To the Stars (novel)
Encyclopedia
To the Stars is a science fiction
novel
by Scientology
founder L. Ron Hubbard
. The novel's story is set in a dystopia
n future, and chronicles the experiences of protagonist Alan Corday aboard a starship
called the Hound of Heaven as he copes with the travails of time dilation
from traveling at near light speed
. Corday is kidnapped by the ship's captain and forced to become a member of their crew, and when he next returns to Earth
his fiancee
has aged and barely remembers him. He becomes accustomed to life aboard the ship, and when the captain dies Corday assumes command.
Hubbard's story was first published by John W. Campbell
in two parts in a serialized format in 1950
in Astounding Science Fiction. It was first published in book format in 1954
under the title Return to Tomorrow, and was published in hardcover in 1975
under the same title. In 1997
, film producer
s were in the process of developing the work as a movie for Touchstone Pictures
. Jazz musician and Scientologist Chick Corea
released a 2004
album of the same name
with music inspired by the story, and Scientology-owned Galaxy Press
reissued a hardcover edition of Hubbard's novel the same year as a form of cross marketing.
The book was generally positively received, and garnered a 2001 nomination for a "Retro" Hugo Award for Best Novella
. Publishers Weekly
gave the book a positive review, calling it one of Hubbard's "finest works", and Alan Cheuse highlighted the work on National Public Radio's program All Things Considered
as a top literature holiday pick.
called "New Chicago" and taken aboard the interstellar trading starship Hound of Heaven. The ship is commanded by a charismatic leader named Captain Jocelyn, who tells Corday to use his skills to help the Hound of Heaven in its travels between Earth
and space colonies
in other star systems. On the first page of the book's prologue Hubbard cites "the basic equation of mass and time.... AS MASS APPROACHES INFINITY, TIME APPROACHES ZERO", meaning that interstellar travelers at near light speed
experience time relative to their environment, and when they return to their home star will find that decades or centuries may have passed. Six weeks of time aboard the ship amounts to roughly nine years experienced by those on Earth. Corday resists mingling with the culture aboard the starship, but when he returns home after travels with the Hound of Heaven he finds that his fiancee
has aged and has trouble with her memory. Corday realizes his only home has become that of the starship. Captain Jocelyn is killed in an ambush on a dystopian Earth, and Corday takes command of the ship.
in a serialized format by John W. Campbell
in Astounding Science Fiction. Hubbard had previously written the story Ole Doc Methuselah for Astounding Science Fiction in 1947, later published as a book in 1992. In 1954
the story was published in book format by Ace Books in a paperback first edition, under the title Return to Tomorrow. Garland Publishing released a hardcover edition of Return to Tomorrow in 1975
.
In 1997
Hollywood producers
were working on developing a film version of To the Stars. Producers Barbara Boyle and Michael Taylor were preparing to bring the book to the film screen for Touchstone Pictures
, a division of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Boyle and Taylor had previously worked with Scientologist actor John Travolta
on the film Phenomenon
, and the project was planned to be part of Travolta's vision to make films out of L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction novels. Hubbard's novel Battlefield Earth
was first on his list, and Travolta starred in and helped fund the film version of the book
which was released in 2000
. A film version of To the Stars had not yet begun production as of 2008.
Scientologist and jazz musician Chick Corea
released a CD
of the same name with music inspired by the story in 2004
, and Scientology-owned Galaxy Press
reissued a hardcover edition of Hubbard's novel the same year as a form of cross marketing. According to Publishers Weekly, Corea's soundtrack to the novel was issued by Galaxy Press to give the company's "enormous marketing muscle" the ability to "tap into the vast Hubbard fan base". Corea explains at his website how he was motivated to work on music inspired by the book. He comments that he was inspired by a scene from the book where Hubbard describes the Captain of the Hound of Heaven spaceship playing a melody on a piano
.
in 2001, losing to The Man Who Sold the Moon
by Robert A. Heinlein
. Hubbard's novel Battlefield Earth did not receive a Hugo nomination, and Scientologists showed up at the 1983 World Science Fiction Convention passing out an advertisement titled: "To the Stars", which was devoted to Battlefield Earth. The "To the Stars" science-fiction magazine was published by Bridge Publications
.
The book generally received positive reception from literature critics. Publishers Weekly
described it as "golden SF from the Golden Age", and The Harvard Crimson
called it "one of the great classics" of the Golden Age of Science Fiction
. A reviewer writing in Publishers Weekly
commented: "Hubbard brilliantly evokes the vastness of space and the tragedy of those who would conquer it", and called the book "one of his [Hubbard's] finest works". Alan Cheuse reviewed the book in the San Francisco Chronicle
, writing: "As in a number of groundbreaking -- or time-breaking, I suppose we ought to say -- works of science fiction, the science behind the story is more interesting than the fiction itself. Hubbard is a thinker who writes, rather than a writer who thinks, as most masters are." Cheuse highlighted the book among his 2004 literature holiday picks in a piece for National Public Radio's program All Things Considered
: "Before he began founding new religions, Hubbard was one of the country's most prolific pulp science fiction writers, and this book is one of his best."Georges T. Dodds, columnist for WARP, newsletter/fanzine of the Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy association writes "besides being among the earliest hard science fiction works to consider time-dilation effects in long distance near-light-speed space travel, (To The Stars) is a pretty entertaining story."
Barnes & Noble
's Explorations editor, Paul Goat Allen, put the book at number eight on his list of the top ten science fiction/fantasy novels for 2004, writing: "After more than half a century, 'To the Stars' is just as timely, just as awe-inspiring, just as profoundly moving as it was in 1950." In a review of the book for the website SF Site, Georges T. Dodds writes: "To the Stars, besides being among the earliest hard science fiction works to consider time-dilation effects in long-distance near-light-speed space travel, is a pretty entertaining story." Writing in the Marburg Journal of Religion, Marco Frenschkowski of the University of Mainz described the book as a "melancholy tale about interplanetary travel and the effects of time dilation". University of California, Irvine
physics
professor and science fiction author Gregory Benford
wrote positively of the book in an article for the science fiction website "Crows Nest": "Writers had used Einstein's special relativity theory before in stories, but Hubbard brought to his novel the compressed story telling and pulp skills that had stood him in over a decade of professional writing."
Galaxy
reviewer Groff Conklin
described the 1954 edition as "a fast-paced and grim adventure . . . just short of absurdity, but interesting nevertheless." Anthony Boucher
panned the novel, calling it "a surprisingly routine and plotless space opera."
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 Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
founder L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
. The novel's story is set in a dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n future, and chronicles the experiences of protagonist Alan Corday aboard a starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
called the Hound of Heaven as he copes with the travails of time dilation
Time dilation
In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an observed difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravitational masses. An accurate clock at rest with respect to one observer may be measured to tick at...
from traveling at near light speed
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
. Corday is kidnapped by the ship's captain and forced to become a member of their crew, and when he next returns to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
his fiancee
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
has aged and barely remembers him. He becomes accustomed to life aboard the ship, and when the captain dies Corday assumes command.
Hubbard's story was first published by John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
in two parts in a serialized format in 1950
1950 in literature
The year 1950 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Kazuo Shimada wins the "Mystery Writer Of Japan" award for his book Shakai-bu Kisha .*Jack Kerouac has his first novel published....
in Astounding Science Fiction. It was first published in book format in 1954
1954 in literature
The year 1954 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jack Kerouac reads Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible, which will influence him greatly.*John Updike graduates from Harvard with a thesis on George Herbert....
under the title Return to Tomorrow, and was published in hardcover in 1975
1975 in literature
The year 1975 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* August 12 — with the 20-year time limit stipulated by Thomas Mann at his death having expired, sealed packets containing 32 of the author's notebooks were opened in Zurich, Switzerland.* Writing under the...
under the same title. In 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
s were in the process of developing the work as a movie for Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
. Jazz musician and Scientologist Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
released a 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....
album of the same name
To the Stars (album)
To the Stars is an album by American jazz fusion group the Chick Corea Elektric Band, released on August 24, 2004 by Stretch Records. Jazz musician Chick Corea, a longtime member of the Church of Scientology, was inspired by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction 1954 novel To the Stars...
with music inspired by the story, and Scientology-owned Galaxy Press
Galaxy Press
Galaxy Press is a trade name set up to publish and promote the fiction worksof L. Ron Hubbard, and the anthologies of the L. Ron HubbardWriters of the Future contest....
reissued a hardcover edition of Hubbard's novel the same year as a form of cross marketing.
The book was generally positively received, and garnered a 2001 nomination for a "Retro" Hugo Award for Best Novella
Hugo Award for Best Novella
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
. Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
gave the book a positive review, calling it one of Hubbard's "finest works", and Alan Cheuse highlighted the work on National Public Radio's program All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
as a top literature holiday pick.
Plot
Protagonist Alan Corday is a young engineer, and is kidnapped from a spaceportSpaceport
A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching spacecraft, by analogy with seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. The word spaceport, and even more so cosmodrome, has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories...
called "New Chicago" and taken aboard the interstellar trading starship Hound of Heaven. The ship is commanded by a charismatic leader named Captain Jocelyn, who tells Corday to use his skills to help the Hound of Heaven in its travels between Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and space colonies
Space colony
Space colony may refer to:* Space colonization, any colony outside of the planet Earth* Space habitat, a free-floating extraterrestrial colony specifically-Fiction:* Space colony , fictional space colonies in the Gundam anime series...
in other star systems. On the first page of the book's prologue Hubbard cites "the basic equation of mass and time.... AS MASS APPROACHES INFINITY, TIME APPROACHES ZERO", meaning that interstellar travelers at near light speed
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
experience time relative to their environment, and when they return to their home star will find that decades or centuries may have passed. Six weeks of time aboard the ship amounts to roughly nine years experienced by those on Earth. Corday resists mingling with the culture aboard the starship, but when he returns home after travels with the Hound of Heaven he finds that his fiancee
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
has aged and has trouble with her memory. Corday realizes his only home has become that of the starship. Captain Jocelyn is killed in an ambush on a dystopian Earth, and Corday takes command of the ship.
Publication history
To the Stars was first published in two parts in February and March of 19501950 in literature
The year 1950 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Kazuo Shimada wins the "Mystery Writer Of Japan" award for his book Shakai-bu Kisha .*Jack Kerouac has his first novel published....
in a serialized format by John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
in Astounding Science Fiction. Hubbard had previously written the story Ole Doc Methuselah for Astounding Science Fiction in 1947, later published as a book in 1992. In 1954
1954 in literature
The year 1954 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jack Kerouac reads Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible, which will influence him greatly.*John Updike graduates from Harvard with a thesis on George Herbert....
the story was published in book format by Ace Books in a paperback first edition, under the title Return to Tomorrow. Garland Publishing released a hardcover edition of Return to Tomorrow in 1975
1975 in literature
The year 1975 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* August 12 — with the 20-year time limit stipulated by Thomas Mann at his death having expired, sealed packets containing 32 of the author's notebooks were opened in Zurich, Switzerland.* Writing under the...
.
In 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
Hollywood producers
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
were working on developing a film version of To the Stars. Producers Barbara Boyle and Michael Taylor were preparing to bring the book to the film screen for Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
, a division of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Boyle and Taylor had previously worked with Scientologist actor John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
on the film Phenomenon
Phenomenon (film)
Phenomenon is a 1996 romantic fantasy-drama film written by Gerald Di Pego, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, and Robert Duvall....
, and the project was planned to be part of Travolta's vision to make films out of L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction novels. Hubbard's novel Battlefield Earth
Battlefield Earth (novel)
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 is a 1982 science fiction novel written by the Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. He composed a soundtrack to the book called Space Jazz....
was first on his list, and Travolta starred in and helped fund the film version of the book
Battlefield Earth (film)
Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name. It was directed by Roger Christian, and stars John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and Barry Pepper...
which was released in 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
. A film version of To the Stars had not yet begun production as of 2008.
Scientologist and jazz musician Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
released a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
of the same name with music inspired by the story in 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....
, and Scientology-owned Galaxy Press
Galaxy Press
Galaxy Press is a trade name set up to publish and promote the fiction worksof L. Ron Hubbard, and the anthologies of the L. Ron HubbardWriters of the Future contest....
reissued a hardcover edition of Hubbard's novel the same year as a form of cross marketing. According to Publishers Weekly, Corea's soundtrack to the novel was issued by Galaxy Press to give the company's "enormous marketing muscle" the ability to "tap into the vast Hubbard fan base". Corea explains at his website how he was motivated to work on music inspired by the book. He comments that he was inspired by a scene from the book where Hubbard describes the Captain of the Hound of Heaven spaceship playing a melody on a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
Reception
To the Stars was nominated by the World Science Fiction Society for a "Retro" Hugo Award for Best NovellaHugo Award for Best Novella
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 2001, losing to The Man Who Sold the Moon
The Man Who Sold the Moon
The Man Who Sold the Moon is a science fiction novella by Robert A. Heinlein written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his Future History and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon landing, in 1978, and the schemes of Delos D...
by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
. Hubbard's novel Battlefield Earth did not receive a Hugo nomination, and Scientologists showed up at the 1983 World Science Fiction Convention passing out an advertisement titled: "To the Stars", which was devoted to Battlefield Earth. The "To the Stars" science-fiction magazine was published by Bridge Publications
Bridge Publications
Bridge Publications may refer to:*Bridge Publications , the Church of Scientology's North American publishing arm*Bridge Publications , a United Kingdom publisher of guides to vacation and holiday activities in the UK and Ireland...
.
The book generally received positive reception from literature critics. Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
described it as "golden SF from the Golden Age", and The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
called it "one of the great classics" of the Golden Age of Science Fiction
Golden Age of Science Fiction
The first Golden Age of Science Fiction — often recognized as the period from the late 1930s through the 1950s — was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published...
. A reviewer writing in Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
commented: "Hubbard brilliantly evokes the vastness of space and the tragedy of those who would conquer it", and called the book "one of his [Hubbard's] finest works". Alan Cheuse reviewed the book in the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, writing: "As in a number of groundbreaking -- or time-breaking, I suppose we ought to say -- works of science fiction, the science behind the story is more interesting than the fiction itself. Hubbard is a thinker who writes, rather than a writer who thinks, as most masters are." Cheuse highlighted the book among his 2004 literature holiday picks in a piece for National Public Radio's program All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
: "Before he began founding new religions, Hubbard was one of the country's most prolific pulp science fiction writers, and this book is one of his best."Georges T. Dodds, columnist for WARP, newsletter/fanzine of the Montreal Science Fiction and Fantasy association writes "besides being among the earliest hard science fiction works to consider time-dilation effects in long distance near-light-speed space travel, (To The Stars) is a pretty entertaining story."
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
's Explorations editor, Paul Goat Allen, put the book at number eight on his list of the top ten science fiction/fantasy novels for 2004, writing: "After more than half a century, 'To the Stars' is just as timely, just as awe-inspiring, just as profoundly moving as it was in 1950." In a review of the book for the website SF Site, Georges T. Dodds writes: "To the Stars, besides being among the earliest hard science fiction works to consider time-dilation effects in long-distance near-light-speed space travel, is a pretty entertaining story." Writing in the Marburg Journal of Religion, Marco Frenschkowski of the University of Mainz described the book as a "melancholy tale about interplanetary travel and the effects of time dilation". University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
professor and science fiction author Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
wrote positively of the book in an article for the science fiction website "Crows Nest": "Writers had used Einstein's special relativity theory before in stories, but Hubbard brought to his novel the compressed story telling and pulp skills that had stood him in over a decade of professional writing."
Galaxy
Galaxy 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...
reviewer 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...
described the 1954 edition as "a fast-paced and grim adventure . . . just short of absurdity, but interesting nevertheless." 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...
panned the novel, calling it "a surprisingly routine and plotless space opera."