Invaders of Space

by Murray Leinster

Things were quiet that night in the space port. Then the 'Theban' arrived without warning, bringing with it a surly crew, led by a blustering captain, Larson...

The 'Theban' was old, propelled by a totally obsolescent interplanetary drive. The only way Larson could get it off the ground was to kidnap the young engineer, Horn, who he hoped could at least manage to keep the ship in flight until it reached its final rendezvous.

Their destination was the spaceship 'Danae' - a ship loaded with millions in space credit notes. If horn wanted to save the 'Danae' from the onslaughts of the Space Invaders, he had his work cut out for him...

Genres: Science Fiction

141 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

see also:
Will F. Jenkins
William Fitzgerald Jenkins

Murray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history. He wrote and published over 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.

An author whose career spanned the first six decades of the 20th Century. From mystery and adventure stories in the earliest years to science fiction in his later years, he worked steadily and at a highly professional level of craftsmanship longer than most writers of his generation. He won a Hugo Award in 1956 for his novelet “Exploration Team,” and in 1995 the Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his classic story, “Sidewise in Time.” His last original work appeared in 1967.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invaders of Space was the last of several original novels by Leinster that were published in 1964, a very prolific year for him, especially considering that he had been publishing professionally since 1916. It's a space opera crime caper, featuring Captain Larson of the Theban, who has set his sights on raiding the Danae, a treasure ship. He has to kidnap engineer Horn to keep the obsolete Theban going, and Horn has to find a way to keep his fiancé Ginny, who's a passenger, out of harm's way. It all winds up a little too neatly and abruptly, but it's a fast-paced and enjoyable adventure.

[Colin Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good quick read, science fiction before we went to space is always the most interesting in my opinion. However, I felt Horn (the protagonist of this story) was too perfect of a character. No matter what problem he faced, he was always at least 2 steps ahead of everyone else in the book. Also being a random engineer and beating up the captain of the Theban?? He was the prodigal hero with no flaws, and that wore thin torwards the end.

[Carlos West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murray Leinster is an author that writes to please everyone, and Invaders of Space is no exception. Perhaps having written so much, he occasionally will experiment a little. For this book he had 2 main characters in which their 1st name is never revealed. They are no doubt named after famous characters, "Horn" after Trader Horn(a real person, in which 2 adventure movies were based on) and "Larsen" (Jack London's Wolf Larsen from The Sea Wolf). It's a science fiction crime drama. Larsen plans to rob a space ship and no doubt kill the crew, one of which is the bride to be of Horn, who is an engineer. Horn is kidnapped, but it's a position he actually wants to be in. The author may have been influenced somewhat from the success of The Sand Pebbles, written in 1962, as an important part of the plot deals with keeping alive a broken down engine. Reads like a movie and includes a very soggy planet with many unusual alien creatures. You can finish this one in a day!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a bit too much tell-don't-show in the final quarter of the novel, and the climax is too abrupt for my taste. But those caveats aside, this is a solid sci-fi action/thriller, with techno-speak and situations that manage to hold up after fifty years.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10. Media de los 14 libros leídos del autor : 6/10

Otro de los autores clásicos "de ideas". en general se deja leer pero los que más me gustaron suyos son "Un lógico llamado Joe" o "El señor de los Uffis"

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual are science fiction stories. This one is an early written example of a variety of space traveling ships and all its affixed crews. Horn was a brilliant man in this field of engineering of the "newer models" and older... he led a peaceful life while waiting for a ship to bring his fiance. In this story lays much to be said about our own modern way of thinking of the future of space travel, what planets may look like once we get there and the one adventure Horn will never forget.

[SciFiOne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1980 grade B