The novel “Open Prison”, also known as “The Escape Orbit”, by James White was published for the first time in 1963. It was a finalist for the Nebula Award in the best novel of the year category of 1965, the year of its publication in the USA.

Human beings have been at war with an alien species for decades. The survivors of the spaceship Victorious were captured and transported to a planet on which they’re abandoned and where there are other prisoners who have been there even for many years.

Warren is a Sector Marshal, the highest ranking officer ever dumped on the planet and it’s his firm intention to do everything possible to escape, even if the only resources available are those found on the planet. The situation is complicated not only by the alien ship which from the orbit checks that the prisoners don’t build too complex structures but also by the fact that human beings are divided into two factions, one of which now considers the planet as their home.

In “Open Prison” James White tackles the classic theme of prisoners of war trying to escape in a science fiction style and according to his pacifist ideas. For White the war between humans and aliens is pointless, due to the inability of the two parties to go beyond the barrier of the very different physical appearance. Its long duration has led to a decline on both sides, yet it’s still going on.

The agreement reached on the treatment of prisoners of war brought the aliens to decide that the best solution is to abandon the humans they capture on a planet suitable for them leaving them free to live there if they don’t try to develop dangerous technologies.

Among the prisoners of war however there’s a conflict too because many of them have fought for a long time and prefer to organize themselves to live the best possible way offered by the planet, in some cases even having children, in contrast with the other faction that seeks a way to escape. The situation is made worse by the fact that women tend to want to settle permanently on the planet and they end up bringing more men to their faction. By today’s standards women are described in a rather retrograde way but for the ’60s the consideration reserved to them in the novel is good.

James White presents a very different situation from a dull one with prisoners united in a common effort that could follow a patriotic rhetoric and maybe even a militaristic one. Instead prisoners are mostly normal people, although generally well trained, who do what they can in the situation they are with different aspirations.

In “Open Prison” there’s a number of protagonists, each with their own personality and their hopes for the future. Although the novel is very short – just over 100 pages – James White gives a decent development to everyone. Behind them there are plenty of characters who must somehow be involved in the escape plan and constitute the bulk of the preparations workforce.

Warren has to use all his authority and his skills to try to make all the prisoners work for a common goal, trying to iron out the conflicts that can result from very different persons, especially when the tension rises as they approach the time to implement the escape plan.

Typically James White shows a search for utopia and even in “Open Prison” the escape from the prison planet isn’t simply a return to the war to contribute to the victory over the enemy aliens. For White the escape is a new beginning: the reconquest of freedom but also the possibility that a group of intelligent and well trained people might contribute to a rebirth of a civilization torn apart by the war. Thus Warren reveals to his fellow prisoners the second part of his plan in an ending that gives an even more important sense to the novel.

“Open Prison” is a gem too long forgotten and I unreservedly recommend reading it.