Because My Tears Are Delicious to You 22: The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett

[james_davis_nicoll]

The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett

Comments

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

IIRC, that was a minor plot point in the Dragonfall 5 novels. The titular spaceship was obsolete, because modern FTL vessels simply went into hyperspace directly from their planetside launching cradles.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

I remember reading those as a kid! I think I've forgotten what circumstances required an actual flying-though-space vehicle but the operators actually got to go places and see things, unlike their compatriots who simply disappeared at A and reappeared at B. Do you know if the books escaped the Suck Fairy? Would they be worth digging out for an adult?

[roseembolism.livejournal.com]

Bear in mind that it's been over thirty years since I read them, so I don't actually remember much. I think part of the use of the Dragonfall was to go to places without facilities. Maybe.

[(Anonymous)]

That matches my memory of the couple of those I read. The 'modern' ships couldn't go somewhere where there was no receiving cradle, and someone had to deliver the first receiving cradle (or the means to build it).

There's also Kuttner's "The Big Night", where hyperspace ships are being replaced by matter transmitters. One of the jobs still available to the ships is delivering matter transmitter gates to new locations.

-- Paul Clarke