The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens
Encyclopedia
The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens is a 1953 collection of stories by science fiction
and fantasy
author L. Sprague de Camp
, the fifth book in his Viagens Interplanetarias
series. It was first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971 with a cover by illustrator Bob Pepper
. An E-book
edition was published by Gollancz
's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. It has also been translated into Portuguese
, Dutch
, and Italian
. The pieces were originally published between 1949 and 1951 in the magazines Astounding Science-Fiction, Startling Stories
, Future Combined with Science Fiction, and Thrilling Wonder Stories.
The book is a collection of most of de Camp's early "Viagens Interplanetarias
" tales, all of which are set in a future in which interstellar travel between the Solar System
and nearby stellar systems inhabited by alien races is common, and an Interplanetary Council regulates relations between the various civilizations. Terrans and the reptilian natives of the planet Osiris
are the main spacefaring peoples. The tales take place in the period from the mid-twenty-first century to the mid-twenty-second. Individual stories are set on spaceships traveling between planets and individual planets such as Earth, Krishna, Ganesha and Osiris (it being assumed that Terrans will have carried their penchant for naming planets after gods to other star systems).
Notable features of the postulated future include an Earth governed by a World Federation in which Brazil
has become the paramount great power, with Terran space travel monopolized by a Brazilian-dominated agency called the Viagens Interplanetarias ("Interplanetary Tours" in Portuguese). Interstellar travel is limited to sub-light speeds, as the author eschews such common science fiction gimmicks as hyperdrives.
, who wrote "Here you will find entertainment, ideas skillfully played with, precise care for detail and consistency, but actually not too much plot-suspense. So logical is the development of most of the stories, that the experienced reader knows what must be coming next." Of the setting, he observed that it allowed "ample room for swashbuckling, skullduggery and horseplay, in which de Camp deals deftly from time to time," but noted that "[o]ut of this setting, on the other hand, has come just one really memorable book--'Rogue Queen.'" Mark Reinsberg wrote that "De Camp's style is adroit and witty as he develops science-fiction take-offs on themes like sea piracy, head hunters, the wild west, and jousting knight-hood," and noted that "[t]he tales are spiced with glamorous other worldly women." He also rated it "[p]robably the most entertaining collection of 'tomorrow tales' by an individual author" published in 1953, whose "yarns kept the reader laughing over space pioneering in the 22d century and a marvelous pair of interstellar swindlers named Koshay and Borel." The English Journal
stated that "[f]or fantasy, irony, and imagination these stories are remarkable." The Los Angeles Times
noted that in postulating the rise of Brazil as a world power, de Camp "develops an interesting and not too improbable theme."
On the other hand, Boucher
and McComas
felt "the stories of the Viagens Interplanetarias have usually struck us as pretty routine work unworthy of L. Sprague de Camp, but devotees of the series will welcome the collected volume." Groff Conklin
assessed it as a "cream-puff-light book of space opera ... [f]ine stuff for bedtime, but I do feel that the stories were written with the left hind paw of an immensely brilliant fellow who just wasn't trying hard. Perhaps we should call it 'relentlessly light reading!'"
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...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
author L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
, the fifth book in his Viagens Interplanetarias
Viagens Interplanetarias
The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
series. It was first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971 with a cover by illustrator Bob Pepper
Bob Pepper
Robert Ernest Pepper was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played one game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1915.-External links:...
. An E-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
edition was published by Gollancz
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. It has also been translated into Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. The pieces were originally published between 1949 and 1951 in the magazines Astounding Science-Fiction, Startling Stories
Startling Stories
Startling Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories, Standard's other science fiction title. Startling ran a lead novel in every issue;...
, Future Combined with Science Fiction, and Thrilling Wonder Stories.
The book is a collection of most of de Camp's early "Viagens Interplanetarias
Viagens Interplanetarias
The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
" tales, all of which are set in a future in which interstellar travel between the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
and nearby stellar systems inhabited by alien races is common, and an Interplanetary Council regulates relations between the various civilizations. Terrans and the reptilian natives of the planet Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
are the main spacefaring peoples. The tales take place in the period from the mid-twenty-first century to the mid-twenty-second. Individual stories are set on spaceships traveling between planets and individual planets such as Earth, Krishna, Ganesha and Osiris (it being assumed that Terrans will have carried their penchant for naming planets after gods to other star systems).
Notable features of the postulated future include an Earth governed by a World Federation in which Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
has become the paramount great power, with Terran space travel monopolized by a Brazilian-dominated agency called the Viagens Interplanetarias ("Interplanetary Tours" in Portuguese). Interstellar travel is limited to sub-light speeds, as the author eschews such common science fiction gimmicks as hyperdrives.
Contents
The date headings to the individual stories are as listed in the collection's table of contents and at the beginning of each story.- "In Re Sprague" by Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
(introduction) - "Author's Note"
- A.D. 2054-2088: "The Inspector's TeethThe Inspector's Teeth"The Inspector's Teeth" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the first set on Earth, and a linchpin tale in the sequence, showing how the interstellar political system forming the background the rest of the series was...
" - A.D. 2104-2128: "Summer WearSummer Wear"Summer Wear" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the first set on the planet Osiris. It was first published in the magazine Startling Stories in the issue for May, 1950...
" - A.D. 2114-2140: "FinishedFinished (story)"Finished" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction in the issue for November, 1949...
" - A.D. 2117: "The Galton WhistleThe Galton Whistle"The Galton Whistle" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the first set on the planet Vishnu. It was first published, as "Ultrasonic God," in the magazine Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories in the issue for...
" - A.D. 2120: "The Animal-Cracker PlotThe Animal-Cracker Plot"The Animal-Cracker Plot" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the second set on the planet Vishnu, and the first to feature the interstellar con-man Darius Koshay. It was first published in the magazine Astounding...
" - A.D. 2135-2148: "Git Along!Git Along!"Git Along!" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the second set on the planet Osiris, as well as the second to feature the interstellar con-man Darius Koshay. It was first published in the magazine Astounding in the...
" - A.D. 2137: "Perpetual MotionPerpetual Motion (short story)"Perpetual Motion" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published under the title "Wide-Open Planet" in the magazine Future in the issue for September-October, 1950...
" - A.D. 2153: "The Continent MakersThe Continent MakersThe Continent Makers is a science fiction novella written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories in the issue for April, 1951...
"
Reception
Critical response to the book was mixed. The most extensive examination of the book came from P. Schuyler MillerP. 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...
, who wrote "Here you will find entertainment, ideas skillfully played with, precise care for detail and consistency, but actually not too much plot-suspense. So logical is the development of most of the stories, that the experienced reader knows what must be coming next." Of the setting, he observed that it allowed "ample room for swashbuckling, skullduggery and horseplay, in which de Camp deals deftly from time to time," but noted that "[o]ut of this setting, on the other hand, has come just one really memorable book--'Rogue Queen.'" Mark Reinsberg wrote that "De Camp's style is adroit and witty as he develops science-fiction take-offs on themes like sea piracy, head hunters, the wild west, and jousting knight-hood," and noted that "[t]he tales are spiced with glamorous other worldly women." He also rated it "[p]robably the most entertaining collection of 'tomorrow tales' by an individual author" published in 1953, whose "yarns kept the reader laughing over space pioneering in the 22d century and a marvelous pair of interstellar swindlers named Koshay and Borel." The English Journal
English Journal
English Journal is the official publication of the Secondary Education section of the American National Council of Teachers of English...
stated that "[f]or fantasy, irony, and imagination these stories are remarkable." The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
noted that in postulating the rise of Brazil as a world power, de Camp "develops an interesting and not too improbable theme."
On the other hand, 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...
and McComas
J. Francis McComas
Jesse Francis McComas was an American science fiction editor. McComas wrote several stories on his own in the 1950s using both his own name and the pseudonym Webb Marlowe....
felt "the stories of the Viagens Interplanetarias have usually struck us as pretty routine work unworthy of L. Sprague de Camp, but devotees of the series will welcome the collected volume." 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...
assessed it as a "cream-puff-light book of space opera ... [f]ine stuff for bedtime, but I do feel that the stories were written with the left hind paw of an immensely brilliant fellow who just wasn't trying hard. Perhaps we should call it 'relentlessly light reading!'"