Crooks in Space, Part 1

cover art by Edward Valigursky 

Randall Garrett is best remembered for his fun and funny Lord Darcy stories--a character modeled on Sherlock Holmes who lives in a world in which magic exists. But he was a quite prolific writer who pretty much always entertained his readers no matter when and where his tales were set.

This week and next week, we'll be taking quick looks at a pair of stories from 1956, published in consectutive issues of Amazing Stories magazine, that each feature a less-than-honest protagonist.

The first of these is "The Man Who Hated Mars" (Amazing Stories, September 1956) and, boy, does the main character really, really hate Mars. Fifteen years ago, Ron Clayton was convicted of mugging someone and chose a lifetime exile on Mars rather than 10 years in an Earth prison.

He's long since come to regret that decision. Earth's idea for colonizing Mars is to do as little for the colonists as possible, requiring them to endure the perpetually freezing weather, low gravity and low oxygen pressure under  the theory that they would eventually acclimate to it. For fifteen years, Clayton has felt as if he can never quite catch his breath while shivering through work shifts in the mines.

It's hard to feel sorry for Clayton, though. Garrett does not give us a likeable or sympathetic protagonist for this story. And this isn't just because he is guilty of the crime of which he was committed. We soon discover that Clayton is unable to accept responsibility--that in his mind, everything is always someone else's fault. And his moral sensibilities are pretty much non-existant.

So, when he comes up with a plan for mugging the drunken steward from a cargo ship that returns to Earth in a few hours, then using that guy's ID to get aboard--well, we aren't so much rooting for him as wondering when something will inevitably go wrong with his plan.

That plan includes eventually sabotaging the cargo ship and stealing a life boat, eventually landing on Earth in a remote location. But though his scheme seems to proceed without a hitch, Clayton may not have considered just how much he has acclimatized to Mars after fifteen years.

The story is a short one, but that's what makes it work. Clayton is a pretty loathsome guy, without the charm or cleverness that can make a reader root for a crook within the context of a work of fiction. But this well-constructed tale keeps us interested in seeing just how he gets his comeupance without overstaying its welcome.

You can read this one online HERE. Next week, we'll look at another crooked spaceman, but this time one who is a little smarter and more capable than the Man Who Hated Mars.