Robert Emmett McDowell 2 hr 10 min read

A young man sits in the prisoner's chair, indignation mounting, as a psychologist's verdict on his trial is inexplicably delayed.

Robert Emmett McDowell's 1948 story opens on Joel Hakkyt's tense wait before a community court, his father the presiding president refusing to meet his eyes. Atmospheric, character-driven space opera with a menace in its title. Read it for a suspenseful golden-age tale that begins in the dock and heads toward a green terror.

In its time

Published in 1948, during the 1940s, the golden age begins.

Reading it

2 hr 10 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).

Illustrated by

Al McWilliams