To The Tombaugh Station

by Wilson Tucker, Ed Valigursky (Illustrator)

Ace Double D-479, printed with "Earthman, Go Home!" by Poul Anderson

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote as Wilson Tucker.

He was also a prominent member of science fiction fandom, who wrote extensively for fanzines under the name Bob Tucker, a family nickname bestowed in childhood.

Reviews

[Roddy Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Was His Spaceship Haunted - or Only Booby-trapped?

MANTRACK TO THE ENDS OF SPACE

Kate Bristol was a born huntress. Her keen senses and steel nerves were infallible, and nobody knew it better than her superiors at Interworld Insurance. They took it for granted that when they put Bristol on the case she would bring back the man — and the facts!
But even Kate began to doubt her ability when they handed her the job of tracking a murder suspect on board the spaceship Xanthus. One, the ship was bound for the farthermost outpost of civilization. Two, there would be no one on board the ship but Kate and the suspected murder-pilot. And three, the trip would take at least two months!
For Kate this assignment was more than just a challenge — it was life or death. She had always to stay one step ahead of the suspect or she might never live to return from that trip TO THE TOMBAUGH STATION.'

Blurb from the 1960 D-479 Ace Double paperback edition

The unfortunately-named Kate Bristol is a kind of female ninja insurance investigator who has been asked to take on an undercover insurance investigation. One of the partners in what is essentially an interplanetary haulage business is dead, possibly murdered.
Kate hires their only ship to take her on a long haul flight across the solar system, knowing that her main murder suspect will be the captain and pilot.
Bristol leaves the destination up to Webb, the man suspected of the foul deed, but she is not expecting Webb to pick up a lucrative haulage deal from the Tombaugh station on Pluto.
It's a bit of an odd premise that insurance investigators would go to such lengths as chartering a space ship to fly to Pluto and back, but this was in the days when writers imagined that in the future we'd have individuals with their own spaceships flying hither, thither and yon.
It's not one of Tucker's best and lacks suspense. Bristol is hardly ever in danger at all so the journey to Pluto is hardly a rollercoaster of white knuckle drama.
Having said that, Tucker has created two credible characters here between whom the dialogue and interaction work very well. With a little more work, some moments of tension and more ambiguity over Webb's guilt or innocence, it could have been raised to a whole other level.
Tucker should also be credited with creating a tough independent (and intelligent) female lead character at a time when most writers (and editors) were still a little Neanderthal in relation to gender equality. One could argue that she is, to a certain extent, still being portrayed as a sex object. It's a step in the right direction however and a far cry from van Vogt's dumb helpless maidens who need Men to sort out their problems.
Nineteen Sixty, it appears, was a pivotal point for change.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anderson, Poul. Earthman, Go Home. Flandry No. 11. Ace, 1960.
Tucker, Wilson. To Tombaugh Station. Ace, 1960.
Nostalgic old man alert! I miss the Ace Doubles, which were two science fiction paperback novellas published back-to-back with two front covers with the print running in opposite directions. They were common in the paperback racks in drugstores and the like in the 1950s and ‘60s and provided a second life for magazine stores by writers who were not the big three or four. The Earthman, Go Home/ To Tombaugh Station combo is still an entertaining genre romp. Poul Anderson was the best known of the writers, and Dominic Flandry stories were already magazine staples by the time Earthman, Go Home appeared. Flandry, a dashing intelligence agent for the Imperial Navy, investigates a planet that uses toxins to control its population. In the magazine version, it was titled A Plague of Masters. Flandry is James Bond in space.
Tucker Wilson’s To Tombaugh Station is a bit more original. Kathy Bristol, a no-nonsense tracker, is hired by an insurance company to investigate the accidental death of a crewman on a tramp freighter. Undercover, she buys passage on the freighter for a long voyage out to Tombaugh Station on Pluto. The pilot worries that she is setting him up to take the fall. A hardboiled detective story that should have been made into a film with Bogart and Bacall. 3.5 stars is the true rating. But give the double a four for period nostalgia.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Science Fiction story from 1960, Irvin Webb is the skipper on the Xanthus, a small space freighter who is a suspect in the death of Singleton, one of his crewmates. His other crewmate, Jimmy Cross, is in jail on suspicion of committing murder. Naturally, the insurance company, Interworld Insurance Company, was reluctant to pay Webb, the beneficiary of the life insurance policy on Singleton so they send Kate Bristol, to discover whether Webb was really guilty. So, Kate finagles with Webb to charter a space trip on his ship so she can figure out whether he really was guilty or not. Webb is a cantankerous, profane character who was reluctant to have her along, but she pays the exorbitant sum he demands for the trip (secretly financed by the insurance company), and Webb, being greedy, gives in. He also takes on a cargo to be delivered to the Tombaugh Station on Pluto. He dislikes having Kate along and tries to ditch her on Titan, a moon of Saturn, where there is a space station, but Kate manages to stay on board. So, on to the Tombaugh Station and the rest of the story, where she will discover what really happened to Singleton.

[Illusive · Rating 2 out of 5]

To The Tombaugh Station gelesen als Der letzte Flug der Xanthus

Zusammengepfercht in der Enge einer kleinen, schrottreifen Frachtrakete, fliegen zwei Personen bis zur Grenze des Sonnensystems - ein Mann und eine Frau. Der Mann ist ein harter Raumtramp, der unter Mordverdacht steht, die Frau ist eine Agentin - beauftragt, den Mann des Mordes zu überführen ...

Kopfgeldjägerin / Agentin der Interwelt-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft versucht vermeintlichen Mörder im All zu überführen.

Ein 08/15 Krimi, der im All spielt, da schau ich mir lieber alte Folgen von Columbo an die ich schon hundertmal gesehen hab.