Return of the Zytron Rebel Book

The second Tom Corbett printed adventure finds Corbett and his fellow cadets (Roger Manning and Astro) getting a special assignment far outside the solar system. Danger In Deep Space takes Tom Corbett and the Polaris outside the solar system for the first time in an adventure which expands on one of the radio show stories.

Human beings are beginning to explore a few worlds in outer space, thanks to hyper drive. Interstellar communication, however, has proven to be a problem. The Polaris crew is assigned to take an experimental transceiver unit to the extra-solar planet Tara for testing. Tom Corbett and his friends will not be under the command of their Space Academy instructor Captain Strong, though. Instead, they are placed under the watchful eye of Major "Blast Off" Connel. The major commanded the mission which first surveyed Tara but is also known as one of the toughest officers in the Solar Guard.

Before leaving for Tara, the Polaris must dock at a space station to be refitted with hyper drive. While station crews work on the refit, Tom, Roger and Astro are assigned to assist station personnel. Roger modifies the station's radar equipment to send signals back to his girlfriend on Earth and is discovered by Major Connel. Soon after, a civilian space freighter crashes into the space station, killing most of its crew. Fearing his unauthorized radar modifications will be blamed, Roger flees and becomes a wanted man. The crew of the Polaris can not help their friend, though, as they are assigned a substitute astrogator and launch for Tara. The mission brings even more adventure than the space cadets bargained for, though, as unscrupulous spacemen have discovered a fabulous treasure on Tara and are rocketing for the planet to claim their prize.

Much like the first book in the Tom Corbett series (Stand By For Mars), Danger In Deep Space is not high intellect, cutting edge science driven so-called "hard" science fiction. It is light reading, originally aimed at younger readers, in the vein of pulp space operas. It is bubblegum, Saturday matinee style science fiction that deserves its place among classics such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon (I am thinking more the Buster Crabbe versions than Gil Gerard and Sam J. Jones). I touched on the importance of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and likened this series to Heinlein's space juvenile series in my review of Stand By For Mars and will not repeat them here. Instead, let's just concentrate on Danger In Deep Space as a story and its place in the Tom Corbett universe.

Danger in Deep Space shares a much of its plot with the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet radio show episodes Space Station Of Danger Parts 1 and 2. It is my understanding that many of the radio show episodes drew their plots from episodes of the TV series, but I am not sure if this story was ever televised. Unfortunately, very few of the TV episodes seem to have survived despite its five year multi-network run. The radio show (one of the few to be adapted from a TV show instead of transitioning from radio to TV) ran twice a week for about six months in 1952 with the same cast as the television series. Over forty of the radio episodes survive, so the radio show has become the modern fan's best source for Tom Corbett's adventures.

This novel, although still firmly in the G-rated realm of kids adventure television, is a little more intense than the radio series. During his time on the run, Roger finds himself stuck in a rough and tumble part of an off world outpost, drinking is introduced (although our down on his luck hero abstains). While the Solar Guard restricts itself to non-lethal weapons such as paralyzing rayguns, the villains of Danger In Deep Space are not just willing to do violence, they actually kill people. All in all, this story reads more like the novelization of a 1950s science fiction film than a children's TV show. It is not a challenging read, but Danger In Deep Space is a good bit of fun for anyone who is looking for a light read and has trouble passing up old science fiction films such as Forbidden Planet, Crash of Moons and Conquest of Space.

Best of all, like pretty much all of the Tom Corbett novels, you can easily find digital copies for free on Amazon and Project Gutenberg.