Five Against Venus

Lore & Background

The novel follows the Robinson family—Paul, Helen, Bruce, and Frank—who, while traveling to the moon, are diverted to Venus when the engines of their ship, the Aurora, over-run. Pilot Jim Gregor dies in a crash landing on a mountainside. The family sets up camp in a cave near a waterfall, encountering a tame Diplodocus-like creature, carnivorous plants, and bat-like vampires. They are rescued by space marines who retrieve a secret military machine that young Frank had been playing with. Scientist Bram Simmons, who had been alone on Venus for five years, chooses to stay with the bat-men.

Reader's Guide

Five Against Venus is significant as a representative of the Winston Science Fiction series, which targeted teenage boys in the 1950s with accessible space adventures. Unlike typical protagonists in the series, the teenage hero Bruce Robinson has no special skill in electronics, only a knowledge of astronomy. The novel is described in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as a 'Venusian Robinsonade,' blending survival narrative with space opera elements. Its plot device of engine over-running mirrors the 1950 film Rocketship X-M. The appendix, 'Backstage on Venus,' reflects the author's professional astronomical knowledge, incorporating contemporary scientific understanding of Venus. The book received reviews in several contemporary science fiction magazines, including Galaxy Science Fiction and Astounding Science Fiction.

Did You Know?

• Philip Latham was the nom de plume of astronomer Robert S. Richardson, who provided technical assistance on the film Destination Moon.
• The novel's crisis—engine over-running—was inspired by the 1950 movie Rocketship X-M, in which a lunar-bound ship is diverted to Mars.
• The green mold on Venus produces an antibiotic more powerful than penicillin, according to the story.
• The book includes an appendix titled 'Backstage on Venus' that explains the scientific basis for the setting.