Ross Rocklynne was a fairly prolific author during the late 1930 and 1940s. These days he’s pretty much forgotten. So I was a little surprised to see “Invaders From the Stars” on the Retro Hugo ballot. After I read it, I further puzzled.
“Invaders From the Stars” was published in the January 1944 issue of Amazing Stories. Amazing has a reputation from this period of being a second tier pulp, with lots of purple prose and inferior writing.
“Invaders From the Stars” doesn’t help change that, although it’s not that bad. I just don’t think it’s nearly was well-written as any of the other stories on the Retro Hugo ballot. Given that the three remaining novellas are by Brackett, Kuttner, and Van Vogt, I don’t think that’s going to change.
The story isn’t bad, and the prose isn’t that purple. But this isn’t Rocklynne at his best. Here’s the setup.
Bess-Istra is the dictator, or rather the former dictator, of a planet in a far solar system. Rebels are closing in, but she has an escape plan. She and her remaining supporters have a spaceship in which they will travel to a nearby solar system and take over. They’ll sleep for 13 years and arrive to subjugate the habitable planet they’ve found there. Only the people of that solar system figure out what’s up and are able to divert Bess-Istra.
After traveling an unspecified long time, her ship lands on Earth, Mozambique to be precise. A missionary name John Stevens and a reporter named Bill Van Astor-Smythe find the space ship and awaken Bess-Istra. Now Bess is the most beautiful woman they’ve ever seen, and they both fall in love with her.
Against the wishes of her two highest ranking men, she claims the men as friends and helps them win WWII in a matter of days. Peacefully, I might add. Then she declares herself dictator. But she’s a benevolent dictator.
This doesn’t sit well with her underlings, who stage a coup. Bill, John, and Bess are on the run for their lives while trying to pull off their own coup.
There’s a lot of super science that isn’t much better than magic. I was fine with that.
The dialogue was a bit stilted and melodramatic. At times it sounded like a Victorian novel of the sticky-sweet sentimental variety.
I also had trouble buying Bess’s change of personality from how she was presented in the prologue of the story. She eventually converts to Christianity, which I like and thought was a nice touch, something you don’t see much of in science fiction. But I just found the change in her personality to be less than organic.
“Intruder From the Stars” was nice story, one that I read in nearly one sitting. In spite of the negatives I mentioned above, I did enjoy it. But it’s not a tale that will ever be considered a classic. It is currently available in a double from Armchair Books.