John Wyndham's Stowaway to Mars, set in England in the early 1980s, was published in 1936 under the pen name of John Benyon with the title Planet Plane (also published as The Space Machine). It is an early work, only his second or third published novel and from what I can gather from reviews is now seen as an early and fairly weak offering (in some cases much maligned), particularly compared to most of his later books now seen as classics. Being something of an outsider looking in on the science fiction/fantasy genre I don't think I can adequately place the work, though I do have two other Wyndham novels under my belt. But I have seen the term space opera attached to Stowaway and also read that (at least in reference to later books) he writes something more akin to "cozy catastrophes".
I would definitely say this is indeed a early work and that his stories get much, much better. Stowaway does feel a bit like a space opera, and that while it asks some very interesting and provoking questions for the time it was written, it is also definitely a product of its times and the mores and attitudes of when it was written. The stowaway in this case is a woman and there are moments when it is hard to overlook the very overt sexism of the writing (is that Wyndham speaking, simply a reflection of the period and not what he thought of women or was he being satirical?--probably just reflection of the period) and dramatic situations. It's best to keep in mind that while the book is set in the post-1960s post-feminist-revolution world, it was written in the mid-1930s not even a decade after women in England won the right to vote on equal terms as men.
The story opens with an almost suspenseful, espionage-inspired scene where a murder takes place at a science facility where a space ship is being constructed. It's all very hush, hush, but someone has infiltrated the compound. A man lies dead and a nightwatchman has been caught in the crosshairs. He was spying on the design of Dale Curtance's ship. A ship he is building to take him and a crew of men on a race to be the first men to travel to another planet, land and return. The Keuntz Prize is on offer, not only is there much money involved, but of course bragging rights to the men and country who can get "there" first. "There" being the planet of their choice and Dale has his sights set on the red planet, Mars!
Dale is an adventurer. He has a passion for speed and flying and his accomplishments are impressive, but this is like the cherry on top of it all. What he is doing isn't exactly "rocket-racing" but it's what he has wanted to do and be all his life--the very best. Now that a spy has managed to get into his hangar and gotten himself killed, his plans will be uncovered and announced to the world before he's quite ready. Dale is married with a wife who is expecting a child, and of course she wants him to give it all up and settle down into a proper family/home life. So here is the first inkling of women and their place and men and theirs and just which is seen as the more important and exciting. Mary is relegated to the house. (Conversation between Mary and her mother-in-law:
"[To Mary:] It's not fair on you Dale or yourself or the child. In your condition you can't afford to behave like this. All we can do is what most women have to do--make the best of it."
If this was a movie, the next shot would move to another household somewhere in Wales where a young woman is reading the newspaper about Dale and his interplanetary plans, and she has a most interesting conversation with her father. The plot thickens. This rather mysterious conversation will very soon make sense, but it seems that father and daughter were somehow ridiculed away from their home and town, thought of as cranks and maybe charlatans.
Father and daughter have had the strangest experience involving a machine, a robot of which I cannot even fathom (being of a 21st century sensibility and knowing what machines can do and will do and can imagine AI and robots that look almost human and certainly think better than most humans). They came across one that came from somewhere else, and managed to communicate with it, learned from it. Before it self-destructed. They don't know why, but Dale's voyage to another planet might just be the way to prove they were not lying.
You see where this is going now? October 1981 and the rocket prepares to take off with Dale and his crew of four other men--a reporter, a doctor, an engineer and another pilot. Every calculation has been made and made again so there are no unaccounted for variables. The plans are precise as well they need to be to take five men to Mars and back with enough fuel and provisions. For Dale this is an opportunity to plant a flag and win a prize. The doctor will take samples. The reporter, well, he's going to have the scoop of the century, and the two others are going to make sure it all runs smoothly. Only something has gone awry. Some calculation is off. The journey is off by several minutes and some strange weight is slowing them down. Who has packed something he shouldn't have?
Ah. A stowaway. In one of the compartments carrying supplies is a young woman by the name of Joan and then all hell breaks loose. In this bastion of make testosterone, narrow-mindedness and old world superstition . . . a woman on board? Yes, it is as bad as you are thinking it might be. Joan has stowed away to make contact with the people of Mars. She has managed to learn some of their language and wants to be able to clear her father's name. This is not about bragging rights and she is probably one of the most sensible of the bunch, but tell any of the men that (save for the doctor who has a more open mind, and the reporter who smells a sensational story). She creates all kind of havoc, and we've not even landed yet.
It's what happens when they do arrive on Mars and what they find there that raises some interesting questions. I won't delve into them too deeply, but one of the main questions Wyndham poses is what happens when the robots become smarter and more efficient than the humans who made them. Actually I am not sure he is asking so much as presenting an interesting possibility. There are more adventures to be had, lots of danger, unhappy moments for Joan and a very curious ending. I think Joan gets a very bum rap at the end. I'm not sure if it is short-sightedness on Wyndham's part of simply the reality of the times (once again).
As you can see this was a very provoking and provocative read for me despite its many shortcomings. I am not sure what I think of it. I liked it in many ways and was peeved off by it in many ways. I could overlook all the moments of 'this could never happen', but then I am good at suspending disbelief when the occasion calls for it. I know what Wyndham is capable of writing so I see this as an early curiosity while he was finding his feet so to speak. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading as it was simply the premise of a journey to Mars (and the appeal of what a stowaway could mean). This was the second of two reads for my August prompt (I wrote about the other one here). I would definitely point you in the direction of his later books, Chocky and The Midwich Cuckoos if you want to try John Wyndham's work and don't know where to start and save Stowaway to Mars if you want to read further in his oeuvre (though I suspect the novel would elicit some interesting discussions and thought!). Now, onwards to September.