The Big Jump
A novel about the first crewed expedition to Barnard's Star.
Leigh Brackett's science fiction novel *The Big Jump* follows the first human-crewed mission to Barnard's Star. The story begins with the Solar System awaiting news of this expedition, called "The Big Jump." Only one crew member, Ballantyne, returns—barely alive and physically altered to the point of being nearly unrecognizable as human. The protagonist, Comyn, sets out to learn what happened on the voyage and to find his missing friend, crewman Paul Rogers. After speaking with Ballantyne, Comyn obtains details about a planet around Barnard's Star and what the crew discovered there. To mount a rescue, he approaches the Cochrane family, who control all travel within the Solar System. Claiming to possess detailed knowledge of the star, Comyn persuades the Cochranes to build a new starship. He is sent to retrieve the remaining crew members, but soon suspects that someone on his own team intends to kill him.
First published in the February 1953 issue of *Space Stories*, the novel later appeared as the first half of Ace Double D-103, paired with Philip K. Dick's debut novel, *Solar Lottery*. *The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction* called the book "efficient" but noted it "seem[s] somewhat routine when set beside Brackett's best single pure-sf work, *The Long Tomorrow*."
Quick Facts
- Author
- Leigh Brackett
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Publisher
- Ace Books
- Release Date
- 1955 (first book publication)
- Media Type
- Print (Paperback)
- Pages
- 131
- Oclc
- 5282860
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Big Jump was first published in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories. Its first book publication was in the early Ace Double D-103 with Philip K. Dick's first novel, Solar Lottery. The novel begins with the entire Solar System waiting for news of the first successful interstellar expedition to Barnard's Star, a mission named 'The Big Jump.' Only one crewman, Ballantyne, returns, half-dead and with a body so changed he is barely human.
Reader's Guide
The Big Jump is a work by Leigh Brackett, an American writer known for her science fiction. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction described it as 'efficient but seem somewhat routine when set beside Brackett's best single pure-sf work, The Long Tomorrow.' The novel is notable for its early depiction of interstellar travel and the psychological and physical consequences of such a journey. Its publication in the Ace Double format alongside Philip K. Dick's first novel highlights its place in the science fiction publishing landscape of the early 1950s. The story's focus on a lone altered survivor and a protagonist uncovering a mystery reflects common themes in mid-century science fiction.
Publication & the Ace Double Pairing
The Big Jump first saw print in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories, a science fiction magazine of the era. Its debut in book form came through the Ace Double D-103, a budget paperback format that bundled two complete novels into a single volume. Brackett's interstellar narrative was paired with Solar Lottery, the debut novel of Philip K. Dick. The juxtaposition of these two American writers in one slim paperback is a small but telling artifact of mid-century speculative fiction publishing, when the Ace Double line served as a primary vehicle for getting new and established voices into readers' hands at an affordable price. For Brackett, the novel represented a science fiction story built around humanity's first crewed voyage to Barnard's Star, a premise that placed it squarely in the tradition of interstellar adventure. For Dick, Solar Lottery marked his first published novel, making the shared volume a curious meeting point between two authors whose careers would take very different trajectories in the decades that followed.
The Mission and Its Aftermath
The novel opens with the entire Solar System in a state of collective anticipation, awaiting word of the first successful crewed interstellar expedition to Barnard's Star, a mission christened The Big Jump. The tone of the opening is one of global expectation, as if the fate of human ambition rests on a single transmission from beyond the nearest star. What arrives instead is a single survivor: crewman Ballantyne, returned half-dead and physically transformed to the point of being barely recognizable as human. His condition immediately raises questions about what the crew encountered on the planet orbiting Barnard's Star. The story then shifts to Comyn, who sets out to uncover the truth behind the mission's failure and to locate his missing friend, crewman Paul Rogers. Through conversations with Ballantyne, Comyn pieces together fragments of what the crew found on the alien world, information that will prove both valuable and dangerous in the political landscape of the Solar System.
The Cochrane Monopoly and Corporate Space Travel
A distinctive element of The Big Jump is the role of the Cochrane family, who have established a monopoly over in-system travel. This corporate control over interplanetary movement creates a power structure in which access to space is not a public right but a private asset, and it shapes the novel's central conflict. When Comyn claims to possess detailed knowledge about the planet around Barnard's Star, the Cochranes see an opportunity and respond by commissioning the construction of another starship. They dispatch Comyn on a mission to rescue the remaining crew members, effectively using his expertise as leverage for their own commercial ambitions. The tension escalates when Comyn begins to suspect that one of his own crew members is plotting to murder him. This suspicion injects a paranoid, claustrophobic quality into the narrative, transforming what might have been a straightforward rescue mission into a story about trust, corporate manipulation, and the dangers of operating within a system controlled by a single family.
Critical Reception & Place in Brackett's Canon
The critical response to The Big Jump has been measured. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, a major reference work in the field, characterized the novel as "efficient but seem somewhat routine when set beside Brackett's best single pure-sf work, The Long Tomorrow." This assessment positions The Big Jump as a competent but unremarkable entry in Brackett's science fiction output, suggesting that while the novel delivers its interstellar adventure premise with clarity and purpose, it does not reach the heights of her more celebrated work. The comparison to The Long Tomorrow is significant, as it implies that Brackett's finest science fiction achievements lay elsewhere in her bibliography. For readers encountering The Big Jump today, the novel offers a window into the conventions of early-1950s interstellar fiction, with its focus on a single pioneering mission, a transformed survivor, and the political machinations of a corporate power that controls access to space.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Big Jump and who wrote it?
The Big Jump is a science fiction novel by Leigh Brackett that dramatizes the aftermath of humanity's first crewed voyage to Barnard's Star. The narrative focuses on what the lone surviving crew member reveals about a world the expedition encountered during the trip.
Who is the protagonist of The Big Jump?
The story is driven by a character named Comyn, who becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind the expedition's fiasco. His personal stake is sharpened by the disappearance of his friend, crewman Paul Rogers.
What happens to the crew after the Barnard's Star mission?
Only one crew member, Ballantyne, ever makes it back to the Solar System, and he arrives so physically deformed that he is virtually unrecognizable as a person. The remaining crew, including Paul Rogers, are never seen again, and their fate forms the core mystery Comyn pursues.
When was The Big Jump first published?
It debuted in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories magazine. A book edition followed as part of Ace Double D-103, which paired it with Philip K. Dick's Solar Lottery.
Why do fans consider The Big Jump a notable early space-opera novel?
Brackett uses the premise of a single mangled survivor returning from another star to explore the psychological and bodily cost of interstellar travel in a way that felt fresh for the early 1950s. It also stands out for centering its plot on the investigation into a crew's fate rather than on the voyage itself.
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