Stand by for Mars!

Carey RockwellProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 323K words
Chapters: 33

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Stand by for Mars! by Carey Rockwell. Author: Rockwell, Carey. Language: English. Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres. Release Date: Oct 11, 2006.

Editor's review

Stand by for Mars! is a young adult science fiction adventure novel by Carey Rockwell, part of a mid-twentieth-century American space cadet series. The story follows the training and missions of space cadets, moving at a brisk pace, with technical imagination bearing the clear marks of its era; it emphasizes discipline and teamwork while retaining the recklessness and friendship common to coming-of-age fiction. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it preserves the language of science fiction for young readers from that period and is useful for observing the narrative conventions and values of early Cold War American youth science fiction. Readers need not demand scientific accuracy; it is better treated as a popular-culture specimen, a way to sense how young readers of the time imagined future careers through fictional space training. The English is moderately difficult and can also serve as extensive reading material for English learners.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy retro young adult science fiction and want to learn about early space adventure novels
Intermediate learners who need English extensive reading material and prefer brisk plots
Those interested in mid-twentieth-century American popular culture and youth reading
Parents or teachers looking for a public-domain science fiction introduction suitable for young readers

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking rigorous hard science fiction and modern scientific accuracy
Adult readers who prefer complex character psychology and literary narration
Readers sensitive to outdated expressions of gender and values

Reading tips

Read it as a period specimen, noting how space training, discipline, and teamwork are portrayed.
For extensive reading in English, do not look up every new word; follow the plot first, then go back and collect recurring space vocabulary.
If recommending it to children, read it through yourself first and briefly explain the outdated technical imagination and attitudes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What age of child is this book suitable for?

Judging by subject and language, it is better suited to middle school readers and above with some English reading ability. The content is a space-training adventure for youths and has nothing obviously inappropriate, but some technical imagination and attitudes are limited by their era; parents or teachers are advised to guide discussion.

Is the science in the book accurate?

The book was written in the mid-twentieth century, and its science reflects the space imagination of that time; by today's standards it contains many simplifications and outdated points. Its value lies more in adventure narrative and as a cultural specimen than in scientific accuracy.

Do I need to read the series in order?

This is one volume in the space cadet series, but the story stands relatively independent, and reading it alone does not hinder understanding of the main plot. If you like the characters and setting, you can then read the other works in series order.

Comments

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About the author

Carey Rockwell Author

Carey Rockwell is not a real individual author but a collective pseudonym used by the American publisher Grosset & Dunlap for the Tom Corbett: Space Cadet series of juvenile science fiction novels published between 1952 and 1955. Because it is a collective byline, public information about nationality, birth and death dates, and other personal details is limited, and the identity of the actual writers remains unresolved to this day. The seven works held in the collection all center on space adventure, such as Treachery in Outer Space, On the Trail of the Space Pirates, Sabotage in Space, Danger in Deep Space, The Revolt on Venus, The Space Pioneers, and Stand by for Mars! Their plots often involve academy training, interstellar travel, conspiracies, and crisis response, with a tense and brisk style aimed at young readers, making them a microcosm of American juvenile science fiction publishing in the 1950s.