Forum: Lost Stories

Mainstream SF Story

Franco 🚫

This is a wild shot to try to find the title of a SF story that has been bugging me.

I thought the title had 'galactic hero' in it, but that could be wrong, and it isn't Bill, The Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison. It was probably published in the 1960s or 70s, tho it could have been the 1950s or earlier.

What I remember is the hero is out alone (on our earth) in the countryside and it's raining. He sees what he thinks is a silo and gets inside to stay dry and then he falls asleep.

It turns out the silo is really a space ship. The space people (I think they're all humans) are on earth to hunt for earth game. They are nobles, and there is one female I think is a princess.

They discover the hero is there after they take off and assign him to be the cabin boy, cleaning, etc. They tell him to take care of the princess.

I think the princess is captured by space pirates and the rest of the book is the hero trying to rescue her. He takes various jobs on different planets and it turns out the skills he learns from those jobs help him rescue the princess.

All I want is the title and maybe the author so I can find it. I thought it might have been written by Jack Williamson, but I checked and it doesn't seem to be one of his books.

Replies: daggerfang

daggerfang 🚫

@Franco

Is this it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_Odyssey

Replies: Reluctant_Sir

Reluctant_Sir 🚫

@daggerfang

Is this it?

It's times like this I wish we could do something like give upvotes in here. Great detective work!

Replies: Remus2

Remus2 🚫

@Reluctant_Sir

Agreed. I'll have to find a copy of that one.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Remus2

Agreed. I'll have to find a copy of that one.

Amazon has it listed. 4 hardcover copies, 18 paperback and 3 mass market paperback copies.

https://www.amazon.com/Galactic-Odyssey-Keith-Laumer/dp/0812543858

Replies: Remus2 5450878

Remus2 🚫

@Dominions Son

Thanks

5450878 🚫
Updated:

@Dominions Son

You may want to take a look at the Baen version of it.

https://www.baen.com/odyssey.html

Publishers Note: Odyssey has previously appeared in parts as Galactic Odyssey, Dinosaur Beach, and in the volumes Once There was a Giant, Greylorn and Alien Minds. This is the first combined edition.

Billy Danger had gone past hitting the skids-now he was freezing to death in a blizzard. So he took shelter in a corn silo that turned out to be a disguised alien starship, and evoke up light years from Earth.

Ravel, a time-traveling agent of Nexx Central; stepped out of his cover identity in 1936 and into utter chaos. The Dinosaur Beach station; hidden millions of years in the past, had been destroyed in a war raging through time. He could trust no one as he raced through the aeons, fighting to insure that mankind would not vanish and never have been at all . . . .

Baird Ulrik, killer-for-hire, terminated only those who deserved it-until the day he was framed and forced to go to a distant planet and kill the man who has been a hero to him ....

Three novels of space adventure, and much more, in a volume of the best by the master of interstellar adventure.

Replies: richardshagrin

richardshagrin 🚫

@5450878

THe Baen book is no longer available

"Odyssey Eric Flint Keith Laumer
Odyssey

This book is no longer available for purchase.
Only available for download if previously purchased."

Replies: Ernest Bywater Ernest Bywater

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@richardshagrin

This book is no longer available for purchase.
Only available for download if previously purchased."

That's as an e-book but it also has a price for a paperback. It may be worth asking them if they have a print copy for sale still.

Replies: Crumbly Writer

Crumbly Writer 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

That's as an e-book but it also has a price for a paperback. It may be worth asking them if they have a print copy for sale still.

When an author pulls an eBook, it's gone for good, but when he pulls a print book, you (as the purchaser) retain the rights to the book and can sell or resell other print books, a fact that Amazon has used to put most bookstores out of business.

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@richardshagrin

Eric Flint

The Baen site has a link to Flint's own website and he you may be able to find where you can buy it by contacting him direct.

Replies: Sparky-1953

Sparky-1953 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

Many of the better used book stores are part of a book locating network and can find used copies. If your local store has some form of trade in credits they usually won't accept them for such books. Of course, used book stores are disappearing fast.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Sparky-1953

Of course, used book stores are disappearing fast.

The old guard dead tree publishers have never liked used book stores. Throw in ebooks and yeah, it's a dying business model except for the few that deal in really old antique books.

Replies: Franco Crumbly Writer

Franco 🚫

@Dominions Son

There are online used book stores. The best one I've found is bookfinder.com. It is a marketing site for many other online book sellers (eg, abebooks). I have never been unable to find a book I wanted there. The prices quoted include shipping. Often, shipping is more than the cost of the book (eg, book $1.00, shipping $4.00, total cost $5.00; usually no sales tax). They shipped a book I was seeking from the UK to the US. That might have taken a week longer than usual. That's where I got a used copy of Galactic Odyssey.

Crumbly Writer 🚫

@Dominions Son

The old guard dead tree publishers have never liked used book stores. Throw in ebooks and yeah, it's a dying business model except for the few that deal in really old antique books.

I used to regularly walk through the shelves of the Strand in Manhattan (relatively close to my apartment). It also helped that it was close to an equally large comic store (forget he name) that had most of the 'impossible to find' comic novels of the time.

Franco 🚫

Sure looks like it. Thanks a lot. That was quick.

dsw_tenka 🚫

Thank You, OP. I bought the book on Amazon just because of this post. Very good read.

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Forum: Lost Stories

Mainstream SF Story

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