THE THRONE OF SATURN: A Novel of Space and Politics

by Allen Drury ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 12, 1970

Planetary Fleet One (""Piffy I""), a Mars-bound space vehicle, is almost as painful to lift off the ground as this book (650 pp. +) and you may have to read it on the floor. Enemies Within (liberals on all fronts) oppose the shot for various shoddy reasons. Then two politically useful misfits are excluded from the flight: griping ""Jazz"" Weickert and griping black ""Jayvee Halleck, an astroscientist."" Jazz shuns pink support, but Jayvee (who behaves like a total fruitcake throughout) goes along. The President is forced to bend to pressure and the two men are placed in the four-man crew headed by ""Connie"" Trasker. A true blue Communist directs sabotage, which turns out to be a protest march at the pad with an army of saboteurs led by the presidents of Yale and Harvard, that ""baby doctor,"" an archbishop, etc. Finally Piffy pops up and outwards but there on the moon are the Russians, and Connie wobbles home with a repentant and wounded Jazz, leaving two Americans dead. At the close he is off to Mars in Piffy Two, armed to the teeth from module to shining module.

Pub Date: Feb. 12, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1970

Categories: FICTION