Ralph Williams 36 min read

A galactic Warden needs a very obnoxious pest exterminated, the Harn, a tick-turned-monster running wild through a controlled world.

Ralph Williams's 1959 story frames its tale around a game-preserve keeper of worlds hunting an invasive alien predator that has slipped its natural bounds. Clever, well-built first-contact SF with an ecological premise. Read it for a smart golden-age tale of interdimensional pest control and the hunter fit for the job.

In its time

Published in 1959, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

36 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).

Illustrated by

H. R. Van Dongen