Pluto and Space Pirates

Read/Watch 'em In Order #90

We continue our journey through the August 1939 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories with "The Dweller in Outer Darkness," by Frank Belknap Long, Jr.

This one is pure space opera, something I have no problem with when done well. "Dweller," though, is only mostly done well. Long was a prolific writer for the pulps and later as a novelist and his stuff is usually quite good. This story, though, has a few flaws that keep it from flowing smoothly.

It's set on Pluto, being explored for the first time by a small ship with a crew of three. The narrator, Mark Banner, is in love with fellow crew person Helen Torrey. But Helen has eyes only for Peter Miles, who has the air of a reckless adventurer about him and is willing to take chances that Mark will not. That Mark is constantly critical of Miles' risk-taking ("Heroics and science don't mix") doesn't make him look good in Helen's eyes.

After acquiring a specimen of an apparently dead and vaguely human life form, the three blast off for Earth. But when they are intercepted and captured by the ruthless space pirate Delcha, we get to see which of the crew really has courage. We'll also get to see if the Plutonian life form is actually dead or merely waiting for the right conditions to wake it up.

The setting and plot are fine and Long succeeds in making the climax appropriately creepy. The drawback is the techno-babble. Of course, this is space opera, where super-scientific devices are common and a degree of techno-babble is necessary to explain those devices. Long simply spends a few too many words during the relatively short tale explaining the "science" behind several weapons and protective belts the characters are using. There are moments in science fiction when the author just needs to say "force field belt" or "stun gun" and then just leave it at that.

But, as I said, the story turns effectively creepy when the Plutonian thing turns out to be not-quite-dead and any story that involves a space pirate gets points for that alone, so "The Dweller in Outer Darkness" is worth a read.

Remember that you can find this issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories online HERE.