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Worlds Apart
ROG FOLEY
had never seen Earth — and he never would. For all that was left of Earth was an atomic funeral pyre in the sky.
ROG FOLEY
was a leader of the new generation of humans who were born and raised on Mundis, the distant planet circling Brinsen's Star and to which the last survivors of Earth had escaped in a 17-year journey through space.
ROG FOLEY
and his disciples were strongly opposed to the way things were being run on Mundis by their elders. There were too many Dos and too many DON'Ts. Finally, in desperation, Rog established a separate colony — and it seemed as though the conflicts which had brought Earth its doom were destined to haunt mankind even in this remote solar system.
BUT THEN
a new danger appeared — invasion by a band of interplanetary despots who wanted to make Mundis their first conquest on the path to Galactic Empire. Faced by this common peril, the Mundians were forced to unite in a desperate, last-ditch struggle to save humanity.
Here is a mature science-fiction novel of human conflict in outer-space — with the fate of the entire Universe at stake!
(Original title: Born Leader)
had never seen Earth — and he never would. For all that was left of Earth was an atomic funeral pyre in the sky.
ROG FOLEY
was a leader of the new generation of humans who were born and raised on Mundis, the distant planet circling Brinsen's Star and to which the last survivors of Earth had escaped in a 17-year journey through space.
ROG FOLEY
and his disciples were strongly opposed to the way things were being run on Mundis by their elders. There were too many Dos and too many DON'Ts. Finally, in desperation, Rog established a separate colony — and it seemed as though the conflicts which had brought Earth its doom were destined to haunt mankind even in this remote solar system.
BUT THEN
a new danger appeared — invasion by a band of interplanetary despots who wanted to make Mundis their first conquest on the path to Galactic Empire. Faced by this common peril, the Mundians were forced to unite in a desperate, last-ditch struggle to save humanity.
Here is a mature science-fiction novel of human conflict in outer-space — with the fate of the entire Universe at stake!
(Original title: Born Leader)
189 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
J.T. McIntosh
132 books5 followersJ. T. McIntosh is a pseudonym used by Scottish writer and journalist James Murdoch MacGregor.
Living largely in Aberdeen, Scotland, MacGregor used the McIntosh pseudonym (along with its variants J. T. MacIntosh, and J. T. M'Intosh) as well as "H. J. Murdoch", "Gregory Francis" (with Frank H. Parnell), and "Stuart Winsor" (with Jeff Mason) for all his science fiction work, which was the majority of his output, though he did publish books under his own name. His first story, "The Curfew Tolls", appeared in Astounding Science Fiction during 1950, and his first novel, World Out of Mind, was published during 1953. He did not publish any work after 1980.
In 2010, following his death in 2008, the National Library of Scotland purchased his literary papers and correspondence.
Along with John Mather and Edith Dell, he is credited for the screenplay for the colour feature film Satellite in the Sky (1956).
Living largely in Aberdeen, Scotland, MacGregor used the McIntosh pseudonym (along with its variants J. T. MacIntosh, and J. T. M'Intosh) as well as "H. J. Murdoch", "Gregory Francis" (with Frank H. Parnell), and "Stuart Winsor" (with Jeff Mason) for all his science fiction work, which was the majority of his output, though he did publish books under his own name. His first story, "The Curfew Tolls", appeared in Astounding Science Fiction during 1950, and his first novel, World Out of Mind, was published during 1953. He did not publish any work after 1980.
In 2010, following his death in 2008, the National Library of Scotland purchased his literary papers and correspondence.
Along with John Mather and Edith Dell, he is credited for the screenplay for the colour feature film Satellite in the Sky (1956).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 2, 2025
The humans on Mundis were sent on the last spaceship from a dying, fractious Earth with an overwhelming compulsion against atomic power. They have formed a settlement with a large age gap between the space travellers and those born after arrival.
Unknown to them a later expedition was sent out, this time under military control, and it has been waiting on the system’s other habitable planet, Secundis. When confirmation comes that Earth has been destroyed the military ship sets off for Mundis to unite what remains of humanity.
That hierarchy is of the novel’s time in its attitudes to sexual politics, “Only a dozen women on the ship were so useful in one way or another, so indispensable, that their sex was forgiven them,” but in contrast to that McIntosh does try to portray a different approach in the society on Mundis where attitudes to marriage are less rigid than in our 1950s.
Thanks to two Mundans who have struck off on their own for a while the rest manage to avoid the Secundan party long enough to resist assimilation, an endeavour which does require their conditioning to be overcome.
The Born Leader of the title is one Rog Foley of the Mundans who is not as hidebound as his elders or the others of his generation.
This is a typical piece of SF of the middle 1950s. It almost seems quaint now.
Unknown to them a later expedition was sent out, this time under military control, and it has been waiting on the system’s other habitable planet, Secundis. When confirmation comes that Earth has been destroyed the military ship sets off for Mundis to unite what remains of humanity.
That hierarchy is of the novel’s time in its attitudes to sexual politics, “Only a dozen women on the ship were so useful in one way or another, so indispensable, that their sex was forgiven them,” but in contrast to that McIntosh does try to portray a different approach in the society on Mundis where attitudes to marriage are less rigid than in our 1950s.
Thanks to two Mundans who have struck off on their own for a while the rest manage to avoid the Secundan party long enough to resist assimilation, an endeavour which does require their conditioning to be overcome.
The Born Leader of the title is one Rog Foley of the Mundans who is not as hidebound as his elders or the others of his generation.
This is a typical piece of SF of the middle 1950s. It almost seems quaint now.
August 12, 2020
I got onto JT McIntosh from reading the anthologies compiled by John Carnell (
No place like earth, 1952 & Gateway to tomorrow, 1954) so when I saw this book I leapt at the chance to read a full length novel by one of the better contributors to the aforementioned anthologies.
Surprisingly, even though it was written in 1954, Born Leader (later published as Worlds Apart in 1958) doesn't feel dated like some 1950s/60s scifi novels do.
It's the story of a civilisation on the planet Mundis that was settled by people who thought they were the last space flight from a collapsing civilisation on earth. Little do they know a nearby planet Secundis also has been settled by a later flight which was put together after civilisation had collapsed and are looking to 'reunify' aka conquer other human settlements.
Emerging from this and conflict between the age groups on Mundis comes Rog Foley who has plans about what to do and how things should be handled.
Overall it's a great story from a largely forgotten author.
No place like earth, 1952 & Gateway to tomorrow, 1954) so when I saw this book I leapt at the chance to read a full length novel by one of the better contributors to the aforementioned anthologies.
Surprisingly, even though it was written in 1954, Born Leader (later published as Worlds Apart in 1958) doesn't feel dated like some 1950s/60s scifi novels do.
It's the story of a civilisation on the planet Mundis that was settled by people who thought they were the last space flight from a collapsing civilisation on earth. Little do they know a nearby planet Secundis also has been settled by a later flight which was put together after civilisation had collapsed and are looking to 'reunify' aka conquer other human settlements.
Emerging from this and conflict between the age groups on Mundis comes Rog Foley who has plans about what to do and how things should be handled.
Overall it's a great story from a largely forgotten author.
July 2, 2020
When Earth's civilization collapses, colonists on a distant planet struggle to survive. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.
September 1, 2009
This unmemorable science fiction novel from 1954 was picked up at a local Chicago resale shop, devoured quickly and not thought about again.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews