The Reader's Bookshelf

NOT One of our Readers!
For those of you that missed this column last month, I apologize. First, I got sick putting up the CT. Then I had to play catch-up with all the Con photos. By the time that was all over, I got tied up in taxes. (For those of you not living in the US, tax time is April 15th. We call it, "The day the Eagle shits in your hat!")
I'm hoping to take a real break soon and finally get around to reading some of the really *ancient* out-of-print stuff I've collected lately. I am hoping to arrange some "guest reviewers," however, so I don't just turn up missing-in-action.
However, this month I made a real find. I've been looking at a book by Jerry Oltion called Abandon In Place for a few months. However, I'm still a little disillusioned from my work at NASA, so I kept passing it up. Then I saw a book called The Getaway Special. Based solely on the blurb on the inside cover, I had to buy it.

Book Cover


    The Getaway Special
    Jerry Oltion

    Copyright © Dec. 2001
    TOR Books

A "Getaway Special" is NASA parlance for some of the small containers sent up on the Space Shuttle. Most of them carry experiments put together by college students or school kids. They're harmless, don't take up much space, and are generally a good public-relations boost for the agency. (That's about all the "Science Fact" you get with this story, but what a point of departure!)

A Mad Scientist takes up his experimental "hyperdrive" in order to test it in a safe environment. When the experiment succeeds, he broadcasts the plans to all his friends in the International Network of Scientists Against Nuclear Extermination. This upsets most of the worlds governments. While they try to keep a lid on the story, nearly everyone in-the-know is busy hunting up air-tight containers in which to explore the universe. France retro-fits a submarine with the new drive for the equivalent of about about $5 U.S. and sends the crew out planet hunting. They want to make French culture safe from the nasty Americans!

This is the funniest thing I've read in a long time. After everything that's happened to us lately, I needed a good laugh. I heartily recommend it!

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Text Copyright © 2002 Paul Roberts

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(Space Reader Illustration © 1998 Joe Singleton)