Outpost On Io - Leigh Brackett

Short Story

Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 7.8
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.1


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 6.8
Flesch : 76.9
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.8


CHARACTERS

Chris MacVickers

Terran Deep-space trader.

Loris

Venusian Guardsman.

Pendleton

Earthman, The Starfish.

Janu

Pendleton's Martian foreman.

Birek

Prisoner boss, starting to go jewel-like.


RACES

Europans

"His smooth black body had a dull sheen of red under the Jupiter-light. There was no back nor front to him, no face. Only the four long rubbery legs, the roundish body, and the tentacles in a waving crown above."


ORGANISATIONS

Venusian Guard

Military operation.


TECHNOLOGY

Jovium

Metal destroying mineral, probably a radioactive isotope.


PLACES

J-XI

Only other source of Jovium.


PLOT

MacVickers has been captured by the Jovians, and is put to work in a prison mine along with several other prisoners. They are either worked to death or die due to transformation caused by the mineral Jovium they are mining. Jovium allows the Jovians to destroy metal atomically from a distance, giving them a hard to combat superiority.

MacVickers isn't content with this lot, though, and would rather die fighting trying to escape, but has to overcome prison leader Birke first before he can lead a suicidal breakout attempt.


3.5 out of 5