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The Star Seekers
Part of the Winston Juvenile Science Fiction Series.
Taken from the cover flap of the novel THE STAR SEEKERS by Milton Lesser:
When man tackles the first really long journey - across twenty-six trillion miles of uncharted space - to the nearest star, it will take him two hundred years to complete the flight. Not until the sixth generation nears maturity will the starship reach its destination. Around this fascinating theme, Milton Lesser has woven a tale of the first starship's final days of flight. He pictures the ship as a hollowed-out meteorite composed of four concentric circles - a world in which civilization has deteriorated and superstition risen to a high pitch, making those within unaware of the fact that they are traveling through space or that their journey is destined to end.
All Mikal knew when he embarked on the "Journey of the Four Circles" was that every eighteen-year-old from Astrosphere, the outermost circle, must visit each of the other circles if he hoped to become an Enginer. But before he completed his trip, he unearthed startling truths that threw the four circles into a state of chaos. Gradually Mikal discovered that unless the people of the four circles took immediate action the ship was doomed to crash. Mikal's desperate efforts to unite the four circles in order to save their world is a story of rising tension and clashing interests.
Not only is this a tale of man's triumph over the barriers of space, but a fabulously exciting epic of civilization's victory over superstition and complacency. With subtle satire the author has written one of the most realistic and unforgettable stories ever to appear in the science fiction field.
Taken from the cover flap of the novel THE STAR SEEKERS by Milton Lesser:
When man tackles the first really long journey - across twenty-six trillion miles of uncharted space - to the nearest star, it will take him two hundred years to complete the flight. Not until the sixth generation nears maturity will the starship reach its destination. Around this fascinating theme, Milton Lesser has woven a tale of the first starship's final days of flight. He pictures the ship as a hollowed-out meteorite composed of four concentric circles - a world in which civilization has deteriorated and superstition risen to a high pitch, making those within unaware of the fact that they are traveling through space or that their journey is destined to end.
All Mikal knew when he embarked on the "Journey of the Four Circles" was that every eighteen-year-old from Astrosphere, the outermost circle, must visit each of the other circles if he hoped to become an Enginer. But before he completed his trip, he unearthed startling truths that threw the four circles into a state of chaos. Gradually Mikal discovered that unless the people of the four circles took immediate action the ship was doomed to crash. Mikal's desperate efforts to unite the four circles in order to save their world is a story of rising tension and clashing interests.
Not only is this a tale of man's triumph over the barriers of space, but a fabulously exciting epic of civilization's victory over superstition and complacency. With subtle satire the author has written one of the most realistic and unforgettable stories ever to appear in the science fiction field.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
212 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1953
4 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Milton Lesser
130 books3 followersMilton Lesser was an American author of science fiction, mystery novels, and fictional autobiographies of Christopher Columbus, Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, and Edgar Allan Poe. He is best known for his detective character Chester Drum, whom he created in the 1955 novel The Second Longest Night.
He was awarded the French Prix Gutenberg du Livre in 1988, and in 1997 he was awarded the "Life Achievement Award" by the Private Eye Writers of America. He lived with his wife Ann in Williamsburg, Virginia.
His pseudonyms include Adam Chase, Stephen Marlowe, Andrew Frazer, C.H. Thames, Jason Ridgway and Ellery Queen.
He was awarded the French Prix Gutenberg du Livre in 1988, and in 1997 he was awarded the "Life Achievement Award" by the Private Eye Writers of America. He lived with his wife Ann in Williamsburg, Virginia.
His pseudonyms include Adam Chase, Stephen Marlowe, Andrew Frazer, C.H. Thames, Jason Ridgway and Ellery Queen.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 8, 2018
As a young lad, I read several of these SF books for young readers. Hailing from the 1950s and early 1960s, they were designed to entertain and enlighten pre-teens. In recent years, I have been able to collect several first editions of these volumes. They were never intended to be profound, but did serve to instill some basic societal values by way of having the young protagonists reflect the virtues of hard work, honesty, compassion, inquisitiveness and bravery. This one is a prime example.
The young hero, Mikal, is on a quest to explore the four realms of his world, which he (or anyone else for that matter) does not recognize as an asteroid hollowed out to make an interstellar spacecraft. Living inside the asteroid, the inhabitants have lost sight of the mission to reach Alpha Centauri as part of a generational expedition and 200 years down the road are in danger of coming to a disastrous end if a way is not found to control the voyage.
Fortuitously, some conflicts have begun between the inhabitants of two of the four realms which serve as a catalyst in solving their problems. Trying to hold to accepted scientific precepts, the author manages to maintain the very basics, but neglects any extrapolation or fine tuning of the concommitant issues. But in a YA book of the time, I'm sure it was seen as unnecessary. Entertaining despite its limitaions and being dated.
The young hero, Mikal, is on a quest to explore the four realms of his world, which he (or anyone else for that matter) does not recognize as an asteroid hollowed out to make an interstellar spacecraft. Living inside the asteroid, the inhabitants have lost sight of the mission to reach Alpha Centauri as part of a generational expedition and 200 years down the road are in danger of coming to a disastrous end if a way is not found to control the voyage.
Fortuitously, some conflicts have begun between the inhabitants of two of the four realms which serve as a catalyst in solving their problems. Trying to hold to accepted scientific precepts, the author manages to maintain the very basics, but neglects any extrapolation or fine tuning of the concommitant issues. But in a YA book of the time, I'm sure it was seen as unnecessary. Entertaining despite its limitaions and being dated.
May 11, 2020
When I was young and living overseas, we’d travel stateside for a month to visit my grandparents in Texas. It wasn’t easy leaving my friends for the majority of the summer, especially when I didn’t have friends in Texas. It was a lot CHiPs reruns. One summer though,I happened upon my dads old books. The Star Seeker was one of them.
With my dad’s recent memorial, I thought I’d impart some of these old sci-fi gems to my daughters as a read-a-loud. It was the first time in recent memory where they actively asked me to stop reading cause it was getting close to bedtime. Apparently, they weren’t terribly into it.
For me, reading this book, harkened back to a simpler time of my youth. There was nothing more pressing than school. No worries, other than my grades. And, man, I was merely average, which wasn’t good enough. Growing up a “C” was failure. Which meant restriction. Which meant no television and a scant few hours to play outside. The rest of my waking hours were meant for my studies. Needless to say, I read instead and continued strutting down my average path. Books were much more interesting.
I stole my dad’s old books from my grandmother and brought them back overseas with me. It was these books I kept coming back to while restricted. I was enamored by the science of it all. These were written at the beginning, even decades before the space age. I have always believed without the likes these authors, we wouldn’t have the future. Some scientist read these and made them into a reality or eventually will.
The Star Seekers is set in the future where humanity has taken the eventual leap to settle the planets around Alpha Centauri. They have segregated the settlers into engineers, farmers, artists and scientists. Each of these occupy their own unique spheres, each with their own functions. However, over the 200 years it takes to travel to our nearest star, their travels and functions get lost. It was forgotten, only to become a Authorian myth of a bygone era. Will they find their path or will the crater on a planet?
Anyway, the kids gave it a fair review. Hence the three stars. For me it was a moment of catharsis. It offered me the opportunity to give that hug for which I was unable to do.
With my dad’s recent memorial, I thought I’d impart some of these old sci-fi gems to my daughters as a read-a-loud. It was the first time in recent memory where they actively asked me to stop reading cause it was getting close to bedtime. Apparently, they weren’t terribly into it.
For me, reading this book, harkened back to a simpler time of my youth. There was nothing more pressing than school. No worries, other than my grades. And, man, I was merely average, which wasn’t good enough. Growing up a “C” was failure. Which meant restriction. Which meant no television and a scant few hours to play outside. The rest of my waking hours were meant for my studies. Needless to say, I read instead and continued strutting down my average path. Books were much more interesting.
I stole my dad’s old books from my grandmother and brought them back overseas with me. It was these books I kept coming back to while restricted. I was enamored by the science of it all. These were written at the beginning, even decades before the space age. I have always believed without the likes these authors, we wouldn’t have the future. Some scientist read these and made them into a reality or eventually will.
The Star Seekers is set in the future where humanity has taken the eventual leap to settle the planets around Alpha Centauri. They have segregated the settlers into engineers, farmers, artists and scientists. Each of these occupy their own unique spheres, each with their own functions. However, over the 200 years it takes to travel to our nearest star, their travels and functions get lost. It was forgotten, only to become a Authorian myth of a bygone era. Will they find their path or will the crater on a planet?
Anyway, the kids gave it a fair review. Hence the three stars. For me it was a moment of catharsis. It offered me the opportunity to give that hug for which I was unable to do.
December 2, 2018
Wow!
I read this when I was young. Huge topic for me then, eye opening. Now reading it again decades later i see how much it influenced my view of the world. Something is wrong with our world, but it definitely can be saved.
As good as Ringworld Engineers and similar in feel.
I read this when I was young. Huge topic for me then, eye opening. Now reading it again decades later i see how much it influenced my view of the world. Something is wrong with our world, but it definitely can be saved.
As good as Ringworld Engineers and similar in feel.
March 26, 2017
Good youth book
12 year olds or 14 year olds would enjoy this book if they like sci Fi books. A a a
12 year olds or 14 year olds would enjoy this book if they like sci Fi books. A a a
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews