| Author: | Arthur C. Clarke |
| Copyright: | 1951 |
| Date Reviewed: | 1/8/86 |
| Rating: | 6.0 |
Synopsis: Dirk Alexson is an historian who has been given the assignment to document the launch of the first lunar mission for future historians. Dirk begins his investigation by working with the scientists in London who will be responsible for the mission. Dirk is taken under the wing of Mathews and McAndrews of the public relations division but soon hooks up with Professor Maxton who is second in charge. Maxton fills Dirk in on the technical issues.
The Prometheus ship is made up of two parts Alpha and Beta. Beta is the launch vehicle that will carry Alpha into Earth Orbit. Once there, Alpha will be loaded with fuel already brought into LEO by previous Beta trips and sent to a landing on the moon. Beta is launched from the Australian deserts by a five mile long magnetic rail. Both ships use atomic fuels instead of the bulky chemical fuels used during the war. Five pilots have been training for the mission but only three will go on the first one.
Review: I picked up this book only because I had read the title on my friend's bookshelf so many times. There isn't a lot of action here and there isn't meant to be. Like "The Listeners" by James E. Gunn, what little plot there is only serves to document a possible scientific possibility. In this case it's a landing on the moon. Reading this book in the late 50's might have been quite a thought provoking experience but 30 years later and 15 years after the first actual moon landing, it is like reading an alternate history (somewhat like "Space" by James A. Michener). With some inevitable mistakes, like the 3,000 vacuum tube computer - it is remarkable how accurate Clark was. Although his design does not fit the Apollo program, it is very similar to the first proposals of the Space Shuttle.
The actual premise of the story is a little weak. People do not write histories for 10,000 year future descendants but for the people of the day and the near future. It might have also been interesting had Clark gone on with the story a little bit rather than cutting it off at the launch.