Between Planets

This was an interesting little adventure, and fun throwback to classic sci fi. It obviously had some of the markers of classic sci fi, for better or for worse, but was still a fun, plot heavy adventure and interesting look into how people of the past envisioned the future.

Dom is living the life that many young men in the solar system live, attending a boarding school on Earth, sent there by his parents who live on Mars as scientists. However despite that, Dom is a unique case with regard to his citizenship. His father is from Earth, his mother from Venus, and he was born in space. Technically a citizen of both planets, permanent resident of neither. It hasn't been an issue up until this point - until the war broke out. Dom gets an unexpected telegram from his parents; he is to leave school immediately and take the pre-booked shuttle to Mars, also go see your uncle in New Chicago on the way back. This is odd, why the rush? And.. he doesn't have an uncle in New Chicago, just an old family friend he barely knows. But the immediacy is clear, he is to leave at once. Meeting with this man deepens the mystery as he says there is a critically important package that Dom needs to bring to his father, more important than anything else. He MUST get to Mars. But that's not so simple, because almost immediately, conflict breaks out when Venus rebels against Earth's rule over them. Dom immediately runs into issues when his loyalties are not so clear, being not from Earth, but not really from Venus. The authorities are on his tail, and seem to know something about this mysterious package. Dom embarks on a harrowing adventure across planets, job hopping, joining and leaving military factions, and dodging danger as everyone seems to be looking for him specifically. He doesn't know why, but that's not going to deter him from his mission of reuniting with his parents.

This book is just under 200 pages but packs a punch by way of plot. This boy traverses all over the solar system, constantly dodging, joining, and escaping. And surprisingly, for me at least, this did not lead to a quick reading experience. It felt much longer than it was, and took me surprisingly long to get through. But that's not to say it wasn't interesting. I appreciated it for what it was, a largely surface level action/political sci fi thriller following a likable hero.

Though most of my enjoyment came more from the reflecting on how an author from 1951 envisioned the future. I found it charming that in this universe of high technology, there really wasn't a conceptualization of computers. Paper documents and slow radio transmissions were still dominant even in this speculated future. The language, of course, was also fun; a mix between dated slang and manufactured "future" slang. There is also quite a bit of postwar optimism/patriotism here that is difficult to imagine in the distant year of 2026. Even in a work that is seemingly critical of war and supports the underdog, the patriotic sentiment of both Earthlings and those from Venus is.. tough to relate to.

This was a fun thought experiment, though not too groundbreaking. It is readable for modern sci fi readers who might be intimidated by dipping into the classics.