Men, Martians and Machines

I grew up in Turkey. I bought a Turkish translation (titled Uzay Cocugu --> Space Child) from the local mom-and-pop store when I was 11 (on my mom's credit). I fell in love with this book and read it many times over the years. Unfortunately, I lost my copy when I was in college. Recently, I ordered a used copy (in English) and fell in love all over again. This is the book that opened my imagination when I was a child and I have been an avid sci-fi reader since then. Now that my son is 11, I will pass my copy on to him with the hope that he will find it as extraordinary as I did.

A couple of years ago I had the luck of finding a hardcover edition, (in pristine condition I might add) to replace my badly worn paperback copy. Our narrator is sergeant at arms aboard the merchant spaceship Upskadaska City, known to seasoned spacers as the 'Upsydaisy', making regular voyages between Earth and Venus until holed by an errant glob of space debris that sends the Upsydaisy hurtling directly into the sun. The ship survives thanks to her captain's navigating, the skill of her rather unusual emergency pilot and the grit displayed by all hands. As a reward captain and crew are given the new interstellar explorer ship 'Marathon' and sent to explore 'strange new worlds' all of which prove somewhat inhospitable to aliens. Our band of brothers is augmented a staff of government experts and a smart mouthed official photographer. And includes a Martian repair crew, goggle eyed ten tentacled beings who frequently complain about thick air, human odor and want to play chess at the most inopportune times. Dispite frequent interspecies bickering and banter when the chips are down Terran and Martian alike know they can depend on each other to the bitter end.

I got a copy of this book when I was about 9 yrs old and have probably read it so often that I've nearly memorized it over the last 30 yrs. What draws me into the book are the unforgettable characters---Jay Score (was he the inspiration for Mr. Spock?), Capt. McNulty, the chess-fanatic Martians---Kli Yang, Kli Morg, Sug Farn, et al, and the narrator, the sergeant at arms who is never identified by name. The stories are told in the first person and in a way it lets the reader become that character. The only downside of the book is that, as far as I know, Russell never wrote any further stories about the crew of the Marathon.

I still remember how it affected me. My imagination was awakened to visualize the entire book. I am now 47 years old and I never forgot that paperback and how it excited me. I definitely am going to find a used copy and read it again. I enjoyed it and am extremely fond of it.