Space Prison
Space Prison
Free DownloadFor seven weeks the Constellation had been plunging through hyperspace with her eight thousand colonists; fleeing like a hunted thing with her communicators silenced and her drives moaning and thundering. Up in the control room, Irene had been told, the needles of the dials danced against the red danger lines day and night. (Original title: The Survivors.)
Book Excerpt
t have they done to us?"
She looked at the snow streaming from the ragged hills, felt the hard pull of the gravity, and knew where they were. They were on Ragnarok, the hell-world of 1.5 gravity and fierce beasts and raging fevers where men could not survive. The name came from an old Teutonic myth and meant: The last day for gods and men. The Dunbar Expedition had discovered Ragnarok and her father had told her of it, of how it had killed six of the eight men who had left the ship and would have killed all of them if they had remained any longer.
She knew where they were and she knew the Gerns had lied to them and would never send a ship to take them to Earth. Their abandonment there had been intended as a death sentence for all of them.
And Dale was gone and she and Billy would die helpless and alone....
"It will be dark--so soon." Billy's voice shook with the cold. "If Daddy can't find us in the dark, what will we do?"
"I don't know," she said. "There's no one to
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A sheer delight of a book, so well written that you can almost feel the heat of a Gern blaster passing over your head!
The rejects must spend every day of their lives, and every ounce of courage to assure that their children have a tomorrow at all.
One of my very favorite books!
The rejects must spend every day of their lives, and every ounce of courage to assure that their children have a tomorrow at all.
One of my very favorite books!
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A great little book. Hard to believe it was written almost 50 years ago.
At the start of the book, the Gerns seem a bit like charicatures of Nazis - but they are soon out of the picture. What follows is epic storytelling.
At the start of the book, the Gerns seem a bit like charicatures of Nazis - but they are soon out of the picture. What follows is epic storytelling.
02/18/2007
Great exciting story. Not a lot of character developement, but enough to keep you reading. Overall one of the best stories that I've read in a long time...
The original title was "The Survivors" which is a much better and accurate name.
The original title was "The Survivors" which is a much better and accurate name.
12/08/2006
Very good - although many modern readers will want more realistic explanations for some of the rather fantastic situations and occurances. A nice book that won't require too much deep thought.
10/01/2006
I've read this book in paper form. It is my favorite book, however it is now falling apart so badly that I am afraid to read it again. I was very glad to find it in ebook form. If you like this story, there is a sequel, "Space Barbarians" but it is not as good. Also Robert A. Heinlein wrote a story with a similar, underlying theme called "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistriss". The character of his book is very different however.
09/07/2006
Excellent
I nearly gave up on this one on the first page after some truly shaky prose. I'm glad I didn't.
Space Prison is a story of exile. A race of humans inadequate to be kept as slaves are left by their captors to perish on an barren and harsh planet. As they die from fever, animal attacks, starvation and sheer stress all that is left to keep the remnant going is the desire for an impossible revenge.
The characterisation isn't strong, but given that the tale spans several generations it doesn't need to be. If this story was written today it would probably be 3 or 4 books, each telling the tale of a generation in extra detail. But it loses very little as an epic story packed into a shortish book.
A great scifi story.
I nearly gave up on this one on the first page after some truly shaky prose. I'm glad I didn't.
Space Prison is a story of exile. A race of humans inadequate to be kept as slaves are left by their captors to perish on an barren and harsh planet. As they die from fever, animal attacks, starvation and sheer stress all that is left to keep the remnant going is the desire for an impossible revenge.
The characterisation isn't strong, but given that the tale spans several generations it doesn't need to be. If this story was written today it would probably be 3 or 4 books, each telling the tale of a generation in extra detail. But it loses very little as an epic story packed into a shortish book.
A great scifi story.
09/06/2006
A great SF novel.
07/13/2006
