What do you think?
Scavengers in Space
This fast-moving tale of the far future deals with the quest of the Hunter brothers for a mysterious bonanza located somewhere in the asteroid belt. The dangers and details of asteroid mining are carefully outline, and the bonanza itself proves to be and open gate to wider future in the stars.
Realistic background, good plotting and vivid writing add up to a good adventure.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Alan E. Nourse
260 books42 followersAlan Edward Nourse was an American science fiction (SF) author and physician. He also wrote under the name Dr. X
He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science.
Alan Nourse was born to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He attended high school in Long Island, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy after World War II. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He married Ann Morton on June 11, 1952 in Lynden, New Jersey. He received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania. He served his one year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington from 1958 to 1963 and also pursued his writing career.
He had helped pay for his medical education by writing science fiction for magazines. After retiring from medicine, he continued writing. His regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine earned him the nickname "Family Doctor".
He was a friend of fellow author Avram Davidson. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1964 novel Farnham's Freehold to Nourse. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Nourse's wife Ann.
His novel The Bladerunner lent its name to the Blade Runner movie, but no other aspects of its plot or characters, which were taken from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the late 1970s an attempt to adapt The Bladerunner for the screen was made, with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs commissioned to write a story treatment; no film was ever developed but the story treatment was later published as the novella, Blade Runner (a movie).
His novel Star Surgeon has been recorded as a public domain audio book at LibriVox
His pen names included "Al Edwards" and "Doctor X".
He died in Thorp, Washington.
He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science.
Alan Nourse was born to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He attended high school in Long Island, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy after World War II. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He married Ann Morton on June 11, 1952 in Lynden, New Jersey. He received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania. He served his one year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington from 1958 to 1963 and also pursued his writing career.
He had helped pay for his medical education by writing science fiction for magazines. After retiring from medicine, he continued writing. His regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine earned him the nickname "Family Doctor".
He was a friend of fellow author Avram Davidson. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1964 novel Farnham's Freehold to Nourse. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Nourse's wife Ann.
His novel The Bladerunner lent its name to the Blade Runner movie, but no other aspects of its plot or characters, which were taken from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the late 1970s an attempt to adapt The Bladerunner for the screen was made, with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs commissioned to write a story treatment; no film was ever developed but the story treatment was later published as the novella, Blade Runner (a movie).
His novel Star Surgeon has been recorded as a public domain audio book at LibriVox
His pen names included "Al Edwards" and "Doctor X".
He died in Thorp, Washington.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 17, 2015
Another book that I remember from my childhood. (And again, to be clear, this book was already quite old when I was a child.) Tom & Greg Hunter blast off into the asteroid belt after their father suffers an Untimely Fate while prospecting. I'm not saying that this was a direct influence on the Expanse books, but it's definitely part of the 1950s/1960s consensus future those books are riffing on.
October 22, 2021
I read this book over and over from elementary school into high school. One of my favorites.
The main plot of this book revolves around the "accidental" death of the Hunter twin's father, an experienced space miner. They don't buy into the "accidental" concept and decide to go out to where he was mining to find out for themselves.
Greg Hunter is a test pilot for the military. Tom Hunter is into science and geology. They team up with their father's partner Johnny Combs, borrow a rocket from friends of their dad and go out to find out what happened.
Sub-plots include the concept of a "big bonanza" in the asteroid belt. A find so valuable that you're family is set for life. Johnny says their dad found it. They laugh it off.
Sub-plots also include the big company Jupiter Equilateral that is a major mining firm intent on driving little miners out of the belt and having a monopoly on the rewards of the belt. They heard of the Hunter discover and want to claim it for themselves.
Another sub-plot is about Greg and Tom re-discovering each other after 10 years of separation.
After attacking the trio, Tom makes an escape in a rocket and the Jupiter Equilateral crew blow his ship up and takes Greg and Johnny prisoner in an attempt to seduce, bribe, and threaten them into telling where the "big strike" of their father is located.
The main plot of this book revolves around the "accidental" death of the Hunter twin's father, an experienced space miner. They don't buy into the "accidental" concept and decide to go out to where he was mining to find out for themselves.
Greg Hunter is a test pilot for the military. Tom Hunter is into science and geology. They team up with their father's partner Johnny Combs, borrow a rocket from friends of their dad and go out to find out what happened.
Sub-plots include the concept of a "big bonanza" in the asteroid belt. A find so valuable that you're family is set for life. Johnny says their dad found it. They laugh it off.
Sub-plots also include the big company Jupiter Equilateral that is a major mining firm intent on driving little miners out of the belt and having a monopoly on the rewards of the belt. They heard of the Hunter discover and want to claim it for themselves.
Another sub-plot is about Greg and Tom re-discovering each other after 10 years of separation.
After attacking the trio, Tom makes an escape in a rocket and the Jupiter Equilateral crew blow his ship up and takes Greg and Johnny prisoner in an attempt to seduce, bribe, and threaten them into telling where the "big strike" of their father is located.
March 3, 2019
Well researched (back in the day) adventure set amongst the mining of the asteroid belt - something we're actually considering seriously today. I do wonder if this inspired elements of The Expanse? Anyway, classic SciFi and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Twin protagonists too, for a bonus!
PS> 3.5 stars really.
PS> 3.5 stars really.
August 24, 2013
A fun tale. Somewhat dated but simple, straight forward and light. Reading for fun and relaxation. Colonies on Mars. Mining in the asteroid belt. Piracy and corporate evilness. And All-American boys saving the day, just like dad would have wanted it.
January 9, 2010
This book was really fun! 50's sci-fi is so fantastic. My favorite part was that instead of computers, email etc, Nourse's vision was robots that typed on the typewriters. Love it!
December 14, 2022
Scavengers in Space is the kind of near-future space opera I was always looking for when I rifled through the library stacks and drugstore racks in the 1960s. It had relatable characters, an engaging plot with plenty of action, and some satisfying space science and engineering. Two twin brothers who don’t always get along avoid the space patrol, pirates, and corporate baddies to find a treasure their father found just before he died in the asteroid belt. Books like this established the tradition that eventually led to works like the Expanse series. 4 stars, for nostalgia if nothing else.
July 13, 2026
Book #1 of Rocket Summer 2026, a Booktube event celebrating classic science fiction from the 1930’s and older, the 1940’s, the 1950’s, and the 1960’s. Scavengers in Space published in 1958.
This is a fast-paced novel of two sons looking for the reasons behind their father’s “accidental” death in space and their reconciliation as brothers. Well plotted with twists and turns that lead to the discovery of the truth and the exoneration of their father.
This is a fast-paced novel of two sons looking for the reasons behind their father’s “accidental” death in space and their reconciliation as brothers. Well plotted with twists and turns that lead to the discovery of the truth and the exoneration of their father.
October 6, 2017
An oldie but a goodie
A sci fi murder mystery. The science holds up well. The characters are more three-dimensional than most of the fifties sci-fi characters were.
A sci fi murder mystery. The science holds up well. The characters are more three-dimensional than most of the fifties sci-fi characters were.
May 25, 2023
Way better than I thought. Reminds me a lot of Isaac Asimov's robot series.
September 23, 2024
Read this in 7th or 8th grade—loved this author then. Will reread it now and see if I still like it as much as I did then!
March 9, 2015
1978 grade B-
April 14, 2017
The recent shift from space exploration being restricted to the actions of national governments and generally operating at a loss to the involvement of commercial enterprises in search of profit has led to the main premise of this book now being plausible. Companies such as SpaceX are now regularly transporting payloads to the International Space Station and humanity is only a few years away from the advent of commercial space tourism. Articles are appearing in journals that follow the development of science and technology explaining the plans that some companies are developing to mine asteroids. That is the fundamental premise of this book.
The characters from which the title is taken are wildcatters that seek out asteroids in order to extract the mineral wealth that is locked in them. Much like the early days of mining on Earth, it is a very dangerous business with the potential for great wealth if a mother lode can be found.
Roger Hunter is a space miner that is operating alone out in the vastness of the asteroid belt. He is looking for a mineral strike and is being stalked by agents of an evil interplanetary corporation known as Jupiter Equilateral. The goal of the corporation is to take total control of all mining of asteroids, pushing out the United Nations, which currently has jurisdiction over the operations. There is a massive human presence on Mars, after years of being an expensive drain on Earth’s resources, the colony is now reaping profits, much of which is from the mining.
After Hunter’s death, his two sons Greg and Tom recruit Roger’s friend Johnny to take a ship and retrace Roger’s path in order to find what may have been his great discovery. With Jupiter Equilateral on their trail, this story is more one of the good lone entrepreneur adventurer class versus the greedy, ruthless corporation than it is science fiction. It turns out that Roger Hunter’s discovery is far greater than any return from an asteroid containing a mother lode could provide.
Given the commercial involvement in space with the potential for corporate greed, this story may prove to be a glimpse into the future in both the positive sense of human outreach and the negative sense of corporate greed and callousness following along.
The characters from which the title is taken are wildcatters that seek out asteroids in order to extract the mineral wealth that is locked in them. Much like the early days of mining on Earth, it is a very dangerous business with the potential for great wealth if a mother lode can be found.
Roger Hunter is a space miner that is operating alone out in the vastness of the asteroid belt. He is looking for a mineral strike and is being stalked by agents of an evil interplanetary corporation known as Jupiter Equilateral. The goal of the corporation is to take total control of all mining of asteroids, pushing out the United Nations, which currently has jurisdiction over the operations. There is a massive human presence on Mars, after years of being an expensive drain on Earth’s resources, the colony is now reaping profits, much of which is from the mining.
After Hunter’s death, his two sons Greg and Tom recruit Roger’s friend Johnny to take a ship and retrace Roger’s path in order to find what may have been his great discovery. With Jupiter Equilateral on their trail, this story is more one of the good lone entrepreneur adventurer class versus the greedy, ruthless corporation than it is science fiction. It turns out that Roger Hunter’s discovery is far greater than any return from an asteroid containing a mother lode could provide.
Given the commercial involvement in space with the potential for corporate greed, this story may prove to be a glimpse into the future in both the positive sense of human outreach and the negative sense of corporate greed and callousness following along.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews