In previous posts we looked at Derelicts and Castaways in Space, so why not the very popular Exiles of Space? The idea of being sent away from your home to dwell in exile has been popular with SF writers since the beginning of the Pulps. Most often the exiles are from Earth and have been stranded on some wretched rock somewhere like our castaways. Sometimes the exiling is to our planet, that E. T. scenario once again. Famous exiles of that sort include Battlestar Galactica (the original series) with a fleet of exiles headed for earth,the villains from Superman II (1980), sent into the Phantom Zone before they escape to Earth. The Forbidden Zone in the Planet of the Apes movies serve a similar purpose for Taylor and Nova. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) is exiled to Earth as a punishment in Season 3 of Doctor Who. Many of the villains in MCU movies have been exiled as well, like the recent Kang the Conqueror in Antman & the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Kang’s people stranded him in the Quantum Realm and the plot follows how he tries to escape that exile like some kind of super-powered Napoleon.
In Pulp fiction you will find the title “The Exiles of ______ popular. In the early Gernsback days this was one of the planets of the Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Mars, etc. Later the last part became more poetic such “The Three Red Moons”. No matter where they end up, there is trouble waiting in the form of aliens, dinosaurs, bat-men, you name it. The exiles are at the mercy of whatever they find in their new home. As with previous posts, I have not included any titles that end in “Of Time”, being a time travel story and not about Space.
“The Exiles of Venus” by Jim Vanny (Wonder Stories, June 1931)
“Exiles of the Moon” by Nat Schachner and Arthur Leo Zagat (Wonder Stories, September October November 1931)
“Exiles of Mars” by Frank A. Kelly (Wonder Stories Quarterly, Summer 1932)
“Exiles on Asperus” by John Wyndham (as John Beynon) (Wonder Stories Quarterly, Winter 1933) For more on this story and Alien Space Bats in general, go here.
“Exiles of the Skies” by Richard Vaughn (Wonder Stories, January February March 1934) reprinted in Fantastic Story Quarterly, Summer 1950
“Exiles of the Stratosphere” by Frank Belknap Long (Astounding Stories, July 1935)
“Exiles From the Universe” by Stanton A. Coblentz (Amazing Stories, February 1938)
“Exiles of the Three Red Moons” by Carl Selwyn (Planet Stories, Summer 1940)
“Moon of Exile” by Harry Walton (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1940)
“Exiles of the Desert Star” by Ross Rocklynne (Planet Stories, Spring 1941)
“Exiles of New Planet” by Paul Dennis Lavond (C. M. Kornbluth, Robert A. W. Lowdnes and Frederik Pohl) (Astonishing Stories, April 1941)
“Exiles of Hyper-Space” by E. Hoffman Price (Spicy Mystery Stories, March 1942) I was surprised to see the word “Hyper-Space” in a Spicy Pulp. The expression had been around since 1928. I wonder what kind of naughtiness they got up to in hyperdrive?
“Exile” by Edmond Hamilton (Super Science Stories, May 1943)
“Exile to Centauri” by Ross Rocklynne (Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1943)
“Exile on Mercury” by Otto Binder (Captain Marvel Adventures #75, August 1947) is part of the Jon Jarl series of text stories Binder wrote for the comic.
“The Exiles” by Ray Bradbury (Maclean’s, September 15, 1949 as “The Mad Wizards of Mars”) reprinted in F& SF, Winter-Spring 1950)
“Exile of the Eons” by Arthur C. Clarke (Super Science Stories, March 1950)
“Into Exile” by Salem Lane (Amazing Stories, June 1950)
“Exile in Space” (Thrills Incorporated, October 1950) by Belli Luigi (as G. C. Bleek)
“Exiles of the Forbidden Planet” by Basil Wells (Doorways to Space, 1951)
“The Everlasting Exiles” by Wallace West (Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, January 1951)
“Exile From Venus” by E. Hoffman Price (Planet Stories, May 1951)
“The Exile” by Alfred Coppel (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1952)
“Exile” by H. B. Fyfe (Space Science Fiction, February 1953)
“Exile” by Everett B. Cole (Astounding Science Fiction, January 1954)
“Exile From Jupiter” by Bruno G. Condray (Tit-Bits Science Fiction Library, January 1955)
“Exile From Space” by Judith Merrill (Fantastic Universe, November 1956)
“Planet of Exile” by Edmond Hamilton (Space Travel, July 1958)
“Exiled From Earth” by Robert Silverberg (as Richard F. Watson) (Super-Science Fiction, December 1958)
Exile From Xanadu by Lan Wright (1963)
Planet of Exile by Ursula K. le Guin (1966)
“Exile to Hell” by Isaac Asimov (Analog Science Fiction, May 1968)
Conclusion
These aren’t the only stories The Exiles of Space, of course, just those that use the word in the title. Famous exiles include Raymond Z. Gallun’s Old Faithful stories, Superman comics and many others. The appeal of exiles in Science Fiction, I think, is rooted in the American origins of magazine SF. The readership was made up of the children of immigrants (some exiles, others escaping political unrest), who may have seen the new opportunities of exile, not as a curse, but as a new beginning.
The use of exile in titles didn’t stop with the 1960s. It is quite popular in Epic Fantasy paperbacks since then. The political aspects of the title have always guaranteed some kind of disruption or conflict. What more could you ask from a good, brisk plot?
Next time…Welcome to The Human Zoo…
