Lester Del Rey: Stories

There is one fact no sane man can quarrel with. everything has a beginning and an end. But some men aren't sane; thus it isn't always so!

The computer seemed to work as it should. The speed was within acceptable limits. He gave up trying to see the ground and was forced to trust the machinery designed for amateur pilots. The flare bloomed, and he yanked down on the little lever.It could have been worse. They hit the ground, bounced twice, and turned over. The ship was a mess when Feldman freed himself from the elastic straps of the seat. Chris had shrieked as they hit, but she was unbuckling herself now...

There was nothing, especially on Earth, which could set him free--the truth least of all!

He didn't expect to be last-but neither did he anticipate the horror of being the first!

He wanted above anything else to go into space. He had been waiting for it--a long time!

Eighteen men and two women in the closed world of a space ship for five months can only spell tension and trouble--but in this case, the atmosphere was "literally" poisoned.

Poor Henry was an unhappy husband whose wife had a habit of using bad clichès. Alféar was a genii who was, quite like most humans, a creature of habit. Their murder compact was absolutely perfect, with--

Explorers who dread spiders and snakes prove that heroism is always more heroic to outsiders. Then there's the case of the first space pilot to Mars who developed the itch

Bruce Gordon was an ex-fighter, ex-gambler, ex-cop, ex-reporter, and now he was an ex-patriot of Earth. Security shipped him to Mars with a knife, 100 credits, and a yellow card that meant no return. An SF novel that would appeal to Mickey Spillane fans, Police Your Planet features lots of hands-on violence, assorted beatings, and blood. But this isn't just a crime novel put into space; this is a hard sf novel, and the terraforming of Mars, while not dwelt upon, is central to the story.

Fear cut through the unconscious mind of Wilbur Hawkes. With almost physical violence, it tightened his throat and knifed at his heart. It darted into his numbed brain, screaming at him.He was a soft egg in a vast globe of elastic gelatine. Two creatures swam menacingly through the resisting globe toward him. The gelatine fought against them, but they came on. One was near, and made a mystic pass. He screamed at it, and the gelatine grew stronger, throwing them back and away.