Captain Future: Captain Future in Love

The Return of Ul Quorn #Vol. 2, Book 1

by Allen M. Steele

CAPTAIN FUTURE, THE GREATEST HERO OF SCIENCE FICTION’S PULP ERA, RETURNS IN A NEW STORY BY HUGO AND HEINLEIN AWARD WINNING AUTHOR ALLEN STEELE! Curt Newton and his crew of interplanetary troubleshooters, the Futuremen, respond to an emergency aboard a giant orbital colony above Venus … the very place where Curt, as a lonely teenage boy, met and fell in love with the first girl he ever met.Ashi Lanyr was a thief, but the most precious thing she ever stole was young Curt’s heart. Curt never forgot her, not even after he grew up to become Captain Future, the protector of justice in the 24th century. Yet the past can return in unexpected ways, and even a hero isn’t immune to memories of his first great love. SWASHBUCKLING ACTION, PERILOUS ADVENTURE, AND A LADY TO DIE FOR … ALL IN THE RETURN OF A SPACE LEGEND!

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Pulp, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure

157 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2019

About the author

Before becoming a science fiction writer, Allen Steele was a journalist for newspapers and magazines in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Missouri, and his home state of Tennessee. But science fiction was his first love, so he eventually ditched journalism and began producing that which had made him decide to become a writer in the first place.

Since then, Steele has published eighteen novels and nearly one hundred short stories. His work has received numerous accolades, including three Hugo Awards, and has been translated worldwide, mainly into languages he can’t read. He serves on the board of advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He also belongs to Sigma, a group of science fiction writers who frequently serve as unpaid consultants on matters regarding technology and security.

Allen Steele is a lifelong space buff, and this interest has not only influenced his writing, it has taken him to some interesting places. He has witnessed numerous space shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center and has flown NASA’s shuttle cockpit simulator at the Johnson Space Center. In 2001, he testified before the US House of Representatives in hearings regarding the future of space exploration. He would like very much to go into orbit, and hopes that one day he’ll be able to afford to do so.

Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Linda, and a continual procession of adopted dogs. He collects vintage science fiction books and magazines, spacecraft model kits, and dreams.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allen Steele returns to his re-imagined version of Edmond Hamilton's iconic character in this first installment of the sequel to Avengers of the Moon. It's a very nice story, much of it a flashback to a young Curt Newton finding love for the first time. It's a good adventure, and his updates and revisions to the '40s pulp version are well-reasoned and convincing. There are several interesting introductions and afterwards accompanying the story, and some unfortunately fannish-looking illustrations. I'm looking forward to the second part.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first part of a four part story, which is a sequel to Avengers of the Moon. So far, I love it...hard to say much more with 3/4 of the story yet to be told. Steele has always been fond of telling stories in a series of novellas. The first Coyote novel was done this way and it was wonderful. I have high hopes for this one and hope it continues at this level.

[Dale Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curtis Newton has begun to live up to his childhood play name of Captain Future. Now working for the IPF, Newton working under the code name Captain Future has become known and feared throughout the Sol System and beyond. The stories of his battles are many and the fear of what may happen in a confrontation with the Captain and his companions have led many to simply throw down their weapons when confronted with the reality of his attention.

But...the hero that he is now was not always so growing up to become the legend. And the one who had his heart during those years, may not be the person that he thought she was.

Allen Steele once more spins a tale of Captain Future and the Futuremen. In the AVENGERS ON THE MOON readers were introduced to the emerging adult version of Curtis Newton and his entry into the intrigues of the politics of the 24th century. Steele was a tremendous fan of the late Edmund Hamilton's original pulpish version of the Captain and crew, but knew that wouldn't work with today's more sophisticated contemporary readers. In creating these new adventures, Steele has given us a more mature, much more realistic version of the hero without losing the fun and excitement of the original adventures. Allen turns his excellent story telling to familiar territory and has rebirthed what will hopefully be the first of many future stories to come. Sub-titled THE RETURN OF UL-QUORN, BOOK 1, the author promises the hope of many more tales of the first Space Superhero.

This is the first book in the new AMAZING SELECTS series of novels/novellas that are to be presented as new stories and adventures from the AMAZING STORIES imprint recently recrafted and reborn under the ownership and editorial guidance of Steve Davidson.

Look for the Easter egg that Steele gives you in a nice reference to the stories by the OTHER master of the beginnings of the true Space Opera, E.E. Doc Smith...'nuff said...I'll let you discover that little nugget on your own.

Can't wait for part II...

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good/Good (4.5 stars). Starry Messenger hijacks a ship around Saturn. That seems to be just a prologue telling us that there is still conflict in the solar system, it's not mentioned again in the rest of the story. We jump to Curt and the rest of the Captain Future gang doing something near Venus. It's not until nearly the ending that we find out it's to thwart some act of terrorism. In the middle of that there is a flashback to Curt's second trip away from the moon, an earlier trip to Venus, and where the title comes in.

There was no segue to the flashback*, just Curt in the clouds of Venus and then he's on some sort of space station orbiting the planet. No mention of the date (I was wondering how he was only fifteen, because I'd swear that made him like twelve during "Avengers of Mars.") and until we went back to the clouds I didn't realize it was a flashback. Anyway the flashback was really good. Going back to the present was the fast paced action and daring. The space opera which wrapped up quickly and left a teaser for the next adventure.

*I just looked again. The chapter started "Then..." which I took as Curt was doing one thing THEN he did this next thing. Not as in this is now/that was then.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I get into a review of this, some context. Captain Future is a pulp era hero created by Edmond Hamilton. He first appeared in 1940 in the novel Captain Future and the Space Emporer published in the first issue of the short lived Captain Future Magazine. The novel comprised 2/3 of the magazine which also included some other short stories and essays. Captain Future eventually faded into obscurity until Allen Steele decided to resurrect him in his 2017 novel Avengers of the Moon. This book is the continuing adventures of Captain Future, and it’s going back to its roots even more in the way the story is formatted. Avengers of the Moon was a standard modern novel, this is a story arc serialised over 4 novellas. This book is therefore both book 2 and book 1. It is book 2 in the Captain Future series, but book 1 in the Captain Future: The Return of Ul Quorn. Each story is self-contained and has a conclusion, but also has a cliffhanger setup right at the end as the jumping off point for the next story. All of this is explained in much more detail in short intros/essays/histories contained within this book. You don’t have to read these, but I found them interesting and informative.

So this book. You don’t need to have read Avengers of the Moon in order to understand this book. The backstory is provided in here. If you have read AotM then be prepared for a bit of repetition to bring other people up to speed. There is a prologue which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with this book, but it’s setup for Ul Quorn story, not just this episode. As well as recapping the backstory there is also a lot of worldbuilding to set up the Captain Future universe. Explantions of the history of human colonisation of the solar system and humanities fragmentation into multiple species, almost alien. All of it is necessary, but did drag in a couple of places. Once you get through all the setup and into the story proper it rips along in classic pulp style.

But by pulp style I don’t mean dated. I mean it’s an action adventure. All the tech and science is thoroughly modern. He doesn’t have a rocket powered ship, he has an Alcubierre warp drive (I love these and think they should be used far more frequently than they are in SF). His ray gun has also been updated with plausible science. Venus, where most of the story takes place, is a hell-hole rather than the jungle paradise of yore. This is contemporary SF evoking the swashbuckler of pulp story-telling.

I can thoroughly recommend this, if you’re a fan pulp era stories. This is new pulp. I’m now diving straight into book 2 (or 3 depending how you want to count), The Guns of Pluto.

[Charles H Berlemann Jr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure what but this book didn't capture me. I usually enjoy a good pulp story and even more so a good sci-fi pulp story. Not knowing anything about Captain Future, what grabbed me was the cover and the subtitle. That said, even with both an opening and closing essay to describe who Captain Future was (and I believe the opening one was "in-character" per se ) still felt like I didn't know who the character was, all of them felt flat. The time jump for the book didn't really work well and for being a short pulp novel, I finished this in about an hour of reading time, the opening and then the middle of the book where the jump in time backwards didn't work well for me. I have seen it better written by other authors that could make a jump back match the current events of the current book. I guess the hard part was in the descriptions of Captain Future even when going backwards or forwards, for a new book and one that is depending on grabbing new fans to the hero, if there was a description of his age or his looks beyond him being a Doc Savage type with red hair over all gave me a feel that everything was happening at once. Which only made the middle scene where the hero meets the "love interest" (?) of the story even more unusual or even awkward. Not sure if they are teens or if they are 20 somethings when they meet on Venus. Then somehow we are a decade forward and now 20 somethings or in their 30s. I don't know and at a point I just gave up and tried to process the story. The classic intro->drama problem->drama resolution seemed to happen twice when I read this and it was because the characters had time jumped with one event in the past and a new event in the future. But it seemed more like a 30 minute TV series quick then a something which could be paced and enjoyed.

Just overall the book seemed short even for a pulp novel, the setup was obvious for follow on books, so there are plot holes, loose threads, and it can't stand on its own. I am sure there are others that will enjoy it. Just not for me.

[Laurence Hidalgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this updated version of Captain Future. I have been reading the original Edmond Hamilton Captain Future stories and, honestly, they leave something to be desired when it comes to respect and equal treatment of others, including women, cyborgs, and robots. The updated Captain Future is not the infallible hero of the original pulp series.

I understand why Hamilton wrote him that way; times were different (and maybe not in a good way). Brief example: In dangerous situations, the women in Hamilton's original stories generally cower, in the new version they take action. I'm looking forward to reading more of the new Captain Future, especially since this story ended with a cliffhanger!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A follow-on to Steele’s Avengers of the Moon (Tor, 2017), Captain Future in Love is the first part of The Return of Ul Quorn, and launches the next adventure, The Guns of Pluto. The series will continue with two additional novellas making up the final book of a trilogy The Horror at Jupiter.

Like the Tor novel, this one provides a much-needed modernization of the cast, a thrilling space adventure that’s part of a larger story arc, and a chance to enjoy a new outing with one of the greatest heroes from the pulp era.

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain Future remembers when he was fifteen and in love with a theif on Venus. And then does he encounter her again? What do you think? It's a fun book, but it is only the beginning of a long narrative. I know the writers mentioned Perry Rhodan and those books were amazing in telling a long story but also having each issue feel like a complete book. This doesn't have that. It was good, just a little too dependant on the next issue coming next month.

[Michael Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was just beginning to get into the book and it ended. In his younger days, Curt Newton had gone to Venus and bored, he had met and fallen for a young woman on the edge of criminality. Some years later, he had returned as Captain Future and met her again, and now she is in league with some terrorists. Now wait for the next book.

[Denny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, though the ending feels a bit “Empire Strikes Back.” Looking forward to Captain Future’s next adventure!

[Chuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

So bad that this should retroactively undo any and all scifi writing awards this author has won - and he goes out of his way to list them extensively at the end.