Pirates of the Asteroids

Lucky Starr #2

by Paul French, Isaac Asimov

Years ago, David Starr's parents were murdered by pirates from the asteroid belt. Now the pirates are threatening the commerce and safety of the far-flung Terrestrial Empire. David Starr - known to his friends as Lucky - has plans for vengeance: a daring foray into the pirates' forbidden lair that will wipe them out forever...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure, Space Opera, Fantasy

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Librarian note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Pen name of Isaac Asimov for the Lucky Starr books.

Reviews

[Salamon · Rating 3 out of 5]

همچنان در این جلد هم با ماجراجویی‌های لاکی استار و بیگمن همراه میشیم که گرچه به جذابیت و تازگی جلد اول مجموعه نیست و مقداری اغراق‌آمیزتر از حد معموله، باز هم برای من کشش داشت و سراغ جلدهای بعدی هم خواهم رفت.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the second novel in a series of six that Asimov wrote under the pseudonym of Paul French featuring David "Lucky" Starr. The books were intended to be the basis for a television series but when that fell through Doubleday was happy to keep publishing them. They were aimed for young readers and blended a strong action/adventure content with accurate (for the time) scientific concepts. This one appeared in 1953 and holds up better scientifically than many of the later books. One has to remember that the social conventions of the story were conceived in 1953, not just the science, and that Asimov was writing for twelve-year-old boys of the time. The Tom Corbett series by "Carey Rockwell" that Grosset & Dunlap published are similar, and I think Asimov may have been influenced (in this one particularly, in which Lucky infiltrates a pirate gang!) Hamilton's Captain Future books, and perhaps even Superman. I didn't think the Starr books were as good as Heinlein's juveniles, but I thought they were at least as good as Andre Norton's, Donald Wolheim's, or Lester del Rey's juveniles of the time. Still fun stuff if you know what to expect.

[Robu-sensei · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world of Isaac Asimov's Lucky Starr is a young science geek's wildest dream come true. Imagine: a thousand years from now, the solar system's secret agents and protectors of the weak are...scientists! —Who don't mind showing off what they know!

Dr. Asimov often lamented the pernicious and ever-growing current of anti-intellectualism in American society. Was his series of young-adult Lucky Starr novels merely the public expression of an escapist fantasy universe, or did he intend to win young, intelligent minds to scientific inquiry by showing just how cool science could be?

Flush with victory against a criminal cabal on Mars, Lucky Starr next takes on the ruthless pirates of the asteroid belt, with nearly fatal consequences. To me, this story is by far the weakest of the Lucky Starr series. The hero takes too many unnecessary, not to mention stupid, risks, and worms his way out of deadly situations too implausibly. These flaws are mitigated, however, by the harrowing dash across the Solar System—almost through the Sun!—at the end.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! I wish I could find the rest of this series!

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the series Asimov wrote back in the fifties under the name Paul French. Intended for the young adult market and during the Cold War, both the politics and the science(they were based on knowledge of the planets at the time) are a bit dated. Still a fun read.

[Mary JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lucky Starr books were Isaac Asimov's first attempt to write juvenile fiction. They are quite competently written--they are by Asimov after all--but nothing really stands out in them.

Lucky and his sidekick, Bigman Jones are the two main characters, and they are not very memorable. Not bad, just--well, average.

Frankly, if I wanted my children to reads juveniles sf, I would give him or her Andre Norton or Robert Heinlein. Both of those writers are better for juveniles.

Asimov is a superb write--but I feel his Robot stories--especially Caves of Steel--and his short stories are much more worth your time than the Lucky Starr series.

Acceptable, routine adventure for juvenile readers aged 9 on up.

[Ckret msage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, honestly I could see this book working as a movie today. The Blow gun space battle would be downright awesome. Space pirates! What more needs to be said.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Quickie Review

This second entry in the Lucky Starr series by "Paul French" (actually, Isaac Asimov) feels like an abridged version of previously published novel. Though the story is good, it's a bit rushed, and it seemed like some of the plot threads could have been expanded upon a bit. I have little doubt that Asimov fanatics will adore this; for those of us who are casual fans of the Grandmaster, you might want to wait until you've read all his other works before reading this one.

Content Concerns: Some sci-fi action and peril.

Score: 3/5

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of the Lucky Starr books published by Lightening in the late 80s and I will admit they were aimed at a younger audience - that said I really do enjoy the quick and care free reading of them - yes the stoylines seem simplistic, the language dated and the characters walking stereotypes - but boy its great fun reading - come on the world council run by scientists who have heavily armed space ships - I am 16 all over again.

[Gianni Costanzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho letto questo secondo libro non appena finito Il Vagabondo dello Spazio e devo dire che ho trovato questo breve romanzo peggiore del precedente... capiamoci, non è brutto, ma più banale e a parer mio più prevedibile nei suoi colpi di scena, che non risultano molto efficaci. Spero che i prossimi siano migliori.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically not the best, but it was the first sci-fi, err..speculative fiction that I ever read. It opened the door for me.

[Carlos Gutiérrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

En la misma línea de la primera novela.

[Phil Giunta · Rating 4 out of 5]

One year after David Starr's adventure on Mars—where he encountered a benevolent race of energy beings living in isolation below the planet's surface while investigating a food poisoning scare—Starr sets off to eliminate a growing pirate threat originating from our solar system's asteroid belt.

David "Lucky" Starr, a junior member of the Council of Science, proposes that an expendable, unmanned vessel, the Atlas, be sent to the asteroid belt with the intention of allowing the pirates to capture it and tow it back to their base—where explosives rigged in certain sections of the ship would detonate.

Starr's mentors, Doctors Conway and Henree, endorse the plan but are shocked when they learn from Starr's sidekick, the diminutive but capable Bigman, that Starr had decided to board the Atlas in order to infiltrate the pirates.

As planned, the ship is captured by a pirate vessel, commanded by one Captain Anton, who suspects that Starr, traveling under the alias Bill Williams, is a government man. After narrowly winning a duel to the death with Anton's first officer, a surly and stout pirate named Dingo, Starr is dropped off on a large asteroid, where he encounters a hermit named Hansen, who claims to help the pirates on occasion in exchange for his safety—as long as he remains on the asteroid.

However, Hansen recognizes David Starr as the son of the late scientist Larry Starr. Further, Hansen has a small vessel that can take them off the asteroid and he pleads with Starr to help put him contact with the Council of Science base on Ceres.

Once there, Hansen is not at all forthcoming with information about the pirates and he claims to have forgotten the coordinates of the asteroid he calls home.  However, Starr had taken notes on the way from Hansen's asteroid and decides to return in his own vessel, the Shooting Star along with Bigman. Eventually, they locate the asteroid, but Starr quickly finds himself ensnared in a trap set by the pirates led by Dingo. They capture him and take him below the surface, where Starr observes a manufacturing plant and main base of pirate activity.

Will Lucky Starr escape the asteroid alive and make it back to the Shooting Star? Even if he does, will he and the Council of Science be able to stop a raid on Ceres by a fleet of pirate ships bent on recapturing Hansen? What's more, how will the Council of Science eliminate the pirate threat from the asteroid belt once and for all?

Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids is the second volume in a six-book series. As with David Starr, Space Ranger, the story is an easy, fast-paced read. This time around, the plot twist was predictable, but that did not diminish the enjoyment of a vigorous, rip-roaring adventure.

[Sarah-Jayne Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This review may contain spoilers).

Again, though I have read and enjoyed this book before, I liked being able to read it again... even though I remembered who the real bad guy was before I started reading it again.

I have to say, I was really surprised to see that Lucky got away with as much as he did. I felt I would have liked to see him face some more consequences of his actions... at least from his superiors. While there were certain times he did need to act on his own, I felt he didn't act with a whole lot of maturity, even though I did like his character and seeing his friendship with Bigman, along with his relationship with his uncles. I was left with some confusion about exactly how many people were involved in the Council of Science.

I especially liked seeing Bigman's loyalty to Lucky, although I felt that he seemed to only have a couple of characteristics that were exaggerated, rather than having the opportunity to get to know him a bit more in depth.

I liked the fact that I saw a bit more emotion from Lucky in this book, though I did feel that he was a bit too good to be true at times. I did like seeing him using his mind and it was good to see he didn't just trust his safety to his mask all the time. I could really understand his reasoning behind not becoming reliant on it.

It was interesting to see Lucky try to infiltrate the pirates and I did like seeing more of the world in general, as well as learning about things such as the pushguns. It was nice to see that Lucky wasn't perfect in everything and that he had to use his brain to survive.

There were some good elements of tension, but not as much as I would have liked... even though it was good to see things like the surface of the sun. I felt there was too much talking and I didn't really get to see much of Lucky's thought processes as he worked out what was really going on. I felt that Bigman saw more action than Lucky did... even though Lucky did get into a couple of fights.

I did, however, enjoy reading this book and I have the next four books in this series. I definitely intend to read them and see more of Lucky and Bigman and their adventures.

[S.P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been a long time since I have read any Asimov - hadn't realised this series existed, or I probably already have read it!

It is one of Asimov's earlier books, published even before Sputnik was launched in the age when Science Fiction had just started to take off.

The book is very much a 'boys adventure' story of the Science Council and Pirates being manipulated by beings from Sirius - as such it is quite entertaining. Some nice ideas, and some have even held up to 60 years of space travel and scientific advancement. It does not have the impact of Asimov's Foundation and Robot series, however the fact that it seems quite mundane could very well be because the speculation since has been the bread and butter of sci-fi.

[William Saeednia-Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adventure in space for younger readers. This is a reread of one of my favorite series from when I was a very "Young Adult".

This series reminds me of the great "Planetary Romances" of the early 20th Century. It is as if Dr Asimov looked at how popular those had been with young readers and decided to update the setting with modern (1950s) science - so less swords and princesses, more maths and physics, all the while keeping the heaping helping of daring-do.

This was blatantly an influence on Andy Weir.

All good stuff so far - but now for the only negative point.

By the end of Book 2 the number of female characters "on screen" totals exactly 0.

That's actually quite staggering. There's not even a bit-part or walk on scene. The only evidence that females exist in this universe are as follows:
* A mention of a "sister" in David's cover story in Book 1.
* Mentions of wives, once in Book 1 and once in Book 2.

That is it. I am flabbergasted.

Was is a great story, the way I remembered?: Yes
Did I love every minute?: Yes
Am I a little weirded out by the lack of females?: Yes. It's just...weird...

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, easy to read and well paced however clearly written for a younger audience. By that I mean things are explained with some more detail but still without necessarily explaining the concepts people would need to understand to appreciate how things work in Asimov's universe.
The storyline is fairly basic and the twist is so obvious that I think most readers would work it out almost immediately.
The concept of the character and the series is enjoyable enough but I think Asimov's tone isn't quite right as he takes the time to explain certain concepts but then ignores some other, often much harder to grasp ideas.
As happens with Asimov the characters are largely one dimensional and the way the plot is told leaves one feeling they've been slightly condescended towards.
Regardless it's a brisk read and for the most part entertaining.

[Christopher Bonar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, fun, and quick read that still holds up today. Dialogue is dated and somewhat mechanical like an old movie script, but the SF ideas entertained are gold and still used in today's space SF. Highly recommend for those who enjoy classic SF.

[яσвεят · Rating 4 out of 5]

جلد دوم مجموعه لاکی استار به مراتب بهتر و انسجام روایت داستانی منظم تری داشت
در دل ماجراجویی می افتین
حجم کتاب ها هم سبکه جلد به جلد می خونید
ماجراجویی بعدی ام در سیاره زهره است ....

[Juan Gallostra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido, aunque sigo echando en falta la genialidad que tienen la mayoría de relatos cortos de Asimov. La historia no es lo que más destaca para mí, sigue un patrón bastante clásico y estándar de novela aventuras con buenos y malos. Hay algún giro interesante, pero sin más.

A destacar algunos pasajes en los que, aprovechando sucesos se la trama (como un enfrentamiento entre el protagonista y uno se los villanos), Asimov aprovecha para desplegar su creatividad en lo que es bueno: relatos breves (en este caso dentro de una novela) de ciencia ficción.

[Nonethousand Oberrhein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolute Zero Cold War Hero
David Starr, half a secret agent and half the futuristic translation of an “Old West” Marshall, is the swashbuckling hero watching over our Solar System peace! Stretching a bit (but not too much to break it!) the Science to fit the Fiction of a solar system peopled by human colons and extraterrestrial intelligent life forms, Asimov cooks up a fun, fresh and adventurous space opera saga, peppering it with quite a few Western genre tropes and leaving the tone evolve to a Cold War investigations series (moving with the author’s times, so to say). On a separate note, the saga bears the seeds of the universe explored in the Robots and Foundation series: an added value for any Asimov enthusiast!
This adventure takes the tones of a Cold War spy story, as David and Bigman must counter a Sirian (human independent colony on the planets around the star Sirius) plot against the Terran government. It follows Space Ranger and takes place before Oceans of Venus .

[Mark Oppenlander · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the second book of the Lucky Starr series, our hero must contend with pirates who plague the spaceways. Staging out of the asteroids, the pirates conduct raids, destroying other spacefaring vessels and stealing their goods. Lucky attempts to infiltrate the pirate organization but is discovered for who and what he is: a member of the Council of Science and thus an enforcer of the law. A series of harrowing adventures and narrow escapes ensues until Lucky finally brings the organization to justice.

Originally written in the 1950's, this is a fast-paced adventure tale designed to be enjoyed by young people. As with the previous book, Starr must use his quick wits, his hardened muscles, his indomitable courage and above all, his knowledge of science to win the day. This novella holds up better than the previous one in my opinion, in large part because the science has not been as hopelessly outdated. Nor is there a ridiculous Deus ex Machina device that allows Starr to do his detective work.

This is a quick read and an enjoyable diversion. The fact that Starr's parents were also killed by pirates years before adds a personal dimension to the story.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I stated this book while still reading Dark Money as I was sick and did not want to parse politics while sick.
Another Asimov juvenile book, the second in the Space Ranger series and like most series books the 2nd is more of a disappointment. The story was very linear one thing after the next. The "glimmer shield" was used only once to overcome a physical challenge which Lucky chose to put himself in on his own to gain an advantage.
The twist to the story was obvious and so early in the book that it left no suspense and the rest of the book was just confirming the story.
Bigman the supporting character barely plays a role in the book.
No specific complaints of the editing were of note.
Back to Dark Money and then the next book in Asimov's publication list Caves of Steel.

[Chris Langton · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Starr, the Space Ranger heads to the asteroid belt to stop war with, not only pirates, but another alien race. He has another agenda as well: to find those responisible for his parents' murder. This, again in the great Asimov fashion, gives us a short tale that is still so readable 60 years later. I can only image what this was like to read in the 50's when many of these concepts were be so young. You just can't fault the Asimov narrative; it is just so readable. This book really reminds me of the early Dr Who 'Target' books. I could just see the Dr and lucky teaming up for an adventure - Lucky does remind me a bit of Captain Jack. If you like this Genre, the Lucky Starr novels are great.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

La manera que se m'acudeix més fàcil de dir com és el llibre és: ciència ficció antiga per a nens. I això no vol dir que sigui dolent :-)



Tenim en Lucky, que és el típic heroi que ho té tot: intel.ligència i bona planta. En aquest llibre, ens trobem amb què la Terra té alguns problemes amb els pirates que hi ha al cinturó d'asteroides, i ell intenta fer-se pirata per poder-los espiar des de dintre.



Pel camí, ha de resoldre unes quantes situacions a prop de la mort i... resoldre algun misteri, que ningú més és capaç de veure.



És entretingut i curt. Si hi hagués de posar una pega és que molt abans del final ja veia el que acabaria passant (o, com a mínim, sabia alguna de les coses que en Lucky descobreix i que no s'expliquen fins al final).

[Gortius Octavo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho.

Es una historia cortita de aventuras, que sigue la tradición o tendencia que tiene Asimov. No es nada del otro mundo pero si me sorprende los entramados políticos y otras complejidades que se esconden tras esta aparentemente inofensiva novela de acción.

Me hizo mucha gracia como Asimov una y otra vez muestra su músculo científico y trata de enseñarle al lector la ciencia y los motivos físicos por las que las cosas suceden. Quizás explota demasiado el “Como ya sabes, Bob…”. Y hay bastantes errores gramaticales en mi edición que supongo se deben a la traducción.

Si te leíste el primero, lee este.

[Steve R]

The second of the 'daring-do' space adventure series Asimov published under the pseudonym Paul French. Lucky seeks revenge for a family tragedy by disguising his identity in order to join the bad guys of the title. The discovery of the hermit-like character Joseph Patrick Hansen, a capture brought about by a pirate who had been defeated in a duel, a fast race involving a swing around the Sun and a revelation of a true identity round out this totally unremembered tale.

[Hugo Cervantes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Asimov’s writing, Foundation and Robots being my favourite series. Lucky Starr is more action driven, in my opinion, than then other two. I enjoyed the plot, but was not surprised with the ending. Not my favourite book form him, although I did finished it quite fast. I hope I come to appreciate the series as I have done the above mentioned.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book. I would say it's one of those sci fi novels where Man Who Does Everything Right defeats Bumbling Villains to the general astonishment of Hidebound and Pretty Stupid But Well-meaning Sidekick Characters. But it was still a fun little read.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better one of the YA David "Lucky" Starr novels.