Seetee Ship
Encyclopedia
Seetee Ship is the second of two science fiction novels by Jack Williamson
, writing under the pseudonym Will Stewart. It is a fix-up
adapting two stories previously published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine, "Minus Sign" (first published in the November 1942 issue) and "Opposites—React!" (two installments in January and February 1943).
Seetee Ship was released in 1951
by Gnome Press
in an edition of 4,000 copies. Though Seetee Shock (1949
) was the first of the Seetee novels to be published in book form, it is set in a later period than Seetee Ship.
Williamson's Seetee series is set in a future where space-dwelling miners attempt to harvest asteroids composed of CT or "contraterrene" matter (an obsolete term in physics) which today would be called antimatter
. In "Minus Sign," from which the first part of the book was adapted, spatial engineer Rick Drake continues his father’s quest to tame seetee, but becomes entangled in the interplanetary politics of energy shortage. The second part of the book is adapted from "Opposites—React!" in which a contraterrene alien artifact is discovered, and competing parties race to reach it and learn its secrets.
The first story in the Seetee series, "Collision Orbit" (July 1942 Astounding Science Fiction), was not collected in either of the Gnome Press books.
Groff Conklin
gave Seetee Ship a mixed review, finding it "a good story if you can bear ploughing through pages of literary corn starch." P. Schuyler Miller
noted that Williamon's rewrite of the stories into a more cohesive novel was "an excellent job of unification." New York Times reviewer Villiers Gersen, however, commented that "it is a pity that the quality of Stewart's writing . . . ranks only slightly above that of a comic-strip adventure."
Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson , who wrote as Jack Williamson was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction" following the death in 1988 of Robert A...
, writing under the pseudonym Will Stewart. It is a fix-up
Fix-up
A fix-up is a novel created from short stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material—such as a frame story—is written for the new novel. The term was coined by the science fiction...
adapting two stories previously published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine, "Minus Sign" (first published in the November 1942 issue) and "Opposites—React!" (two installments in January and February 1943).
Seetee Ship was released in 1951
1951 in literature
The year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. E. Cummings and Rachel Carson are awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.*Flannery O'Connor is diagnosed with lupus....
by Gnome Press
Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics.The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle. Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books...
in an edition of 4,000 copies. Though Seetee Shock (1949
1949 in literature
The year 1949 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Arthur C. Clarke becomes Assistant Editor of Science Abstracts.*Bertrand Russell receives the Order of Merit....
) was the first of the Seetee novels to be published in book form, it is set in a later period than Seetee Ship.
Williamson's Seetee series is set in a future where space-dwelling miners attempt to harvest asteroids composed of CT or "contraterrene" matter (an obsolete term in physics) which today would be called antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
. In "Minus Sign," from which the first part of the book was adapted, spatial engineer Rick Drake continues his father’s quest to tame seetee, but becomes entangled in the interplanetary politics of energy shortage. The second part of the book is adapted from "Opposites—React!" in which a contraterrene alien artifact is discovered, and competing parties race to reach it and learn its secrets.
The first story in the Seetee series, "Collision Orbit" (July 1942 Astounding Science Fiction), was not collected in either of the Gnome Press books.
Groff Conklin
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin was a leading science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories , wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects as well as a published poet...
gave Seetee Ship a mixed review, finding it "a good story if you can bear ploughing through pages of literary corn starch." P. Schuyler Miller
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
noted that Williamon's rewrite of the stories into a more cohesive novel was "an excellent job of unification." New York Times reviewer Villiers Gersen, however, commented that "it is a pity that the quality of Stewart's writing . . . ranks only slightly above that of a comic-strip adventure."