Wed 7 Jun 2023
SF Diary Review: A. BERTRAM CHANDLER – The Road to the Rim.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Science Fiction & Fantasy[7] Comments
A. BERTRAM CHANDLER – The Road to the Rim. Ace Double H-29, paperback original, 1967 (**). Cover art by Jerome Podwil. Previously serialized in If Science Fiction, April-May, 1967. Collected in To the Galactic Rim (Baen, trade paperback, 2011; mass market paperback, 2012).
Chronologically, the first “Rim Worlds†story, or at least the first featuring John Grimes. Here he is Ensign Grimes of the Space Survey Service, newly commissioned and incredibly naive. While on passage to his assigned base, he joins a merchant ship captain on an illegal mission of revenge.
The purser, Jane Pentecost, likely influences his decision, but piracy, after all, cannot be condoned. Afterward, the captain and Jane must leave for the Rim, but Grimes is partially exonerated by their success in destroying the attackers. Since it had already been written, we know there is more to come.
Not a complete novel as far as development is concerned. An episode, though an important one, in the life of Grimes. Characterization is flat and unreal, changing too much, too abruptly. Grimes worries about his motivations but lets the action and events carry him on.
Rating: **½
NOTE: The version serialized in If SF is identical except for the partial deletion of a scene with Jane in a detention cell.
(**) The novel on the reverse side of the Ace Double paperback, The Lost Millennium, by Walt and Leigh Richmond will be reviewed here soon.
June 8th, 2023 at 5:37 am
Chandler, a ship’s captain, wrote nautical adventues in space, and did it very very well. I have always enjoyed his Rim Worlds/John Grimes stories.
June 8th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
There was never a doubt that his John Grimes character was based on C. S. Forester’s famous naval hero Horatio Hornblower.
June 8th, 2023 at 3:10 pm
I don’t know if this series of books contains all of the Grimes stories or not, but if not, it looks as though most of them are included (From Wikipedia):
John Grimes Saga — Galactic Rim collected works
Published by Baen Books:
To the Galactic Rim — “The Road to the Rimâ€, “To Prime the Pumpâ€, “The Hard Way Up“ and “The Broken Cycleâ€. (2011, 560 pages), ISBN 978-1439134214
First Command — “Spartan Planetâ€, “The Inheritorsâ€, “The Big Black Mark†and “The Far Travellerâ€. (2012), ISBN 978-1451638509
Galactic Courier — “Star Courierâ€, “To Keep the Shipâ€, “Matilda’s Stepchildren†and “Star Lootâ€. (2013, 1024 pages), ISBN 978-1451638868
Ride the Star Winds — “The Anarch Lordsâ€, “The Last Amazonâ€, “The Wild Ones†and “Catch the Star Windsâ€, plus six short stories. (2012, 880 pages), ISBN 978-1451638127
Upon a Sea of Stars — “Into the Alternate Universeâ€, “Contraband from Otherspaceâ€, “The Rim Gods†and “The Commodore at Sea†(2014, 640 pages), ISBN 978-1476736365
Gateway to Never — “The Gateway to Never“, “The Dark Dimensions†and “The Way Backâ€. (2015, 656 pages), ISBN 978-1476780474
June 8th, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Not his best book, but I always enjoyed the Grimes books modeled on the Horatio Hornblower novels.
June 13th, 2023 at 8:54 am
I reviewed those wonderful BAEN omnibus editions:
http://georgekelley.org/forgotten-books-319-gateway-to-never-by-a-bertram-chandler/
http://georgekelley.org/forgotten-books-105-to-the-galactic-rim-by-a-bertram-chandler/
http://georgekelley.org/forgotten-books-164-to-ride-the-star-winds-by-a-bertram-chandler/
http://georgekelley.org/forgotten-books-146-galactic-courier-by-a-bertram-chandler/
June 13th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
Baen has been doing a great job in keeping many older writers in print, especially those who specialized in classic traditional SF. Collections like these are really nice to have and be able to read whenever you want.
July 12th, 2023 at 7:34 pm
[…] printing, 1967. Published back-to-back with The Road to the Rim, by A. Bertram Chandler (reviewed here.) Reprinted as Siva! (Ace, paperback, May […]