cover image Road to the Stars

Road to the Stars

Robert E. Vardeman. HarperCollins Publishers, $13.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-06-026288-4

In 2088, the Earth has become a polluted, overcrowded warren. Clifford Macklin is graduating from high school, and his father has just lost his job. The family is about to be sent to the poor farm of the future, when Clifford's parents reveal that they are joining the Magellan, an exploratory space vessel. Clifford will then have enough money to go to college and prepares to move in with his uncle. When Clifford learns that his uncle, too, has found a place on the Magellan, he has a choice: to stay behind and attend college, or go with the others to space. This is a classic boy's science-fiction adventure, with few female characters and a style reminiscent of late '50s SF like Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. A good, solid novel. Ages 12-up. (March)