''Islands of Space'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel by American writer John W. Campbell Jr. It was first published in book form in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

Fantasy Press Fantasy Press was an American publishing house specialising in fantasy and science fiction titles. Established in 1946 by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach in Reading, Pennsylvania, it was most notable for publishing the works of authors such as Robert A. He ...

in an edition of 1,417 copies. The novel originally appeared in the magazine ''Amazing Stories Quarterly''; the text was "extensively edited" for book publication, with Campbell's approval, by

Lloyd Arthur Eshbach Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (June 20, 1910 – October 29, 2003) was an American science fiction fan, publisher and writer, secular and religious publisher, and minister. Biography Born in Palm, Pennsylvania, Eshbach grew up in Reading in the sa ...

. Everett F. Bleiler, ''Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years'', Kent State University Press, 1998, p.52-54 A paperback edition was published by Ace Books in 1966. In 1973, ''Islands'' was included in a Doubleday omnibus of all three "Arcot, Wade, and Morey" novels. A German translation appeared in 1967 as ''Kosmische Kreuzfahrt'', and an Italian translation was published in 1976 as ''Isole nello spazio''. ''Islands of Space'' is generally credited with introducing the concepts of

hyperspace In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. ...

and the

warp drive A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably '' Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" wa ...

to science fiction.

Plot introduction

''Islands of Space'' is a sequel to ''

The Black Star Passes ''The Black Star Passes'' is a fixup of science fiction short stories by American author John W. Campbell Jr. It was first published in 1953 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 2,951 copies. The book is the first in Campbell's Arcot, Morey and Wa ...

''. It concerns the adventures of four heroes: Arcot, Morey, Wade, and Fuller. It is followed by ''

Invaders from the Infinite ''Invaders from the Infinite'' is a science fiction novel by American writer John W. Campbell Jr. It was simultaneously published in 1961 by Gnome Press in an edition of 4,000 copies and by Fantasy Press in an edition of 100 copies. The book wa ...

''.

Reception

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

, reviewing the Fantasy Press edition, wrote "This is a real lousy book", faulting its lack of characterization, suspense, and plot, and a writing style "such as would dry up the purple blood of the sleaziest fan magazine". "BUT --", he continued, "''Islands'' is a voyage far afield and a catalogue of the marvels of other-where, ... a cornucopia of technological and mechanistic matter, both real and extrapolated, poured out prodigiously and with abandon, nda narrative which could not occur without its science -- the purest, and almost the rarest form of science fiction." Sturgeon concluded, "It is high time and past time for cience fictionto infuse itself with the rich hot blood of the old space-opera".

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

wrote that the book version "has been carefully modernized, utit's old-fashioned now. It is also very characteristic of the best "hard" science fiction of its day." This is the first published use of the term ''

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

''. E. F. Bleiler described the original text as "Greatly overloaded with unnecessary (although at times ingenious) exposition, hence almost unreadable; weak novelistically; and clichéd in its action plot." Amazing stories quarterly 1931spr

References

Sources

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External links

* * * * {{librivox book , title=Islands of Space, author=Campbell 1957 American novels 1957 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Space exploration novels Works originally published in Amazing Stories Fantasy Press books