Captain Future: The Guns of Pluto

Allen Steele's take on Ed Hamilton's classic pulp heroes is spot on. A fun entry in this series.

After doing a revamped origin story, Avengers of the Moon, two more novels were intended. Now, thanks to the publisher behind the current Amazing Stories, we are getting these new stories as part of a new “magazine” Edmond Hamilton’s Captain Future. The second novel will be done as a series of four novellas, overall called The Return of Ul Quorn. The first part, “Captain Future in Love,” came out last year. Now the second one, “The Guns of Pluto” is out.For those not aware, Captain Future was published by Ned Pine‘s Thrilling Pubications. Inspired by Doc Savage, Curtis Newton was raised on the Moon after the murder of his parents by criminals. He was raised by three beings: Dr. Simon Wright, who is now a brain encased in a enclosure after his body died; Otho, a synthetic being created by Newton’s parents; and Grag, an intelligent, self-aware robot. These three will be his “Futuremen.” Otho and Grag have their own bizarre alien pets: Oog and Eek. Together they operate as a special group of troubleshooters for the president of the Solar System.Set five years after the events of Avengers of the Moon, The Return of Ul Quornis is about the Magician of Mars, who was thought to be dead. In the first part, “Captain Future in Love,” Curt and friends go after a terrorist attempt on Venus, and when he find that the female terrorist is an old flame, he recalls when they first met on Venus when he was a boy. At the same time, a mysterious figure calling himself the Black Pirate, hijacks a luxury spaceliner near Saturn.In “The Guns of Pluto,” the Black Pirate and his men take the prison on Pluto. This causes Curtis and his friends to head there also, taking their prisoner with them. We learn who the Black Pirate is and a bit of what he wants. And this one leaves us with a cliffhanger as the Black Pirate, along with Captain Future, are hurtled to the Deneb star system.Also included with “The Guns of Pluto” is one of the original Captain Future short stories. “The Harpers of Titan” appeared in Startling Stories (September 1950). This is the third of the short stories, so I’m not sure why they didn’t start with the first.The next volume will be “1,500 Light Years From Home.” I’m not sure when, but look forward to it.

Curt Newton had been making a name for himself. Of course, it wasn't the name that HE would have chosen but he couldn't argue that CAPTAIN FUTURE had begun to feared by villains and criminals throughout the system. So it was with a little despair when he had recently completed a mission to Venus that demanded he stop members of the terrorist group STARRY MESSENGER only to find the the first rue love of his life was one of those he must stop...and she wasn't scared by his name at all.Now, he is interrupted in his attempt to return home after the last mission and is sent to the extreme edge of the solar system....with that old flame still in tow on his ship. And...that mission will soon reveal loyalties and betrayals he had never thought of...and enemies long thought dead.Allen Steele has delivered the second in a proposed trilogy and it's a great one. Steele states how much discovering Captain Future reprints in his early years formed his imagination and lead him to become the prolific and excellent writer that he has become (my words)… and it can be seen in this his 4th entry into the world of Edmund Hamilton's Captain Future. His love for the character comes through in each chapter and page as he has captured the atmosphere and joy of the original stories and given them a modern spin to make the more relevant to newer, younger readers.With the final book 1,500 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME looming on the horizon, the anticipation grows.

The best a way to describe this novela is to compare it with the previous books. Captain Future In Love, also a novella, was a big disappointment but you need to read it so you know what's going on with some of the characters in this book. This book is better then that and not as good as Avengers of the Moon which is a full-length novel.this book has murder, suspense, betrayal, and prisoners getting out of their prison cells.I would have given the book one star more except the last section did not really make sense. it left the story hanging and the last section was almost like it was a new book.

CAPTAIN FUTURE was a science fiction variant of the standard pulp Justice Figure, coming along just before World War 2, and aiming at a more juvenile audience than the usual buyers of science fiction magazines. This attempt to revive the character and refit him for the second decade of the 21st Century fails at a number of points. The most notable failure is a lack of constant pulp action. Another big problem is the overwhelming amount of background information that the author has to drag in to keep the reader informed as to who, what, when and where, with an unnecessary amount of plodding background detail. Characterizations are good, and some thought has been given to fitting the 1930s pulp solar system, with human-looking aliens inhabiting every rocky planet and moon in the solar system, into a 2020 science fiction framework, with genetically-modified earth humans inhabiting every rocky planet and moon in the solar system. It's a mixed bag. If you love the 1930s pulp era fiction, as I do, you will tolerate this stuff a lot better than the neophyte reader who has no idea what this crap is supposed to honor. A nice addition to the current volume is an authentic Edmond Hamilton short story featuring Captain Future's sidekick and mentor, Simon Wright, aka "The Brain."

Just what I needed for my classic pulp sci-fi collection.

The potential for high space adventure is attempted here, but doesn't quite reach its zenith. An adequate read.

Me he transportado de nuevo a esta aventura y no puedo esperar a esta tercera parte, Allen a traído de nuevo a la vida a Curt Newton/Capitán Futuro, de la manera que lo soñamos los fans siempre

Captain Future is back with Allen Steele at his best in bringing back the Space hero of the 1940's.Edmund Hamilton would be proud that his creation has been revived. Recommended reading for all 4 volumes in this series.

第1巻よりも総頁数が80頁くらい増えて200頁を超え、本編のストーリーは約140頁で第1話の1.5倍。貴重な付録は、ハミルトンの短編『The Harpers of Titan』（邦題：『衛星タイタンの＜歌い鳥＞』）。短編の翻訳はすでに出ていますが、原文で読めて良かったです。ハミルトン版キャプテン・フューチャーの面白さとは違いますが、読み手には確実に罠だろうとわかっている状況にカートたちが向かっていくのが結構スリリング。スティール版は状況・内面描写の文章が多いので、キャラクターたちには感情移入しやすく、映画を見ているみたいに自分が体験しているような緊張感と不安感を感じます。『Avengers of the moon』や『Captain Future in Love』よりも、悪役たちがずっとコワイです。クォルンは目的達成のためには冥王星での大量殺人も全くためらわず、気に入らない行動をとった人質をその場ですぐに射殺するのも全然平気。ハミルトン版クォルンよりもはるかに冷酷無慈悲な凄みがあります。カートの初恋の少女はなぜかテロリストとなり、カートたちを罠に嵌めるため、未だに彼女の魅力に惹かれるナイーブなカートを巧みに騙し、何の罪悪感もなくほくそ笑むのがコワイ。今回は、カートがクォルンの術中にはまって、デネブ星系へのワームホールの入り口となる”Slingshot”もワープドライブを備えた＜コメット＞もクォルンに奪われ、さらに仲間もCold Hellの独房で虜囚の身となり、全くいいところがありません。ハミルトン版キャプテン・フューチャーなら、パズルのピースから推理を組み立てて、もっと警戒しているだろうと思うので、こっちのカートは洞察力と計略が足りなくて頼りないですね。今のところクォルンの方が１枚も２枚も役者が上です。それでもストーリー展開自体は面白いです。さらに、チコクレーターの地下基地内部の様子や冥王星と刑務所の描写が詳しかったり、kuiperians（冥王星に住むカイパーベルト人）のカニバリズムの由来になった最初の冥王星探検隊の悲惨なエピソードなど、ストーリーに厚みとリアリティが加わり、約140頁の話にしては充分読み応えがあります。