The_Mightiest_Machine

<i>The Mightiest Machine</i>

The Mightiest Machine

1947 science fiction novel by John W. Campbell, Jr.

The Mightiest Machine is a science fiction novel by American writer John W. Campbell, Jr. The novel was originally serialized in 5 parts in Astounding Stories magazine from December 1934 to April 1935, and was published in book form in 1947 by The Hadley Publishing Co. in an edition of 1,200 copies. Campbell was a leading figure in the Golden Age of Science Fiction.

Quick Facts Author, Illustrator ...

Plot introduction

The story is the first to feature Campbell's hero Aarn Munro. This space opera novel concerns the harnessing of energy from the sun and encounters with aliens who turn out not to be truly alien at all. It also touches on the legends of ancient civilizations on earth, Mu in this case, and what may have happened to them.

Reception

Astounding reviewer P. Schuyler Miller described the 1947 edition as "perhaps the climax of the super-physics school of science fiction which 'Skylark' Smith had started."[1] Everett F. Bleiler identified the novel as the paradigm of "the Campbell hard space opera," noting its "great quantity of fanciful and ingenious scientific extrapolations, fictional weaknesses, and polarized social simplistics that regard genocide with equanimity."[2]

Technology

The novel is ground breaking in its inclusion of a wide range of advanced technology including space travel concepts such as Artificial gravity, Faster-than-light travel with Warp drive, and an early version of travel through Wormholes as important facets of the story. The protagonist also invents and employs devices such as Infrared vision googles and miniature remotely piloted surveillance drones.

Trivia

The novel contains the phrase "…to infinity and beyond…": "Her crew on that trip that was to lead them to infinity and beyond consisted of Aarn Munro, Carlisle,…"[3]

References

  1. [1]
    "Book Reviews", Astounding, November 1950, p.94
  2. [2]
    Everett F. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years, Kent State University Press, 1998, p.59
  3. [3]
    Campbell, John (December 1972). The Mightiest Machine. New York: Ace Books. p. 36.

Sources


Stub icon

This article about a 1940s science fiction novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article The_Mightiest_Machine, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.