The Outward Urge is a science fiction novel by John Wyndham (although it might arguably be regarded as a collection of linked short stories). It was originally published with four chapters in 1959, but possibly because it ended rather abruptly, a relatively short fifth chapter was included in versions published from 1961 onwards.

Its ostensible authorship has a peculiar history. It was published as co-written by John Wyndham and Lucas Parkes, but they were actually the same person! Wyndham had sometimes used the pen-name Lucas Parkes earlier in his career, but since it was mentioned in some of his books that his full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris some readers may have deduced that they were the same person.

His publishers decided that they wanted to use the Wyndham-Parkes byline because it was "not your usual Wyndham style". ^* Presumably this was because it was traditional hard science fiction, unlike most of his novels.

It is not one of his better-known works, or usually included among his major works.

It is a future history, set from 1994 to 2194. It tells the story, with chapters at 50-year intervals, of the exploration of space, with space stations in Earth orbit, then moon bases, and landings on Mars in 2094, Venus in 2144, and the asteroids. This is told through the Troon family, several members of which play an important part in the exploration of space, since they all feel "the outward urge", the desire to travel further into space. They all "hear the thin gnat-voices cry, star to faint star across the sky", a quote from The Jolly Company by Rupert Brooke. ^*

In 2044 a major nuclear war wipes out most of the Northern Hemisphere, leaving Brazil as the main world power, which claims that "Space is a province of Brazil". However Australia eventually emerges as a serious rival.

While many science fiction works have become superseded by later developments, this one became superseded fairly soon after it was written. In this account, the first space stations in Earth orbit are built in the 1990s, and the first moon landings take place in the 2020s. Mars is correctly described as a desert planet with no Martians, but there are plant forms in the bottom of the canali (which are implied to be a natural phenomenon). Venus is a watery planet with some primitive life forms.

Also a curious feature, reading it at the start of the 21st century, is that Wyndham assumes that by the early-to-mid 21st century little will have changed politically since the 1950s. The USSR still exists, capable of fighting a major nuclear war with the West. Britain is trying to keep up with the US and USSR as a major power, lagging slightly behind but not much. White minority rule still exists in South Africa, although most of the whites are massacred in an uprising in 2045, and around 2120 there is a second rising which kicks out the Indians.

science fiction books | 1959 novels