https://speculiction.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-of-ragged-astronauts-by-bob-sha... ( )

Los mundos gemelos, Land y Overland, sólo están separados por unos miles de kilómetros; y sus órbitas son tales que Overland siempre aparece situado en el mismo lugar del cielo, llenando gran parte de él y visible en todos sus detalles, cuando se asoma sobre Land. Los humanos que habitan Land, al carecer de metales, sólo han podido desarrollar una tecnología de bajo nivel. Durante siglos, han vivido de forma bastante estable; pero en el momento en que comienza esta historia, su existencia está amenazada. Los pterthas, una especie de burbujas llenas de humo que flotan en el aire y que siempre han sido peligrosas, parecen haber declarado la guerra a la humanidad. Ni los filósofos, que tienen a su cargo la investigación científica además de ser los elaboradores de las teorías y sustentadores de las ideas, ni los militares dirigidos por el príncipe Leddravohr, ni el industrial supremo, príncipe Chakkell, ni aún el mismo rey Prad, comprenden la magnitud del peligro y la acuciante necesidad de encontrar una solución. Sólo Glo, el gran filósofo, viejo, decadente, borracho y menospreciado por todos, incluidos los de su clase, propone una solución audaz y aparentemente inaceptable...

It was the portrayal of space travel between two worlds close enough that their atmospheres almost touched that made this book memorable for me: very fun exploration of the tech level necessary. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2671780.html

This is one of Shaw's best known books, second only to Orbitsville. I don't think it has aged particularly well. Shaw's protagonist, Toller Maraquine, is chief engineer of a culture under pressure from its human(ish) neighbours on the planet of Land and also facing extinction at the hands of the non-human Ptertha. Toller's rulers therefore order a mass emigration through space to the neighbouring twin planet of Overland, conveniently linked with Land by a common atmosphere. I thought that the book's attitude to women (never a strong point of Shaw's) was pretty appalling. The female characters are either invisible or two-dimensional, and there is some nasty sexual violence as a defining moment for the most important woman character. It doesn't even do a terribly good job as engineering fiction; because the Land/Overland universe is very different from ours (we learn at one stage that π=3 exactly) we can't really thrill to the solution of engineering problems which are designed to pad out the thin plot. That leaves us with Toller Maraquine's inner journey, and he's just not a very interesting chap. Where I love Shaw's work, it's when he takes people in a contemporary or near-contemporary setting to unexpected settings - A Wreath of Stars, Other Days, Other Eyes. His more space-y books haven't usually worked for me. ( )

Il mondo creato da Bob Shaw è affascinante: un pianeta binario, ossia un sistema di due pianeti talmente vicini che le due atmosfere si toccano. E' un'ambientazione vagamente steampunk, i cui cieli sono dominati da aeronavi.
La religione di Mondo si basa sulla credenza che le anime delle persone si alternino tra il pianeta e il suo gemello, Sopramondo, pertanto nessuno ha mai sfidato il cielo nel tentativo di atterrarci.
Questo fintanto che gli ptertha, sorta di globi volanti semi intelligenti, non sviluppano un terribile veleno che costringe gli uomini di Mondo a tentare di migrare in massa su Sopramondo.
Insomma la trama è una classica avventura di fantascienza con qualche richiamo fantasy, a renderlo una lettura piacevole sono la caratterizzazione della società di Mondo e i pochi bellissimi personaggi che si aggirano sul palcoscenico di Shaw. E' un libro di intrattenimento, ma di alta qualità. ( )