Battle on Mercury (Winston Science Fiction) (Volume 12)
Eric van Lhin, Lester del Rey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
4.00
· 1 ratings · 118 pages · Published: 12 Feb 2014
Around one of the universe's most awesome events — sun spots — Lester del Rey has written a tale of rugged courage and heroism in the face of impending doom. Young Dick Rogers wasn't too well liked by the townspeople. He insisted on keeping an erratic "wispy" — the strange form of Mercury life that took the shape of an electrically charged ball of flame — as a friend. And though Dick's favorite "wispy," Johnny Quicksilver, could usually be trusted, the mining engineers were never sure whether it was he who periodically blew out fuses and upset delicate electrical circuits.
Against this background, the story of Dick Rogers' odyssey through Mercury's bleak and blazing landscape takes on desperate urgency. How he, an ancient robot and the Mercury veteran "Hotside Charlie" withstand Mercury's 800 degree temperatures, escape rivers of molten lead, and fight the planet's horrifying silicone beasts, is in the best science fiction tradition.