The Way to Dawnworld (Farstar & Son, #1)

"The Way To Dawnworld" is a science fiction adventure that takes place on distant planets in the distant future. At first it seemed a bit corny due to the names of the main characters - Dawnboy and Ranger Farstar, and Rothfeller Hughes - though the narrative is well-written. It's explained that Dawnboy belongs to a tribe that is a cross between Apaches and Scots, that the whole planet he lives on (Apache Highlands) was deliberately colonized that way. In spite of his name, the masculinity of the protagonist is quickly established in the beginning of the book as the 14-year-old hunts and fights a grizzly bear to prove his manhood. The first third of the novel concerns the return of Dawnboy's father, Ranger Farstar, to remove the boy from the extended family that raised him and take him along as a space trader. Most of the middle of the novel deals with his education and their involvement in a political situation between competing interstellar empires as they take a job for billionaire Hughes. In the last 3rd of the story they perform that job - exploring for a planet suitable for colonization while trying to evade the military spacecraft of the larger factions. In addition to the character names that I found corny, almost all of the planets are named for the type of system existing on them - such as Capitalia, Newtonia (planet of scientists), Musendowment (subsidized artist colony), etc. This convention doesn't seem realistic - I can't see it holding up on any one planet for more than one generation. Because of that the novel seems juvenile, aimed at younger readers; however, other than the names the narrative and dialog are relatively sophisticated, even more so than Robert Heinlein's "juvenile" novels ("Starship Troopers," "Red Planet," etc.), so it's quite readable for adults, and like Heinlein the author blends in enough philosophy and insight, without detracting from the suspense, to make it worth reading. On the whole, it's very comparable to Heinlein's "Citizen Of The Galaxy," not quite as good by a minuscule shade.