Stand by for Mars!

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet #1

by Carey Rockwell

When we hear a work has been written by person or persons unknown under a house pseudonym, was part of a series that ran simultaneously in the newspaper comics, on TV, on radio, and in cheesy-looking off-size paperback books, we feel safe we can assume that the content will be not just forgettable, but something we'll be better off forgetting. But work made for hire isn't always so awful, actually, or it didn't used to be, anyway. And in the case of the book you hold in your hands -- first in the Tom Corbett series by "Carey Rockwell" (whoever he was in real life) -- this book is really pretty damned neat. It's the tale of three young men who join the Solar Guard to serve as Space Cadets (yes, really! That's what the book calls them). It tells of the challenges that face them, and the way they triumph over adversity. Neat stuff! Read it now!

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Boarding School, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

The name Carey Rockwell was a pseudonym used by Grosset & Dunlap. It is unknown who wrote the books, or even if there was only one writer. It is interesting to note, however, that while much of the content was original, a number of scenes and plot points were taken from the television series of the same name.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a huge influence on me. A gift from my mother when I was 8 or 9, it is the earliest book I can remember reading - 50 years ago! - and I became a life-long fan of science fiction. I don’t know what happened to it, most of the books I enjoyed in my youth were “lost”, hopefully passed on to others to enjoy.

Over the last several years when I thought of this book I could clearly see the image of Tom in his bubble helmet on the cover. The only part of the story that I could recall (SPOILER ALERT!) was the three cadets struggling to cross the brutally hot Martian desert as their food and water ran out. In particular I remembered an illustration showing the largest cadet carrying one of the others who had passed out. I looked for the book in used bookstores over the years and finally ordered a first-edition (1952) from Abebooks.com. After it arrived I found the illustration on page 205, exactly as I remembered.

I am grateful to “Carey Rockwell” (pseudonym for one or more unknown authors) and Mom for introducing me to science fiction through this book. (5 Stars)

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This needs some explanation. When I was a child, maybe nine or ten, I found a book one of my brothers owned: THE ROBOT ROCKET, by Carey Rockwell, part of the TOM CORBETT, SPACE CADET series. I don't know what they thought of it, but I adored it. It was so cool, with space travel and Martians and Venusians and trips to other planets and intrigue and excitement and a lot of scientific information. It was great.

Then I lost the book, and forgot about it for a long time. And then last Friday I was talking to my in-laws and family about books in general, and somehow Tom Corbett came up as an example I gave of a children's book really grounded in science. So with the help of the almighty Internet, I found it. And all the others.

STAND BY FOR MARS! is the opener in the series, available courtesy of Project Gutenberg for your Kindles and iBooks apps, and probably online text as well. Free. And for that price, if you love science fiction, especially classic sci-fi, it's worth a look-see. Tom Corbett is a young cadet at the Space Academy, training to become one of the Solar Guard. He meets Astro, a giant Venusian, and becomes friends. Neither of them can stand Roger Manning, a know-it-all smarmy kid who reminded me of Draco Malfoy in looks and temperament. But when they're all assigned to the same corp, they'd better learn to get along--or else flunk out!

Don't get me wrong. This book is rather predictable in plot and simplistic in characterization, and a lot of the science is wrong (jungles on Venus?). However, for its time, it was one of the few series to make the attempt to be as correct in its scientific knowledge as possible, thanks to the consultant Willy Ley, a genuine scientist. Even though it was based on a TV series, at least the one woman in the Solar Guard is taken seriously, and has a brain to go with her stunning good looks. The whole thing just took me back to a much simpler childhood, when you had "rockets", and courses were charted with the help of astrogation tables as well as computers. No black people, of course, but since Tom is described as "curly-headed", I like to imagine him as being of African descent.

Oh, and for whatever reasons, at least once per book the young men "strip to their waists" and work on the motors. Complete with illustrations. Hmm.

Light entertainment at its finest.

[Timothy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated? no doubt. Corny? well yes. But Tom Corbett rings the same childhood bells as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, only for space geeks. Yeah, sure, Mars has no water and you can't walk the surface of the planet without a pressure suit, but really, for entertainment purposes, who cares? If I'm reading for depth, it might make a difference, but you don't read Tom Corbett for that, you read it for the childhood values of fairness, comaraderie, achievement and wonder. Here are three young men in all the spit and polish of the post WW II image of the American G I, unsullied by the realities of crudeness and natural falibility that our jaded age insists upon. It's hard to imagine a military person saying "golly" with all seriousness. So, treat it like a fairy-tale fantasy and a morality play, a fable of what space travel would be like if we were on a course of optimism: where cadets are stary-eyed and great things can be accomplished if only you are idealistic enough.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished Robert Heinlein’s Space Cadet a couple days ago and loved it, so when I found an entire series based on that premise, I was excited, esp. since I love vintage kids’ books. This was intended for a younger audience than Heinlein’s, say for ten-year-olds rather than thirteen-year-olds.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t so great. The two-thirds of the book showed the boys being the best at everything they did with very little time shown practicing—we didn’t even see a game of mercuryball until they were already in the semifinals, and we only saw cramming for their final exams without any regular studying, or even class time. Since this is at its heart a school story, I would have liked to hear more about the structure of the day or the classes or something.

Actually, I’ve read a couple vintage books for boys where the author gave a preface saying he was making a deliberate effort to write boys who aren’t perfect and are instead normal boys who try hard but make mistakes. I see this is the type of story they were attempting to subvert.

Going out of their way to rescue the ship once all the people were already safe was a bad call IMO, especially since they only actual reason cited was that it was an expensive ship. I also can’t buy that trek across Mars—they’d be dead in three days, sweating like that and only drinking an ounce of water at a time.

Not awful or anything, but not as engaging as I’d hoped, and I feel no need to read the sequels.

[Michael Lauck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stand By For Mars is a TV tie in book from the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet series-- one of the first science fiction TV tie in novels-- written for young adults and released in 1952. It tells the back story of Corbett and the rest of his three man cadet crew (Roger Manning and Astro) arriving at the Solar Guard Academy and beginning to build their friendship despite clashing personalities. Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was a media force in its day. The television series premiered in 1950, airing for five years and on every major network (CBS, ABC, NBC, DuMont and NBC again). It spun off a radio series (on of the few shows to go from TV to radio and not the other way around... Have Gun, Will Travel and Twilight Zone are two other notable series to go this route). There was also a comic book, a newspaper comic strip, a series of eight novels, starting with Stand By For Mars, and a slew of toys, clothes and watches. Despite being a juvenile program (the radio series was sponsored by Kellogg's Cereals, which also sponsored Superman's radio adventures), it boasted a technical adviser and its core of writers included Alfred Bester (who won a Hugo Award before it was even officially called a Hugo Award). Simply put, Stand By For Mars is part of science fiction history.

But how does it stand up as a novel? It is a quick, easy read full of good intentions and outdated notions. The heroes, training to be in the Solar Guard and patrol the spaceways, man atomic powered shining silver rockets, complete with stabilizer fins. Venus has dinosaurs, Mars is a harsh desert but humans live on both. This requires a willing suspension of disbelief, but for my money no more than Star Trek's transporters and warp drives. There is no sex or harsh violence, as it is aimed at the younger folk, but a story does not need sex and violence to hold my attention as long as it is well told.

And, gosh darn it, Stand By For Mars is well told. As a fan of the radio series (most of the radio series can be easily found on the Internet while very few of the television episodes seem to have survived) I found this glimpse at the history of the lead characters to be quite a compelling story. Quite honestly, it reminded me of Heinlein's juvenile science fiction stories and it would have been on bookstore shelves around the same time as Starman Jones. It is not as good as Starman Jones, but to be fair it is better than Heinlein's Have Spacesuit-- Will Travel. Like Starman Jones, Stand By For Mars features driven, young men working hard to get out into space. Unlike Starman Jones, Stand By For Mars does not offer any observations on society, class or education systems. Instead, Tom Corbett and his crew tackle life with the clean living and square jawed determination of a futuristic Biggles.

You do not need to be familiar with the universe and lore of Tom Corbett to enjoy Stand By For Mars, you just need a little free time and a love for tales of space being conquered by heroes in needle shaped rockets and bubble helmeted space suits!

[Ryan Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book because off an on I've been working on my own cheesy 50's sci-fi serial. The Tom Corbett radio and TV series had become one of my chief influences (along with the wondefully cheesy Rocky Jones Space Ranger from the same era) and I started to read this book to get a better grip on the style and dialogue of the era, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how legitimately good this book was.jjh. The characters were likeable and fun and the conflict between them kept me turning the page. I dodnt expect the emotional depth that I found in what I had figured would be cardboard characters. Don't get me wrong, there's still some cheesy ideas mainly caused by outdated science (when this book was written, the idea that Venus was a jungle planet where dinosaurs may still roam was actually believed by some scientists)but if anything, that sillyness just endured the book to me more. I'd imagine that when this book was first published in 1952, that it was a thrill for its intended audience, young boys. I know that when I was a kid, I'd have loved to go to Space Academy to learn how to fly rocket ships. Overall, a fun little book that I'd suggest to anyone who like classic sci-fi or is curious about the history of the genre. The e-book I bought this as is part of a 10 book collection (7 Tom Corbett books and 3 other 50's youth sci-fi) and I can't wait to come back to the next exciting adventure of the crew of The Polaris.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the hopes my young son will be an avid reader like his dad, I've been trying to pick up books my dad gave me to read when I was young and introduce them to him. I've been picking up the Hardy Boys series and I spotted this Tom Corbett book at a used book store and decided to give it a try.

I've never read a Corbett book before, I've seen the serials on youtube and they look pretty cheesy, however I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the story. I was lucky enough to start with the first book, so not only do you get the history of Corbett and how he became a Space Cadet, but the character development of the 3 boys central to the story. The book had a technical advisor so the science, for the time, is relatively accurate (not completely).

I'm going to keep my eyes open for more of these and I noticed I can get all of them for Kindle, so I may also do that. I will also keep my eyes open for Tom Swift. I know all these books are a little dated, but the adventures are timeless. I loved reading these types of books when I was a kid and I hope mine does too as his reading skills develop. Until then, maybe dad can read them to him!

[Jamie Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I truly read. I made it through a few books before this but this book started my love of reading. I can still pick it up and make my way through it and reconnect with what caught me up with it so many decades ago. I begged my mom to buy me this book and it took some convincing before she bought it for me. I hadn't read any of the books she had tried to get me to read. I ate this book up. I'm not sure if it's a great book, I can't see it that clearly through the love it inspired. It was perfect for the 10 or 11 year old I was at the time. I went through the entire series as fast as I could manage, immersing myself not only in this series but every book I could get my hands on.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stand By For Mars! is the first (I think) in the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet series. It's silly, simplistic, and surprisingly brutal and homoerotic, often at the same time. Lots of healthy lads stripped to the waist, muscles gleaming, etc.

For example, "The big cadet, stripped to the waist, his thick arms and chest splattered with grease and sweat, fitted the wrench to the nut and applied pressure. Tom and Roger watched the muscles ripple along his back, as the big Venusian pitted all of his great strength against the metal."

All good fun!

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't argue with the ten-year-old me that read this book over and over again and gave it the maximum number of stars with every reading. 'nuff said.

[J.J. Mainor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been backing off from doing review lately, but this one was just too funny to pass up. As noted in other reviews, this is textbook 50s sci-fi cheese, from a time when something could be made to sound futuristic simply by adding the word "space" in front of it. ie. "spaceburgers." Flying cars and the movable sidewalks are standard. And at the same time the author tries to be progressive by giving us a female character who is the first female officer in a non-support role, yet she also happens to be the only female officer in a non-support role. Apparently since she joined the Solar Guard, there hasn't been a second or a third or a fourth, nor are there any female recruits following in her footsteps. What makes the miss funnier is that the only other females in the book at all are in service roles, ie. the desk clerk at the hotel.

I've seen someone else noted the homoeroticism in a separate review, and I actually found it funny. The boys take an inordinate number of showers throughout this book - you could turn it into a drinking game and find yourself passed out before reaching the end. And the boys seem to find any excuse to take their shirts off throughout the book - the scene where two of the boys pause in their fight to save their lives so they can watch their teammate has already been noted, but I also found it humorously odd at another point when Astro decides his shirt is too much to wear, but his boots are fine. Thankfully, it's toned down in the second book, but poor Astro just couldn't quite make it to the end of that one without having to take his shirt off at least once...

This is definitely for those who get butthurt when the slightest detail isn't scientifically accurate - those whose enjoyment of a story is ruined because they have to nitpick every little thing. If you enjoy the ridiculous and the silly, than this is definitely for you.

[Evan Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My edition is a hardcover 1952 Grosset and Dunlap.

Standard YA boys sci-fi adventure of the 1950s. The characters have all signed up to be members of the 24th century version of the Space Coast Guard. ( can’t really call it any other of the armed forces, as there is one solar govt uniting three planets in our system..and no visible external enemies mentioned at all )

Time capsule moments include:
All boys space force known as the Solar Guard. Our heroes entering as young space cadets. Only one female member in the entire force …welcome to the 24th century, we’ve come a long way baby.

Telereceiver video phones…housed in the equivalent of telephone booths.

With the exception of one brief mention of a deceased Hispanic character..the world of the 24th century is almost exclusively populated by Anglo white males with last names like Anderson, Bailey, Carson, Morgan, Corbett, and Manning and first names like Tom, Sam, and Roger to match.

Despite those obvious 1950s time capsule issues, this is a quick escapist Sci Fi novel I enjoyed. Starts out with the typical boarding school story with the boys heading off to military academy to train for the Solar Guard…ends with a typical survival against the odds scenario in the desert of Mars.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the last two books I need to complete my collection of this series four months ago, and then had to pack them up to move out of (yay!) Texas to Ohio. I'd had this on my shelf for a few years but hadn't read it. Both typical - young male adventurers front and center, given the keys to a shiny new franchise (and, incongruously, a new ship), and not typical - a space academy written in 1952 with more than a little attempts at science fact and speculation (light on fact... it was 1952, after all), it sets up new boy heroes for the juvenile adventure readers of the 1950s. I expect I'll parse this series, as I've done with the two Tom Swift series, which I also collect, over time.

My copy is an original, with a worn and slightly torn dust cover, no marking inside, which is rare given the target readership. There are line drawing illustrations interspersed to punch up the drama narrative, and there are several small, end-chapter fillers (a sort-of Martian landscape, a space-helmeted Tom, a winged? spaceship rocketing in space) that are reused several times without apparent reason.

[Mbuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic memories of boyhood hopes come alive in this book of thrilling adventures, which includes flying a brand new space cruiser (and not as passengers), rescuing a load of passengers from a radioactive commercial spaceship, crash landing on Mars, surviving a Martian sandstorm and walking one hundred and fifty miles to the nearest canal and booster station, whatever that is, with little food and almost no water. Great entertainment, although an updated and even more incredible version came a few years ago in Andy Weir’s ‘Martian.’ There at least the lone hero is given a vehicle to travel the distance!

Ideal for schoolboy fiction collectors, but not for science fiction fans. All disbelief should perforce be left behind, else would you or NASA trust a shiny new space rocket to the tender mercies of three space cadets who haven't completed a training course? For that matter, would any parent trust his teenage son with a brand new Porsche? For all that, great fun to flip through, and long to be the three heroes of this early series.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had a few slow moments, but the characters were the strong point of this first book in the series. Tom is a natural born leader and strives to lead his team well, but the thing is, there's friction between him and the Venusian Astro with Roger Manning. As the book progresses, the two find out what Manning's deal is and their histories are revealed close to the end of the book. The friendship just grows from there on out. Overall a fun space adventure, but like I mentioned earlier, there are a few slow moments. Once you get past those the rest of the story just grips you and refuses to let go. Hopefully the next book isn't like that, but seeing as I have only just started reading it, I'll just have to wait and find out. If you're looking for something that is kind of like Star Trek, this is the series for you. This book series was made into a TV series starring Frankie Thomas in the lead role, many episodes of which are available on YouTube. Hope you enjoy!!

[Joe Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unless you have warm memories of Tom Corbett from TV, radio or books, this read likely won't appeal. It is vintage sci-fi, in a walking on the surface of Mars without a space suit way. As far as kid lit goes, it is a cut below the Stratemeyer Syndicate series like the Hardy boys and Tom Swift. Still if you enjoy boys at school stories and old black and white TV series with rockets and cheesy 'effects', then maybe this book and this series are what you have been looking for.

It is interesting to note that legendary science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote a book called Space Cadet which heavily influenced Tom Corbett. The beginning of both books is very similar with almost identical trios of young school characters. Since Heinlein is by far the better writer, you might try tracking down this book if you enjoy Tom and his friends.

[Chris Bartal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to put this on the historical fiction shelf, but it doesn't quite fit. It's always fun to see how previous generations thought space and space travel would be. If you enjoy reading science fiction written in the 1940s and '50s, you're going to enjoy this one.

I'm won't dissect the plot because this is pulp fiction, but that's what makes it entertaining. The characters are interesting because they hold the values of people living in the '40s and '50s as if they were planted in the future. One reviewer mentioned that at its heart, this was a school story. I disagree. I think at heart, this is a space story. Leave school to Harry Potter and space to Tom Corbett.

I'm looking forward to reading more Tom Corbett books. These belong on the same shelf as Ruthven Todd's Space Cat series.

[James Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, REALLY liked this series as a child in the 1970s. A half-century later, however, and they have not aged well, much like other space cadet books of the time. Dated attitudes towards women aside, scientific developments since the time they were written means that despite the input of science advisor Willey Ley, these are about as scientifically accurate as Edgar Rice Burrough's more openly fantastic A Princess of Mars series. There's just not enough left to like in the series once you discard the technology, depiction of the solar system, societal views, etc. Too bad.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah early 1950s vintage science fiction where adding space to a word made it futuristic, like spacemen, spacecadets and spaceburgers.

It's quite a fun even if a touch corny read, we meet Tom Corbett who has signed up for spacecadet training. We meet his unit who don't quite gel together and through adversity become a cohesive unit, when facing said adversity some hidden truths about one of the unit members are revealed and naturally once they become a cohesive unit they're able to overcome said adversity.

Might even read the other Tom Corbett spacecadet books now, this was really quite good.

[David Lewin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book as I had owned a hardback copy as a child and thought it would be great to read again after many (many) years. And it was. A real trip down memory lane for me. But oh what a poor publication this is. Not a single one of the illustrations that captured my imagination as a child are printed inside. Instead, where the pictures should be it simply says .jpg! There has been no attempt to proof read before publication and consequently print errors are scattered throughout, sentences repeated and Chapters start on the last line of a page. A child with a word processor could have done a better job. My advice: Buy a reprint by all means; just not this one.

[Melissa Symanczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an adorable vintage SF story of three boys who must learn to work together to become true cadets of the Solar Guard. The first half focuses on Academy life and the boys' rocky relationship. The second half of the book really takes off (if you'll pardon the pun) as the boys fight to rescue a ship in distress and then must survive the "New Sahara" desert on Mars (which has a breathable atmosphere and many canals for some reason). Written in the 50s, it is hella sexist, but if you can look beyond it it's a fun, lighthearted read.

[David Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a love for media tie in books. This was a hoot. I know nothing about the TV show or the Radio Show or the Comic Books. I just gave this a shot and it was engaging. It told a pretty by the numbers story of recruits hating each other and then finding a bound through a crisis. The writing was what it needed to be and like I said, it was a good time.

[Ashley Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was it cornier than an episode of Star-Trek? You bet it was? But was it fun? Yes!!!
I don't think I'll continue with the series, but I'm glad I read it. I can see how back in its day it was all the rage.

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable 1950s-style story but still mildly entertaining.

[Adam Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this in October of 1983, and just found a copy to finish!

[CJ Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly engaging space story from a generation ago. Refreshingly free from today's overwrought sensibilities, it's action and adventure that uses the narrative to encourage virtue.

[Richard Gombert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally read a Tom Corbet book.
As expected.

[Fred Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my first/early books. Was my dad's book at the Farm. Jeff & I would read all the Tom Corbett books

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up with the Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators (a fav back then) This futuristic tale (published 1952) was good fun for a young reader.

[Andrew Mossberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun 50’s space adventure based on episodes of the serial Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.