''Take Back Plenty'' (1990), is a novel by British writer

Colin Greenland Colin Greenland (born 17 May 1954 in Dover, Kent, England) is a British science fiction writer, whose first story won the second prize in a 1982 Faber & Faber competition. His best-known novel is ''Take Back Plenty'' (1990), winner of both majo ...

, which won both major British science fiction awards, the 1990 British SF Association award and the 1991 Arthur C. Clarke Award,Clute and Nicholls 1995, p. 525. as well as being a nominee for the 1992 Philip K. Dick Award for the best original paperback published that year in the United States. The

Plenty series The Plenty series is a space opera series by British writer Colin Greenland, consisting of three novels and two short stories. Setting At the time of the first book in Greenland's future history (''Take Back Plenty''), many of the sentient species ...

starts with ''Take Back Plenty'' and continues with ''Seasons of Plenty'' (1995), the collection ''The Plenty Principle'' (1997), containing a prequel to the series "In the Garden: The Secret Origin of the Zodiac Twins". and ''Mother of Plenty'' (1998)

Plot

While it is a time of festivity on Mars, freighter captain Tabitha Jute isn't interested in the celebration. She is trying to elude planetary law enforcement agencies, almost bankrupt and about to lose her sole asset and her best friend, her starship "

Alice Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip bec ...

". Unexpectedly, millionaire entertainer and entrepreneur Marco Metz arrives at her hideout and promises renumeration if she takes him to the distant giant spaceship ''Plenty'', as well as his band. However, Metz is not what he seems. He is actually the estranged father of two of the other band members, who appear to be in an incestuous relationship and has also engaged Jute under false pretenses, intending to steal the Frasque, an alien artefact. En route, they become entangled with the Capellans, an advanced alien species who have confined humanity to the solar system and prohibited interstellar travel .

Reception

Both

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English people, English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic nov ...

and

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for ...

praised the novel. Moorcock stated that the novel was "intelligent, literate space opera" in the tradition of ''

The Stars My Destination ''The Stars My Destination'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Alfred Bester. Set in the 24th or 25th century, which varies between editions of the book, when humans have colonized the Solar System, it tells the story of Gully ull ...

'', ''

The Paradox Men ''The Paradox Men'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Charles L. Harness, his first novel. Initially published as a novella, "Flight into Yesterday", in the May 1949 issue of ''Startling Stories'', it was republished as ''The Paradox ...

'' by

Charles L. Harness Charles Leonard Harness (December 29, 1915 – September 20, 2005)Clute, John ''The Independent'', October 11, 2005. was an American science fiction writer. Biography He was born in Colorado City, Texas, and grew up just outside it, then lat ...

and ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

''.Michael Moorcock, ''Take Back Plenty'' 1990.

References

Sources

* Clute, John and Peter Nicholls. ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, contin ...

''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin 1993 (2nd edition 1995). .

External links

* 1990 British novels British science fiction novels 1990 science fiction novels Sequel novels {{1990s-novel-stub