George O. Smith 3 hr 35 min read

Disgraced spaceman Charles Farradyne, framed and broken, toils in the fungus fields of Venus, until a stranger offers him a chance at redemption, and a deadly job among the stars.

George O. Smith's 1952 novel is a rousing space-opera adventure. Vivid, driven golden-age SF. Read it for a fast-moving tale of a ruined pilot's shot at clearing his name, tangled with drug-smuggling and the sinister hellflower, in a colorful golden-age adventure of redemption, intrigue, and danger across the solar system.

In its time

Published in 1952, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

3 hr 35 min read (a novel-length work, settle in).

Illustrated by

Virgil Finlay