Ford McCormack 47 min read

Farian jade is the most precious jewel in history, and the most deadly. Will Archer watches the yellow-green bulk of Faria recede on his screen, not sorry to leave that treacherous world behind.

Ford McCormack's 1955 story is a colorful space-opera adventure of a lethal alien treasure. Vivid, atmospheric golden-age SF. Read it for a rousing tale where the galaxy's most coveted jewel drives men to a phantom duel across the void.

In its time

Published in 1955, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Emmanuel Stallman