The Moon Maker: with illustrated and annotated

by Arthur Cheney Train

THE MOON MAKER

When the world-war was at its height, wireless messages signed with the name "Pax" had been received at the Naval Observatory at Washington, in which the sender declared himself capable of controlling the forces of nature. These mysterious messages were followed by the occurrence of extraordinary natural phenomena such as violent seismic shocks and an unprecedented display of the aurora borealis. Coincidently, there appeared in the heavens a terrible air-craft, the Flying Ring, which, by means of a powerful lavender ray, disrupted the mountains in northern Africa and flooded the Desert of Sahara. The warring nations were informed that if they did not conclude a permanent peace, Pax would shift the axis of the earth and compel the termination of hostilities by turning central Europe into an arctic waste. The nations, convinced at last that, unless they acceded to his demands, human life upon the globe would come to an end, entered into negotiations for peace. At about the same time, Professor Benjamin Hooker, attached to the Department of Applied Physics at Harvard University, determined, by independent research, that the mysterious force had its origin in the wilds of Labrador, and resolved to go there himself to see what he could find out about Pax and his schemes. After much hardship, he discovered the location of the Ring, arriving there at the moment when Pax was about to carry out his threat to deflect the axis of the globe; but, owing to an accident to the machinery generating the lavender ray, an explosion occurred in which Pax and his associates were destroyed. The Flying Ring, however, remained intact, and Hooker, with his friend, the famous aviator Burke, succeeded in mastering its mechanism and starting in it for the United States.

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2013

About the author

Arthur Cheney Train (1875-1945) was an American lawyer and legal thriller writer, particularly known for his novels of courtroom intrigue and the creation of the fictional lawyer Mr. Ephraim Tutt. In 1919, he created the popular character of Mr. Ephraim Tutt, a wiley old lawyer who supported the common man and always had a trick up his sleeve to right the law's injustices. He also coauthored the science fiction novel The Man Who Rocked the Earth (1915) with eminent physicist Robert W. Wood. After 1922, Train devoted himself to writing. His works include: The "Goldfish" (1914), Tutt and Mr. Tutt (1919) and By Advice of Counsel (1921). Robert Williams Wood (1868-1955) was an American physicist. He was a careful experimenter known for his many contributions to optics including infrared and ultraviolet photography, and the liquid mirror telescope. He was also a writer of science fiction and nonsense verse. He also authored non-technical works. In 1915, Wood co-authored a science fiction novel, The Man Who Rocked the Earth, with Arthur Train. He also wrote and illustrated a book of nonsense verse, How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers.

Father of Arthur Kissam Train

Reviews

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book, actually consisting of two related novels, "The Man Who Rocked The World" and its sequel "The Moon-Maker". Despite their age (the first was written in 1915), they correctly predict a nuclear explosion and detailed travel into space. The second volume also features literature's first female astronaut. Clever, fun and exciting, these two books span the period between Jules Verne and the rise of the SF pulp magazines. Highly recommended.