Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Penguin Books Ltd (1970), Paperback, 150 pages
Description
The 'outward urge' was a factor in the Troon inheritance. Successive generations of Troons, looking up at the stars, heard the siren voices that called them out into Space. And, as the frontiers of Space receded, there was usually one Troon, if not more, out there, helping to push them back. In an age in which what goes up need not necessarily come down, the likely adventures of the Conquistadors of Space are every bit as exciting as any world menaced by triffids.
User reviews
LibraryThing member StephenBarkley
You can enjoy The Outward Urge on a couple different levels. On the surface, it's a collection of short stories about humanity's exploration of space. Dig a little deeper and a couple sub-themes stand out. These stories cover 200 years of the history of the Troon family to show how the desire to
On another level altogether, you can read this series of stories that were written over a decade before humans landed on the moon to examine the hopes and dreams of a generation. This was written when our own solar system was still so full of habitable promise.
Some of the short stories are better than others. The first story has a cowboy flair to it, while the last episode deals with the human effects of cryogenic freezing. I picked up this book because I enjoy Wyndam and wanted a light read. I found that, plus a little extra.
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explore can follow a family line. The stories are also thinly veiled rhetoric on how human infighting undermines technical acumen.On another level altogether, you can read this series of stories that were written over a decade before humans landed on the moon to examine the hopes and dreams of a generation. This was written when our own solar system was still so full of habitable promise.
Some of the short stories are better than others. The first story has a cowboy flair to it, while the last episode deals with the human effects of cryogenic freezing. I picked up this book because I enjoy Wyndam and wanted a light read. I found that, plus a little extra.
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LibraryThing member comixminx
Not yet finished, but have downgraded it from 3 stars (liked it but not excited by it) to two on the basis of the irk occasioned by the use of rubbish rubbish portuguese towards the end of the book. 'Bonos dias' instead of the correct Bom dia indeed! How hard is it to research this stuff? Kuh.
Apart
Apart
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from that, it's a linked set of short stories that are a bit too formulaic to be interesting. The stiff-upper-lip Britishness that Wyndham does so well in Day of the Triffids and so forth feels out of place in the described international effort to conquer space. Give me the society-changing theme of Trouble with Lichen any day. Show Less
LibraryThing member sloopjonb
The naming of a co-author (Lucas Parkes) is a bit of a mystery, since Lucas Parkes WAS John Wyndham!
LibraryThing member plappen
For as long as man has existed, there have been those with an inner need to explore. Almost a genetic predisposition, some men are driven to see what is Out There, whether it's across the sea, or to the stars. This is the story of four generations of one family, the Troon family.
In 1994, George
On the Moon, fifty years later, Michael, his son, runs the British missile station. The Northern Hemisphere, on Earth, is having an all-out nuclear war; the American and Russian Moon stations have been destroyed. The British station has fired only a few of its missiles, and the personnel are very concerned as to why more missiles haven't been launched.
Brazil was the largest country to emerge unscathed from the war, so they sign agreements with the other Latin American countries and create the United States of Brazil. The first manned mission to Mars, with Geoffrey Troon as part of the crew, does not go well. The ship tips over soon after landing, killing one of the three-man crew. The other suffers a serious head injury, and is convinced that Geoffrey is a Martian, ready to do him great bodily harm. He tries to launch the crippled ship, while Geoffrey is outside, but does not get very far. In 2144, Australia launches a secret mission to land on Venus. Brazil, which considers all of space to be one of its provinces, is not happy, and launches a military mission to arrest everyone involved and bring them back to Earth. Troon cousins are on both sides of the conflict.
This is an excellent book. It's an interesting and well done story that will easily keep the reader's interest.
In 1994, George
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Montgomery "Ticker" Troon is part of the group secretly building the world's first space station. One day, a missile shows up, probably from the Soviets, that could easily destroy the station and kill a lot of people. Troon, who was outside at the time, manages to corral the missile, as in the film "Dr. Strangelove." He keeps the missile away from the station, but for him, things don't work out so well.On the Moon, fifty years later, Michael, his son, runs the British missile station. The Northern Hemisphere, on Earth, is having an all-out nuclear war; the American and Russian Moon stations have been destroyed. The British station has fired only a few of its missiles, and the personnel are very concerned as to why more missiles haven't been launched.
Brazil was the largest country to emerge unscathed from the war, so they sign agreements with the other Latin American countries and create the United States of Brazil. The first manned mission to Mars, with Geoffrey Troon as part of the crew, does not go well. The ship tips over soon after landing, killing one of the three-man crew. The other suffers a serious head injury, and is convinced that Geoffrey is a Martian, ready to do him great bodily harm. He tries to launch the crippled ship, while Geoffrey is outside, but does not get very far. In 2144, Australia launches a secret mission to land on Venus. Brazil, which considers all of space to be one of its provinces, is not happy, and launches a military mission to arrest everyone involved and bring them back to Earth. Troon cousins are on both sides of the conflict.
This is an excellent book. It's an interesting and well done story that will easily keep the reader's interest.
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
Four stories (published in 1959) connect 200 years of a family whose members have a tendency to want to explore space, from a WWII pilot and his grandson, a space station worker in 1994, through a Moon base commander and members of the first mission to Mars and the first successful trip to Venus.
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Light-weight SF, typical of Wyndham, but quite enjoyable, with some haunting moments involving the loneliness and fear likely in such enterprises. Show Less
LibraryThing member daviddonnelly
Not nearly as good as other Wyndham books. It is a rather straightforward space story, the interesting part is it was written years before man landed on the moon.
LibraryThing member jimll
This book contains five short stories, each of which is more or less self contained yet carries the thread of the space faring Troon dynasty through a period of around 200 years. It starts in a (then to be future) 1994 with the building of a British space station (hoorah!), moves onto a (British)
The stories are actually well put together, although they are obviously written from the point of view of someone living in the 1950s when the Space Race was only just about to start and men walking on the moon was still a distant dream. Its also rather amusing to see Britain still being thought of as a Great Power with enough resources (at least at the start of the book) to build a space station and a moon base. History has shown that we just about managed one small satellite launch all by ourselves before giving in and just helping NASA and ESA.
There are some amusing aspects to this retro sci-fi. For example when one Troon is in space helping to construct the British space station, he's stubbing out fags on the metal bulk head. Smoking was such a common thing back in the 1950s I guess nobody would see that as odd, but I bet they don't let them have ciggies on the ISS! ;-)
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Moon base, then Mars, Venus and finally out to the asteroid belt.The stories are actually well put together, although they are obviously written from the point of view of someone living in the 1950s when the Space Race was only just about to start and men walking on the moon was still a distant dream. Its also rather amusing to see Britain still being thought of as a Great Power with enough resources (at least at the start of the book) to build a space station and a moon base. History has shown that we just about managed one small satellite launch all by ourselves before giving in and just helping NASA and ESA.
There are some amusing aspects to this retro sci-fi. For example when one Troon is in space helping to construct the British space station, he's stubbing out fags on the metal bulk head. Smoking was such a common thing back in the 1950s I guess nobody would see that as odd, but I bet they don't let them have ciggies on the ISS! ;-)
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LibraryThing member CraigGoodwin
As ever, Wyndham's (or is it Parkes') prose style is a joy to read. As a fix up novel, it works pretty well, perhaps losing a bit of momentum between the episodes.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1959
Physical description
192 p.; 17.6 cm
ISBN
0140015442 / 9780140015447
Local notes
Omslag: Peter Lord
Omslaget viser to personer i rumdragter, formentlig på Månen for man ser en stor klode på himlen i baggrunden. På begges rumdragter står der Troon.
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Omslaget viser to personer i rumdragter, formentlig på Månen for man ser en stor klode på himlen i baggrunden. På begges rumdragter står der Troon.
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Similar in this library
Web by John Wyndham
Series
Pages
192
DDC/MDS
| 823.9 |