The Sun Smasher/Starhaven

By Ivor Hamilton, Edmond/Jorgensen

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000O3IM7G
• Release Date: January 1959
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Thanks for the Memories

Ivar Jorgenson's _Starhaven_ and Edmond Hamilton's _The Sun Smasher_ (both 1959) are a pair of Ace Double novel space operas that are acceptable but not classical fare. I would readily rank the Hamilton the better of the two. "Ivar Jorgenson" was the pseudonym of Robert Silverberg, back in the days when he was churning out a high volume of hackwork to fill out issues of _Amazing_, _Fantastic_, and _Infinity_. _Starhaven_ isn't really a bad novel, but it is not anywhere nearly as good as the novels that Silverberg would be writing in just a few years. The hero, Johnny Mantell, is a beachcomber with a spotty memory on a luxury planet who is accused of murder. He ends up at Starhaven, a spaceport populated by outlaws. He is recruited by Ben Thurman, dictator of Starhaven, a man with ambitious plans, and befriended by the beautiful Myra. Not surprisingly, Johnny is not all he seems. There are a number of twists and turns before all is resolved. The Hamilton novel is an expansion of a 1954 _Universe_ novella entitled "Starman, Come Home". It is not Hamilton at his very best; but it is good Hamilton, and good craftsmanship is not to be sneered at. We are given another amnesiac hero. Neil Barron, a New York publisher's salesman, returns to his home town and finds that his memories do not match the reality of the town. Shortly after being locked up in jail, he is told the truth: He is, in fact, Kyle Valker, a prince from outer space. Hamilton now plays a neat trick. Banning does not believe that this is true. But _we_ know better... And so we lean back as Banning encounters one super-science wonder after another. There is the stun gun, the spaceship, the strangely lit cell, and finally the space screen showing a "glittering ocean of stars" that "crashed upon him like thunder" (23) until he falls unconscious. Banning finally accepts that he is Valkar, but he still does not remember. He must play the deadly game of impersonating himself. And all in quest of the Hammer, a superweapon built by his ancestors. The cover to _Starhaven_ is a routine affair by Ed Valigursky. But the cover to _The Sun Smasher_ is a wowser by Ed Emshwiller. I saw this book sitting on the coffee table at a friend's house. I determined that one day, I would read it. Years later, I did.