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The Last Spaceship
Kim Rendall will not yield to the tyranny of the power-madrulers of Alphin III. Branded an outlaw, he is in danger of psychological torture worse than death from the Disiplinary Circuit, which keeps the masses in check. His one hope lies in the Starshine, an outmoded spaceship. In a world where teleportation is the norm, no one travels by interstellar vessel anymore. Rendall plans to use the Starshine to save his girlfriend and himself -- and possibly his entire planet!
132 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
3 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Murray Leinster
897 books121 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 27, 2025
The Last Space Ship is a fix-up novel from 1949 comprised of three novellas that appeared in the pulp Thrilling Wonder Stories magazines in 1946 and '47, The Disciplinary Circuit, The Manless Worlds, and The Boomerang Circuit. It follows the adventures of Kim Rendall, a matter transporter technician, and his girlfriend Dona, who fight an oppressive computer government by stealing an antique space ship from a museum and solve society's problems by inventing one whiz-bang gizmo after another. Dona is an atypically competent and intelligent female character for the '40s pulps, and for Leinster, too, for that matter. It's a fast-paced book, a true space opera, but with a bit more romance and thought-provoking speculation than usual. Good stuff!
March 8, 2020
Gem of Old-Fashioned Grand Space Op’ry.
Murray Leinster (real name Will Jenkins) was one of the giants of Golden Age sf, and The Last Space Ship is a shining nugget.
The hero, Kim Rendell, is a matter-transmitter technician, in an age when spaceships are largely obsolete and people travel between worlds by teleportation booths. He falls foul of the authorities when he discovers a dirty secret regarding the disciplinary circuit. This is a fiendish device which enables the exact location of any person can be instantly traced – and pain inflicted in any desired amount. Needless to say, governments love it.
In practice, the circuit is used to block offenders from entering particular places, and the number of barred places steadily increased until eventually the entire planet is off limits. At this point (if not sooner) the offender can go to the matter transmitter and emigrate to another planet. Ostensibly he can go to any world of his choice, but Kim discovers that this is a lie. All offenders are transmitted to an exile planet called Ades.
Things get personal when he learns just how the circuit can be abused. One of the planet’s leaders takes a fancy to Dona, Kim’s bride to be. When she rebuffs his approaches, he has her blocked in her quarters until she sees the light. Kim responds by inventing a device to nullify the circuit, but his activities are detected and he is himself blocked.
However, he knows a way out. By one of those convenient coincidences, he is the grandson of the man who opened the planet to settlement and brought in the first matter transmitter, which of course had to be done by spaceship. The ship is now a museum exhibit, but remans his property so that by law he can’t be blocked from it. He goes there and, by threatening to broadcast the details of his invention, blackmails the authorities into sending Dona to him, after which he is able to blast off. Fortunately for him the ship still has some fuel even after all these years.
This, however, is only the start of the couple’s problems. The authorities have contacted all nearby planets, whose rulers are equally opposed to Kim’s subversive activities . Wherever they go, they come under attack with a death ray which is a beefed up version of the circuit. Kim has to put his skills to work and develop a new space drive which enables them to flee to the far side of the Galaxy.
Yet wherever they go the worlds they find are even more dystopian than the one they left With the disciplinary circuit to enforce their rule, Neros and Caligulas have free rein. In the end, ronically, they have to take refuge on that very planet Ades to which he would have been exiled. There Kim starts scheming on how to settle the Second Galaxy.(unnamed but presumably Andromeda) beyond reach of the tyrants. End of Part One.
In Part Two, however, he and the people of Ades have to focus more on a more immediate threat to their survival. It seems that a nearby planet is set on building an empire. It has modified the death rays to kill only males, and is going around wiping out the male populations of nearby worlds, so that its settlers can acquire ready-made harems. This is made even more alarming by the fact that the population of Ades is nine-tenths male!
Our hero duly goes into action, but is distracted when a freak accident sends him and Dona shooting off to another Galaxy some 300 billion light years away (is the universe that big?) and they have to find a way back home. Being the Good Guys, needless to say they do, and Kim is able to scotch the Bad Guys with another invention. End of Part Two.
In Part Three, however, another menace appears. While away in the Second Galaxy, Kim learns that the whole planet Ades has mysteriously disappeared. The planets which Ades has recently liberated are being snapped up by the tyrants of nearby worlds. The rest is devoted to Kim’s efforts to identify whodunit and find yet another gizmo to thwart his wicked scheme. Said gizmo succeeds, and has the potential to set the First Galaxy on the road to eventual freedom. End of story.
There are of course a few minor gripes. TLSS was written in 1949, and, seventy years on, the portrayal of women is apt to make many a 2020 reader squirm. Still, at least there are female characters, which there often weren’t in sf of that vintage, and Dona is for the most part feisty and in Part Two at least an important character in her own right. We must be grateful for small mercies.
Also, there’s no explanation for the total absence of nonhuman life. Apparently, on reaching the stars, we just found the entire Galaxy to be virgin territory awaiting human settlement. But this is nitpicking. If you enjoy a plain old-fashioned space adventure story, this is definitely for you.
Murray Leinster (real name Will Jenkins) was one of the giants of Golden Age sf, and The Last Space Ship is a shining nugget.
The hero, Kim Rendell, is a matter-transmitter technician, in an age when spaceships are largely obsolete and people travel between worlds by teleportation booths. He falls foul of the authorities when he discovers a dirty secret regarding the disciplinary circuit. This is a fiendish device which enables the exact location of any person can be instantly traced – and pain inflicted in any desired amount. Needless to say, governments love it.
In practice, the circuit is used to block offenders from entering particular places, and the number of barred places steadily increased until eventually the entire planet is off limits. At this point (if not sooner) the offender can go to the matter transmitter and emigrate to another planet. Ostensibly he can go to any world of his choice, but Kim discovers that this is a lie. All offenders are transmitted to an exile planet called Ades.
Things get personal when he learns just how the circuit can be abused. One of the planet’s leaders takes a fancy to Dona, Kim’s bride to be. When she rebuffs his approaches, he has her blocked in her quarters until she sees the light. Kim responds by inventing a device to nullify the circuit, but his activities are detected and he is himself blocked.
However, he knows a way out. By one of those convenient coincidences, he is the grandson of the man who opened the planet to settlement and brought in the first matter transmitter, which of course had to be done by spaceship. The ship is now a museum exhibit, but remans his property so that by law he can’t be blocked from it. He goes there and, by threatening to broadcast the details of his invention, blackmails the authorities into sending Dona to him, after which he is able to blast off. Fortunately for him the ship still has some fuel even after all these years.
This, however, is only the start of the couple’s problems. The authorities have contacted all nearby planets, whose rulers are equally opposed to Kim’s subversive activities . Wherever they go, they come under attack with a death ray which is a beefed up version of the circuit. Kim has to put his skills to work and develop a new space drive which enables them to flee to the far side of the Galaxy.
Yet wherever they go the worlds they find are even more dystopian than the one they left With the disciplinary circuit to enforce their rule, Neros and Caligulas have free rein. In the end, ronically, they have to take refuge on that very planet Ades to which he would have been exiled. There Kim starts scheming on how to settle the Second Galaxy.(unnamed but presumably Andromeda) beyond reach of the tyrants. End of Part One.
In Part Two, however, he and the people of Ades have to focus more on a more immediate threat to their survival. It seems that a nearby planet is set on building an empire. It has modified the death rays to kill only males, and is going around wiping out the male populations of nearby worlds, so that its settlers can acquire ready-made harems. This is made even more alarming by the fact that the population of Ades is nine-tenths male!
Our hero duly goes into action, but is distracted when a freak accident sends him and Dona shooting off to another Galaxy some 300 billion light years away (is the universe that big?) and they have to find a way back home. Being the Good Guys, needless to say they do, and Kim is able to scotch the Bad Guys with another invention. End of Part Two.
In Part Three, however, another menace appears. While away in the Second Galaxy, Kim learns that the whole planet Ades has mysteriously disappeared. The planets which Ades has recently liberated are being snapped up by the tyrants of nearby worlds. The rest is devoted to Kim’s efforts to identify whodunit and find yet another gizmo to thwart his wicked scheme. Said gizmo succeeds, and has the potential to set the First Galaxy on the road to eventual freedom. End of story.
There are of course a few minor gripes. TLSS was written in 1949, and, seventy years on, the portrayal of women is apt to make many a 2020 reader squirm. Still, at least there are female characters, which there often weren’t in sf of that vintage, and Dona is for the most part feisty and in Part Two at least an important character in her own right. We must be grateful for small mercies.
Also, there’s no explanation for the total absence of nonhuman life. Apparently, on reaching the stars, we just found the entire Galaxy to be virgin territory awaiting human settlement. But this is nitpicking. If you enjoy a plain old-fashioned space adventure story, this is definitely for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2023
The only thing I did not like about this novel is that it started with the events already in progress, and I thought that I’d stumbled into part two of a series. After a few pages that rectified itself into a very exciting, event filled, bit of nonstop action.
Although some of the novel’s science facts from the late 1940s were not exactly correct, it is an excellent piece of speculative fiction. If you like Golden Age science fiction, you can lose yourself in this past future space odyssey, and be carried away to an adventure where the good guys face off against the bad guys without all the infinite shades of grey.
Although some of the novel’s science facts from the late 1940s were not exactly correct, it is an excellent piece of speculative fiction. If you like Golden Age science fiction, you can lose yourself in this past future space odyssey, and be carried away to an adventure where the good guys face off against the bad guys without all the infinite shades of grey.
May 12, 2025
Murray Leinster (William Fitzgerald Jenkins 1896-1975) another one of the big names of science-fiction. This is one of his later works, published in 1950.
The protagonist is a wanted dissident, the galaxy is inhabited and space travel happens through matter-transmitters (like Stargate-technology). The protagonist goes into a museum and takes an old spaceship of which he is the legal owner (by inheritance) and runs away and finally vanquishes all the evil rulers of the galaxy.
Leinster really thinks big (the hero runs away to another galaxy), it is still a good story, traditional space opera.
Five stars in my books.
The protagonist is a wanted dissident, the galaxy is inhabited and space travel happens through matter-transmitters (like Stargate-technology). The protagonist goes into a museum and takes an old spaceship of which he is the legal owner (by inheritance) and runs away and finally vanquishes all the evil rulers of the galaxy.
Leinster really thinks big (the hero runs away to another galaxy), it is still a good story, traditional space opera.
Five stars in my books.
April 4, 2025
Seriously, if you want to understand where the world is rapidly heading, and simultaneously enjoy a interesting tale of space totally unconnnected to the current insanity, this is a great book. Written back when I was young and Moses had a beard, the writer sure understood the eternal plague of fascism had seems to understand that technology would end the struggle. Nod to Orwell.
Some warnings:
a) I haven't read the other reviews, 😴 ,
b) I have COVID-2025, 🤮 , again,
c) and my new, first Kindle seems to indicate that I am on or about 22% through reading the book.
😉🤣.
Some warnings:
a) I haven't read the other reviews, 😴 ,
b) I have COVID-2025, 🤮 , again,
c) and my new, first Kindle seems to indicate that I am on or about 22% through reading the book.
😉🤣.
July 16, 2017
I thought the first 90 pages of this were quite good. Leinster creates a different kind of dystopian world with an interesting protagonist, and the conflicts were interesting enough to keep me reading. But the rest of the novel degenerates into one protracted space battle after another with the protagonist coming up with one gizmo after another to save the day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2019
Interesting sci fi with a little bit of Star Wars in it. Wondered if George Lucas had read it.
July 24, 2024
SF in the fifties concentrated on corrupt, inhumane government. Now zombies, racists, virus and end of the world.
December 17, 2024
confusing at times
July 22, 2009
I love Murray Leinster and The Last Spaceship was one of my favorites when I was growing up. It's a clever story, actually a few stories about the distant future when big government has enslaved everyone and one independent minded man and his girl escape and try to restore freedom to the galaxy. Great space opera.
It's a little simple which may be why I loved it when I was twelve ... but I find rereading it that I fall back into the spell. You have to enter into the spirit and then it is a romp.
It's a little simple which may be why I loved it when I was twelve ... but I find rereading it that I fall back into the spell. You have to enter into the spirit and then it is a romp.
April 19, 2016
Very good SciFi book of the adventures in an universe where all war was impossible and all all citizen were subject completely under the power of their world governments due the possibility of targeting a single person and physically punish it where ever it would be. From this point of view we follow the adventures which will end this status quo. The age of the book is evident in some aspects but besides that excellent reading.
September 12, 2016
Excellent classic science fiction ! :-)
February 21, 2015
1981 grade B
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews