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Med Service #2
The Mutant Weapon
The only links between the far-flung space colonies were the Medical Services spaceships. When these lonely travelers paid a call, they were always given a royal welcome. So why did the landing grid on Marix III try to destroy Med Serviceman Calhoun's ship?
- GenresScience Fiction
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Murray Leinster
917 books136 followerssee also:
Will F. Jenkins
William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Murray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history. He wrote and published over 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
An author whose career spanned the first six decades of the 20th Century. From mystery and adventure stories in the earliest years to science fiction in his later years, he worked steadily and at a highly professional level of craftsmanship longer than most writers of his generation. He won a Hugo Award in 1956 for his novelet “Exploration Team,” and in 1995 the Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his classic story, “Sidewise in Time.” His last original work appeared in 1967.
Will F. Jenkins
William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Murray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history. He wrote and published over 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
An author whose career spanned the first six decades of the 20th Century. From mystery and adventure stories in the earliest years to science fiction in his later years, he worked steadily and at a highly professional level of craftsmanship longer than most writers of his generation. He won a Hugo Award in 1956 for his novelet “Exploration Team,” and in 1995 the Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his classic story, “Sidewise in Time.” His last original work appeared in 1967.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 23, 2016
This short novel is part of Leinster's Med Ship series. "The only links between the far-flung colonies throughout the galaxy were the Medical Service spaceships." So when one of these ships comes calling they usually receive royal treatment. So why did Calhoun and his trusty "pet" Murgatroyd, his live "medical lab" at first given the silent treatment after they hailed the surface and then almost killed?
Calhoun was supposed to give a health assessment to the brand new fledgling colony on Maris III, but when he radioed down that he was here, the person on the radio sounded shocked and then the magnetic landing grid tried to kill him. Calhoun was lucky enough to make an emergency landing in a densely wooded area just before he noticed a flyer go by in what looked like a search pattern. Then as Calhoun and Murgatroyd got out to explore they came across a dead man laying in a field of corn. After tests on the body, using Murgatroyd to synthesize the blood work, it looked as if the person had died of starvation. With food all around him? Another mystery.
When Calhoun Finds a live human she tries to kill him also. But she is so far gone with disease that she is rendered harmless easily. The story she tells of a mysterious "plague" that has overtaken the new colony, and then another starship lands and those people are intent on hunting down the colonists and killing those still alive after the plague had run through.
Calhoun finds a few remnants of the colony that left the city to escape the murderers, and helps to synthesize a "cure" for the plague, using Murgatroyd's unique biology, and then is told the story of how the mysterious plague hit and the arrival of the mysterious murderers. Now it is up to Calhoun to stop these murderous pirates out to steal the planet and bring them to justice. One man and his amazing "pet" against a whole spaceship crew intent on killing everyone.
This was a nicely told tale and even though it was written in the early 50's it didn't seem dated at all. It was a quick and satisfying space adventure.
Calhoun was supposed to give a health assessment to the brand new fledgling colony on Maris III, but when he radioed down that he was here, the person on the radio sounded shocked and then the magnetic landing grid tried to kill him. Calhoun was lucky enough to make an emergency landing in a densely wooded area just before he noticed a flyer go by in what looked like a search pattern. Then as Calhoun and Murgatroyd got out to explore they came across a dead man laying in a field of corn. After tests on the body, using Murgatroyd to synthesize the blood work, it looked as if the person had died of starvation. With food all around him? Another mystery.
When Calhoun Finds a live human she tries to kill him also. But she is so far gone with disease that she is rendered harmless easily. The story she tells of a mysterious "plague" that has overtaken the new colony, and then another starship lands and those people are intent on hunting down the colonists and killing those still alive after the plague had run through.
Calhoun finds a few remnants of the colony that left the city to escape the murderers, and helps to synthesize a "cure" for the plague, using Murgatroyd's unique biology, and then is told the story of how the mysterious plague hit and the arrival of the mysterious murderers. Now it is up to Calhoun to stop these murderous pirates out to steal the planet and bring them to justice. One man and his amazing "pet" against a whole spaceship crew intent on killing everyone.
This was a nicely told tale and even though it was written in the early 50's it didn't seem dated at all. It was a quick and satisfying space adventure.
January 17, 2016
3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
Calhoun represents the Med Service - one of the few universal ties in a far-flung human culture. But when he comes to Maris III on a routine inspection, he finds far more than he expected - a murderous reception and mysterious plague. But a Med Service man has responsibilities, and nothing will stand in his way.
I've enjoyed Murray Leinster's short stories, and one thin, light novel. I was surprised to find I enjoyed this story so much. It's a pulp adventure, but it's reasonably well thought out. Calhoun is an ultra-competent hero, but he's unusual in bringing to bear more brain and less brawn than your usual pulp hero, and in the fact that, at heart, he's a determined bureaucrat, not wanna-be soldier.
The Mutant Weapon was originally serialized in Analog, and it shows. There are points of substantial repetition, but it's not hard to skim by. There's also a certain element of 'magic' - Leinster comes up some palatable science, but he also relies pretty heavily on some invented compounds with a striking effectiveness. The plot is not complex, and there's really not much question that Calhoun will prevail, but it's still fun to read.
Ultimately, an unusual, interesting approach to SF adventure. I look forward to the rest of the series.
Calhoun represents the Med Service - one of the few universal ties in a far-flung human culture. But when he comes to Maris III on a routine inspection, he finds far more than he expected - a murderous reception and mysterious plague. But a Med Service man has responsibilities, and nothing will stand in his way.
I've enjoyed Murray Leinster's short stories, and one thin, light novel. I was surprised to find I enjoyed this story so much. It's a pulp adventure, but it's reasonably well thought out. Calhoun is an ultra-competent hero, but he's unusual in bringing to bear more brain and less brawn than your usual pulp hero, and in the fact that, at heart, he's a determined bureaucrat, not wanna-be soldier.
The Mutant Weapon was originally serialized in Analog, and it shows. There are points of substantial repetition, but it's not hard to skim by. There's also a certain element of 'magic' - Leinster comes up some palatable science, but he also relies pretty heavily on some invented compounds with a striking effectiveness. The plot is not complex, and there's really not much question that Calhoun will prevail, but it's still fun to read.
Ultimately, an unusual, interesting approach to SF adventure. I look forward to the rest of the series.
February 12, 2020
Discovering the "Med Ship" saga has been a pleasant surprise for me, and the second book of the series was an even more pleasant experience.
Though clearly written for a younger audience, this short novel was surprisingly sophisticated and philosophical. Many reviewers of this series have referred to it as feeling "modern," and I would agree with that sentiment here. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is the main character Calhoun himself.
Our hero is not your typical square-jawed palladin of muscled misogyny. He is a lonely intellectual, a physician wandering the galaxy by himself in a small craft while trying to complete his assigned health inspections of human colonies. He catches up on his continuing education while spending days and weeks in hyperspace en route to his next destination. His only solace from the empty silence of space is his ship, which pipes in the sounds of people chatting in a restaurant to fool his mind out of the isolation, and his spider-monkey-like alien companion Murgatroyd. When faced with challenges or danger, he is not a flippant narcissist spitting in the face of danger, but a kind of grumpy Han Solo who ends up muttering to himself a lot. He shows little affection for the opposite sex, for his faithful alien companion, or for anyone, but it is clear his heart is huge. He goes to great lengths to try to not hurt anyone, even his enemies, and he refuses to be judge and jury. Instead, his singular purpose is to do his job and to help people, usually from medical hazards artificially imposed upon innocent populations. He even can't help giving advice to an evil villain that he's outwitted and tied up. This feels very refreshing for a Golden-Age space opera.
We know little about the Med Ship Man, and this book even hints at the possibility that he may not even be fully human. We also don't know when this and the other stories take place. Calhoun refers to a king of France about "a thousand years ago" who tried killing off all his subjects inflicted with leprosy, possibly referring to the so-called "Leper's Plot" of 1321 and King Phillip, which would place the time of the Med Service stories sometime in the 24th Century. In fact, this novel is full of unconventional ways to setup the story. Excerpts from a book Calhoun is reading entitled "Probability and Human Behavior" by "Fitzgerald" introduces each chapter, and these citations contain the themes and philosophies found throughout the novel. They are written in such a different tone from the rest of the story that I was convinced this was a real text in behavioral psychology. But ultimately it seems that this is a made-up text and the author "Fitzgerald" is likely to be a reference to Leinster himself, whose real name is William Fitzgerald Jenkins. He sometimes used the pen-name William Fitzgerald. Here is an example of such an excerpt:
"...people find apparently complete satisfaction in a dramatic gesture, in a finely stated aspiration, or simply in a mere pretense of significance or wisdom or worth. The objective results of such gestures or pretenses are rarely considered. Very often great hardship and suffering and even deaths have been brought about by some person who raptly contemplated the beautiful drama of his behavior, and did not even think of its consequences to someone else . . ."
But frequently, the omnipotent narrator of the story itself loses objectivity by making judgmental comments regarding the behaviors of various characters:
"Children and barbarians have clear ideas of justice due to them, but no idea at all of justice due from them. And though human colonies spread toward the galaxy's rim, there was still a large part of every population which was civilized only in that it could use tools. Most people still remained comfortably barbaric or childish in their emotional lives."
Through these techniques, Leinster paints a vivid and rich portrait of life in this future era without having to set up pages of expository details that would otherwise interrupt the action ("Dune," for example?). We don't know much about the good and bad guys in this story, but they are not necessarily two-dimensional. By subtle and seamless weaving into the narrative some understanding of the technology, political structure, limitations, and philosophy of the overall network of human interplanetary colonization, we know enough about the general mind-set of the characters to explain how they may have ended up in their current situations. This takes what seems to be a pretty standard pulp adventure on the surface and elevates it to something much more satisfying and intelligent.
So I do recommend this entry for scifi fans of all ages, especially if you're the type that likes a good B-movie-type space adventure.
Though clearly written for a younger audience, this short novel was surprisingly sophisticated and philosophical. Many reviewers of this series have referred to it as feeling "modern," and I would agree with that sentiment here. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is the main character Calhoun himself.
Our hero is not your typical square-jawed palladin of muscled misogyny. He is a lonely intellectual, a physician wandering the galaxy by himself in a small craft while trying to complete his assigned health inspections of human colonies. He catches up on his continuing education while spending days and weeks in hyperspace en route to his next destination. His only solace from the empty silence of space is his ship, which pipes in the sounds of people chatting in a restaurant to fool his mind out of the isolation, and his spider-monkey-like alien companion Murgatroyd. When faced with challenges or danger, he is not a flippant narcissist spitting in the face of danger, but a kind of grumpy Han Solo who ends up muttering to himself a lot. He shows little affection for the opposite sex, for his faithful alien companion, or for anyone, but it is clear his heart is huge. He goes to great lengths to try to not hurt anyone, even his enemies, and he refuses to be judge and jury. Instead, his singular purpose is to do his job and to help people, usually from medical hazards artificially imposed upon innocent populations. He even can't help giving advice to an evil villain that he's outwitted and tied up. This feels very refreshing for a Golden-Age space opera.
We know little about the Med Ship Man, and this book even hints at the possibility that he may not even be fully human. We also don't know when this and the other stories take place. Calhoun refers to a king of France about "a thousand years ago" who tried killing off all his subjects inflicted with leprosy, possibly referring to the so-called "Leper's Plot" of 1321 and King Phillip, which would place the time of the Med Service stories sometime in the 24th Century. In fact, this novel is full of unconventional ways to setup the story. Excerpts from a book Calhoun is reading entitled "Probability and Human Behavior" by "Fitzgerald" introduces each chapter, and these citations contain the themes and philosophies found throughout the novel. They are written in such a different tone from the rest of the story that I was convinced this was a real text in behavioral psychology. But ultimately it seems that this is a made-up text and the author "Fitzgerald" is likely to be a reference to Leinster himself, whose real name is William Fitzgerald Jenkins. He sometimes used the pen-name William Fitzgerald. Here is an example of such an excerpt:
"...people find apparently complete satisfaction in a dramatic gesture, in a finely stated aspiration, or simply in a mere pretense of significance or wisdom or worth. The objective results of such gestures or pretenses are rarely considered. Very often great hardship and suffering and even deaths have been brought about by some person who raptly contemplated the beautiful drama of his behavior, and did not even think of its consequences to someone else . . ."
But frequently, the omnipotent narrator of the story itself loses objectivity by making judgmental comments regarding the behaviors of various characters:
"Children and barbarians have clear ideas of justice due to them, but no idea at all of justice due from them. And though human colonies spread toward the galaxy's rim, there was still a large part of every population which was civilized only in that it could use tools. Most people still remained comfortably barbaric or childish in their emotional lives."
Through these techniques, Leinster paints a vivid and rich portrait of life in this future era without having to set up pages of expository details that would otherwise interrupt the action ("Dune," for example?). We don't know much about the good and bad guys in this story, but they are not necessarily two-dimensional. By subtle and seamless weaving into the narrative some understanding of the technology, political structure, limitations, and philosophy of the overall network of human interplanetary colonization, we know enough about the general mind-set of the characters to explain how they may have ended up in their current situations. This takes what seems to be a pretty standard pulp adventure on the surface and elevates it to something much more satisfying and intelligent.
So I do recommend this entry for scifi fans of all ages, especially if you're the type that likes a good B-movie-type space adventure.
June 22, 2019
Gelesen als Der Weltraumarzt
Es war ein böser Schock für Dr. Calhoun, als die Mannschaft des Landegerüstes auf Maris III so überaus nachdrücklich zu erkennen gab, daß sie mit seinem Besuch nicht einverstanden sei! Dr. Calhoun hatte bei seinen Visiten auf den weit verstreuten Siedlerwelten der Galaxis schon alle möglichen Spielarten freundlicher Begrüßung kennengelernt. Als Vertreter des ärztlichen Dienstes, der oft nur das einzige Bindeglied zwischen den neuen Kolonien und der alten Heimat bildete, war er meist mit feierlichem Zeremoniell empfangen worden - oder zumindest mit einer gewissen freundlichen Erwartung, die einem jeden Menschen entgegengebracht wird, von dem man sich die Befriedigung seiner Neugierde erhofft. Auf Maris III jedoch wollte man Dr. Calhoun vernichten wie ein lästiges Insekt ...
Dies ist ein Teil der Med Service Reihe von Murray Leinster und der erste, der auf Deutsch übersetzt wurde.
Dr. Calhoun und sein Tormal Murgatroyd bei der Bekämpfung einer Seuche auf Maris III. Allerdings wird er auf Maris III nicht willkommen geheissen, da die Seuche nicht natürlichen Ursprungs ist und deren Verursacher eine Einmischung missbilligen. Notgelandet und zusammen mit seinem Tormal nahezu auf sich allein gestellt, muss er den Kampf gegen die Seuche und die Verbrecher aufnehmen und eine drohende Invasion verhindern.
Ich finde die gesamte Med Service Reihe genial und auch besser als die Sector General Reihe von James White. Das Buch ist kein literarisches Meisterwerk, aber solide geschrieben und vor allem es hat mich unterhalten.
Es war ein böser Schock für Dr. Calhoun, als die Mannschaft des Landegerüstes auf Maris III so überaus nachdrücklich zu erkennen gab, daß sie mit seinem Besuch nicht einverstanden sei! Dr. Calhoun hatte bei seinen Visiten auf den weit verstreuten Siedlerwelten der Galaxis schon alle möglichen Spielarten freundlicher Begrüßung kennengelernt. Als Vertreter des ärztlichen Dienstes, der oft nur das einzige Bindeglied zwischen den neuen Kolonien und der alten Heimat bildete, war er meist mit feierlichem Zeremoniell empfangen worden - oder zumindest mit einer gewissen freundlichen Erwartung, die einem jeden Menschen entgegengebracht wird, von dem man sich die Befriedigung seiner Neugierde erhofft. Auf Maris III jedoch wollte man Dr. Calhoun vernichten wie ein lästiges Insekt ...
Dies ist ein Teil der Med Service Reihe von Murray Leinster und der erste, der auf Deutsch übersetzt wurde.
Dr. Calhoun und sein Tormal Murgatroyd bei der Bekämpfung einer Seuche auf Maris III. Allerdings wird er auf Maris III nicht willkommen geheissen, da die Seuche nicht natürlichen Ursprungs ist und deren Verursacher eine Einmischung missbilligen. Notgelandet und zusammen mit seinem Tormal nahezu auf sich allein gestellt, muss er den Kampf gegen die Seuche und die Verbrecher aufnehmen und eine drohende Invasion verhindern.
Ich finde die gesamte Med Service Reihe genial und auch besser als die Sector General Reihe von James White. Das Buch ist kein literarisches Meisterwerk, aber solide geschrieben und vor allem es hat mich unterhalten.
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August 22, 2008The Mutant Weapon by Murray Leinster (2000)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews