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The Escape Orbit
Cover Artist and Interior Jack GaughanSTRANDED ON A PLANET OF MONSTERSWhen the survivors of his starship were taken prisoner by the insect-creatures against whom Earth had fought a bitter war for nearly a century, Sector Marshal Warren expected to be impounded in a prison camp like those the EArthmen maintained. But the "Bugs" had a simpler method of dealing with prisoners--they dumped them on an uninhabited planet, without weapons or tools, and left them to fend for themsselves against the planet's environment and strange monsters. A "Bug" spaceship orbited above, guarding them.Escape was impossible, the "Bugs" told them--but it was absolutely necessary, for reasons Warren couldn't tell even his own men.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
3 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
James White
94 books134 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessfully.
White abhorred violence, and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories. The "Sector General" series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction, and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens. Although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times, White gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction. He was also Guest-of-Honour of several conventions.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessfully.
White abhorred violence, and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories. The "Sector General" series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction, and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens. Although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times, White gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction. He was also Guest-of-Honour of several conventions.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 2, 2009
James White was one of the nicer writers in the science fiction genre. He wrote relatively straightforward but intelligent stories with protagonists who were decent, human people (even when they weren't human); not supermen, nor antiheroes. Just ordinary, decent beings with consciences, intelligence, and the wish to use both to create the best outcome for everyone (in that regard, he reminds me strongly of Lloyd. G. Biggle, Jr.).
White is best known for his Sector General series, of course. The Escape Orbit isn't part of that series; it has no major medical aspects. It represents a relatively early work from White (it was originally published in 1965). As such, it's a bit less sophisticated than some of his later works. But you don't read White for sophistication. He was not a latter-day Oscar Wilde, not by any stretch of the imagination. But he delivered thoughtful and thought-provoking stories, well-told, for many years.
The Escape Orbit is the story of a prison planet. In an interstellar war between humans and an alien race, human prisoners of war are being dumped onto a formerly-empty planet. The prospects for escape are daunting, to put it mildly. Divided into opposing camps - those who are attempting to make the best lives that they can on the planet, and those who are still trying to escape - relations between the two groups are just short of open hostility.
The protagonist arrives to find himself in the middle of this mess. How he resolves it, and the entire situation, makes for an interesting story.
Some may view the male-female relationships presented in the books as being sexist. This is, I think, unfair. They're old-fashioned, yes; but there is no deliberate sexism, and in fact White spells out several times that the women are, in fact, equal to men. The problem is rather the sexism of the males as they relate to females. But some of the language and attitudes between men and women in the book are admittedly corny and dated.
The resolution frankly surprised me. It was deeper and more thoughtful than was customary for most science fiction of that time. I don't want to spoil it, however, so I'll leave it at that.
The Escape Orbit is definitely not one of White's best works, for all that it was apparently short-listed for a Hugo award. But even his lesser works are well worth reading. You may not come back to the book again and again, but not every book has to be a classic that will live through the ages. This is a well-written novel, very short by modern standards, with some thoughtful elements that any science fiction fan is likely to enjoy.
White is best known for his Sector General series, of course. The Escape Orbit isn't part of that series; it has no major medical aspects. It represents a relatively early work from White (it was originally published in 1965). As such, it's a bit less sophisticated than some of his later works. But you don't read White for sophistication. He was not a latter-day Oscar Wilde, not by any stretch of the imagination. But he delivered thoughtful and thought-provoking stories, well-told, for many years.
The Escape Orbit is the story of a prison planet. In an interstellar war between humans and an alien race, human prisoners of war are being dumped onto a formerly-empty planet. The prospects for escape are daunting, to put it mildly. Divided into opposing camps - those who are attempting to make the best lives that they can on the planet, and those who are still trying to escape - relations between the two groups are just short of open hostility.
The protagonist arrives to find himself in the middle of this mess. How he resolves it, and the entire situation, makes for an interesting story.
Some may view the male-female relationships presented in the books as being sexist. This is, I think, unfair. They're old-fashioned, yes; but there is no deliberate sexism, and in fact White spells out several times that the women are, in fact, equal to men. The problem is rather the sexism of the males as they relate to females. But some of the language and attitudes between men and women in the book are admittedly corny and dated.
The resolution frankly surprised me. It was deeper and more thoughtful than was customary for most science fiction of that time. I don't want to spoil it, however, so I'll leave it at that.
The Escape Orbit is definitely not one of White's best works, for all that it was apparently short-listed for a Hugo award. But even his lesser works are well worth reading. You may not come back to the book again and again, but not every book has to be a classic that will live through the ages. This is a well-written novel, very short by modern standards, with some thoughtful elements that any science fiction fan is likely to enjoy.
June 19, 2022
The Escape Orbit is not a book that I expected was going to be given high marks when I started reading it. I knew it had some good potential and that White is a decent author. The one element that I think continually convinced me of the five star rating was the unanticipated amount of effort that the author put into this novel.
The story is one of survival, escape, and leadership. In one sense, this can be a rather dull story – it is completely full of nothing more than problem-solving and maybe that gives it the somewhat slower-feeling pacing. However, actually considered, there are plenty of character-tensions, action scenes, and plot twists. Its good writing, believe it or not, and maybe I did not even realize that until late in the novel.
I am really glad I read it – it was not what I expected and I can say afterwards that it was definitely worth reading. This is for thoughtful readers and fans of vintage science fiction. If a reader is going to read about the prison planet setting, this one is necessary.
The story is one of survival, escape, and leadership. In one sense, this can be a rather dull story – it is completely full of nothing more than problem-solving and maybe that gives it the somewhat slower-feeling pacing. However, actually considered, there are plenty of character-tensions, action scenes, and plot twists. Its good writing, believe it or not, and maybe I did not even realize that until late in the novel.
I am really glad I read it – it was not what I expected and I can say afterwards that it was definitely worth reading. This is for thoughtful readers and fans of vintage science fiction. If a reader is going to read about the prison planet setting, this one is necessary.
September 30, 2022
Entertaining read.
A planet full of prisoners organise an elaborate plan to escape.
A plan that takes years to complete under the watchful eyes of the Bug ship in orbit,their only guards.
Under the leadership of the highest ranking officer who has to tend with a growing faction of the prisoners preferring to stay on planet and make a go of the 'colony' he lies and cajoles to get the escape up and running.
A little bit dated and a bit sexist and misogynistic in places it's still a good well paced read, like an old WWII film, only on a far grander scale.
A planet full of prisoners organise an elaborate plan to escape.
A plan that takes years to complete under the watchful eyes of the Bug ship in orbit,their only guards.
Under the leadership of the highest ranking officer who has to tend with a growing faction of the prisoners preferring to stay on planet and make a go of the 'colony' he lies and cajoles to get the escape up and running.
A little bit dated and a bit sexist and misogynistic in places it's still a good well paced read, like an old WWII film, only on a far grander scale.
August 21, 2017
Another White gem. Packed to the rafters with the baggage of its day, of course -but a quick and exciting story.
February 24, 2018
The book started out very exciting, but had a dead point half way where everything seemed to go according to the main characters plans. Then things picked up again when things started to go wrong and he got frustrated. I liked the twist at the end.
The story is very detailed, and the tensions between the characters were worked out very well. The ideas about women are a bit old fashioned, and can get a little annoying despite the fact that White tries to have the men treat the women as equals.
This was a very enjoyable read.
The story is very detailed, and the tensions between the characters were worked out very well. The ideas about women are a bit old fashioned, and can get a little annoying despite the fact that White tries to have the men treat the women as equals.
This was a very enjoyable read.
December 2, 2022
Just to put this out there, I have been a huge James White fan - particularly of his Sector General novels - since I was very young - but somehow, I never encountered this book until now. I'd like to recommend this, but it's one of his earliest novels, and it reads as such. For fans of his Sector General, you can see the beginnings of the Galactic Federation forming. It's not there yet, and officially this book is not part of that series, but he was obviously starting to play around with some of those background setting elements and ideas in his mind. All in all, an unfortunately timed novel on my part having first read so many novels from later in his career first - novels written after he had developed as a writer and found his own distinct voice - that makes this novel feel so much "lesser" than what I expected. (The biggest source of disappointment is unreasonable expectations).
March 18, 2025
The Escape Orbit was a mostly enjoyable story about prisoners of war attempting to escape from a prison planet. The characters were interesting, and the the book had a bit of a heist-type vibe to it. It did a great job of weaving in the lore of the universe over the course of a single book. I also found it to have interesting commentary on leadership and trying to manage competing interests and personalities while pursuing a large and complicated goal.
December 16, 2023
The main problem with this book and probably lots of books written in this time is 2 fold. The first is the characters are extremely one dimensional (often supermen-like with god like wit and reflexes) which throws out any chance of growth. The second problem is there was no reason to make this a book versus a film (only excuse here is the technology limitations of the time).
January 31, 2021
This was good! It told a story that turned out at the end to be a different story altogether. What fun!
November 19, 2022
Interesting read. Good story. Really dated as to the male-female social relationships. I liked it. Some of the science is a little iffy, but for 1965 not bad.
April 14, 2023
Solid straightforward sci-fi novel that suffers a bit from misogyny.
March 14, 2025
Good old fashion space scifi.
April 24, 2023
Mankind has gone intergalactic but the only race of aliens they ran into are repulsive, ornery, spider-like creatures. Despite decades of mutual attempts at communication and cooperation everything broke down and war is raging. Since both races are tangentially civilized, they have a lot of prisoners of war, so many they are becoming something of a problem. The bugs decided to abandon all of their human prisoners on a quarantined, but habitable planet in hopes they will fend for themselves. When Sector Marshal Warren is captured and dumped onto the planet he finds two competing factions of prisoners have developed; one side sees their plight as hopeless and have abandoned any hope of escape, and another is struggling to retain their military discipline while building toward an escape.
Since Warren is the highest ranking officer he’s quickly put in charge, but his focus on results over politics is not exactly what the prisoners had in mind. Attempting to recruit men away from their new wives and children proves to be something of a problem, but Warren manages quite well by use of deft psychology, honesty, and respect. Soon their bold plan looks to be coming to fruition, but a large number of the men are actively working against it’s success.
While the prose do not sparkle, the personality of the many characters and the odd setting of POWs at divided purposes is engaging. The action moves fast enough, but the narrative takes its time in getting the setting, motivations, and conflicts just right. During the final, nail-biting climax in which their escape plan is attempted, I was riveted to the page. The story is certainly a product of it’s age, but does include a good deal of science, and the can-do, manly virtues I love so much from classic science fiction. A surprisingly good book that left me excited to read more of James White’s work.
Since Warren is the highest ranking officer he’s quickly put in charge, but his focus on results over politics is not exactly what the prisoners had in mind. Attempting to recruit men away from their new wives and children proves to be something of a problem, but Warren manages quite well by use of deft psychology, honesty, and respect. Soon their bold plan looks to be coming to fruition, but a large number of the men are actively working against it’s success.
While the prose do not sparkle, the personality of the many characters and the odd setting of POWs at divided purposes is engaging. The action moves fast enough, but the narrative takes its time in getting the setting, motivations, and conflicts just right. During the final, nail-biting climax in which their escape plan is attempted, I was riveted to the page. The story is certainly a product of it’s age, but does include a good deal of science, and the can-do, manly virtues I love so much from classic science fiction. A surprisingly good book that left me excited to read more of James White’s work.
May 30, 2021
1984 grade B-
2021 grade B
This is one of two books I have read that start the same way. I wonder if an editor suggested the start to various authors. The start has a batch of POWs in a long running space war dropped off on a habitable world and being left to survive. In the book I do not know the name or author of, the people are alone and must learn to survive. (If anyone knows the book, please tell me.)
In this story, there is already a large population of former POWs, a few maintaining military ways and most turned civilian. The new batch contains a very high ranking officer who uses both groups to plan and execute an escape, incidentally saving them all in the process.
It is not a great novel, and I did speed through some long paragraph descriptive bits, but it is good enough to read more than once.
2021 grade B
This is one of two books I have read that start the same way. I wonder if an editor suggested the start to various authors. The start has a batch of POWs in a long running space war dropped off on a habitable world and being left to survive. In the book I do not know the name or author of, the people are alone and must learn to survive. (If anyone knows the book, please tell me.)
In this story, there is already a large population of former POWs, a few maintaining military ways and most turned civilian. The new batch contains a very high ranking officer who uses both groups to plan and execute an escape, incidentally saving them all in the process.
It is not a great novel, and I did speed through some long paragraph descriptive bits, but it is good enough to read more than once.
February 16, 2016
I chanced upon this early work of James White on a second hand bookstall in London and was delighted to discover something of his that I hadn't yet read. Like most of his stories this zips along and is strong on the interaction between people with a problem to solve. There is the usual tension that White creates with only one character knowing the whole story and playing his cards close to his chest. The final twist is as good as any in his Sector General novels and like the rest of the 'prisoners' I stand and salute James White's endless capacity for surprisingly strong endings!
February 27, 2020
This is literally one of the best books of speculative fiction, plot and character development I have ever read.
I've read this book so many times that the pages literally fell apart and I need to buy another one. It's SO FRIGGEN good. To me, as far as classic sci-fi, this book is to sci-fi what Training Day is to the cop movie genre: An absolute goddamn classic.
I've read this book so many times that the pages literally fell apart and I need to buy another one. It's SO FRIGGEN good. To me, as far as classic sci-fi, this book is to sci-fi what Training Day is to the cop movie genre: An absolute goddamn classic.
April 1, 2017
Readable with some excitement periodically, and a nice shortish length. It's a decent afternoon read.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews