David Starr, Space Ranger
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''David Starr, Space Ranger'' is the first novel in the ''Lucky Starr'' series, six juvenile
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novels by
Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ;  – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
that originally appeared under the pseudonym Paul French. The novel was written between 10 June and 29 July 1951 and first published by
Doubleday & Company Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897. By 1947, it was the largest book publisher in the United States. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and ...
in January 1952. Since 1971, reprints have included an introduction by Asimov explaining that advancing knowledge of conditions on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
have rendered some of the novel's descriptions of that world inaccurate. The novel was originally intended to serve as the basis for a television series, a science-fictionalized version of ''
The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...
'', but the series was never made, in part because another series called ''
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger ''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger'' is an American science fiction television serial originally broadcast in syndication from February to November 1954. The show lasted for only two seasons and, though syndicated sporadically, dropped into obscurity ...
'' was already in the planning stages.


Plot summary

''David Starr, Space Ranger'' introduces the series' setting and main characters. The novel is set around A.D. 7,000 (five thousand years after the first nuclear bomb, as stated at the beginning), when humanity has founded colonies on the inner planets of the
Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
, as well as spreading to other planetary systems with separate and sometimes hostile governments. The most powerful organization in the Solar System is the Council of Science, which uses scientific expertise and intrepid field agents to counter political and military threats to Earth's government. Protagonist David Starr is a young
biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...
orphaned as an infant and raised by his guardians Augustus Henree and Hector Conway, high-ranking Council members who send David on his missions for the Council. They tell him of some 200 recent victims fatally poisoned by produce imported from
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
. Fearing a conspiracy to start a food panic and wreck interplanetary trade, they send Starr undercover to Mars. There Starr meets John "Bigman" Jones, a short but pugnacious Martian farmboy blacklisted by the Martian Farming Syndicates after witnessing underhanded dealings. When his former boss Hennes orders Bigman out of the Farm Employment Building, Starr stands up for him and gains positions for both himself and Bigman. The humiliated Hennes subsequently has Starr and Bigman knocked out and brought to the farm owned by Hennes' boss, Mr. Makian, who apologizes and appears friendly. Starr says his name is Williams and he came from Earth to investigate his sister's death from food poisoning. Makian sends him to the farm's agronomist Benson, who explains that the poisoned food came from several Martian farms and was exported through the domed Wingrad City. Meanwhile Makian and other farm owners have been pressured to sell their farms for ridiculously small sums. Benson also suggests that intelligent native
Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...
s living below the planet's surface are poisoning the food to drive off the human colonists. Makian sends Starr and Bigman on a survey of the farmlands led by Hennes' friend Griswold. Unfamiliar with Martian gravity, Starr nearly skids his sand-car into a
crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rate ...
. After Bigman discovers the car is missing the required ballast-weights, Starr accuses Griswold of trying to kill him. They fight, and Griswold falls into the crevasse. The next day, Benson makes Starr his assistant, to keep him from the vengeful Hennes. Bigman receives his references from Hennes and takes his leave, but returns that night to the farm to meet Starr, and tells him he has recognized him as belonging to the Council (whose members are publicly listed, though they try to minimize publicity). Starr tells Bigman that he believes in Benson's Martians, and that the crevasse into which Griswold fell is an entrance to their caverns. Starr descends into the crevasse and is captured by Martian
aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...
— disembodied intelligences curious about the Earthmen on the surface. They know nothing of the poisoned food – although, according to them, any organic matter of Martian origin is poison for Earthmen. They give Starr the name "Space Ranger", and present him with an immaterial mask producing a personal force field that can protect and disguise him. Starr uses the mask to shield himself from a Martian dust storm as he returns to Makian's farm, where he is questioned on how he survived the storm and answers that he was rescued by a masked man called the Space Ranger. Benson tells him the farm owners have received an extortion letter from the poisoner, threatening to a thousandfold increase of poisoned food unless they sell out to him within 36 hours. After again trying to kill Starr, Hennes accuses Starr of being the poisoner. Bigman enters, having brought from the city Dr. Silvers of the Council, who announces that the government has declared a System Emergency and that the Council will take control of all farms on Mars. If the mystery is not solved by the deadline, all Martian food exports to Earth will stop, forcing food rationing. Disguised by his Martian mask, Starr confronts Hennes, who blinds himself firing a blaster at the protective field. Starr searches Hennes and finds incriminating evidence. The next day, at a meeting with Silvers, Makian, Hennes and Benson, Starr again appears as the masked Space Ranger. He reveals that it was Benson who poisoned the food while pretending to take samples of it, while Hennes was his accomplice in contact with criminal syndicates in the
Asteroid Belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...
; the distraught Benson confesses. Afterward, Bigman confides to Starr that despite the disguise, he recognized him by his black-and-white boots, too plain for any Martian.


Themes

''David Starr: Space Ranger'' is the only Asimov novel set on Mars. Asimov's Martian atmosphere is one-fifth as dense as Earth's and lacks oxygen. He does not mention the famous
Martian canals During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was erroneously believed that there were "canals" on the planet Mars. These were a network of long straight lines in the equatorial regions from 60° north to 60° south latitude on Mars, observ ...
.


Reception

Writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Ellen Lewis Buell reported that Asimov "ingeniously combines mystery with science fiction, saying that "his inventiveness and use of picturesque details" were reminiscent of
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
.
Groff Conklin Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvement ...
praised the novel as effective juvenile fare: "no romance, parlous little science, but endless imagination, exciting ideas and events." ''Astounding'' reviewer P. Schuyler Miller described it as "fast-moving space opera of a type we all know, with no particular regard for scientific plausibility.""The Reference Library", ''
Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', November 1954, p.143


References


External links

* {{Isaac Asimov novels Science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov 1952 American novels Novels set on Mars Novels set in deserts American science fiction novels Doubleday (publisher) books Space Western novels Children's science fiction novels Fiction set on desert planets