Henry Hasse 1 hr 25 min read

Answering an urgent helio from Earth, the lone adventurer Ketrik races home in record time, only to find no patrol, no escort, no challenge. Strange.

Henry Hasse's 1946 story opens on an ominously empty homecoming, launching a fast space-opera tale of mystery and menace. Colorful, atmospheric golden-age pulp. Read it for a brisk adventure that begins with a chilling absence and builds toward the dread flame of its title.

In its time

Published in 1946, during the 1940s, the golden age begins.

Reading it

1 hr 25 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).