Well, this was a surprise. Discovering a science fiction yarn of an almost old fashioned disposition, about a perilous voyage across space in the hope of saving mankind, of finding a new home where we might start again. And bloody Nora, whos the pilot of this saviour ship? Its only bloody Jerry Corneilius. Just about the last person one would put in the Captain's Chair.Unless the destination was an orgy or a rock festival, or even an orgiastic rock festival.
There is a great introduction to this edition of The Distant Suns, by Michael Moorcock, explaining the history of the piece. A job for hire intended for The illustrated weekly of India,intended as an educational foray into the not well explored field in India of Science fiction tropes. The then editor of the paper hoping to inspire its readers towards a broader understanding , if not outrightin India which accewptance of fictional science ( Interstellar flight, mercy missions beyond our solar system, new life on new worlds.) Alas, the story never saw the light of an Indian day, never reached its intended readership, due to social upheaval in India and a change of editorship, who cared little for past commissions by other editors.
First printe in nineteen seventy five with this edition seeing print in nineteen eighty nine, with illustrations by Jim Cawthorn, this story did a bit of otherworldly traveling of its own. Michael Moorcock also states that he found the collaboration with Jim Cawthorn as a very happy one, which is always nice to know. Michael Moorcock has swept across so many regions of his multiverse over the years, with a map for navigation that has many unexplored regions ("Here be monsters" indeed.)It is nice to think of some of those regions as uncomplicated and satifyingly pulpy. The relative innocence of a space opera performed at this level is a pleasing discovery and comes very close to delivering an uncynical ending to a perilous journey.
Although "close" in stellar cartography is a very loose term indeed.
