Take me out to the black

[sergebroom]

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

(From Firefly, words & music by Joss Whedon, sung by Sonny Rhodes)

Yes, I have always been a sucker for stories where a misfit joins the crew of a spaceship, and in the process finds a Home. I've read the books of Sharon Lee & Steve Miller. And there is Cherryh's Merchanter's Luck. I know, I know, in that case, the captain is the misfit, whose only Home almost gets taken away by his crew, but you get the idea. The spaceship as as Family.

Does anybody have any other suggestions, modern or not?

Comments

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Does it have to be a spaceship? The 'Biggles' stories by W.E. Johns would qualify (certainly as regards Ginger). For some reason, Blish's A Life for the Stars comes to mind also (if New York City counts as a family).

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Preferably a spaceship, yes, but all suggestions are welcome. I know of Blish's stories although I've never read them, but I admit not being familiar with W.E.Johns.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

That's because you didn't experience childhood in post-war England. The Biggles stories were boy's adventures about daring RAF pilots (well, RFC pilots in the beginning, the first stories about Squadron Leader Bigglesworth were written in the 20s, and Johns himself died in 1968).

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Any specific 'Biggles' title to recommend? As for other British Air Aces, at least I am a bit familiar with Battler Britton. (I enjoyed the recent comic-book revival.)

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

God, it's been years. Try Biggles in the West Indies, with its absurdities like Cockney waiters at a Jamaican hotel.

If wishes were horses...

[miltonthales.livejournal.com]

If The Caine Mutiny hadn't culminated in a trial and thus obivated the need for the entire book, Queeg would qualify. ;)

Linkmeister (http://www.linkmeister.com/blog/)

Re: If wishes were horses...

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Queeg would have qualified as what? Oh, as someone who'd have been thrown overboard by his crew.

When I talked about Merchanter's Luck and the ship's crew taking the ship away from its captain, I didn't mean to make it sound like a mutiny. The basic premise is that, years before, the ship had been attacked by raiders and the whole crew was killed, except for the main character, who was then a teenager. Basically, he'd been running the whole ship by himself. As the novel began, he basically is at the end of his rope, and the only way out is to ally himself with a Family whose population is becoming too big for its own ship. The captain is now outnumbered, and scared that he will truly lose everything. Good book.

Re: If wishes were horses...

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

I almost ended my response saying I wish my wife'd write one of those stories for me, but she already had. And it was pretty good, if I may humbly say so. Anyway, have you get any suggestion?

Re: If wishes were horses...

[miltonthales.livejournal.com]

After removing tongue from cheek? Not off the top of my head, no. But my recent reading habits are far away from SF or seafaring books. I imagine one could dredge up the same theme in Westerns (wounded cowpoke on the trail, gets healed up, becomes trail boss), but I've been reading police procedurals, and those are tight-knit family affairs.

Re: If wishes were horses...

[serge-lj.livejournal.com]

Ed McBain procedurals?

Re: If wishes were horses...

[miltonthales.livejournal.com]

I've never gotten hooked on McBain's 87th Precinct, thank God. I'd have to devote an entire shelf to them, the man was so prolific. They are wonderfully well-written books, though.

No, I recently found J.D.Robb's "in Death" series, about the NY cops in 2056 et. seq.. She's Nora Roberts in her other 100 books. They're pretty darned entertaining; light on the futuristic aspects, but good on the hunt and imaginative techno stuff (they've also got a little more explicit sex than I care for, but I can get past that). For the older cop stuff I go back to Dell Shannon (aka Elizabeth Linington, aka Lesley Egan) and her Luis Mendoza series about the LAPD; the characterizations of the entire department's personnel are good.

Re: If wishes were horses...

[(Anonymous)]

I'd heard of Robb/Roberts, but not of Dell Shannon. Thanks for the recommendation.

About McBain... I think I read only a couple of the 87th Precinct novels. I liked them, but for some reason, none of the others. One of those I did read got turned into a Columbo movie.