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Outland
In orbit out from Jupiter in view of its malignant red eye is OUTLAND.
Here on Io—moon of Jupiter, hell in space—men mine ore to satisfy the needs of Earth. They are hard men, loners for whom the Company provides the necessities: beds, food, drink, and women for hire. Now, in apparent suicide or in frenzied madness, the men are dying...
To OUTLAND comes the new U.S. Marshall O'Neil, a man with a sense of duty so strong it drives him to ferret out evil, greed and murder regardless of the cost. If he must, he will forfeit love, livelihood—even life itself.
Here on Io—moon of Jupiter, hell in space—men mine ore to satisfy the needs of Earth. They are hard men, loners for whom the Company provides the necessities: beds, food, drink, and women for hire. Now, in apparent suicide or in frenzied madness, the men are dying...
To OUTLAND comes the new U.S. Marshall O'Neil, a man with a sense of duty so strong it drives him to ferret out evil, greed and murder regardless of the cost. If he must, he will forfeit love, livelihood—even life itself.
269 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1981
11 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
498 books2,030 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
September 10, 2021
I read this novelization before seeing the film, which adds some depth to the characterizations and has a better sense of pacing. Overall, the story is either a Western with too much science fiction mixed in to be very good, or a science fiction story that gets blurred because of too much Old Western slathered over the top. And Sean Connery should've been asking for shaken not stirred, instead of swaggering like Marshall Dillon, but that's a separate kettle of cows. Both versions are entertaining, but not too memorable.
May 13, 2023
I remember seeing this in my local movie theater and later late at night on the TV, in times before streaming and internet were really a thing. Then last year found the movie on Blu-ray on a table in a fleemarket. The lady warned me that it was not a 007 Sean Connery but the older man. And recently I came across a collection novelizations of various movies and the writer Alan Dean Foster was the one most represented in these books. He has been very active when it comes to Alien, Star Trek and Star Wars.
Alien has been mentioned and the stories have a common theme namely isolation. Marshall O’Niel is taking on a job on the moon Io of the planet Jupiter, his wife and son leave him for the greener pasture of Earth.
Old fashioned as the Marshall is he by accident stumbles across a drugs operation aimed at improving the miners staminas and thus their production, which is beneficial to the big mining company operating on Io.
The Marshall takes action and spoils the drugs operation and the leader of the drugs ring orders some stone cold killers to Io where a lone Marshall finds out how cold people can be.
It is in essence a western we’re the lone Marshall is up alone against the baddies and has some similarities to the movie High Noon, hence the comparison High Noon in space with the big name Connery attached.
The movie is my guilty pleasure and an Alan Dean Fosters novelization is never bad.
So an enjoyable read and undoubtedly a repeated viewing of the movie really soon.
Alien has been mentioned and the stories have a common theme namely isolation. Marshall O’Niel is taking on a job on the moon Io of the planet Jupiter, his wife and son leave him for the greener pasture of Earth.
Old fashioned as the Marshall is he by accident stumbles across a drugs operation aimed at improving the miners staminas and thus their production, which is beneficial to the big mining company operating on Io.
The Marshall takes action and spoils the drugs operation and the leader of the drugs ring orders some stone cold killers to Io where a lone Marshall finds out how cold people can be.
It is in essence a western we’re the lone Marshall is up alone against the baddies and has some similarities to the movie High Noon, hence the comparison High Noon in space with the big name Connery attached.
The movie is my guilty pleasure and an Alan Dean Fosters novelization is never bad.
So an enjoyable read and undoubtedly a repeated viewing of the movie really soon.
September 8, 2021
People say this is "High Noon in Space!"
It isn't.
Have these people not actually seen High Noon?
This is about a space marshal, out on Jupiter's moon Io. It's a mining colony, and miners are killing themselves in strange ways. He investigates, and of course, it's drugs. Of course, a corporate higher-up is smuggling them into the colony, not only for the money the drugs bring, but because the miners work harder, giving him bonuses.
On the whole, I thought it was passable, but there's a reason this movie doesn't get talked about much.
It isn't.
Have these people not actually seen High Noon?
This is about a space marshal, out on Jupiter's moon Io. It's a mining colony, and miners are killing themselves in strange ways. He investigates, and of course, it's drugs. Of course, a corporate higher-up is smuggling them into the colony, not only for the money the drugs bring, but because the miners work harder, giving him bonuses.
On the whole, I thought it was passable, but there's a reason this movie doesn't get talked about much.
December 26, 2016
I still remember my initial excitement upon first popping my copy of OUTLAND into the VCR. The movie seemed tailor-made according to my tastes: It was the plot of HIGH NOON combined with the setting of Ridley Scott's ALIEN. It starred the original James Bond and was directed by the guy who made TIMECOP and RUNNING SCARED (and also SUDDEN DEATH and END OF DAYS, but those are lesser classics).
And I remember turning it off after about 30 minutes because it was just so freakin' dull. A couple years later, I tried re-watching it, with similar results. Fast-forward to 2016, when I spot a copy of the novelized version by Alan Dean Foster sitting forlornly on a Salvation Army bookshelf. A year or so previous, I had read Foster's novelizations for KRULL and the original CLASH OF THE TITANS--two godawful movies he somehow managed to make bearable in book form. So, I plopped down my hard-earned quarter and decided to give the world of OUTLAND another shot.
Turns out, whatever the reason(s) OUTLAND didn't work for me as a film, Alan Dean Foster somehow overcame it. As a novel, OUTLAND rocks! Foster doesn't just take a terrible movie and make it bearable, he takes a bad movie and makes it great. This is the experience I had originally hoped to get when I bought my used VHS copy all those years ago.
The plot of OUTLAND is very simple, but Foster really sells it, thanks to the sort of quality writing that made his ALIEN novelizations so memorable. While reading this book, I never got the feeling it had been churned out to make a quick buck. Most movie novelizations are little more than pale reflections of their source material, but OUTLAND is a satisfying and fully-formed novel in its own right--one that has a lot more going for it than just its status as a collectible movie item.
And although it mostly manages to transcend its cinematic origins, the book's Third Act does suffer from too close an adherence to the original script. Movies can get away with quickly jumping around from scene to scene and character to character, but books require more streamlining. Readers don't want to switch locations/perspectives every few sentences, and this is a problem made even worse in OUTLAND thanks to the author's disregard for section breaks to help keep readers oriented.
My only complaint about the story itself is that the so-called expert assassins were pretty darn inept considering their fearsome reputations. Made things a little too easy for our hero. This book also promotes the myth of "explosive decompression" in outer space--though I, for one, wouldn't have it any other way in a story like this. Exploding bodies are an essential part of 1980's American culture, science be damned!
And I remember turning it off after about 30 minutes because it was just so freakin' dull. A couple years later, I tried re-watching it, with similar results. Fast-forward to 2016, when I spot a copy of the novelized version by Alan Dean Foster sitting forlornly on a Salvation Army bookshelf. A year or so previous, I had read Foster's novelizations for KRULL and the original CLASH OF THE TITANS--two godawful movies he somehow managed to make bearable in book form. So, I plopped down my hard-earned quarter and decided to give the world of OUTLAND another shot.
Turns out, whatever the reason(s) OUTLAND didn't work for me as a film, Alan Dean Foster somehow overcame it. As a novel, OUTLAND rocks! Foster doesn't just take a terrible movie and make it bearable, he takes a bad movie and makes it great. This is the experience I had originally hoped to get when I bought my used VHS copy all those years ago.
The plot of OUTLAND is very simple, but Foster really sells it, thanks to the sort of quality writing that made his ALIEN novelizations so memorable. While reading this book, I never got the feeling it had been churned out to make a quick buck. Most movie novelizations are little more than pale reflections of their source material, but OUTLAND is a satisfying and fully-formed novel in its own right--one that has a lot more going for it than just its status as a collectible movie item.
And although it mostly manages to transcend its cinematic origins, the book's Third Act does suffer from too close an adherence to the original script. Movies can get away with quickly jumping around from scene to scene and character to character, but books require more streamlining. Readers don't want to switch locations/perspectives every few sentences, and this is a problem made even worse in OUTLAND thanks to the author's disregard for section breaks to help keep readers oriented.
My only complaint about the story itself is that the so-called expert assassins were pretty darn inept considering their fearsome reputations. Made things a little too easy for our hero. This book also promotes the myth of "explosive decompression" in outer space--though I, for one, wouldn't have it any other way in a story like this. Exploding bodies are an essential part of 1980's American culture, science be damned!
September 9, 2016
Review Of Outland
Summary
This Summer I read Outland, by Alan Dean Foster. Outland is a novel featuring a U.S. Marshall deployed on the mining base on Jupiter’s moon, Io. Expecting a uneventful tour due to the bases reputation. Contrary to his initial expectations, something is deeply awry in Io. Having completed multiple arduous tours on other bases, O’Neil is no man to be trifled with lightly. After all, he wasn’t put on such a horrible base for being a super cop. Many of the other Marshalls would have leave be what was tearing the station apart for the gain of a few. O’Neil is no ordinary marshall, though. He sets out to discry and bring to light the dark giant afield on Io. Although O’Neil is not an ordinary Marshall, the thing he is hunting is no humdrum, run-of-the-mill criminal either. Rising to challenge this nefarious beast and expose it, he must endure life threatening situations, treacherous back-stabbers, and an emotional obstacle of his own.
My Thoughts
If I had to choose 10 books to represent my favorite genre -science fiction- this would definitely be one of them. Although short, Outland is a great novel. I enjoyed this book for many reasons. By combining a few of my favorite genres, Alan Dean Foster made a book almost tailored to me. I felt myself relating to the characters in a way I don’t often do. It made them seem as if they were real people with tangible issues and qualms with each other. Although I was left confused by some of the decisions, they played the whole plot off gorgeously. In short, I enjoyed Outland tremendously, and I will definitely re-read it.
Summary
This Summer I read Outland, by Alan Dean Foster. Outland is a novel featuring a U.S. Marshall deployed on the mining base on Jupiter’s moon, Io. Expecting a uneventful tour due to the bases reputation. Contrary to his initial expectations, something is deeply awry in Io. Having completed multiple arduous tours on other bases, O’Neil is no man to be trifled with lightly. After all, he wasn’t put on such a horrible base for being a super cop. Many of the other Marshalls would have leave be what was tearing the station apart for the gain of a few. O’Neil is no ordinary marshall, though. He sets out to discry and bring to light the dark giant afield on Io. Although O’Neil is not an ordinary Marshall, the thing he is hunting is no humdrum, run-of-the-mill criminal either. Rising to challenge this nefarious beast and expose it, he must endure life threatening situations, treacherous back-stabbers, and an emotional obstacle of his own.
My Thoughts
If I had to choose 10 books to represent my favorite genre -science fiction- this would definitely be one of them. Although short, Outland is a great novel. I enjoyed this book for many reasons. By combining a few of my favorite genres, Alan Dean Foster made a book almost tailored to me. I felt myself relating to the characters in a way I don’t often do. It made them seem as if they were real people with tangible issues and qualms with each other. Although I was left confused by some of the decisions, they played the whole plot off gorgeously. In short, I enjoyed Outland tremendously, and I will definitely re-read it.
August 9, 2020
Really doesn't add anything to the film upon which it's based, which is a shame since it's a film just waiting for a good book.
Also the center pages are a series of black and white photos from the movie which include some spoilers from the second half of the book.
Also the center pages are a series of black and white photos from the movie which include some spoilers from the second half of the book.
June 23, 2024
Novelization of the movie of the same name.
Humanity is stretching out from earth and in the process setting up various stations for mining and exploration. Outland takes place on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. The company holds exclusive mining rights to the moon. William O'Neil has started his tour as federal marshal. He soon discovers that there has been a significant uptick in deaths at the station over the last year. But the station is run by the company and Shepard, the person in charge of the station, expects O'Neil to play along in his part to keep things running smoothly and profit bonuses to continue. And things appear to be running smoothly because a synthetic drug is being smuggled in that boosts worker productivity. The only drawback is that it can cause some to turn unstable or psychotic after 10-11 months of use.
O'Neil is going through a bit of an crisis. His wife has left him to return to earth with their son. And apparently he may have been posted to Io because his superiors think he's not good enough for other postings. O'Neil is determined to stop the smugglers and prove his superiors wrong. Unfortunately none of the deputy marshals on the station can be trusted.
Humanity is stretching out from earth and in the process setting up various stations for mining and exploration. Outland takes place on Io, one of Jupiter's moons. The company holds exclusive mining rights to the moon. William O'Neil has started his tour as federal marshal. He soon discovers that there has been a significant uptick in deaths at the station over the last year. But the station is run by the company and Shepard, the person in charge of the station, expects O'Neil to play along in his part to keep things running smoothly and profit bonuses to continue. And things appear to be running smoothly because a synthetic drug is being smuggled in that boosts worker productivity. The only drawback is that it can cause some to turn unstable or psychotic after 10-11 months of use.
O'Neil is going through a bit of an crisis. His wife has left him to return to earth with their son. And apparently he may have been posted to Io because his superiors think he's not good enough for other postings. O'Neil is determined to stop the smugglers and prove his superiors wrong. Unfortunately none of the deputy marshals on the station can be trusted.
June 18, 2020
Another wander down memory lane in my ancient paperback library comes this "novelization" of a one of the better SF films. I don't think I saw it at the cinema but recall Sean Connery reprising his cop role this time in space... not a mining ship but a mining town, on Io, a moon of Jupiter.
What springs to mind is cowboys in space... the facility serves a corporation and is not welcome to families like O'Niel (why is it misspelled?) and his wife and son so you can imagine how this back story turns out. So many cops live such troubled lives as they try and usually fail to give sufficiently appropriate attention to family and work. Have no idea if this is true but I do know at least three cops albeit not homicide detectives (yet) but their marriages look solid. A convenient trope amongst many in this jolly romp... well done ADF for another novelization.
What next? One of his Alien ones or The Thing? Hmm.... find out in a week or two...
What springs to mind is cowboys in space... the facility serves a corporation and is not welcome to families like O'Niel (why is it misspelled?) and his wife and son so you can imagine how this back story turns out. So many cops live such troubled lives as they try and usually fail to give sufficiently appropriate attention to family and work. Have no idea if this is true but I do know at least three cops albeit not homicide detectives (yet) but their marriages look solid. A convenient trope amongst many in this jolly romp... well done ADF for another novelization.
What next? One of his Alien ones or The Thing? Hmm.... find out in a week or two...
May 18, 2019
OUTLAND was effectively a Space Western movie written and directed by Peter Hyams that riffed on the plot of the classic Western HIGH NOON. The movie starred Sean Connery as the Marshal left to fight alone against a corrupt mine manager and the hitmen sent to kill him on a remote moon of Jupiter. Alan Dean Foster is an old hand at novelisations and he adapts Hyams’ screenplay very professionally, bringing additional depth to the main characters and pacing the narrative well. O’Neil’s inner-torment and outer-determination to be seen to do the right thing in tackling the drug smuggling operation despite the personal sacrifices he makes are the heart of the story and Foster balances this well with the unfolding plot. The interplay between O’Neil and his only real ally – a cynical female doctor – is enjoyable. A decent, if less than original, film gets a decent novelisation.
September 30, 2024
Alan Dean Foster is the best film-novelist I know of. His treatment of Poltergeist (the 1982 original), in particular, merged the film as it was released with plot elements that were rejected from the script, and provides a narratively more satisfying experience than the admittedly stellar film.
I saw Outland when it was shown on TV in the mid-1980s, and the book is much as I remember the film to be. However, Foster has shown his mastery of presenting films in written form by picking out its homage to a golden-era film in an understated manner and yet more redolently than the film. It was great to revisit the film, presented once again in a more satisfying written form.
I saw Outland when it was shown on TV in the mid-1980s, and the book is much as I remember the film to be. However, Foster has shown his mastery of presenting films in written form by picking out its homage to a golden-era film in an understated manner and yet more redolently than the film. It was great to revisit the film, presented once again in a more satisfying written form.
February 5, 2022
This book was so much fun! Alan Dean Foster truly is the master of movie novelizations. I wish he had been commissioned to do a novelization of “Blade Runner”! It would have been nice to have a comprehensible and entertaining novel in that setting. LOL
But back to “Outland”: ADF did a great job of capturing Peter Hyams’ excellent retelling of “High Noon” in space. I recommend it highly!
But back to “Outland”: ADF did a great job of capturing Peter Hyams’ excellent retelling of “High Noon” in space. I recommend it highly!
February 18, 2022
Most of this authors work isn't my cup of tea.
But he is a good author.
I watched the movie as a kid and the fact that
the book and movie is beat for beat is so awesome.
It did clear up some things I didn't catch in the movie.
Great characters and well done world.
(note: This is a western in space. enjoy)
But he is a good author.
I watched the movie as a kid and the fact that
the book and movie is beat for beat is so awesome.
It did clear up some things I didn't catch in the movie.
Great characters and well done world.
(note: This is a western in space. enjoy)
January 26, 2023
I have watched the movie several times, but until recently I didn't know there was a book adaptation. I thoroughly enjoyed the book as much as the movie (actually a little more). The book goes into a bit more detail about the story on Io. If you are looking for a fun space western read, this is it.
June 10, 2017
For some reason I am really drawn to Sci-fi that features man vs. man conflict (perhaps why I like Firefly so much). I thought Outland was unique and exciting. I really like the setting of Io (a moon of Jupiter). My husband is read it too, and I don't think he's as impressed as I was.
January 22, 2018
An excellent novel with a twist in the script. The Marshall was played by the prime James Bond actor, Sean Connery. A very good movie, but I do not think movie goers were ready for A James Bond Space Marshal type character.
January 14, 2019
Actually a pretty lovely read for such a workmen like adaptation. Much like the films western roots (often compared to high noon) the novel flows like a fast paced Louis L'Amour novel set in space with just a dash of noir.
September 2, 2019
High Noon...IN SPAAAACE!!
Alan Dean Foster writes the best movie novelizations and this book is no exception. This book is well written with characters you care about.
I highly recommend this book!
Alan Dean Foster writes the best movie novelizations and this book is no exception. This book is well written with characters you care about.
I highly recommend this book!
February 19, 2020
This was a cute little action book that was based on Io. It had a very believable premise, and the background of Io was actually sensical and played an integral part of the story and the action scenes. While it was perfectly predictable, it was a fun read.
November 11, 2020
If I hadn't seen the movie, I might not have finished the book. It was a fun movie when it came out and I still will watch it if it pops up. The novelization followed the movie closely and so I felt like I was "watching" it again. It kept me entertained, hence the 3 star rating.
December 12, 2019
Good to the last word.
Read
February 28, 2020I read this one a long time ago in a French translation.
May 26, 2020
Eh, not bad, but I wouldn't really recommend this one.
August 9, 2021
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this is a straightforward retelling of the film story.
December 24, 2021
-Gregory Kerkman
October 25, 2023
A very good read, liked it. Standard cop story with a drug related murder but set in the backdrop of a space mining station, very good.
July 30, 2024
High noon in space!
November 6, 2025
Schlichte, aber unterhaltsame Romanfassung des Kinofilms. Leichte Lektüre für Zwischendurch.
September 7, 2018
Nice to read the book and see where there was more to be had then from the movie.
March 15, 2019
I read the book around the time it came out, after seeing the movie it was a novelization of, this is literally a version of High Noon, set on a Mining colony on IO a moon of Jupiter. it is exciting and engaging and You won't be able to put it down, I didn't want to anyway.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews