Rogue in Space
Encyclopedia
Rogue in Space is a science fiction
novel
by Fredric Brown
. It was first published in 1957. Brown expanded two earlier novelettes ("Gateway to Darkness", Super Science Stories
, 1949; and "Gateway to Glory, Amazing Stories
, 1950) to form the novel.
arrives in the solar system's asteroid belt after countless aeons of wandering interstellar space. Passing by another asteroid, the living asteroid makes its first ever encounter with other living beings - a likeable criminal involved in a life-and-death struggle with a corrupt and power-mad judge.
The judge is eventually killed, but so too is his beautiful wife who had allied herself with the criminal, the couple falling in love. Whilst the god-like living asteroid builds a new world around itself, and blocks all mankind's efforts to investigate it, eventually the criminal returns to the planet with a small group. The sentient asteroid allows them to make planetfall, but only the criminal can accept living in the new Eden created for him, and they eventually depart. The alien then resurrects the late judge's wife.
, saying that the story's logical flaws could have been forgiven "had Brown realized he was writing a funny story and treated it that way. He didn't." Anthony Boucher
called Rogue "a thumping error in judgment," saying the decision to expand "one of [Brown's] least interesting stories to novel length" produced a work that had "lost what small virtues it once possessed, and become slow, ponderous, humorless [and] pretentious."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Fredric Brown
Fredric Brown
Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was born in Cincinnati.He had two sons: James Ross Brown and Linn Lewis Brown ....
. It was first published in 1957. Brown expanded two earlier novelettes ("Gateway to Darkness", Super Science Stories
Super Science Stories
Super Science Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 and 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their "Fictioneers" imprint, which they used for magazines paying writers less than one cent per word...
, 1949; and "Gateway to Glory, Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, 1950) to form the novel.
Plot summary
In the book a sentient and powerful asteroidAsteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
arrives in the solar system's asteroid belt after countless aeons of wandering interstellar space. Passing by another asteroid, the living asteroid makes its first ever encounter with other living beings - a likeable criminal involved in a life-and-death struggle with a corrupt and power-mad judge.
The judge is eventually killed, but so too is his beautiful wife who had allied herself with the criminal, the couple falling in love. Whilst the god-like living asteroid builds a new world around itself, and blocks all mankind's efforts to investigate it, eventually the criminal returns to the planet with a small group. The sentient asteroid allows them to make planetfall, but only the criminal can accept living in the new Eden created for him, and they eventually depart. The alien then resurrects the late judge's wife.
Reception
Floyd C. Gale reviewed the novel unfavorably in GalaxyGalaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
, saying that the story's logical flaws could have been forgiven "had Brown realized he was writing a funny story and treated it that way. He didn't." Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
called Rogue "a thumping error in judgment," saying the decision to expand "one of [Brown's] least interesting stories to novel length" produced a work that had "lost what small virtues it once possessed, and become slow, ponderous, humorless [and] pretentious."