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Arcturus Landing
Book by Gordon R. Dickson
213 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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About the author
Gordon R. Dickson
589 books377 followersGordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author. He was born in Canada, then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota as a teenager. He is probably most famous for his Childe Cycle and the Dragon Knight series. He won three Hugo awards and one Nebula award.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 22, 2024
Turns out this is Gordon R. Dickson’s first novel. I had no idea when I picked it up.
While not a bad book, it’s a generic entertainment and not the type of thing I would read on a regular basis. There are some good ideas here that don’t really get fleshed out.
Then again, in modern times the basic idea of humanity being quarantined on earth by aliens until they can develop a faster-than-light propulsion system would be an ongoing series of 500 page novels. I’ll stick to a single 200 pager, thanks.
While not a bad book, it’s a generic entertainment and not the type of thing I would read on a regular basis. There are some good ideas here that don’t really get fleshed out.
Then again, in modern times the basic idea of humanity being quarantined on earth by aliens until they can develop a faster-than-light propulsion system would be an ongoing series of 500 page novels. I’ll stick to a single 200 pager, thanks.
December 2, 2024
Some interesting ideas written about in the dumbest possible way and then dropped out of boredom or ADHD and quickly replaced by another idea that sets this mess of a novel on a completely new tangent. Non-violence, alien overseers, rich politicians, squirrel-like aliens, transporter technology, Galactic Federations, faster than light engines and unlimited lifespans are just a few of the things this novel is about and then isn't. I hope no one ever stumbles across this one and makes the mistake of reading it.
April 8, 2015
Arcturus Landing (1956) 213pp. by Gordon Dickson
Back in 1980 or so I joined the Science Fiction Book Club, I just googled them, I see they're still around. One of the books that I got was Time Storm by Gordon Dickson. I really liked that book and I picked up a few more of his books. One day I started reading Tactics of Mistake and wow! It was awesome. It turned out there were more books in that series, such as Dorsai!, Young Bleys and The Final Encyclopedia. Also Fantastic. I have to put The Childe Cycle series up there with Dune, Foundation and the Ender books. Dickson can do humor, too. Case in point The Dragon and the George.
Arcturus Landing starts off promising enough, introducing us to Malcolm Fletcher and gives us the setting, by a little episode he has with his [gravity] belt failing and he was only saved because of the building's force shield. He's a scientist and he's working on a faster than light drive. Humans had started sending ships beyond their own solar system, only to run into alien races that shoo us back into our own solar system.
The galactic committee gets together and decides that humans will need to be quarantined in our own solar system until humanity grows up unless we can prove ourselves by created an FTL drive.
Mal requests equipment from his company, and gets called into the headquarters. They tell him request denied, that, you're on the wrong path, it's been tried before, we're saving you the heartache of failure.
From there it's sort of a romp. He runs into a couple of people there, they tell him that the company is trying to supress FTL to keep the status quo, they meet a sympathetic alien, the four of them steal a spaceship and go to Venus. They set up a lab there, and he tries to get a working FTL.
If you have this one, go ahead and read it, but if you're looking for a Dickson book, go with any of the books I mentioned earlier.
Back in 1980 or so I joined the Science Fiction Book Club, I just googled them, I see they're still around. One of the books that I got was Time Storm by Gordon Dickson. I really liked that book and I picked up a few more of his books. One day I started reading Tactics of Mistake and wow! It was awesome. It turned out there were more books in that series, such as Dorsai!, Young Bleys and The Final Encyclopedia. Also Fantastic. I have to put The Childe Cycle series up there with Dune, Foundation and the Ender books. Dickson can do humor, too. Case in point The Dragon and the George.
Arcturus Landing starts off promising enough, introducing us to Malcolm Fletcher and gives us the setting, by a little episode he has with his [gravity] belt failing and he was only saved because of the building's force shield. He's a scientist and he's working on a faster than light drive. Humans had started sending ships beyond their own solar system, only to run into alien races that shoo us back into our own solar system.
The galactic committee gets together and decides that humans will need to be quarantined in our own solar system until humanity grows up unless we can prove ourselves by created an FTL drive.
Mal requests equipment from his company, and gets called into the headquarters. They tell him request denied, that, you're on the wrong path, it's been tried before, we're saving you the heartache of failure.
From there it's sort of a romp. He runs into a couple of people there, they tell him that the company is trying to supress FTL to keep the status quo, they meet a sympathetic alien, the four of them steal a spaceship and go to Venus. They set up a lab there, and he tries to get a working FTL.
If you have this one, go ahead and read it, but if you're looking for a Dickson book, go with any of the books I mentioned earlier.
October 17, 2017
This is a nice little ready by Dickson. He's great at exploring ideas and how people interact, but struggles with developing deep interaction between characters, and sometimes the ending feel half-finished or abrupt. This is about a middle of the road novel for him.
Arcturus Landing explores interesting idea about human interaction with an advanced Alien Federation, and how people react when humans are restricted to exploring only their own solar system, and the competing elements that it generates. Led by the main protagonist, Mal, the story follows his efforts to create a Faster-than-Light drive in order to break the Federation's imposed restrictions upon humanity, and the challenges he faces in achieving that goal.
Overall an enjoyable read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Arcturus Landing explores interesting idea about human interaction with an advanced Alien Federation, and how people react when humans are restricted to exploring only their own solar system, and the competing elements that it generates. Led by the main protagonist, Mal, the story follows his efforts to create a Faster-than-Light drive in order to break the Federation's imposed restrictions upon humanity, and the challenges he faces in achieving that goal.
Overall an enjoyable read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
October 26, 2020
Okay, the hero is running from the bad guys most of the time. There's a 'cute' alien (who happens to be very strong). And a problem to solve.
But that isn't enough to keep my interest. Just when I was going to put it down, it got kinda interesting, so I read it to the end. Not wild about the ending, but at least it wasn't a cliff-hanger.
But that isn't enough to keep my interest. Just when I was going to put it down, it got kinda interesting, so I read it to the end. Not wild about the ending, but at least it wasn't a cliff-hanger.
May 7, 2008
It was short, but well written. The characters could have used more developement, but the ideas were enjoyable. I enjoyed the reference to an Improbability Drive. Made me wonder if this influenced Douglas Adams.
July 21, 2009
Picked this one up at an SF convention in 1979 and had a short conversation with the author while he autographed it.
January 18, 2023
Chuckles, you will not know why I am chuckling until you finish this story. No hints because I don't want to spoil it for you. Enjoy. PS there is no John Parent. His name is Malcolm Fletcher.
April 10, 2024
peep is the goat!
December 15, 2015
Weirdly, this book used an "infinite improbability drive" before Douglas Adams used the concept in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
Mankind makes its first attempt to reach the stars, only to get a rude shock. Not only are there aliens out there, but there's a galactic civilization, and we didn't pass the first entrance exam. We need to prove our worth by inventing a faster-than-light drive. So, that is mankind's new quest, but meanwhile businesses in position to deal with the aliens are making a boatload of money. When a human scientist thinks he's solved the puzzle of the FTL drive, his boss tells him that it won't work, and that the aliens have warned against using that theory, but...things don't add up.
Conspiracies, money, friendly aliens, unfriendly corporations and a host of other things flesh out this adventure. It is not one of Dickson's best, but it is worth reading.
Mankind makes its first attempt to reach the stars, only to get a rude shock. Not only are there aliens out there, but there's a galactic civilization, and we didn't pass the first entrance exam. We need to prove our worth by inventing a faster-than-light drive. So, that is mankind's new quest, but meanwhile businesses in position to deal with the aliens are making a boatload of money. When a human scientist thinks he's solved the puzzle of the FTL drive, his boss tells him that it won't work, and that the aliens have warned against using that theory, but...things don't add up.
Conspiracies, money, friendly aliens, unfriendly corporations and a host of other things flesh out this adventure. It is not one of Dickson's best, but it is worth reading.
November 12, 2014
Grade C+.
aka Alien from Arcturus
aka Alien from Arcturus
May 19, 2012
Good old fashioned space opera SF
April 19, 2014
A fun and enjoyable classic sci-fi story.
February 25, 2018
Not my favorite Dickson novel.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews