The
Fantastic Technology of Crashing Suns
Last
night I finished reading Crashing Suns
by Edmond Hamilton, (AKA the World Wrecker) published in the August &
September 1928 issues of Weird Tales.
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| Random Chance or just Carelessness? You Decide. |
The
story is set in our solar system some time in the future when the
EIGHT planets are inhabited. [Pluto's discovery was still two years
away.] The solar system is threatened by a rogue star hurtling on a
collision course with Sol. This would result in annihilation of the
human race and all its works.
The
protagonist, Jan Tor, is a pilot of the Interstellar patrol. He is
tasked with leading the expedition to the approaching star to find if
there is a way to avert this disaster.
Space
Opera, indeed.
The
story is actually a straightforward affair of exploration, discovery,
capture, escape, conflict and a last minute rescue. By now, this is a
by-the-numbers tale of not great impact. We've seen it before. In
1928, though? This might have been hot stuff. Hamilton's reputation
among space opera/sci-fi writers is outstanding, even if he's less
well known today than during his lifetime.
The
story's structure is heavy on exposition and description (needs to
be, set in another solar system), light on dialogue and character
development. Beyond their names, I saw only the scantest details to
differentiate the hero and his companions.
But
that's not what I found interesting about this story.
