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KALUIKI… an island-name destined to become a household word, along with the names of eight courageous people—Farrant, Strang, Hoevler, Earl, MacClennon, Youd and the two women, Kay Kinley and Hilde Bartok—if “the project” could be brought off successfully. It took three days to warm the reactor up to the critical point of Zero Hour. Meanwhile, some strange insanity had been let loose on the security-bound island. How long would it take to kill eight people? How long before some of them panicked or shut themselves uselessly in the safety of a locked room?
Farrant was a good man—maybe too good, with his easygoing humor and wry acknowledgment that he was something of a dunderhead among a flock of super-experts. Yet Farrant committed at least one particularly bloody killing—and then couldn’t remember that his victim was dead. How many others had he killed? What was the secret locked in his mind—the secret that affected the lives of everybody on the island, and which would eventually uncover the secret of AGNES itself?
The tension grew unbearable as the inexorable hours ticked by and the small force of scientists was reduced one by one, until the final explosion revealed an answer not even the scientists had thought of—an answer written in time, and speed, and blood.
About Vintage Pulp Fiction
A new revolution was underway at the start of the 1940s in America—a paperback revolution that would change the way publishers would produce and distribute books and the reading public would consume them. In 1939 a new publishing company—Pocket Books—stormed onto the scene with the publication of its first paperbound book. Unlike hardback books, these pulp paperbacks were available in drugstores, newsstands, bus and train stations, and cigar shops. The American public could not get enough of them. The popular pulp genres reflected the tastes of Americans during World War II—mysteries, “sleaze”, thrillers, and “hardboiled detective” stories were all the rage.
In the early 1950s new pulp fiction subgenres emerged—science fiction, lesbian fiction, juvenile delinquent and “sleaze”, for instance—that would tantalize readers with gritty, realistic and lurid stories never seen before. Publishers had come to realize that sex sells. In a competitive frenzy for readers, they tossed away their staid and straightforward cover images for alluring covers that frequently featured a sexy woman in some form of undress, along with a suggestive tag line that promised stories of sex and violence within the covers. Before long, vintage pulps with sensational covers had completely taken over the paperback racks and cash registers. To this day, the pulp cover art of these vintage paperback books are just as sought after as the books themselves were sixty years ago.
We are excited to make these wonderful pulp fiction stories available in ebook format to new generations of readers, as a new revolution—the ebook revolution—is in full swing. We hope you will enjoy this nostalgic look back at a period in American history when dames were dangerous, tough-guys were deadly, dolls were delicious and spacemen were downright daring!
Farrant was a good man—maybe too good, with his easygoing humor and wry acknowledgment that he was something of a dunderhead among a flock of super-experts. Yet Farrant committed at least one particularly bloody killing—and then couldn’t remember that his victim was dead. How many others had he killed? What was the secret locked in his mind—the secret that affected the lives of everybody on the island, and which would eventually uncover the secret of AGNES itself?
The tension grew unbearable as the inexorable hours ticked by and the small force of scientists was reduced one by one, until the final explosion revealed an answer not even the scientists had thought of—an answer written in time, and speed, and blood.
About Vintage Pulp Fiction
A new revolution was underway at the start of the 1940s in America—a paperback revolution that would change the way publishers would produce and distribute books and the reading public would consume them. In 1939 a new publishing company—Pocket Books—stormed onto the scene with the publication of its first paperbound book. Unlike hardback books, these pulp paperbacks were available in drugstores, newsstands, bus and train stations, and cigar shops. The American public could not get enough of them. The popular pulp genres reflected the tastes of Americans during World War II—mysteries, “sleaze”, thrillers, and “hardboiled detective” stories were all the rage.
In the early 1950s new pulp fiction subgenres emerged—science fiction, lesbian fiction, juvenile delinquent and “sleaze”, for instance—that would tantalize readers with gritty, realistic and lurid stories never seen before. Publishers had come to realize that sex sells. In a competitive frenzy for readers, they tossed away their staid and straightforward cover images for alluring covers that frequently featured a sexy woman in some form of undress, along with a suggestive tag line that promised stories of sex and violence within the covers. Before long, vintage pulps with sensational covers had completely taken over the paperback racks and cash registers. To this day, the pulp cover art of these vintage paperback books are just as sought after as the books themselves were sixty years ago.
We are excited to make these wonderful pulp fiction stories available in ebook format to new generations of readers, as a new revolution—the ebook revolution—is in full swing. We hope you will enjoy this nostalgic look back at a period in American history when dames were dangerous, tough-guys were deadly, dolls were delicious and spacemen were downright daring!
- GenresScience Fiction
170 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
18 people want to read
About the author
Charles Eric Maine
59 books12 followersCharles Eric Maine (pseudonym of David McIlwain; 21 January 1921 – 30 November 1981) was an English science fiction writer whose most prominent works were published in the 1950s and 1960s. His stories were thrillers that dealt with new scientific technology
Biography
McIlwain was born in Liverpool.
He published three issues of a science fiction magazine called The Satellite which he co-edited along with J. F. Burke. From 1940 to 1941, he published his own magazine called Gargoyle.
During World War II, he was in the Royal Air Force and served in Northern Africa in 1943.
After the war, he worked in TV engineering, and became involved in editorial work with radio and TV. During 1952, he sold his first radio play, Spaceways, to the BBC. Due to its popularity, it became a novel as well as a movie.
One of his best known stories, Timeliner, was about a scientist who experiments with a time machine, only to be maliciously thrust into the future by a fellow scientist who was having an affair with his wife. It was originally written as a radio play known as The Einstein Highway.
He died in London in 1981.
Bibliography
Spaceways (1953) (Variant Title: Spaceways Satellite)
Timeliner (1955)
Escapement (1956) (Variant Title: The Man Who Couldn't Sleep)
High Vacuum (1956)
The Tide Went Out (1958) (Revised in 1997 with Variant Title: Thirst!)
World Without Men (1958) (Revised in 1972 with Variant Title: Alph)
Count-Down (1959) (Variant Title: Fire Past the Future)
Crisis 2000 (1959)
Subterfuge (1959)
Calculated Risk (1960)
He Owned the World (1960) (Variant Title: The Man Who Owned the World)
The Mind of Mr. Soames (1961)
The Darkest of Nights (1962) (Variant Title: Survival Margin)
B.E.A.S.T. (1966)
Alph (1972)
Biography
McIlwain was born in Liverpool.
He published three issues of a science fiction magazine called The Satellite which he co-edited along with J. F. Burke. From 1940 to 1941, he published his own magazine called Gargoyle.
During World War II, he was in the Royal Air Force and served in Northern Africa in 1943.
After the war, he worked in TV engineering, and became involved in editorial work with radio and TV. During 1952, he sold his first radio play, Spaceways, to the BBC. Due to its popularity, it became a novel as well as a movie.
One of his best known stories, Timeliner, was about a scientist who experiments with a time machine, only to be maliciously thrust into the future by a fellow scientist who was having an affair with his wife. It was originally written as a radio play known as The Einstein Highway.
He died in London in 1981.
Bibliography
Spaceways (1953) (Variant Title: Spaceways Satellite)
Timeliner (1955)
Escapement (1956) (Variant Title: The Man Who Couldn't Sleep)
High Vacuum (1956)
The Tide Went Out (1958) (Revised in 1997 with Variant Title: Thirst!)
World Without Men (1958) (Revised in 1972 with Variant Title: Alph)
Count-Down (1959) (Variant Title: Fire Past the Future)
Crisis 2000 (1959)
Subterfuge (1959)
Calculated Risk (1960)
He Owned the World (1960) (Variant Title: The Man Who Owned the World)
The Mind of Mr. Soames (1961)
The Darkest of Nights (1962) (Variant Title: Survival Margin)
B.E.A.S.T. (1966)
Alph (1972)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 19, 2020
I've previously read Charles Maine's The Tide Went Out and enjoyed it a lot so when I saw Count-Down at the book shop I snapped it up, whilst I'd say it's not quite as good as The Tide Went Out, it's still an entertaining classic sci-fi novel from the 50s.
In Count-Down a special rocket that is propelled by a new anti-gravity mechanism enters the final launch sequence and a 72 hour countdown begins. It's upon commencement of this that some strange things begin to happen, including several key personnel being murdered. As the staff investigate they unearth an expected source of interference, and the interference accelerates almost as if it is done with a goal in mind.
Whilst overall it was an entertaining book, I did find some of the bad science used a bit of a drawback such as the idea that if a falling item on earth is dropped and could continue accelerating it would continue to speed up until it reaches the speed of light. Which simply isn't true, gravity can't accelerate an object past terminal velocity which is when the drag of the item becomes equal to the force of gravity. This little factoid kind of undermines a lot of the basis of the novel, yet if you're able to look past such flaws it's still a good story.
In Count-Down a special rocket that is propelled by a new anti-gravity mechanism enters the final launch sequence and a 72 hour countdown begins. It's upon commencement of this that some strange things begin to happen, including several key personnel being murdered. As the staff investigate they unearth an expected source of interference, and the interference accelerates almost as if it is done with a goal in mind.
Whilst overall it was an entertaining book, I did find some of the bad science used a bit of a drawback such as the idea that if a falling item on earth is dropped and could continue accelerating it would continue to speed up until it reaches the speed of light. Which simply isn't true, gravity can't accelerate an object past terminal velocity which is when the drag of the item becomes equal to the force of gravity. This little factoid kind of undermines a lot of the basis of the novel, yet if you're able to look past such flaws it's still a good story.
December 31, 2022
Quick weekend read from the golden age of pulp science fiction. Fine but definitely not great. Ending is a bit of a middle, spending too long trying to explain the made up physics in the plot rather that providing more plot.
October 21, 2018
Classic sci-fi from the end of the golden age, a good quick weekend read.
November 29, 2018
Enjoyable but it gets a bit odd in the middle there.
December 28, 2014
A scientific community faces a murderer...
More here:
http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2014/1...
More here:
http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2014/1...
September 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews