George O. Smith 1 hr 24 min read

Was this the start of a ghastly new war, or did the sinister kidnappings mean something else? After eight years' work, Harry Vinson can't wait to switch on his machine.

George O. Smith's 1950 story pairs a wave of mysterious abductions with an inventor's long-awaited experiment, building a taut space-opera mystery. Sharp, idea-driven golden-age SF. Read it for a story where a personal triumph and a global menace turn out to be tangled together.

In its time

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

Reading it

1 hr 24 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).