The Colors of Space: Sci-Fi Novel Kindle Edition

The Color of Space by Marion Zimmer BradleyThis is one of the first Science Fiction Novels I read so long ago. It's always been a favorite and possibly one that I've read over a half dozen times. It still stands the test of time despite some little quirks that most often come with classics that might not have predicted cell phones and PCs and the Internet.It starts out with this line : The Lhari spaceport didn't belong on Earth.Bradley, Marion Zimmer. The Colors of Space (Kindle Location 19).Bart Steele, the main character, has a prejudice against the alien race Lhari. It is deep seated; such that though the Lhari have given mankind the stars he feels that their presence on Earth is an overwhelming reminder that they withhold the technology that would give humans more freedom to roam and profit better in space. The Human Race has colonies out in space but their space efforts are limited to within the short distance that their ships might travel within each system. Any travel or trade involving warp-drive require Lhari ships. Humans have been told that they would not survive such flight without being placed in suspension for the voyage. One set of humans, the Mentorians, help crew Lhari ships though they too are suspended during warp-drive flights. They add another level of prejudice that many have because some believe Mentorians have given up a lot of their loyalty to be able to work on Lhari ships. Bart does not have so much prejudice to Mentorians because his mother was a Mentorian and Bart can speak the Lhari language. (Mentorians seem to have a higher tolerance for brighter sunlight which is helpful since the Lhari are used to very bright light.) Lhari don't see color's and have found using Mentorians ability to help them identify colors has been helpful. This might be one of those quirky pieces that is a bit thin in the plot and unfortunately the story hinges on this (hence the title). (Even though they don't identify colors they likely have a wider variety of shades of black and white--if that's what they see--and they have made it into space with warp-drive; so it becomes questionable if they would see that much value in the Mentorian ability to discern color; though it does show a demonstration of trust in that branch of the human race.)In the beginning of the story, Bart is sending a friend off into space while he also is at the port to meet his father who is coming in from Vega. The Lhari are awaiting the arrival of a possible criminal. Instead of meeting his father Bart meets Edmund Briscoe who is posing as his father and tries to get Bart away from the terminal where the Lhari are searching. This all has something to do with Bart's father and Edmund convinces Bart he must take a false identity and get away. Then Edmund crashes a vehicle; killing himself to create a diversion for Bart to get onto a flight to Procyon as David Briscoe where he's to meet with a Raynor Three of The EIGHT COLORS TRANSSHIPPING CORPORATION. (The Eight color is a color that describes the light of the Lhari engines and is the key to warp-drive.)Bart embarks on an adventure that will test his courage and cause him to more closely examine his prejudices and his own loyalties. And as I said the book does have elements that are indicators of its classic origins; but overall it stands the test of time and today makes for a great addition to the reading of YA Science Fiction fans.J.L. Dobias

This is top-notch YA-level SF in the mold of Heinlein or Pohl, or for a comparison from a more modern era, Spider Robinson. The opening is the Heinlein-like, as the young protagonist's life is suddenly derailed and sent off on a new and unexpected track. In the course of the book, the protagonist is faced with a powerful, difficult moral choice, and it pleases me that he chooses the high road, eschewing violence.The book shows its age in a couple of ways. Operating a "computer" requires facing a panel of hundreds of dials and knobs: shades of ENIAC! More seriously, there is only one female character and she's only a cutie-pie object of desire for the hero. And this from a female author! Well, this was written early in her career and might have been written to the expectations of a magazine editor of the time -- and she did a lot better by her women characters later.

The Colors of Space By Marion Zimmer Bradley I remember reading this a long time ago. Some time after the 1963 edition was published. I decided to read it again and see if it still stood well against time. Bart Steele is a young Vegan who has come to Earth to study at the academy. He is a product of a human and Mentorian pair, although he lost his mother, the Mentorian, early in his life. His father owns a space shipping business that struggles as it must against the monopoly that the Lhari race has over interstellar flight. The Lhari have made it clear that only Lhari can survive while the warp-drive is active and that all other races must go into cold-sleep. This monopoly causes Bart and many others to have a prejudice against the Lhari. On graduation Bart is to meet his father at the Lhari spaceport where he will return home. Bart will never see his father again and will be catapulted into a universe of danger and intrigue. He discovers that his father and several others have died while trying to obtain the secrets of the Lhari and of the warp-drive. Bart is thrust into his father's world while he's become a fugitive from Lhari authorities. The Lhari are not able to perceive colors the way humans and Mentorians do and this becomes a major plot device or I should say part of several plot devices. This is the only part that my more mature insight has quibbles about during this read. There are some big things that are hinged on this color disability that might not work quite as well as I once believed. One major one is that the Lhari could not tell something was red hot because they couldn't see the red. Since often survival hinges on such things there would likely have been another way for them to discern that a surface they were working on in their ship might be hot. Most everything else in the story seems to stand the test of time and still seems to work quite well to move the plot along. Since not enough is revealed about how a specific disguise is worked out, it might seem a bit thin but it still works here. The story itself beyond being science fiction seems to contain a mix of moral elements as regards prejudices and race hate. It becomes a story of a young mans journey to grow to maturity in his thinking and his beliefs. J.L.Dobias

One would hope that the first contact between Humans and Aliens would be as Marion Zimmer Bradley describes in this book. History is full of discovery of technology from one tribe of Humans to another. Here Bradley describes what it may be like between two alien races (alien to each other) to learn about each other and their different technologies in a peaceful way.Are there Aliens out there ? Statistics say YES! Will we meet in a friendly way ? Only the future knows, we may have real Aliens walking amongst us right now hiding from a very divided world,yet trying to understand us to find a safe way to reveal themselves to us in a safe way for both races. Who knows?

The style of writing may seem a little dated, as may the science. What can't be doubted however is how this, and books like it, both acted as a foundation for the science fiction that followed and as a literary spark to the imagination of many. A classic from the 'Golden Age'.

Marion Zimmer Bradley has an exceptional imagination, creating a moving and enjoyable read. I recommend this book as both a lesson on what is the best and worst in humanity and also as an old fashioned space opera. Could not put it down till I finished the book.

MZB at her bestThis was a discovered treasure I thought I had read all her stuff.

Enjoyed the story previously as an audio book, but wanted to read it in full. Definitely worth rereading. The book was delivered quickly and at a good price.