The Stardust Voyages

by Stephen Tall

In the great tradition of Star Trek, E.E. (Doc) Smith and Edmond Hamilton, the great ship and its mixed crew of adventurers wends its way in deep space.

Genres: Science Fiction

230 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Common pseudonym of American science fiction writer Compton Newby Crook.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stardust Voyages is a collection of six stories that were published in the genre magazines ranging from 1966 to 1974. They're the adventures of the crew of the exploratory starship Stardust, in the tradition of the original Trek but more intelligent than television. Stephen Tall was the pseudonym of Compton Crook, and his stories are well-written, hopeful, and thoroughly enjoyable. My favorite (heck, everybody's favorite!) was The Bear With the Knot on His Tail, the title of which the publisher got wrong on the back cover.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Robert Heinlein and Philip Jose Farmer had gotten together to create Star Trek, they'd have come up with something a bit like this.

The best, brightest and slightly eccentric of earth make up the crew of the star ship Stardust, their mission to seek out new worlds etc, etc...

I like the more laid-back, community, less militaristic, vibe of the crew and that they rarely encounter aliens that are just people.
The aliens are just that, alien. In fact in several cases it takes the crew awhile to realize 'the things are also people', to quote another sci-fi writer.

Fun space opera with a nice low key vibe and sense of humor.
I'd never heard of Tall before finding this at a library book sale, but now want to find what else he's written.

[Wes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this collection. The stories were very interesting and compelling. I think that this is one of the best science fiction writings. Unlike Star Trek, to which this has been compared, these stories focus on the object of discovery more that the culture and climate of the audience. Yes, there is much character discovery, but the focus remains on the exploration. Tall is so imaginative in the differing species that are encountered and he manages to blend the mechanics so that the story flows and is mostly believable (i.e. seemingly possible, not fantasy). I say not fantasy, the only element being the hyper drive. Some view faster than light travel as fantasy. Here, this is treated very well even if a bit fantasy. Some story elements are necessarily created that might not be kosher, so to speak. I wish that I could read all of the logs referenced in the text and continue to read more about all of the adventures of this crew. This is a unique bunch of explorers that venture out past future Earth which has all of the problems that we would expect. But it is done with exploration in mind. The only drawbacks that I have are that the focus is solely exploration and non-interference while Earth is crowded and a bit 'wasted' and the lack of proper uniforms. It struck me as odd how the people dressed however sparingly as unfamiliar worlds were explored.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being a touch mired in the times of their writing (late 1960s-1970s) in terms of style, these stories are interesting and fun to read. The absolute stand-out, to me, was the character of Ursula Potts, a painter assigned to the crew of the Stardust for the unique insights she and her art can provide on the alien situations and life-forms the explorers encounter. To recognize artistic intuition and creative perception as useful vectors of data collection is remarkable, and to a certain extent still ahead of current scientific practice. Worth reading if you enjoy classic science fiction.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few of his readers will know this, but Stephen Tall was a pseudonym for Dr. Compton Crook who was an Ornithology Professor at Towson State University. Though his students KNEW he was a writer, he would not reveal his pseudonym until he retired. Unfortunately, he did not live long after he retired.

This is a classic tale of exploring the galaxies to find other life forms. Among his characters are a geologist, an ecologist, a microbiologist, and an artist who typically paints things BEFORE though things make an appearance. I truly love Tall's writing and wish he had written more. His works are generally quite difficult to find.

[Ty Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and I bought the novel that comes about a decade later in the timeline. The late, great Stephen Tall (aka Compton Crook - I couldn't find a photo of him anywhere!) took some of the best elements of the original Star Trek and made it different... perhaps more realistic and scientifically... plausible? I only know that this guy has a fantastic imagination and writes with a kind of mesmerizing clarity that takes you there.
*Great characters - I love them all! Roscoe, my favorite... tells the stories from his own first person point of view.
*Imagine that it is Star Trek and that this is the USS Stardust with a huge crew of scientists exploring our galaxy from a massive hotdog-shaped ship that lands directly on the planets!

[Robert (NurseBob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crew of the interstellar science ship Stardust boldly venture to some of the galaxy's stranger planets where they come in contact with everything from intelligent dice to seductive frog maidens. Definitely has that Star Trek vibe with a host of unique personalities discovering wonders in a universe which is largely benign. The first person narrative from ecologist Dr. Kissinger (no relation) works well too, except when he drones on and on about how perfect, beautiful, and sexy his microbiologist wife is. Yawn.

[Dianne Reissig-peabody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little-known classic of SF. The crew of the Starship Stardust wanders across the galaxy on their mission of exploration. The characters are interesting and memorable. Sadly the book was only ever available in mass-market paperback, so I wore my copy out. When I tried to find another I was devastated to find that it is no longer in print. If you find a copy, grab it and read it - you won't be sorry!

[Konstantine · Rating 2 out of 5]

im sure fans of star trek would probably enjoy this but its not my thing personally

[DGSpooner]

Rereading. It's always enjoyable.