The captain had learned to hate. It was his profession--and his personal reason for going on. But even hatred has to be channeled for its maximum use, and no truths exist forever.
Despite a warning received in the Suq by a nomad, Conan stays the night in a cheap tavern in Zamboula, run by Aram Baksh. As night falls, a black Darfarian cannibal enters Conan's small chamber by means of a trick lock to drag him away to be eaten. The Darfarian slaves in the city are cannibals who prey on travelers, the people of the city tolerate this and stay locked securely in their homes, while nomads and beggars make sure to sure to spend the night at a comfortable distance from its walls.
Neal ("Storm") Cloud, nucleonic genius, set out in his spaceship *Vortex Blaster* to track and destroy the vortices. What he finds extends far beyond any threat of nature.
MARS Earth's first colony in Space. Men killed for the coveted ticket that allowed them to go there. And, once there, the killing went on... MARS Ralph Graham's goal since boyhood--and he was Mars-bound with authority that put the whole planet in his pocket--if he could live long enough to assert it! MARS source of incalculable wealth for humanity--and deadly danger for those who tried to get it!