Operation: Outer Space

Murray Leinster's _Operation: Outer Space_ (1954) first saw the light of day as a paperback original. It received more critical attention than most of Leinster's books, and it sold well enough to go through several printings. It is of some interest today because it is an Edisonade, a type of science fiction that few authors were writing by the 1950s. The Edisonade is a kind of breathless adventure in which a young male inventor tinkers around and makes a fabulous invention (usually a form of transportation) which becomes a means of conquering enemies. The classic example of the science fictional Edisonade is E.E. Smith's _The Skylark of Space_ (1928), in which Smith's inventor-hero makes the galaxy his playground. It was not the sort of story that the rational, ironic Leinster usually wrote. Nevertheless, Leinster demonstrates a knowledge of the conventions of this form of writing. Leinster (real name, Will F. Jenkins) was a successful inventor himself and knew a thing or two about making fictional inventions seem realistic. The Edisonade was named after Thomas Alva Edison. John Clute (1992) notes that there were in effect two Edisons: the young innocent inventor, and the self-promoting older man who took credit for the work of others and who claimed to have made fictitious inventions that would end war and make America invincible. There are two such characters in _Operation: Outer Space_: Jones, the actual inventor of communication and transportation devices, and Dabney, a neurotic fraud who bought the rights to one of Jones' inventions. Since Jones shuns publicity and wants to continue his work, Dabney is allowed to take the credit for the inventions. He serves as a front to help raise money while the real scientific work is done in the background.