Dark Inferno

by James White

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."

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

158 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1972

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Rafeeq O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.)

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Giulia Cacciatore · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Steven Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Claudio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riletto dopo più di quaranta anni non mi ha detto più tanto come una volta.

[Tell Tale Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Gregory Kerkman

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

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).

[Luca Mollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Sean Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Beverly Winningham]

This 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.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[La Lettrice Solitaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Beverly Winningham]

colonists must evacuate spaceship into pods.

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

1983 grade A
2004 grade A+

[Michele Di Maio · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Freyja · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Marko]

I have two different german editions.