Jeff Sutton (1913–1979)

Well written, with an interesting atmosphere, and a healthy amount of philosophy. Some sci-fi set pieces are thrown in that are well described, almost to the detriment of the plot. In the end the actual plot meanders along to a conclusion that does give some answers but is overall pretty unsatisfying.

Still, not a bad book to pass some time on a rainy weekend.

A 1958 version of the first moon flight. The United States is set to send Adam Crag and his crew for the first moon landing but the Soviet Union (in this not-so-Cold War period) is determined to do literally anything (including murdering the astronauts or shooting missiles at the rockets) to keep them from getting there. In addition to all this there also seems to be a traitor/spy on board the mission. It seems in this version nations aren’t going to the moon to claim it in the name of show more “all mankind.” but to actually own it. The UN apparently gets to decide the winner. Also, the mission is not to touch a toe down and come back but to establish a permanent settlement and set up mining operations. The author tries to make the details of the flight and the lunar exploration realistic. According to a note, the author “is presently employed as a research engineer for Convair-San Diego, specializing appropriately enough for this novel in problems of high altitude survival.” show less

The flight to the moon and the mechanics of the rocket ships were the best parts of the book. Sutton didn't think through too clearly how the two nations would react in such a close race to build a station on the moon. He also over estimated how much redudancy the US would have in terms of equipment and the ability to rescue someone "stranded" on the moon.

The Simak stories seemed more like creative writing assignments with too many anachronisms: a galactic mail service that uses stamps? machines that churn out bestseller books? And I gave up on Sutton's story within the first few pages. Nice retro artwork though.