Laurence M. Janifer & Randall Garrett 2 hr 50 min read

In 1914 it was enemy aliens; in 1930, Wobblies; in 1957, fellow travelers, and now FBI Director Burris paces his office in exasperated horror: 'They could be anywhere. They could be all around us.'

Randall Garrett and Laurence M. Janifer's 1959 novel (later 'Brain Twister') is a witty psi-powers and social-SF tale, first of the Kenneth Malone series. Funny, clever golden-age SF. Read it for a genial romp where the FBI hunts a telepathic menace, and the trail leads to a most unlikely sweet little old lady.

In its time

Published in 1959, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

2 hr 50 min read (a novel-length work, settle in).

Illustrated by

Kelly Freas