything seems fresh and wide-eyed in the pulp SciFi from this era, and it's easy to forgot what we've learned about space in the mean time to simply go along for the wild ride.

[Kent Archie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what I expected from a early 1900s super science adventure. The offer predicts quick travel to Mars and Venus but socially it's stuck in 1930. Women are just eye candy and the space ships have chart rooms and lookouts like you would expect on old ocean going ships.
It's a little long but if you want to get a feel for what SF was like a long time ago, give it a read. It's available on Gutenberg.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better writer than he is has been credited for. Pre-golden age. Like Hamilton, not bad at all. Had he been born 10 or 20 years later, could have been a contender.

This was a yarn. Could have been tighter, less repetitive, but not too shabby for it’s day.

[Ernest Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming, old-fashioned space opera by one of the old masters. Would make a fun movie if done art deco style with a hot jazz soundtrack.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another truly awful sf story from the SciFi Stockpile compendium. I don't think I'll read any more Cummings.

[Steven Lomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very old school ('I am a woman and I'm curious' nuff said). Although it is full of action and has a solid storyline so I can enjoy the retro feel of the setting. Glorious stuff.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review

Here is a science-fiction classic, as exciting and ingenious as only a master of super-science could write.

When RAY CUMMINGS took leave of this planet early in 1957, the world of modern science-fiction lost one of its genuine founding fathers. For the imagination of this talented writer supplied a great many of the most basic themes upon which the present superstructure of science-fiction is based. Following the lead of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, Cummings successfully bridged the gap between the early dawning of science-fiction in the last decades of the Nineteenth Century and the full flowering of the field in these middle decades of the Twentieth.

Born in 1887, Cummings acquired insight into the vast possibilities of future science by a personal association with Thomas Alva Edison. During the 1920's and 1930's, he thrilled millions of readers with his vivid tales of space and time. The infinite and the infinitesimal were all parts of his canvas, and past, present, and future, the interplanetary and the extra-dimensional, all made their initial impact on the reading public through his many stories and novels.

Product Description

Gregg Haljan was aware that there was a certain danger in having the giant spaceship Planetara stop off at the moon to pick up Grantline's special cargo of moon ore. For that rare metal--invaluable in keeping Earth's technology running--was the target of many greedy eyes.

But nevertheless he hadn't figured on the special twist the clever Martian brigands would use. So when he found both the ship and himself suddenly in their hands, he knew that there was only one way in which he could hope to save that cargo and his own secret--that would be by turning space-pirate himself and paying the BRIGANDS OF THE MOON back in their own interplanetary coin.

[Ross Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic science fiction tale from Ray Cummings. Our hero Gregg Haljan is an officer on the Plantara on a trip from Earth to Mars and then back to Earth. He is one of a few of the crew and passengers that knows that on the way back, they are stopping on the moon to retrieve a fortune in ore that has been mined in secret. Little does Haljan know, but brigands have infiltrated the Plantara and are planning on stealing the ore for themselves. A decent actioner for the time. It was originally published in 1931 and this Ace edition was from 1958. It suffers from the lack of characterization which was common for these tales and there is very obvious sexism going on in the tale. Women cannot help defend the ship, they must be protected at all costs. And most of the women fall for our hero. It is only when they prove themselves the best at flying small craft are they used to pilot our heroes in the climactic battle on the moon.

[Norman Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a true space opera: a tale of piracy and claim jumping set in the future. There is romance"," danger"," murder"," and plenty of high-tech weaponry and gadgets"," but it's all window dressing for an adventure story. Martians and Venerians are substituted for exotic south-seas races and cultures. A small planetoid"," complete with atmosphere and vegetation"," is used in place of a desert island on which to maroon passengers. There is only the minimal attempt to explain the scientific principles"," and it's all technobabble.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️Published in 1930.

Not bad. Not bad at all. It was enjoyable to read. 🚀

This was published in Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930

🟣 Media form: Kindle version.
🟢 Media form: Project Gutenberg .

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is the stotry of a space navigaor on the space ship Planetaria. The ship is taken over by space pirates from Mars. Miko was the leader. Anita was his girlfriend. There are battles and in the end Greg Haljan winds the day. The pirates try to steal a load of radium ore. Grantline camp is a base on the moon where the ore was discovered and stored. The battles take place onthe moon.

[Lew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked this 1930 science fiction story. I'm fan on classic older sci-fi and not all of it is good. Besides the quirky speculation on what the future would be like including space travel, it is a good space opera story. It may be a hard read if the reader isn't a fan of classic science fiction stories from the 20s and 30s.

[bluetyson]

Brigands Of The Moon by Ray Cummings (2000)

[James]

Not much into scifi but enjoyed this book.