 | |
| Author | Leigh Brackett |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Ace Books |
Publication date | 1955 (first book publication) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 131 |
| OCLC | 5282860 |
The Big Jump is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, centered on the first crewed expedition to Barnard's Star.
The novel was first published in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories . Its first book publication was in the early Ace Double D-103 with Philip K. Dick's first novel, Solar Lottery . [1]
The novel begins with the entire Solar System waiting for the news of the first successful interstellar expedition to Barnard's Star, a mission named "The Big Jump". However, only one crewman, Ballantyne, returns, half-dead and with a body so changed he's barely human.
The protagonist Comyn attempts to uncover the truth about the Big Jump and his missing friend, crewman Paul Rogers. Comyn speaks with Ballantyne and gains valuable information about a planet around the star and what the crew had found there. In an attempt to rescue Rogers, he meets the Cochrane family, who have monopolized in-system travel. Comyn claims to know detailed information about the Star, leading the Cochrane family to build another starship. They send Comyn out to rescue the other crew members but Comyn suspects that one of his crew is planning to murder him...
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction described it as "efficient but seem somewhat routine when set beside Brackett's best single pure-sf work, The Long Tomorrow ." [2]
Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American science fiction writer called "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter known for The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Long Goodbye (1973). She also worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), elements of which remained in the film; she died before the film went into production. In 1956, her book The Long Tomorrow made her the first woman ever shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and, along with C. L. Moore, one of the first two women ever nominated for a Hugo Award. In 2020, she won a Retro Hugo for her novel The Nemesis From Terra, originally published as "Shadow Over Mars".
Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first science fiction title in 1953. This was successful, and science fiction titles outnumbered both mysteries and westerns within a few years. Other genres also made an appearance, including nonfiction, gothic novels, media tie-in novelizations, and romances. Ace became known for the tête-bêche binding format used for many of its early books, although it did not originate the format. Most of the early titles were published in this "Ace Double" format, and Ace continued to issue books in varied genres, bound tête-bêche, until 1973.
Eric John Stark is a character created by the science fiction author Leigh Brackett. Stark is the hero of a series of pulp adventures set in a time when the Solar System has been colonized. His origin-story shares some characteristics with feral characters such as Mowgli and Tarzan; his adventures take place in the shared space opera planets of 1940s and 1950s science fiction.
Solar Lottery is a 1955 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was his first published novel and contains many of the themes present in his later work. It was also published in altered form in the UK as World of Chance. The main story is about a man named Ted Benteley who lives in a strange world, dominated by percentages and the lottery. Lotteries are used to choose the next leader as well as a new assassin, whose job is to try to kill the leader or "Quizmaster". Everybody in society has the opportunity to be selected as a leader or an assassin. Benteley unexpectedly gets chosen to be a member of the committee trying to assassinate the new Quizmaster and he must decide what he is going to do.
Fictional depictions of Mercury, the innermost planet of the Solar System, have gone through three distinct phases. Before much was known about the planet, it received scant attention. Later, when it was incorrectly believed that it was tidally locked with the Sun creating a permanent dayside and nightside, stories mainly focused on the conditions of the two sides and the narrow region of permanent twilight between. Since that misconception was dispelled in 1965, the planet has again received less attention from fiction writers, and stories have largely concentrated on the harsh environmental conditions that come from the planet's proximity to the Sun.
The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in many works of the science fiction genre.
The Legion of Space is a science fiction novel by the American writer Jack Williamson. It was originally serialized in Astounding Stories in 1934, then published in book form by Fantasy Press in 1947 in an edition of 2,970 copies. A magazine-sized reprint was issued by Galaxy in 1950, with a standard paperback following from Pyramid Books in 1967. The first British edition was published by Sphere Books in 1977. The Legion of Space has been translated into German, French, Italian and Japanese . It has also appeared in the omnibus Three from the Legion, which compiles the novel and all but one of its sequels.
The Starmen is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett. It was published in 1952 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. It was also published by Ballantine Books in 1976 under the original magazine title of The Starmen of Llyrdis. Ace Books published an abridged edition under the title The Galactic Breed. The Ace edition was published as an Ace Double with Conquest of the Space Sea by Robert Moore Williams. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Startling Stories in 1951.
Marooned on Eden (1993), is a science fiction novel by Robert L. Forward, collaborating with his wife, Martha Dodson Forward.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling.
Star of Danger is a science fantasy novel by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, part of her Darkover series. It was first published by Ace Books in 1965.
"Enchantress of Venus" is a science fiction short story by American writer Leigh Brackett. It was originally published in the magazine Planet Stories in 1949. It is part of the Eric John Stark series of books and stories. The story has been reprinted numerous times since its first publication, and has been the subject of critical commentary in the Science Fiction community.
Rediscovery is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mercedes Lackey, part of the Darkover series of novels and short stories published in the United States since 1958. It was first published by DAW Books in 1993.
Norman Louis Knight was an American chemist and writer of fantasy and science fiction. His most prominent work is probably A Torrent of Faces, a novel cowritten with James Blish and reprinted in the Ace Science Fiction Specials line/
Rescued from Paradise is a science fiction novel by Robert L. Forward, collaborating with his daughter Julie Forward Fuller. It is part of the Rocheworld series, about an expedition to explore planets found in orbit around Barnard's Star. This is the fifth and final book in the continuity. Some material from previous novels was rewritten and included as part of this story. In this novel, after settling down on the habitable moon Zuni, the crew struggle to survive various disasters and to communicate with a mysterious Civilization under the ocean.
The Sword of Rhiannon is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set in her usual venue of Mars. A 1942 Brackett story, "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon", also uses the name; however, it is the name of a place rather than a character.
Space Stories was a pulp magazine which published five issues from October 1952 to June 1953. It was published by Standard Magazines, and edited by Samuel Mines. Mines' editorial policy for Space Stories was to publish straightforward science fiction adventure stories. Among the better-known contributors were Jack Vance, Gordon R. Dickson and Leigh Brackett, whose novel The Big Jump appeared in the February 1953 issue.
Shadow Over Mars is the debut science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, published in 1944.
Alpha Centauri or Die! is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett.
Space travel, or space flight is a classic science-fiction theme that has captivated the public and is almost archetypal for science fiction. Space travel, interplanetary or interstellar, is usually performed in space ships, and spacecraft propulsion in various works ranges from the scientifically plausible to the totally fictitious.
 | This article about a 1950s science fiction novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |