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The Sky Block
A Cold war classic from the fifties. This one might actually have happened, but if it did we would never have heard of it. (Secrecy, u;know!)
Platt Vencel returned home from the war, to find his beloved upland country writhing in an unheard-of drought.
"Look at that mountain," the FBI man had said to him. Vencel stared at Blue Peak. As a child he had climbed it, as a teenager he had hunted its prey and fished its streams. Now it looked bare and lifeless, with a strange haze surrounding its top half.
Inside that mountain was -- something -- that was wrecking the weather!!
Platt Vencel returned home from the war, to find his beloved upland country writhing in an unheard-of drought.
"Look at that mountain," the FBI man had said to him. Vencel stared at Blue Peak. As a child he had climbed it, as a teenager he had hunted its prey and fished its streams. Now it looked bare and lifeless, with a strange haze surrounding its top half.
Inside that mountain was -- something -- that was wrecking the weather!!
Hardcover
First published January 16, 1955
4 people want to read
About the author
Steve Frazee
108 books5 followersSteve Frazee was born in Salida, Colorado. He began making major contributions to Western pulp magazines with stories set in the American West as well as a number of North-Western tales published in Adventure. Not surprisingly, many of Frazee's novels have become major motion pictures.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 10, 2023
Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog
I found a copy of The Sky Block by Steve Frazee and, of course, bought it for the terrific cover art by Bob Maquire. The Berkeley Gazette called it "...the perfect suspense novel." and it is that.
Taut and engrossing from the very first pages, the mystery and tension don't let up until the very end.
"The secret weapon of an unseen enemy"
Platt Vencel returns to his childhood home in the mountains to find the area around Grizzly Lake cordoned off by a secretive Government installation. From the first pages, Vencel runs into two agents 'fishing' nearby who know his prowess as a local guide and convince him to come to the lake. Along with Colonel Catron, they reveal the impending danger - persons unknown have created a devastating weapon for the destruction of mankind, a device that alters the weather to create deadly events in the US. The enemy has been foiled several times, but before they can be discovered, the team of operators destroy the weapon then kill themselves. Intel has placed a new weapon deep in one of the old mining tunnels surrounding the lake. As they drain the lake to gain access to the closed mines, Vencel shows them tunnels and caves not listed on the maps to ferret them out.
Nearby is Okie's diner and cabins, where Steve rents a room. It's possible the new waiter is either a government or enemy agent in disguise. Okie and his wife have run the place for a long time, but can't be above suspicion. Even the agents from the FBI, Amy Brass and the nation's top scientists begin to turn on each other in a power play when a series of shocking and deadly sabotage deaths rock the camp. The stakes are high. You can't trust anyone for the enemy is hiding in surprising places.
Steve Frazee wrote many westerns, and won the 1953 Ellery Queen Mystery Contest. The writing was clear, direct, and involving. Several twists and sudden shots of explosive violence stumped me from discovering who was behind it all. The weapon and the enemy were serious and the suspense was high throughout, despite the lack of detail on the machine or the enemy - it was all about the tension and espionage. I'd compare it to Jack Higgins type adventure, with a faster pace - they only have ten days to capture the machine intact! I love finding a really great read that totally satisfies.
I found a copy of The Sky Block by Steve Frazee and, of course, bought it for the terrific cover art by Bob Maquire. The Berkeley Gazette called it "...the perfect suspense novel." and it is that.
Taut and engrossing from the very first pages, the mystery and tension don't let up until the very end.
"The secret weapon of an unseen enemy"
Platt Vencel returns to his childhood home in the mountains to find the area around Grizzly Lake cordoned off by a secretive Government installation. From the first pages, Vencel runs into two agents 'fishing' nearby who know his prowess as a local guide and convince him to come to the lake. Along with Colonel Catron, they reveal the impending danger - persons unknown have created a devastating weapon for the destruction of mankind, a device that alters the weather to create deadly events in the US. The enemy has been foiled several times, but before they can be discovered, the team of operators destroy the weapon then kill themselves. Intel has placed a new weapon deep in one of the old mining tunnels surrounding the lake. As they drain the lake to gain access to the closed mines, Vencel shows them tunnels and caves not listed on the maps to ferret them out.
Nearby is Okie's diner and cabins, where Steve rents a room. It's possible the new waiter is either a government or enemy agent in disguise. Okie and his wife have run the place for a long time, but can't be above suspicion. Even the agents from the FBI, Amy Brass and the nation's top scientists begin to turn on each other in a power play when a series of shocking and deadly sabotage deaths rock the camp. The stakes are high. You can't trust anyone for the enemy is hiding in surprising places.
Steve Frazee wrote many westerns, and won the 1953 Ellery Queen Mystery Contest. The writing was clear, direct, and involving. Several twists and sudden shots of explosive violence stumped me from discovering who was behind it all. The weapon and the enemy were serious and the suspense was high throughout, despite the lack of detail on the machine or the enemy - it was all about the tension and espionage. I'd compare it to Jack Higgins type adventure, with a faster pace - they only have ten days to capture the machine intact! I love finding a really great read that totally satisfies.
July 20, 2015
SF was a prolific writer of westerns mostly but I couldn't find this title listed among the many. I got this through the Scholastic magazine mail ordering program through English class in Jr. High 1959/60). I see that someone has added a cover image - excellent!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews