Non-Stop

Non-Stop is a science fiction novel by British writer Brian W. Aldiss, published in 1958. It was his first novel in the genre and is regarded as one of his most important works on the theme of the generation starship.

The protagonist, Roy Complain, belongs to a primitive tribe that has sunk into a barbaric state. His world is overgrown with vegetation, and its inhabitants live in warring groups, where curiosity is discouraged and life is solitary, poor and short. When his wife is kidnapped, a tribal priest named Marapper persuades him to join a secret expedition into unexplored corridors. Marapper believes that everyone is living aboard a moving spacecraft and that, if they can reach the control room, they will gain command of the vast vessel. Along the way the group meets other tribes at different stages of development, and legendary beings known as the Giants, who capture Complain and then release him without explanation.

The expedition eventually reaches the more sophisticated society of the Forwards, where the truth emerges: the ship is a multi-generational vessel returning from a colony in the Procyon system. An epidemic caused by an alien amino acid led to the collapse of order on board, and knowledge of the ship and its purpose was almost entirely lost. The story moves between adventure and gradual revelation, leading to an ending that reframes the identities of the Giants and the Outsiders.

The novel was well received by specialist critics, who praised its handling of the generation starship theme. In 2008 it was awarded the British Science Fiction Association Award for best novel of 1958.