''The Ragged Astronauts'' is a novel by

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story " Light of Other Da ...

published in 1986 by Gollancz. It is the first book in the series ''

Land and Overland The ''Land and Overland'' trilogy is a group of three science fantasy novels by Northern Irish writer Bob Shaw. The trilogy consists of the books ''The Ragged Astronauts'' (published in 1986), ''The Wooden Spaceships'' (1988) and ''The Fugiti ...

''. It won the

BSFA Award for Best Novel The BSFA Awards are given every year by the British Science Fiction Association. The Best Novel award is open to any novel-length work of science fiction or fantasy that has been published in the UK for the first time in the previous year. Seriali ...

. The novel is set on the fictional twin planets of Land and Overland, which happen to share the same atmosphere. Land is running out of resources due to

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

, and its authorities are planning a

mass migration Mass migration refers to the migration of large groups of people from one geographical area to another. Mass migration is distinguished from individual or small-scale migration; and also from seasonal migration, which may occur on a regular basi ...

towards Overland. The process is complicated by

rioting A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

and an ongoing global pandemic.

Plot summary

''The Ragged Astronauts'' is a novel in which people can use a

hot-air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries ...

for

interplanetary travel Interplanetary spaceflight or interplanetary travel is spaceflight ( crewed or uncrewed) between bodies within a single planetary system. Spaceflights become interplanetary by accelerating spacecrafts beyond orbital speed, reaching escape velocit ...

between twin planets that share the same atmosphere. The feudal residents of Land have to migrate to the nearby planet of Overland due to

of resources on their homeworld. The story is told from the perspective of nobleman Toller Maraquine who clashes with a military Prince before and during the chaotic evacuation accelerated by rioting and a global pandemic.

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'' and holds the all-time record for most Hug ...

reviewed ''The Ragged Astronauts'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' #81, and stated that "''Pi'', in this book, equals 3. Therefore the universe isn't ours, the gravitational constant is different, and physicists will kindly pipe down."

Reviews

*Review by Chris Morgan (1986) in

Fantasy Review ''Fantasy Newsletter'', later renamed ''Fantasy Review'', was a major fantasy fanzine founded by Paul C. Allen and later issued by Robert A. Collins. Frequent contributors included Fritz Leiber and Gene Wolfe. Publication history The first iss ...

, September 1986 *Review by Dan Chow (1986) in

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Mathematics and science * Locus (mathematics), the set of points satisfying a particular condition, often forming a curve * Root locus analysis, a diagram visualizing the position of r ...

, #309 October 1986 *Review by Don D'Ammassa (1987) in

Science Fiction Chronicle ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' (later, just ''Chronicle'') was an American science fiction magazine (also called semiprozine) published from 1979 to 2006. It was named ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' until 2002 and from then until 2006, just ''Chro ...

, #96 September 1987 *Review by Orson Scott Card (1987) in

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

, November 1987 *Review by Paul Kincaid (1987) in

Foundation Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

, #38 Winter 1986/87

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragged Astronauts 1986 British novels 1986 science fiction novels Books about pandemics Novels about astronauts Novels by Bob Shaw Novels set on fictional planets Steampunk novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books Works about human migration