My second Allen Steele novel, after reading the author's excellent ARKLIGHT a little while back.

AVENGERS OF THE MOON is a new novel to feature Steele's Captain Future. I found a reference to a rather old story featuring the character, written by another author, but I haven't been able to track down a copy to read - in this novel's afterword, Steele says he wanted it to be a reboot, of sorts, for the character.

The novel features Steele's trademark excellent writing and characterization. It's a pulp-style science fiction story, so it's got some good action, a fun and quickly-paced plot. I rather enjoyed it.

Recommended.

Una divertidísima novela que homenajea la historias espaciales pulp de los 60 y 70. En esta novela vemos el surgimiento de un famoso héroe de historias pulp, el Capitán Futuro. En los años 40 el autor Edmond Hamilton publicó una serie de historietas en fascículos sobre este personaje. Ya en los 70 hubo una reedición y una versión de dibujos animados. El Capitán Futuro es un personaje conocido por los más cafeteros, y Allen Steele recupera al personaje y lo homenajea reescribiendo (respetando el canon) el personaje original y su primera aventura. Una historia retro donde las haya, con los conocimientos científicos de la época y con aquella inocencia de intentar imaginar un futuro pero con una fuerte atmósfera analógica. Me ha gustado mucho más de lo que esperaba. Quizá es por mi reciente gusto adquirido por las historias pulp, tanto de ciencia ficción como de fantasía (a menudo ambas juntas). Recomendaría encarecidamente este libro si os gusta el género.

More than once I have written that I'm a fan of old-fashioned pulp fiction so I knew this would likely be right up my alley. I was familiar only with the basic premise of Captain Future and that it was generally written by Edmond Hamilton. What author Allen Steele has done is provided the reader with back story - or the origin story, if you will.

Curt Newton's mother and father were murdered when he was a child. He has been raised in a hidden bunker on the moon by a robot, an android, and the brain of Professor Simon Wright - a family friend. These three oddities teach and train Curt so that he is the best possible human. He is also raised with a strong moral code to do what is right and protect the innocent.

When Curt learns that his parents' killer is a corrupt businessman and current Senator, he makes it his mission to get out and avenge his parents and to bring down the politician. He creates the persona of 'Captain Future' and with the help of his three unique friends (the robot, android, and disembodied brain) begins his adventure. Along the way, he meets Inspector Joan Randall of the Interplanetary Police Force. He's never met another human before this, and the fact that she's quite beautiful has him feeling awkward and tongue-tied around her, though he tries valiantly to play up his Captain Future do-gooder persona. Joan finds him silly, but charming and attractive with his innocence and as she's also trying to right wrongs in the galaxy, she teams up with him. Together they discover that there's a web of conspiracy that runs deep surrounding the Senator and bringing him down won't be an easy task.

Author Allen Steele is clearly knowledgeable of the pulp genre and has taken on this story with the skill of a practiced writer and the enthusiasm of a fan.. He has written the 'origin story' of Captain Future (which lines up with his origins as described in Wikipedia).

Writing pulp fiction for the modern reader is no easy task, and taking a hero from the 1940's pulps and making him interesting and relevant to today's reader is a challenge. But it's a challenge that Steele has taken on and done very well.

I've only read a small amount of Edmond Hamilton (the author of Captain Future books in the 1940's) and nothing of this particular hero, so I can't really compare, but this book has encouraged me to seek out some of the original Captain Future stories and that alone speaks highly of how interesting and exciting this book was. I hope that this will lead to more Captain Future volumes with Steele at the helm.

Looking for a good book? Avengers of the Moon by Allen Steele is a modern story of a classic pulp hero and has all the excitement and adventure of the classic pulps but will engage the modern reader well.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have come to understand now when I’m done that this book is an homage to the 1940’s pulp sci-fi story about Captain Future, a hero I didn't know about. Now it all makes sense.

Why I felt there was missing history lost on me and why it felt like fan fiction. Because it kind of was fan fiction, although not as badly written has fan fiction tends to be. The story was just so incredibly cliché and cheesy, and I was unmoved throughout.

I could at times appreciate the old school sci-fi and one liners, but not enough to really enjoy this book. I kept getting lost in other thoughts and had to backtrack myself several times while reading.

Not for me.

https://lynns-books.com/2017/05/04/avengers-of-the-moon-by-allen-steele/
To be honest, I don’t really know if I’ve read a lot of pulp fiction or not – although I think maybe Edgar Rice-Burroughs and even Ray Bradbury qualify? It sounds a little like a derogatory term doesn’t it but basically, pulp fiction was a cheap way of mass producing highly entertaining, fast paced adventure stories and in doing so bringing reading to the masses and allowing them to escape into any number of fantasy worlds – even delving into deepest space and beyond.

In Avengers of the Moon Allen Steele has managed to resurrect an action hero from the 1940s/50s, to give him a new injection of life with a new and original beginning and also coupled this with a slightly more modern feel. What Steele also manages to do is evoke a wonderfully nostalgic feeling when reading the book that makes you cast back into your mind to past television series. You know the ones I mean, the old tv sci fi series that always started with a voice over at the beginning. Yes, as I started Avengers of the Moon I couldn’t help reading the introduction with ‘that voice’ in my head and it simultaneously made me smile and hooked me. I’m not going to suggest that this is a great literary work but it is an entertaining story that made for a very easy and slightly, at times, crazy read. A popcorn book. A book of pulp fiction.

The story does have a little bit of setting up to do. We learn of Curt Newton, an orphan raised by a robot, an android and a disembodied brain (that of a renowned scientist). It may have been a somewhat lonely existence until this point and maybe Curt lacks a few social graces but nobody can deny that it has been interesting. Curt’s parents were murdered when he was still a baby. Their murderer has never been brought to justice and in fact has become a powerful figure in society. You could say that Curt has been almost in training for the moment when he would be able to go after his parents’ murderer (even if he wasn’t aware that was the case until this point). He’s had the benefit of much attention, education and training during his early life and all of these aspects are about to be brought into sharp focus as he embarks on a mission of revenge – or justice. Of course, things don’t go completely to plan and before Curt can say ‘reverse the particle flow of he flux capacitor and beam me up’ he’s tangled up in a plot of assassination and Captain Future is born.

If you want a fairly fast paced adventure story from deepest space, a bunch of laughs that arise from the strangest situations involving robots, androids and disembodied brains and all the awkward moments and odd conversations that they bring to the story, plus gadgets galore and updated sci fi then look no further. I guess the first half of the story had something of a set up feel but I think that’s to be expected. We’re pretty soon thrown into chaos as Captain Future gets to work. There are some very comical situations courtesy of his companions – not least Joan Randall of the Interplanetary Police Force – who it seems Curt has something of a crush on – if only he knew what a crush was! I think this aspect was well handled. Pulp fiction of old did tend to portray women as pure mind candy (not to mention the women were usually draped, very scantily clad across the covers). In this potential situation for romance, Joan is certainly very easy on the eye (as is Curt for that matter), but I didn’t find Joan’s portrayal dismissive at all or purely ornamental – she had a real role to play, she is a respected member of the IPF and on top of that she makes Curt nervous and embarassed (not to mention saving his ass on occasion). That being said this is the Captain Future’s story and so you would expect Curt to shine through more strongly.

In terms of criticisms. Not much to write about really. I think there was an element of cheesiness going on – but I actually liked it and thought it added to the story to be honest. I think there was definitely a set up type feel, I think the story lulled a little bit towards the middle and then in contrary fashion had a very speedy ending and I would have liked the ‘baddies’ to be a bit more down right bad.

Other than that, this was a fun read. Easy to engage with and even though I’d never heard of Captain Future before I would definitely read more of his adventures if those were in the offing.

I received a copy through Netgalley courtesy of the publisher for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Curt Newton, aka Captain Future, has led a sheltered life tucked away underground in an isolated secret hideout with his friends, a robot, an android and the disembodied brain of a great scientist.
But when Curt’s curiosity gets the better of him he becomes embroiled in saving the solar system from the machinations of an evil mastermind.
Avengers of the Moon does have the feel of the type of book that would have been written in the 1950s/early1960s, except that the women are more Kathy Gale and Emma Peel, than shrinking violets, and relevant science is slipped in unobtrusively for a modern audience.
Curt is your archetypal, clean cut, clean living hero. Although he does get somewhat hot under the collar when Joan Randall (inspector third class of the Interplanetary Police Force), is in close proximity. There is quite a bit of exposition, but it actually works really well, and in parts gives the sense of a fascinating travelogue of the Moon and Mars.
Make no mistake there is violence, but you do not get description just for the sake of ramping up the sense of horror, but more because in an attack people get hurt. You have organisations with the classic sci-fi monikers of the Interplanetary Police Force (the good guys) and Sons of the Two Moons (the bad guys).
At first Curt behaves like an idiot, albeit a brave idiot. However guided by his good friend the robot Grag, the android Otho and the Brain (the disembodied brain of Professor Simon Wright) you see Curt mature very quickly to be a worthy commander.
This is a very entertaining read about the good guys going after the bad guys, with a wonderful sense of something old fashioned about it and is refreshing change from the hard paced texts so favoured by modern thrillers or the complicated philosophical demands of many modern sci-fi books. In other words this is a relaxing comfort read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Allen Steele’s Arkwright popped up on many “Best of” lists in 2016 and I gave it shot, but it was not to my liking. Steele’s writing style was tough to engage with. Luckily, I found Avengers of the Moon to be much more palatable. I was coming in blind to Steele’s previous work as well as the source material for which this novel is based — Captain Future, a 1940s pulp sci-fi hero made famous by Edmond Hamilton.

Captain Future is an orphaned renegade who seeks revenge for the death of his parents along with his trusty android sidekick, a disembodied brain, and a hulking robot. It is a fun group, but there’s not a great deal of nuance to these characters. I understand that Steele was operating within the confines of a previously established cast, so I do think he does well with what he’s given.

I very much enjoyed the classic sci-fi vibe of this world — plasma guns, rocket ships, and robot companions abound. In many ways it feels like a B-movie in book form, and as such, the story doesn’t take many creative risks. Throw in an over-the-top mustache-twirling villain and you have the makings of fun, but otherwise ephemeral story.

I love the cover of Avengers of the Moon. It really sets the tone for the story. Steele has gone back to a group of stories he read as a young adult and upgraded the hero in a story that fits in the world today. This is pure space opera with a hero who has spent most of his life in hiding after his parents were murdered. The three people who raised him are not exactly human but they have prepared him for life outside. I loved the characters, the action and the plot. This is space opera as I first started reading it and it was great finding something new and fun. I hope this is the start of a series as I would love to visit again.

Gosh blimey I enjoyed this one. It does exactly what it says on the tin! It is an update of the pulp classic Captain Future novels and it is definitely pulpy, both in plot and language. There are certain turns of phrase here that in another book, would feel clunky or inappropriate, but in an homage/update of this nature, they are absolutely pitch perfect. Curt Newton, aka Captain Future, is the typical pulp hero - good looking, super smart and humble, but it is his band of merry men that I found most appealing, particularly Grag, the robot with a heart of gold. This is good fun, very silly and tries to be nothing else, which I really appreciate. As an origin story for our hero, it works very well and I for one hope that the series continues. Earth shattering literature it isn't but I challenge you to read it without a nostalgic grin for the golden age of pulp.

An entertaining new origin of a famous hero of the pulp magazines, Captain Future. The setting is very interesting, altough the story sometimes is naive. I'm interested in this universe if the author continues writing about it.
Review in english: http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/2017/04/avengers-of-moon-allen-steele-english.html
Reseña en español: http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/2017/04/avengers-of-moon-allen-steele.html

Curt Newton has spent most of his life hidden from the rest of humankind, being raised by a robot, an android, and the disembodied brain of a renowned scientist. This unlikely trio of guardians has kept his existence a closely guarded secret since the murder of Curt’s parents. Curt’s innate curiosity and nose for trouble inadvertently lead him into a plot to destabilize the Solar Coalition. There’s only one way to uncover the evil mastermind—Curt must become Captain Future. With the permission of the Edmond Hamilton estate, Allen Steele revives the exciting adventures of Captain Future.

So did this homage to the past pulp fiction series, Captain Future, manage to deliver an adventure that would grip modern readers? Oh yes. It did take me a chapter to get used to the passages telling me what was going on, along with a sizeable chunk of the backstory. The modern way of imparting this information would be through the characters’ actions, thought and speech within the story, rather than the author giving blocks of this information. There is nothing inherently wrong with this way of writing, but it does feel rather old fashioned, which in this context is spot on.

Once I got accustomed to this writing style – the style I grew up with – I was able to become immersed in the adventure, sit back and enjoy the ride. I really liked the main protagonist, Curt Newman aka Captain Future, who is brought up by an eerily smart construction robot, an android and his parents’ mentor whose brain is trapped in a metallic casing. Not surprisingly, Curt finds mixing with ordinary people, especially attractive women, rather a challenge. I’m fairly sure that the original books would not have given this weakness a mention. Raised all his life to search out and take revenge on the man who ordered the brutal murder of his parents, Curt tracks him down – only to find himself caught up in the machinations of another plot. A plot with the potential to destabilise the whole Solar System…

I enjoyed the fact that humanity has been altered genetically to cope with the hostile conditions on the other planets and moons. Steele has created a coherent civilisation off-planet with a variety of space-faring craft.

Curt and his odd team have a variety of cool gismos, courtesy of the inventive genius of Brains. One of these inventions is a cloaking device, but before you get the idea that Curt can simply press a button and prowl around nicely hidden from his potential attackers, the catch is the field that bends light sufficiently to keep him hidden means that when cloaked, he is blind. So while this invention can be handy, it also has major practical drawbacks. I really enjoyed these details that helped to increase the stakes and ensure that when Curt went into action as Captain Future, he wasn’t the type of invulnerable superhero we have become accustomed to seeing in comics and cinemas. Overall, this is a enjoyable space opera adventure, with plenty of action, some nice touches of humour and some plot twists I didn’t see coming.

While I obtained the arc of Avengers of the Moon from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
8/10

This is a huge scientific info dump and it's not what I personally want from my novels. I want to get into the characters right away, and there's too much exposition about the worldbuilding I don't care about if I have nothing to go on for reasons to care about the protagonist. And where are the female characters? I find worldbuilding and male characters really boring if I have nothing to root for.

Whatever can be said about Avengers of the Moon, Allen Steele has accomplished something rare and remarkable here. In his afterword, he suggests that this novel can be viewed as a reboot of Captain Future—a character I was not initially familiar with, though pulp lovers will no doubt recognize this science fiction hero who appeared primarily in a series of adventure stories written by Edmond Hamilton in the 40s. Steele goes on to explain, however, that he did not mean for this book to be a homage or a parody; rather, his intent was to revive the character for modern times and introduce him to a new generation of readers. Avengers of the Moon is therefore the hero’s updated “origin story” following the journey of protagonist Curtis Newton to become Captain Future.

Curt was just a baby when his mother and father were murdered in cold blood. The boy then fell into the care of a robot, an android, and the disembodied brain of Professor Simon Wright, a good scientist friend of the family. Together, this unlikely trio raised Curt in a secret underground bunker on the moon in order to hide his presence from Victor Corvo, the corrupt businessman who killed his parents.

Twenty years later though, Curt emerges from hiding, determined to bring Corvo to justice. In that time, the businessman has risen far on the ladder of power, becoming a Lunar senator. To take down his prominent quarry, Curt must adopt the persona of Captain Future and uncover the full extent of Corvo’s conspiracy, which even goes as far as to include a plot to assassinate the president of the Solar Coalition. Together with his three guardians Otho, Crag, and Simon, as well as the help of beautiful Inspector Joan Randall of the Interplanetary Police Force, our hero embarks on his first “troubleshooting” assignment.

The pulp influence is obvious; even with the updates to bring Captain Future more in line with the technology and culture of our times, the writing here feels like an attempt to imitate the style from the sci-fi and fantasy pulp magazines of the 40s. Naturally, coming from Steele’s last novel Arkwright, this was a considerable change for me. The writing in Avengers of the Moon feels less formal and “sophisticated” in comparison, with practically non-existent character development, playing instead on the pulp tradition to convey the idea of larger-than-life heroes, over-the-top villains, and voluptuous femme fatales. All this is of course by design, a nod to the source material which will no doubt delight Sci-fi Golden Age enthusiasts, but even as someone unfamiliar with the original Captain Future, I have to say I found this whole effort to recreate the retro atmosphere quite charming.

That said, this is clearly a novel written for fans, by a fan. I hadn’t expected to get as much out of Avengers of the Moon as someone already familiar with Captain Future, for example, and I was right. Does that mean I thought the book was bad? No, absolutely not. It’s just that I was not the ideal audience. In spite of this, the book is still pretty solid for what it’s meant to be, combining the modern with a bit of throwback nostalgia. Steele deserves a huge pat on the back for the ideas behind this ambitious project; I have a feeling he has just made a lot of his fellow Captain Future geeks very happy.

Bottom line, it’s probably safe to say that Avengers of the Moon should not, must not be missed by fans of Captain Future. As a reboot, I’m not sure how effective it is at winning new fans, but I also can’t deny I had a good time learning more about the character. This may be a book intended for a niche audience, but I would say if you enjoy the pulps or are even remotely interested in the style, it is worth a look. While it’s nothing too serious or deep, the story is a fun and snappy read.

Avengers of the Moon by Allen Steele
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!

Ed Hamilton's old Captain Future stories of the 40's are Golden Age SF staples.... or pulp fiction... that many people have loved and promptly forgotten through the ages, but not completely forgotten.

In case you're wondering what the Golden Age SF is, it's the zap guns, the cyborgs, the Robbie robots, the classic rocket-ships, the dastardly villains and the exotic locations -- It's that kind of thing. :) Goofy names, heavily telegraphed plots, and especially -- the pathos!

The thing is, Allen Steele writes a real homage to Ed Hamilton's character, including better reasons, updated technology to fit today's SF standards, and even a much better character lineup. You know -- characters that avoid stupid robots, complex brains in jars rather than just crazy ones, women who aren't cardboard with boobs, and interactions across the board that doesn't just make me laugh my way through the book as if I was reading a caricature of really silly (and bad) SF.

This isn't bad. It feels like an updated boy's adventure tale with regular men with better tech doing heroic things and using silly names for somewhat silly reasons.

It's nice for what it is and what it wants to accomplish.

But do I really call it High-SF? No. I do appreciate it for being what it is. It'd be good as a YA SF. It's clear and it's direct. It's bigger than life. Better yet, it's DIFFERENT from anything else that's been written for 70 years. It's good enough to bring people back into a feel of a different time and outlook while not regressing into cultural awkwardness, to give us all that taste of an optimistic and idealistic world where good guys win and bad guys get justice, not just death.

For these reasons, I totally recommend it for anyone. :)

But if you have nagging questions like why Curt let so many people die while saving the one man he wanted to kill and how that fits into his growing moral code.... then perhaps you might want to let this slide a little. :) *ahem*

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

avengers of the moon (Allen Steele)

Title: avengers of the moon

Author: Allen Steele

Publisher: Macmillian-Tor/Forge

Publication Date: TODAY!!!! (hardcover/e-book)

ISBN: 9780765382184

Source: NetGalley

It was the amazing old-fashioned looking cover that initially drew me eye.

[book cover]

Obviously sci-fi. Retro look. Had to check it out. This is the story of a human guy named Curtis who lives on Earth's moon and was raised by an unlikely trio - a robot, an android, and a disembodied brain in a drone. Once he is grown, he finally learns the secret of who murdered his parents and sets out to get revenge.

Now the author hearkens back to the day of sci-fi pulp with modern sensibilities. I have to admit that me knowledge of what constituted pulp was very small and practically non-existent. What I did know was blatantly stereotypical and not worth mentioning here. Oh and I didn't even really understand what this novel was based on. But the concept was fascinating and I was excited to give it a whirl.

This was fun. The main draw for me was of course the characters. Curt, a.k.a. Captain Future, was intelligent, loyal, honorable and a little bumbling. Ye can't help but like him. His guardians were super awesome as well. The drone holds the brain of a scientist who was friends with Curt's parents. He is the father-figure and defacto leader. The smart-talking android, Otho, and the higher-than-average intelligent robot, Gage, are his friends and some-time teachers. And then there is the smart cute girl-cop who they meet along the way. All of them quirky in their own rights and all of them lovely to get to know. Add in space pets and what more could ye ask for?

The plot was a little predictable but not overly so. It wasn't super fast paced but proceeded well. The first part was seemingly geared to set up the world and characters and the second part to really advance the story. The ending whizzed by. I enjoyed the world building and the use of technology. It was silly and dare I say slightly cheesy but so entertaining.

If this is what pulp is now . . . give me some more please.

Also I loved the author's afterword where he explained how he was influenced to write the story. In 1969 he read a work featuring Captain Future that was originally written in 1942. This led me down the rabbit's hole into the history of science fiction pulp magazines and the list of the most popular pulp writers of the various decades. That was also enjoyable. I didn't even know there were that many sci-fi magazines around.

Wondering what Captain Future might look like?

[book cover]

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Netgalley has this to say about the novel:

Curt Newton has spent most of his life hidden from the rest of humankind, being raised by a robot, an android, and the disembodied brain of a renowned scientist. This unlikely trio of guardians has kept his existence a closely guarded secret after the murder of Curt's parents.

Curt's innate curiosity and nose for trouble inadvertently lead him into a plot to destabilize the Solar Coalition and assassinate the president. There's only one way to uncover the evil mastermind—Curt must become Captain Future.

With the permission of the Edmond Hamilton estate, Allen Steele revives the exciting adventures of Captain Future.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Allen Steele - Author

To buy the novel please visit:

avengers of the moon - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Please note all book covers are from Goodreads.

I think I was 60-70% in when I saw like “wow, this is really pulpy” only to learn after the fact that this is, in fact, a homage/reboot to a pulp classic from generations ago. A modernization of the Captain Future tales of old, this evokes all those same ideas and themes without feeling too old, but I feel as if you really need to have a bit of a context for what this is a tribute to in order to fully appreciate it for what it is.

Beyond that major roadblock, this is a really fun romp. The stakes aren’t too high, and it still works in spite of it being so different from the current crop of science fiction writing out there. Allan Steele has always excelled at being different, and this is true for <i>Avengers of the Moon</i>, too. Worth a look.