James V. McConnell 37 min read

In the finest lounge of the luxury liner Kismet, a beautiful televideo star and an acid-tongued novelist trade barbs over cocktails, before the space pirates arrive.

James V. McConnell's 1954 story is a genial, tongue-in-cheek space-opera romp of celebrities, cutthroats, and one formidable grandmother. Fun, breezy golden-age SF. Read it for a lively comic adventure aboard a luxury spaceliner, where glamour meets piracy and Grandma Perkins saves the day.

In its time

Published in 1954, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Kelly Freas