The British Library has recently released a catalogue of Science Fiction Classics in individual paperbacks; amongst them is Shoot at the Moon, an almost forgotten piece of 1960s sci-fi by William F. Temple, known best for his cult classic The Four Sided Triangle, which has also been re-released by the British Library.

Originally published in 1966 (so three years prior to man walking on the moon for real), Shoot At The Moon follows the story of Captain Franz Brunel, who is manning an expedition to the moon on the rocket ship Endeavour (which history buffs will know is also the name of Captain Cook’s ship that landed in Australia and New Zealand). However, such a trip is not without its problems: dangerous terrain, mis-matched crew. But no one on the trip was quite ready for the isolation of space, and with isolation there is danger, danger that ultimately ends in the murder of a crew member and all of the remaining crew are suspect.

Shoot at the Moon is a time-capsule of a piece of writing; modern sci-fi as we know it today was in its infancy in 1966 (Doctor Who was about to see the change from Hartnell to Troughton and Star Trek was only just broadcasting for the first time) but you see flourishes of dialogue and narrative that see mundane situations take place in far off places (i.e. murder on a space ship); this in itself has become a staple of sci-fi over the years. Also, there’s quite a satirical sense of humour in this book that has become of sci-fi staple (a ‘No Admittance’ sign could be quite ominous if it was spelt correctly).

Meanwhile, you also see the social changes that began to occur in the ‘60s: a female character that’s not just there to make the tea, the questioning of authority and privilege (the dialogue in which the Captain challenges Colonel Marley’s presumption of being a superior officer was probably quite radical in its day). However, with these ‘modern’ social streaks, modern audiences may be uncomfortable with characters being referred to as ‘half-breeds’.

So in short, is Shoot at the Moon a lost seminal piece of fiction: not really. But is Shoot at the Moon worth remembering because it was laying the ground for modern attitudes and modern sci-fi, definitely.

SHOOT AT THE MOON / AUTHOR: WILLIAM F. TEMPLE / BRITISH LIBRARY PUBLISHING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW