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Dark Inferno
Sphere, 1974, British paperback edition. Astronauts traveling to Jupiter's moons are stranded in space after a disaster. By the author of the "Sector General" novels. Published in the U. S. as "Lifeboat."
158 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1972
About the author
James White
95 books138 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 23, 2026
A shortened version of Lifeboat was serialized in two issues of Galaxy magazine (edited by Ejler Jakobsson) from January/February - March/April in 1972 under the title Dark Inferno before Ballantine released the full version in mass market format as Lifeboat with a striking John Berkey cover. It's not part of his Sector General series, but the main character, Mercer, is the ship's medical officer. It's a gripping disaster-in-space story, a hard-science examination of problems arising and being dealt with under emergency conditions. The passengers on the stricken liner are a well-developed and believable varied lot, and Mercer is an engaging and sympathetic character as he tries to save them.
May 8, 2026
James White has entertained me many a time. I'm a huge fan of his Sector General books which focus on a one-of-a-kind space hospital servicing a wide variety of lifeforms, and I've read three other singletons by him. He's not always the flashiest or most stylistic author, but his optimistic views of the future are always *nice* to read; he tends to write about worlds that are too civilized for war, and he looks at the healers who keep the price of disease and accidents to a bare minimum. *Lifeboat*, which is more or less a short space cruise-ship disaster novel, is no exception.
Just because humanity in *Lifeboat* (there are no funky aliens this time around) seems to have evolved beyond war doesn't mean that they've evolved beyond conflict; when we meet the book's main character, Mercer, he's an outcast with some rather hostile feelings being shot his way. You see, he's going to be the spaceship *Eurydice*'s medical officer, and on page one we see him getting ready to file into the *Eurydice* along with all the passengers. When he gets aboard he immediately feels out of place, both for being interested in the stewardess (who happens to be the Captain's wife) and thanks to Prescott, first office; he's a royal pain in the butt and does everything to make Mercer feel like what he is - a glorified steward. The glorified steward gets to work getting ready for passenger orientation, from running a film on what to do in an emergency to helping them set up the screen-walls in their big cabin which will give them actual rooms (he ends up making a fool of himself during the setup). Eventually he runs an emergency drill where everyone has to rush into the lifeboat pods, but otherwise his main concern is figuring out how to keep the passengers from getting bored without letting them know he's a glorified steward. He's not terrible at his job - he's able to tell when people do or don't take their nausea pills and forms some decent bonds with passengers like the young Mathewson, whose mother seems to be recently divorced - but Prescott doesn't let a little fact like that pump the breaks on his tyranny. At least the captain recognizes that his first officer is rude and toxic and is able to show him Mercer grace... ...
...
At the beginning of this review I started laying out some of the trends of James White novels, and I think that's what this review is ultimately going to come down to: this is a James White novel. It's not about space wars or space politics or even any amazing ideas, just some tough medical situations that have to puzzled through. It's like playing a video game where you have to manage a fleet's resources and deal with its interpersonal problems rather than use the fleet's many ships to blast an enemy fleet to Hell and back. This book doesn't innovate as much as some of White's novels - *The Watch Below* is a particular standout because its concurrent generation ship narratives include the only example of a generation ship on the bottom of a Terran ocean that I know - but it shows off the same skill and craft. White is able to frame a novel's drama and physical danger with mechanical failures and astrological occurrences, and the book never really slows down. There's always another crisis just around the corner, and while that doesn't leave for any great or tender character moments, it does always keep things moving.
Speaking of characters... how were they? Well, they were... fine. The only real framing and background that we get for our main perspective, Mercer, is that he's interested on taking in a research position in space; we don't know all that much about his backstory or about what makes him tick. We never find out what makes Prescott so contemptable (despite being ). We do get a little bit of backstory on Mrs. Mathewson and her son, but it's nothing crazy. Really, none of these characters feel like they have lives outside of this book, and that's a little bit of a problem. Some might say that's inevitable when you're dealing with this many characters in a book that doesn't even clock in at two-hundred pages, but I feel like White could've hit more emotional beats if he wanted to. This really was a plot driven book, but it didn't build much out as far as a world is concerned. We know this is a somewhat nice future, but there's no sense of just how nice it is; although since we're reading James White, I can assume it will be pretty nice and comfortable.
With all this complaining it sounds like I'm doing, it sounds like I didn't really enjoy the book, but that's simply untrue - I really did like it! It was fun to read and it made me want to pick the book back up again to see what was going to happen next. This was, as I've said, partially due to White's slick pacing and his ability to keep his foot on the gas pedal without letting you think that it was too much. I think that he managed to keep the gas pedal engaged because he took the focus of the concern and shifted it from something physical to something psychological to something mechanical so often, and while it's not exactly at breakneck pace (we often get to take time to look at the situation from a new lens), it is consistently active and doesn't slow down like it may seem at first glance. His prose is decently easy to read too. It's kind of standard 70s SF prose (this book was first published in 1972) that doesn't worry too much about making purple prose out of the surroundings or have an abundance of stylization; it's pretty straight and to-the-point. One criticism I do often have of White is that his prose is rather hard to follow when his characters are doing out-of-the-box physical things; for example, when Mercer is setting up the temporary walls in the passenger cabin, it's really hard to imagine what he's actually doing. It's just blocky and wobbly and I can't say that I really enjoyed it. This is something that White gets better at later in his career, like in his 80s Sector General works.
If you like books about competent people doing competent things, then this book might be for you. I don't think it's some poorly neglected gem of the field or anything like that, but I do think that it's worth its due. I'd recommend it to people who like this era or style of SF. Still, it's not for everyone, and it won't win everyone over. I'll of course be back to try out more James White, maybe even before the year is out. He is a strange "favorite" of mine, after all. Anyways, thanks for reading this review, and I hope to see you around for my next one, whatever that may focus on. Take care out there, and remember to travel light the next time you have to travel about the *Eurydice*...
Just because humanity in *Lifeboat* (there are no funky aliens this time around) seems to have evolved beyond war doesn't mean that they've evolved beyond conflict; when we meet the book's main character, Mercer, he's an outcast with some rather hostile feelings being shot his way. You see, he's going to be the spaceship *Eurydice*'s medical officer, and on page one we see him getting ready to file into the *Eurydice* along with all the passengers. When he gets aboard he immediately feels out of place, both for being interested in the stewardess (who happens to be the Captain's wife) and thanks to Prescott, first office; he's a royal pain in the butt and does everything to make Mercer feel like what he is - a glorified steward. The glorified steward gets to work getting ready for passenger orientation, from running a film on what to do in an emergency to helping them set up the screen-walls in their big cabin which will give them actual rooms (he ends up making a fool of himself during the setup). Eventually he runs an emergency drill where everyone has to rush into the lifeboat pods, but otherwise his main concern is figuring out how to keep the passengers from getting bored without letting them know he's a glorified steward. He's not terrible at his job - he's able to tell when people do or don't take their nausea pills and forms some decent bonds with passengers like the young Mathewson, whose mother seems to be recently divorced - but Prescott doesn't let a little fact like that pump the breaks on his tyranny. At least the captain recognizes that his first officer is rude and toxic and is able to show him Mercer grace... ...
...
At the beginning of this review I started laying out some of the trends of James White novels, and I think that's what this review is ultimately going to come down to: this is a James White novel. It's not about space wars or space politics or even any amazing ideas, just some tough medical situations that have to puzzled through. It's like playing a video game where you have to manage a fleet's resources and deal with its interpersonal problems rather than use the fleet's many ships to blast an enemy fleet to Hell and back. This book doesn't innovate as much as some of White's novels - *The Watch Below* is a particular standout because its concurrent generation ship narratives include the only example of a generation ship on the bottom of a Terran ocean that I know - but it shows off the same skill and craft. White is able to frame a novel's drama and physical danger with mechanical failures and astrological occurrences, and the book never really slows down. There's always another crisis just around the corner, and while that doesn't leave for any great or tender character moments, it does always keep things moving.
Speaking of characters... how were they? Well, they were... fine. The only real framing and background that we get for our main perspective, Mercer, is that he's interested on taking in a research position in space; we don't know all that much about his backstory or about what makes him tick. We never find out what makes Prescott so contemptable (despite being ). We do get a little bit of backstory on Mrs. Mathewson and her son, but it's nothing crazy. Really, none of these characters feel like they have lives outside of this book, and that's a little bit of a problem. Some might say that's inevitable when you're dealing with this many characters in a book that doesn't even clock in at two-hundred pages, but I feel like White could've hit more emotional beats if he wanted to. This really was a plot driven book, but it didn't build much out as far as a world is concerned. We know this is a somewhat nice future, but there's no sense of just how nice it is; although since we're reading James White, I can assume it will be pretty nice and comfortable.
With all this complaining it sounds like I'm doing, it sounds like I didn't really enjoy the book, but that's simply untrue - I really did like it! It was fun to read and it made me want to pick the book back up again to see what was going to happen next. This was, as I've said, partially due to White's slick pacing and his ability to keep his foot on the gas pedal without letting you think that it was too much. I think that he managed to keep the gas pedal engaged because he took the focus of the concern and shifted it from something physical to something psychological to something mechanical so often, and while it's not exactly at breakneck pace (we often get to take time to look at the situation from a new lens), it is consistently active and doesn't slow down like it may seem at first glance. His prose is decently easy to read too. It's kind of standard 70s SF prose (this book was first published in 1972) that doesn't worry too much about making purple prose out of the surroundings or have an abundance of stylization; it's pretty straight and to-the-point. One criticism I do often have of White is that his prose is rather hard to follow when his characters are doing out-of-the-box physical things; for example, when Mercer is setting up the temporary walls in the passenger cabin, it's really hard to imagine what he's actually doing. It's just blocky and wobbly and I can't say that I really enjoyed it. This is something that White gets better at later in his career, like in his 80s Sector General works.
If you like books about competent people doing competent things, then this book might be for you. I don't think it's some poorly neglected gem of the field or anything like that, but I do think that it's worth its due. I'd recommend it to people who like this era or style of SF. Still, it's not for everyone, and it won't win everyone over. I'll of course be back to try out more James White, maybe even before the year is out. He is a strange "favorite" of mine, after all. Anyways, thanks for reading this review, and I hope to see you around for my next one, whatever that may focus on. Take care out there, and remember to travel light the next time you have to travel about the *Eurydice*...
September 12, 2024
James White's 1972 Lifeboat chronicles a disaster aboard a big passenger liner headed on a four-month journey to the Jovian moon of Ganymede. The book is medium-brief, well written, and compelling, with a nice mix of moods.
This future imagined from the swinging Seventies is one of three-hundred-foot (1972 Ballantine paperback, page 9) nuclear-powered spaceships for some reason lifting off from Earth via chemical boosters (page 3) rather than remaining spaceborne and being served by ground-to-orbit shuttles, of "the dictates of the current neo-puritan fashion...insist[ing] on covering the female form on public occasions from neck to ankles" (page 3) while at the same time the company's "hostess[es]" in boarding wear a "get-up" that is "virtually topless and well-nigh bottomless" (page 4), and of the occasional sexual joke (pages 23, 35) that in our real-life twenty-first century would end up with an appointment with Human Resources, a cell video going viral, or both.
It is "a technologically advanced, ultra-fast, and strangely bored society" (page 38), White tells us, that, as the main character later says, is "overcrowded and underfed" and trying "not to perish of its own pollution or by too much self-generated atomic heat" (page 113). "Human life seem[s] to grow more and more valuable the farther it [is] removed from Earth," with "no fare-paying passenger...ever [being] lost in space" despite people "mow[ing] each other down with cars in thousands every day" (page 37). Somehow even in the middle of a life-threatening disaster in space, passengers' thoughts soon turn to sex, while back on Earth drug culture might include "change part[ies]" with "PCs" (page 89) for "chang[ing] personalities at will" (page 142), of course along with some good old "hallucinogen[s]" (page 143).
The author thus starts with a setting that at first may seem to readers something of a science-fictional paradise of commonplace deep-space travel, with the majesty of liftoff being something "[a]nyone with a TV in their living room had seen...all before" (page 17), yet then he also casually reveals the cracks in the gleaming facade. The revelation begins, perhaps, with the seeming cynicism of the explanation of the affordability underwritten by huge subsidies from "government bookkeeping under headings like national prestige, technological spin-off, and...maximum utilization of technically trained manpower" (page 37), then progresses in small bits here and there through the social malaise of this "strangely bored society" (page 38).
The main character of Dr. Mercer is something of an outcast. A medical officer on his first interplanetary run (page 5), he "is generally considered" by the other crew, the experienced hostess reminds pleasantly him before takeoff, "to be the lowest form of life in the service" and, indeed, scarcely more than "just a glorified steward" (page 6). Although most of the crew is at least decent to him, he chafes under the icy direction of the First Officer, who is "not a pleasant personality to begin with" and has a tendency toward "being actively unpleasant toward him" (page 19). What he truly longs for, after some perfunctory space experience, is to work on one of Jupiter's moons,
"among people who freely admitted to being insane living how and where they did, and who tried to put at least as much into their highly technical culture as they got out of it--a culture which was neither as permissive as Earth's of the past decades [n]or as viciously forbidding as the neo-puritan one which was beginning to replace it." (page 28)
It is not "a utopia," he knows, but the people "ha[ve] been very thoroughly screened" by "six hundred million miles" of effort, and thus each must be "someone very special in one way or another" (page 28).
Through Mercer's eyes White can give us the perspectives of someone both world-weary and yet also new. That is, yes, everyone knows about hopping up to the partially constructed "Station Three," whose big ring ultimately will house "[u]pwards of four thousand people" (page 27), and even blasting out to "the Jovian colonies" (page 28). On the other hand, this is the doctor's first trip, and it appears to be that of the passengers as well, so White can have his character--often quickly referring to the manual first--explain to the others how to help him in getting the passenger cabin ready for free-fall, and later for centrifugal spin, along the details of the requisite lifeboat drills.
But of course a disaster is looming, isn't it? The title is a tad ominous, after all, with the back blurb being even more so, and the John C. Berkey cover art features transparent escape pods floating away from a spaceship exploding in a ball of flame, so...yes. There is good tension as, after the first few little clues that Mercer doesn't quite put together, we wait and wait for the other spaceboot to drop. The one thing I will quibble about is the explosion that is apparently nuclear (page 115) rather than just chemical, because of course the meltdown of a fission reactor indeed may produce a big whack but definitely not the flash of an atomic bomb, but I guess I'll have to live with that. The rest--both the technology and also the social aspect with quite a fair-sized cast of characters--is deftly handled. In any event, I will not spoil the plot itself any further, as the various twists and turns should be for the reader to experience fresh.
In short, James White's Lifeboat is entertaining and gripping, an enjoyable read of around 4.5 stars or so, which of course rounds right up to 5.
This future imagined from the swinging Seventies is one of three-hundred-foot (1972 Ballantine paperback, page 9) nuclear-powered spaceships for some reason lifting off from Earth via chemical boosters (page 3) rather than remaining spaceborne and being served by ground-to-orbit shuttles, of "the dictates of the current neo-puritan fashion...insist[ing] on covering the female form on public occasions from neck to ankles" (page 3) while at the same time the company's "hostess[es]" in boarding wear a "get-up" that is "virtually topless and well-nigh bottomless" (page 4), and of the occasional sexual joke (pages 23, 35) that in our real-life twenty-first century would end up with an appointment with Human Resources, a cell video going viral, or both.
It is "a technologically advanced, ultra-fast, and strangely bored society" (page 38), White tells us, that, as the main character later says, is "overcrowded and underfed" and trying "not to perish of its own pollution or by too much self-generated atomic heat" (page 113). "Human life seem[s] to grow more and more valuable the farther it [is] removed from Earth," with "no fare-paying passenger...ever [being] lost in space" despite people "mow[ing] each other down with cars in thousands every day" (page 37). Somehow even in the middle of a life-threatening disaster in space, passengers' thoughts soon turn to sex, while back on Earth drug culture might include "change part[ies]" with "PCs" (page 89) for "chang[ing] personalities at will" (page 142), of course along with some good old "hallucinogen[s]" (page 143).
The author thus starts with a setting that at first may seem to readers something of a science-fictional paradise of commonplace deep-space travel, with the majesty of liftoff being something "[a]nyone with a TV in their living room had seen...all before" (page 17), yet then he also casually reveals the cracks in the gleaming facade. The revelation begins, perhaps, with the seeming cynicism of the explanation of the affordability underwritten by huge subsidies from "government bookkeeping under headings like national prestige, technological spin-off, and...maximum utilization of technically trained manpower" (page 37), then progresses in small bits here and there through the social malaise of this "strangely bored society" (page 38).
The main character of Dr. Mercer is something of an outcast. A medical officer on his first interplanetary run (page 5), he "is generally considered" by the other crew, the experienced hostess reminds pleasantly him before takeoff, "to be the lowest form of life in the service" and, indeed, scarcely more than "just a glorified steward" (page 6). Although most of the crew is at least decent to him, he chafes under the icy direction of the First Officer, who is "not a pleasant personality to begin with" and has a tendency toward "being actively unpleasant toward him" (page 19). What he truly longs for, after some perfunctory space experience, is to work on one of Jupiter's moons,
"among people who freely admitted to being insane living how and where they did, and who tried to put at least as much into their highly technical culture as they got out of it--a culture which was neither as permissive as Earth's of the past decades [n]or as viciously forbidding as the neo-puritan one which was beginning to replace it." (page 28)
It is not "a utopia," he knows, but the people "ha[ve] been very thoroughly screened" by "six hundred million miles" of effort, and thus each must be "someone very special in one way or another" (page 28).
Through Mercer's eyes White can give us the perspectives of someone both world-weary and yet also new. That is, yes, everyone knows about hopping up to the partially constructed "Station Three," whose big ring ultimately will house "[u]pwards of four thousand people" (page 27), and even blasting out to "the Jovian colonies" (page 28). On the other hand, this is the doctor's first trip, and it appears to be that of the passengers as well, so White can have his character--often quickly referring to the manual first--explain to the others how to help him in getting the passenger cabin ready for free-fall, and later for centrifugal spin, along the details of the requisite lifeboat drills.
But of course a disaster is looming, isn't it? The title is a tad ominous, after all, with the back blurb being even more so, and the John C. Berkey cover art features transparent escape pods floating away from a spaceship exploding in a ball of flame, so...yes. There is good tension as, after the first few little clues that Mercer doesn't quite put together, we wait and wait for the other spaceboot to drop. The one thing I will quibble about is the explosion that is apparently nuclear (page 115) rather than just chemical, because of course the meltdown of a fission reactor indeed may produce a big whack but definitely not the flash of an atomic bomb, but I guess I'll have to live with that. The rest--both the technology and also the social aspect with quite a fair-sized cast of characters--is deftly handled. In any event, I will not spoil the plot itself any further, as the various twists and turns should be for the reader to experience fresh.
In short, James White's Lifeboat is entertaining and gripping, an enjoyable read of around 4.5 stars or so, which of course rounds right up to 5.
December 28, 2024
Third James White book I read in 2024; all the 3 books were great, even if the White's writing itself is as usual, merely competent. This is hard science-fiction with a good plot, fantastic stress situations and memorable characters, including a nine year old boy facing a challenge much bigger than himself in very dire circumstances.
It includes some of the delightful dry observations I've found in the other books, such as: “Everyone seemed to have the idea that public relations, like writing, photography and painting, was a job that could be performed just as well by amateurs.” Or: “What they were doing was a physical impossibility for sane men, and insanity like this had to be temporary. But temporary did not necessarily mean of short duration.”
They say that nothing ages like the future and this is a book from the beginning of the seventies, more than 50 years ago. As it happens, there are no cell phones, no personal computers and no Internet in this future, the protagonists are all male (and probably white male), men-women relations and dialogues are, ahem, different, and of course there’s the totally unconceivable quip in the second to last paragraph of the fourth chapter. But this got me thinking. It is certainly true that “the past is a foreign country” (“they do things differently there”), but certainly, this is also true of the future. And of course, what galls in the futures being written today is the way almost all the current science-fiction (and not only…) writers won’t, can’t risk ditching any of our current moral standards, whatever they maybe, as if they are fixed in stone as the ultimate illuminated stage of social human evolution (Scalzi for instance, is a prime example, but this is the norm). Heinlein, and he was not the only one then, made a point in his books since Starship Troopers of systematically striving for provocations, polemics and social and moral quandaries, but that courage was mostly lost some decades ago and a veneer of compliance has taken hold. At least, when one reads science-fiction texts from decades ago, things in the future are different from our current social mores, as they should be. One can be shocked, but at least we are forced to face prejudices and beliefs. It would be better if we had some of that from our current crop of writers, but since they clearly believe that agitating the waters won’t help them put food on the table, at least we have the past to provoke us. It is not the perfect situation, but it is better than having no alternatives!
(Read on paper, the second print paperback edition from 1980, with the John Berkey cover; finished reading on Friday, 27th December 2024, in Kite Beach, Dubai.)
It includes some of the delightful dry observations I've found in the other books, such as: “Everyone seemed to have the idea that public relations, like writing, photography and painting, was a job that could be performed just as well by amateurs.” Or: “What they were doing was a physical impossibility for sane men, and insanity like this had to be temporary. But temporary did not necessarily mean of short duration.”
They say that nothing ages like the future and this is a book from the beginning of the seventies, more than 50 years ago. As it happens, there are no cell phones, no personal computers and no Internet in this future, the protagonists are all male (and probably white male), men-women relations and dialogues are, ahem, different, and of course there’s the totally unconceivable quip in the second to last paragraph of the fourth chapter. But this got me thinking. It is certainly true that “the past is a foreign country” (“they do things differently there”), but certainly, this is also true of the future. And of course, what galls in the futures being written today is the way almost all the current science-fiction (and not only…) writers won’t, can’t risk ditching any of our current moral standards, whatever they maybe, as if they are fixed in stone as the ultimate illuminated stage of social human evolution (Scalzi for instance, is a prime example, but this is the norm). Heinlein, and he was not the only one then, made a point in his books since Starship Troopers of systematically striving for provocations, polemics and social and moral quandaries, but that courage was mostly lost some decades ago and a veneer of compliance has taken hold. At least, when one reads science-fiction texts from decades ago, things in the future are different from our current social mores, as they should be. One can be shocked, but at least we are forced to face prejudices and beliefs. It would be better if we had some of that from our current crop of writers, but since they clearly believe that agitating the waters won’t help them put food on the table, at least we have the past to provoke us. It is not the perfect situation, but it is better than having no alternatives!
(Read on paper, the second print paperback edition from 1980, with the John Berkey cover; finished reading on Friday, 27th December 2024, in Kite Beach, Dubai.)
August 25, 2017
Suspense like a disaster movie. When a spaceship's nuclear engine begins to meltdown and the captain's seriously injured, passengers are grouped into several bubble-like life boats. The medical officer is assigned to monitor them from his own life-pod, and various dramatic situations arise. Suspense builds. Some might find the plot a bit formulaic, but most parts are very interesting and the author keeps it tight, and his medical knowledge adds authenticity. A fast, easy, entertaining read. Almost a can't-put-it-down page-turner.
August 6, 2022
Un romanzo di fantascienza molto particolare in cui all'idea di un futuro in cui gli umani navigano nello spazio con la facilità con cui prendono l'aereo, si aggiunge una dose abbondante di psicologia e di introspezione.
Una scrittura abbastanza scorrevole, anche se in alcuni punti così descrittiva e tecnica da essere difficile da seguire e comprendere in totalità, ma una storia ben pensata e ben eseguita con un finale apparente, ma che lascia spazio a mille possibilità.
Una scrittura abbastanza scorrevole, anche se in alcuni punti così descrittiva e tecnica da essere difficile da seguire e comprendere in totalità, ma una storia ben pensata e ben eseguita con un finale apparente, ma che lascia spazio a mille possibilità.
March 20, 2023
I am so glad I stumbled across three James White paperbacks while Christmas shopping last Fall. I had never heard of him, but took a chance. This was the first I read, and likely won’t be the last. This is that hidden gem you hope for when you think you’ve already read everything from an era gone by.
January 4, 2023
L'idea è originale con spunti interessanti. L'ambientazione nonostante lasci perplessità riguardo ad alcuni aspetti tecnici ( lo spazio è un po' alla star wars ) risulta pensata in modo sufficientemente credibile e divertente. I personaggi sono sviluppati bene e la storia è coinvolgente.
November 1, 2017
The name pretty much tells the story, bit this book is also a look into what people will do when faced with a dire situation.
July 3, 2019
Riletto dopo più di quaranta anni non mi ha detto più tanto come una volta.
December 24, 2021
-Gregory Kerkman
October 31, 2025
Ground Control describes this book best, about two-thirds of the way through: “This is the first disaster of its kind,” Westgate went on, “and it has everything. The Captain injured, perhaps dying, and unable to direct the survival operation. One pod with a kid in it trying to do the job of three men. The conditions inside the pods while they were waiting for Eurydice to blow, the heat and hunger and overcrowding, the strangers thrown together into conditions of intimacy, and the imbalance sex-wise. It is the biggest cliff-hanger since Apollo Thirteen.” After a routine launch the Eurydice has a nuclear plant malfunction, melting down, and its subsequent explosion creating havoc among the randomly placed passengers and their life pods. Mercer, ship’s medic, on his first trip in space, is left to minister to a growing list of problems as Earth debates the economics of a rescue. Starts pretty slow but really picks up when the disaster happens. James White (a frustrated medico himself) has penned an exciting tale of human fallibility and resourcefulness. (Expansion of a Galaxy serial called Dark Inferno).
November 1, 2018
Naufragio trasparente racconta la storia di una nave spaziale inaffondabile in rotta verso Ganimede, il principale satellite di Giove.
Poco dopo la sua partenza, tuttavia, una avaria costringe l'equipaggio a dare il segnale di abbandonare la nave; i passeggeri si ritrovano quindi in sfere gonfiabili che viaggiano alla deriva, senza poter comunicare tra loro.
L'unica persona che può aiutarli a mantenere la calma e a raggiungere un punto di ritrovo prestabilito è Mercer, l'ufficiale medico inizialmente ben poco considerato che piano piano inizia un percorso di crescita personale grazie all'immensa responsabilità che grava sulle sue spalle.
Si tratta di un buon libro di fantascienza, con una trama particolare ed interessante.
Poco dopo la sua partenza, tuttavia, una avaria costringe l'equipaggio a dare il segnale di abbandonare la nave; i passeggeri si ritrovano quindi in sfere gonfiabili che viaggiano alla deriva, senza poter comunicare tra loro.
L'unica persona che può aiutarli a mantenere la calma e a raggiungere un punto di ritrovo prestabilito è Mercer, l'ufficiale medico inizialmente ben poco considerato che piano piano inizia un percorso di crescita personale grazie all'immensa responsabilità che grava sulle sue spalle.
Si tratta di un buon libro di fantascienza, con una trama particolare ed interessante.
October 1, 2015
Short but interesting sic-fi novel about the build-up to a spaceship-wreck, and the aftermath of that event, as various passengers and crew battle for survival. The "science" involved is pretty hilarious, but it was written in a different era, so no use holding that against White. His protagonist is a "space doctor" who is treated more like a steward on this particular Titanic, and you can probably guess most of what happens once it gets going. Though it's more explicit about the more primal issues that might come up in such a disaster than you might expect.
I'm tempted to point out some of the more ridiculous aspects of the lifeboats and how they are used, but you kind of need to read it for yourself to get the full effect. It's short, so you might as well read it if you are interested in goofy old sci-fi.
I'm tempted to point out some of the more ridiculous aspects of the lifeboats and how they are used, but you kind of need to read it for yourself to get the full effect. It's short, so you might as well read it if you are interested in goofy old sci-fi.
June 29, 2010
Having never kept me on the edge of my seat, I've still enjoyed lots of James White's work. This one was interesting from a character psychology viewpoint: though most of White's stuff I've read paints his characters in a very soap opera niche, these seemed a little flatter. But that worked to advantage when the lifeboat part of the story kicked in. so, yes, fairly enjoyable, though nothing earthshatteringly superb.
August 9, 2009
A decent outing by White, following his usual pattern: design some tech *really badly*, put people in a situation where they have to rely on it, then watch what happens when the tech fails.
Although this one does again have Doctors! In! Space!, it's not related to the Sector General series, as far as I can tell.
Although this one does again have Doctors! In! Space!, it's not related to the Sector General series, as far as I can tell.
Want to Read
February 11, 2014This is a "food for thought" book. Reminded me of "lord of the flies" . The author, James White, wrote books about medical care of aliens, such as "Hospital Station" and follow ups. Would like to read them all. My local library is unable to find any of them. I read them in the late 70's and early 80's. I don't know when they were written.
December 16, 2017
Fantastische schrijver. Dit is een stand-alone verhaal dat niets met Sector General (Hospitaal tussen de sterren) te maken heeft. Spannend, humor, goede afloop, een vleugje romantiek, kortom het heeft alles en is prachtig gebracht.
July 5, 2016
Ho provato, leggendo, la stessa ansia da vuoto spaziale che ho provato vedendo Gravity. Che ansia questa lettura! Tuttavia è un ottimo racconto di fantascienza e quindi ho voluto proseguire nonostante il disagio, problema tutto mio, con queste situazioni così incerte e ansiogene!
Read
February 11, 2014colonists must evacuate spaceship into pods.
June 5, 2015
1983 grade A
2004 grade A+
2004 grade A+
March 15, 2016
Interested by other White's works, I picked up this book. I can't really say I fully enjoyed this book. It has some interesting bits but I was never fully engaged by the characters or the plot.
October 27, 2016
This was an interesting if a bit predictable in spots book. There's some interesting character development as well. I didn't want to put it down.
Read
May 5, 2019I have two different german editions.
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