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Outpost of Jupiter
A Plague on Ganymede. When his father's sudden illness stranded the Wilsons in the tiny human colony on Jupiter's moon, Bob gave up his plans for college and joined the colonists in their struggle against he brutal environment of Ganymede.
The challenges, the comradeship he found, and the awe-inspiring spectacle of Jupiter filling the sky—all exhilarated Bob far beyond his expectations. So did his investigation of the major mystery behind the strange globe that was hidden out in the hills and that seemed to be trying to communicate with the colony.
Before he could find the answer, a plague struck and crippled the colony. Then enraged and fearful colonists accused Bob of being the carrier!
The challenges, the comradeship he found, and the awe-inspiring spectacle of Jupiter filling the sky—all exhilarated Bob far beyond his expectations. So did his investigation of the major mystery behind the strange globe that was hidden out in the hills and that seemed to be trying to communicate with the colony.
Before he could find the answer, a plague struck and crippled the colony. Then enraged and fearful colonists accused Bob of being the carrier!
- GenresScience FictionFiction
166 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
87 people want to read
About the author
Lester del Rey
635 books119 followersLester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey is especially famous for his juvenile novels such as those which are part of the Winston Science Fiction series, and for Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books edited by Lester del Rey and his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.
Also published as:
Philip St. John
Eric van Lihn
Erik van Lhin
Kenneth Wright
Edson McCann (with Frederik Pohl)
Also published as:
Philip St. John
Eric van Lihn
Erik van Lhin
Kenneth Wright
Edson McCann (with Frederik Pohl)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 31, 2021
Lester del Rey was not as well celebrated for his YA science fiction adventures (they used to call them "juvies" back in the day) as was Andre Norton or Robert A. Heinlein, but he wrote several very good ones in the 1950s and '60s, most of them originally published as part of the Winston line. He revisited one of his familiar themes, plague, in this one from 1963. (Wonder what he would've thought about the current Covid world? Probably would've thought the idea was too far-out to be convincing.) It's set on Ganymede, and is a nice story of family and friendship. There wasn't a paperback edition until 1978; it was from Del Rey (!) Books, and had a fine Dean Ellis cover.
April 21, 2022
I received this as a Christmas present when I was 12 or so. I remember thinking it was an ok story, but I completely forgot about what happened so it was like reading a new book this time around.
The basic plot of this slim volume is that there's this kid who gets stranded on the colony on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. A plague happens, the colony gets cut off from supplies from Earth, plus there's a mysterious race of aliens hovering around, also.
Some folks say this is a YA novel, but I'm not so sure. It's not marketed as such on the book cover, and although the text is written on a junior high school level, so were a lot of sci-fi stories from the 50s and 60s, when this first appeared. I remember reading a magazine called Analog in HS, a monthly anthology of sci fi stories, and this fits right into the types of stories at that time.
As science fiction, del Rey really had a myopic vision of the future. No personal computers, people still using punch card machines, and bulky early NASA space suits are some of the eye-rolling passages for me. It definitely has not aged well, and the dialog is earnest like those 1950s sci-fi/horror movies that show up on late night tv. There is a fair amount of mild sexism, as the female characters are either domestics, nurses, or are getting into trouble. Not a very advanced society, either. My feeling from the text was that this takes place in the 2050s or so.
I didn't hate it, but I had to force myself to continue reading it. The suspense around the plague is weaksauce, and the protagonists are rather one-dimensional and blah. The mystery with the aliens is predictably solved, and everyone lives happily ever after.
If you have an early teens reader of sci-fi in your house, this might be something worth passing on, provided said reader doesn't mind the dated and unimaginative view of the future. It's not much for adventure, and I would recommend Camus's The Plague for a more thorough treatment of how plague and quarantine affect the psyches of a certain population.
The basic plot of this slim volume is that there's this kid who gets stranded on the colony on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons. A plague happens, the colony gets cut off from supplies from Earth, plus there's a mysterious race of aliens hovering around, also.
Some folks say this is a YA novel, but I'm not so sure. It's not marketed as such on the book cover, and although the text is written on a junior high school level, so were a lot of sci-fi stories from the 50s and 60s, when this first appeared. I remember reading a magazine called Analog in HS, a monthly anthology of sci fi stories, and this fits right into the types of stories at that time.
As science fiction, del Rey really had a myopic vision of the future. No personal computers, people still using punch card machines, and bulky early NASA space suits are some of the eye-rolling passages for me. It definitely has not aged well, and the dialog is earnest like those 1950s sci-fi/horror movies that show up on late night tv. There is a fair amount of mild sexism, as the female characters are either domestics, nurses, or are getting into trouble. Not a very advanced society, either. My feeling from the text was that this takes place in the 2050s or so.
I didn't hate it, but I had to force myself to continue reading it. The suspense around the plague is weaksauce, and the protagonists are rather one-dimensional and blah. The mystery with the aliens is predictably solved, and everyone lives happily ever after.
If you have an early teens reader of sci-fi in your house, this might be something worth passing on, provided said reader doesn't mind the dated and unimaginative view of the future. It's not much for adventure, and I would recommend Camus's The Plague for a more thorough treatment of how plague and quarantine affect the psyches of a certain population.
July 1, 2013
Copyright 1963. I can see my brother enjoying these as a young boy. When he passed away last year I perused through his many many books and pulled this series out to keep. The pages are yellowed with age. I enjoy reading them and thinking of him.
August 22, 2024
A short yet dense story, I found this read to be cosy and very pleasing. Good characters and fascinating set, which hits more being in a post-covid time.
June 17, 2009
Not bad. Most of Del Rey's stuff was written for young adults of the day.
March 8, 2016
Good SiFi read by a Golden Age master of the Genre. Del Rey always delivers a good, entertaining fast read with believable science scattered in the story to back of the plot. Recommended
July 12, 2023
This was a book. For sure.
This was probably a much more interesting book around the time it was written. That being said, it falls into the trap that some science fiction books fall into in which it attempted to be very scientifically rigorous at the expense of the story. That rigor dates the book as science has advanced since this was originally written, so some of the thoughts/theories are now outmoded.
There's essentially no character development. The plot is flat, and as soon as the climax is reached, the book ends. It is an incredibly short book, but in the end I don't really care for any of the characters.
This was probably a much more interesting book around the time it was written. That being said, it falls into the trap that some science fiction books fall into in which it attempted to be very scientifically rigorous at the expense of the story. That rigor dates the book as science has advanced since this was originally written, so some of the thoughts/theories are now outmoded.
There's essentially no character development. The plot is flat, and as soon as the climax is reached, the book ends. It is an incredibly short book, but in the end I don't really care for any of the characters.
October 3, 2021
(My copy of this juvenile/YA adventure is a hardcover.)
Fun, though dated. I like the details:
The description of a plague sounds all too familiar. And del Rey does a btw, "Sometimes I get the feeling that [these plants] think we were made for them,' which is a casual way of referring to current research into wheat. And one of the sciences, y'know besides agriculture & rocketry & etc., is a cool idea about applied linguistics. And then there's the tall-tale hero Davy Dreadnaught.
If I'd read this when I was a child, I would have given it four stars, I think.
Fun, though dated. I like the details:
The description of a plague sounds all too familiar. And del Rey does a btw, "Sometimes I get the feeling that [these plants] think we were made for them,' which is a casual way of referring to current research into wheat. And one of the sciences, y'know besides agriculture & rocketry & etc., is a cool idea about applied linguistics. And then there's the tall-tale hero Davy Dreadnaught.
If I'd read this when I was a child, I would have given it four stars, I think.
June 25, 2022
It was a short book, but i thought it was pretty good. The first book I've read from this author. It is interesting to see what someone from the 60s would write versus with the knowledge we have now about science and space. Was really thinking the aliens were not good, but turns out they were only asking for help and helped out the outpost when they could. I guess it is best to not assume someone's intentions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2020
If I’ve learned anything reading Lester del Rey - it’s that he loves a space plague. Like many of his short stories and novels, it’s very well written with little to no mistakes. In this novel in particular, Del Rey writes in a very analytical, detailed, and descriptive way, when speaking of the plague in question. A bit more dry than the other Del Rey stories I’ve seen, but still interesting!
July 4, 2021
Fun read. The book is just what you think it is and if you understand that it is a 1960s mass market YA SF book, you will enjoy the book.
July 20, 2022
Dated, but a nice, easy read.
May all the forces in the universe read this book before
they come to say 'hello', or go to say 'hi'.
May all the forces in the universe read this book before
they come to say 'hello', or go to say 'hi'.
May 8, 2023
A bit dated, it was written in the early 60s, but still a good read. I'd call it a "Beach Read." A good Young Adult book.
April 10, 2016
Outpost of Jupiter is a juvenile sf adventure of the type that Robert Heinlein wrote so well, but del Rey's yarn isn't as good as Heinlein's are. The comparison is like the difference between, say, Lin Carter's sword-and-sorcery stories and those of Robert E. Howard.
This book was culled from my high school's library, and I had rescued it and put it in my freshman English classroom as part of my classroom library. I picked it off the shelf more-or-less at random one day when I was proctoring my students taking a test. It took a long while before I really cared about what I was reading, but the last third of the book kept me mildly interested. It was originally published in 1963, and it hasn't aged especially well. But it is an okay example of the sort of nuts-and-bolts science fiction that was being written before the advent of New Age sf.
This book was culled from my high school's library, and I had rescued it and put it in my freshman English classroom as part of my classroom library. I picked it off the shelf more-or-less at random one day when I was proctoring my students taking a test. It took a long while before I really cared about what I was reading, but the last third of the book kept me mildly interested. It was originally published in 1963, and it hasn't aged especially well. But it is an okay example of the sort of nuts-and-bolts science fiction that was being written before the advent of New Age sf.
March 9, 2011
An enjoyable, entertaining read. An interesting space adventure.
October 23, 2015
BEST BOOK EVER IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
In this book a kid gets stuck on a planet. It has a great plot and great detail!
August 3, 2023
Still a good story!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews