Abandon In Place

by Jerry Oltion

Based on the Nebula Award–winning novella

The morning after Neil Armstrong's funeral, a ghostly Saturn V rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. It shakes the ground and rumbles with all the fury of a real launch, sending back telemetry all the way to the moon, stopping at the point where a human would have to take control to land. NASA is shocked when this ghost launch becomes a monthly experience. When humanity loses interest, the rocket becomes near invisible. When we pay attention, Jerry Oltion's expanded Nebula Award-winning novella shows us that reality is what we make of it.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

363 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Jerry Oltion (pronounced OL-tee-un) has been a gardener, stone mason, carpenter, oilfield worker, forester, land surveyor, rock 'n' roll deejay, printer, proofreader, editor, publisher, computer consultant, movie extra, corporate secretary, magazine columnist, and garbage truck driver. For the last 37 years he has also been a writer, with 15 novels and over 150 stories published so far.

Reviews

[Ryan Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first section of this book is one of my favorite reads of *all* time. well worth the Hugo it won for best novella. sadly it trails off some what from that point. still I consider it well worth the read for anyone who is still in love with the idea of mans journey into space.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts with a very strong first section then seems to wander off into pure wish fulfilment fantasy.

Pleasant characters a fast paced plot kept me reading right to the end; but by the time I got there I was more than happy to put it down...

[Tim Lesher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite disappointed. The book started with a curious premise, and made me wonder how he would resolve it. The answer was that he didn't: he just kept piling on increasingly-improbable plot points until the book ended.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My great near-future era scifi book that mixes the Saturn V moon rocket with mystical magic by way of "quantum foam" science. I liked the characters a lot! Tom.

[FominovRV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is better read when you've got no idea about the story apart from the most basic plot summary & it's your very first book by this author; this is how I read it and I was pretty intrigued till the end.
Once in a library I stumbled upon an edition of this novel coupled with "The Getaway special" & decided to try it out: that book was published as a part of well-known science-fiction series; works by Frank Herbert & Larry Niven, Keith Laumer & Bob Shaw were published in those series so I gave that newcomer Jerry guy a chance to prove his worth: he's got such a good company of sci-fi writers there! He didn't exactly disappoint me but still his creation isn't without some flaws.

The biggest complaint I'm able to come up with is that a reader is expected to suppress his disbelief on quite a few occasions, not necessarily when Oltion is describing the most fantastic situations: for example I felt that main character's escape from a well-guarded militarized scientist base was too easy considering he didn't even have to fight his way out, also the effect of his return with a mob of concerned citizens to rescue his girlfriend seemed a bit exaggerated. One can really say that "Abandon in place" wanders off into pure wish fulfillment fantasy rather quickly but on the other hand it's probably one of its traits that I truly liked.
Finally author's explanation of where all those superpowers came from might appear slightly disappointing but it's still not a letdown by any means!

That being said I'd recommend reading "Abandon in place" & "The Getaway special" but only if you care more for the story than writing-style; actually text in both novels seemed pretty dry and succinct but it didn't hurt the plots themselves IMO.

[Russ Jarvis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book's title and cover art drew me toward a story about the current space program's decision after the Apollo program to not return to the moon, much less explore space beyond lunar orbit. I was hoping to learn something about the rationale behind that decision and also see what a revamped posture of exploration might look like. I didn't get it. The author could have used any setting to get his point across that "reality is what we make it." To send a story off on one trajectory, only to turn onto a totally different one after page 128 was disappointing. I believe in speculative fiction, but authors shouldn't bait and switch their readers.

[Earl Truss · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this should have stayed as a short story. The first hundred or so pages which is about the trip to the Moon on a ghost Saturn V was barely OK. Once that was done, it was an entirely different story about how all humans had supernatural powers and could do anything. It just all fell apart at this point and I skimmed to the end of the book with little interest.

[Chris Brendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why the novella was celebrated, but may be it should have stayed a novella. The second and third acts strayed so far away from what could have been a great story. The final act introduces a forced villain which wasn’t convincing and a very strange cameo that added nothing to the plot.

Just read the novella.

[Lijadora del Prado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads like a song to the stopped moon program. Was this written at an anniversary of one of the moon missions?

[Roberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun idea.

[Magda Revetllat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A medio camino de Ubik de Lem y Dioses Menores de Prattchet un relato flojo aunque empieza bien.

[Leo Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the day that Neil Armstrong passes away, a ghostly Saturn V rocket appears on the abandoned Pad 34, and launches into space, shaking the earth and rattling windows as it goes. It seems real. It shows up on radar. It follows the profile of a cancelled Apollo mission. Is it real? Will it return? It falls to astronauts Rick Spencer and Tessa McClain to investigate the mystery.

I agree with other reviewers of this novel. The first portion is a stirring love letter to the space program. I found myself literally getting goosebumps reading this. It contrasts the power and glory of the moon program with the plodding, dare I say boring, shuttle program. Sadly, it veers off into sheer fantasy. Entertaining, but quite a letdown from the promise of the early chapters.

[Sara Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best combinations of sci-fi and fantasy genres in one book I've ever read. Very goofy but in a very fun way. It's as if someone dared the author to write a good story with a grab bag of standard sci-fi / fantasy elements and he accepted the challenge. I think he did a terrific job with it, too. The nugget of the book seems to be -- Q: What would it take to get people interested in space exploration again? A: Faith.

[Andreas · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this short story, ghost rockets, seemingly identical to the Saturn V Moon rockets, begin launching from Cape Canaveral soon after Neil Armstrong’s death. One astronaut is chosen to board one of the rockets before it launches.

Cute little love story declaration for the Apollo program, but really nothing special.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=54

[Raving Redcoat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mixture of science fiction and psychic powers. Although it starts out as a unplanned mission to the Moon, it becomes an exploration of what happens if reality really is what one makes of it. An entertaining bit of brain candy.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story about wanting to return to conventional space exploration so badly that it actually becomes real. Great mix of science, story telling and adventure.

[Bram Groeneveld]

NASA is a pussy.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting sci-fi book. love the idea that positive vibes could influence what happens in the world

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure I'd actually call it science fiction, but it was well put together. I quite literally did not stop reading it from the time I started which is exactly what I was looking for.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out being about one thing and then became a totally different book halfway through. That last chapter, though - super woo woo. If there were a sequel, I wouldn't bother.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent tale of a different kind of US space program and hope.

[Ipso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serious letdown compared to the short novella its based on. Very strong start, and syrupy wish fullfilment finish.