Sunday 7 February 2016

Right to Know by Edward Willett




I found this a very enjoyable science fiction novel - though quite small for the genre at a little over 200 pages.  It is well written with a good story line and a main character that the reader can easily relate to.

Living on board the spaceship Mayflower II, Art Stoddard is the civilian information officer working as the mouthpiece of the Captain and Crew. He is a  man that has drifted through a reasonably privileged life until the moment when he becomes unwittingly involved in a conspiracy.  Things go from bad to worse for Art and he eventually finds himself away from the ship - I'm not going to say anything else about that as it would spoil everything - and on the surface of a nearby planet which is where the fun really starts.

To my mind this book owes a great deal to the science fiction films of the 1950's and earlier serials.  The setting for the Skywatcher lair reminded me of the 1959 Journey to the Centre of the Earth with its tunnels, strange plants and other oddities.  Another scene where Art's costume for his part in a ceremony is described is straight out of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon.  

The characters that Art meets along the way are good science fiction stalwarts, for instance, the rescuer with a family to protect but a will to help, the stowaway youngster who wants to aid the hero, blinkered followers of the villain and the romantic interest.  The ship and its reasons for being where it is are plausible and this central plot device gives the book its title - Do the people on board the 'Right To Know' everything or should those in charge be the only ones with all the knowledge...

My only small issue (and it is a very small one) was the romance aspect which was entirely unnecessary but in keeping with 50's feel so I guess it had to be there.  All in all a great read that I would highly recommend.  





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