Non-Stop

Non-Stop is a 1958 science fiction novel by British writer Brian Aldiss. It is about problems that the inhabitants of a huge generation space ship face after an alien amino acid that they picked up on another planet triggers a pandemic. Law and order began to collapse, and knowledge of the ship and of its purpose was eventually almost entirely lost throughout the vessel. It was the author's first science fiction novel. Originally published by Faber & Faber, it was published in the US by Criterion Books as Starship in 1959. The novel has been frequently republished in the UK and US and translated into French, German, Danish and other languages. The Signet and Avon US paperback editions were also published under the title Starship, but American publishers Carroll & Graf and Overlook Press have used the title Non-Stop. Plot summary The novel's protagonist, Roy Complain, lives in a culturally-primitive tribe on a massive generation ship, which has descended into a uncivilized state. The ship is overgrown by vegetation, and the inhabitants have clustered into warring tribes. In Roy's tribe, curiosity is discouraged, and life is solitary, poor, and short. With a small group, he leaves his home and ventures into uncharted territory in the ship. The consequent discoveries will change his perception of the entire universe. Complain's small tribe roam nomadically through corridors that are overrun by vegetation. After his wife is kidnapped, a tribal priest, Marapper, encourages Complain to join a furtive expedition into the unexplored corridors. It is Marapper's belief that they are all living on board a moving spacecraft and that if they can reach the control room, they will gain command of the entire gargantuan vessel.