What do you think?
Rate this book
Alien Minds
The ability to read minds isn't an unmixed blessing, so learns George Hanlon, Secret Operative of the Inter-Stellar Corps. His unique gift helps him with his assignments, of course -- except that he has a lot of trouble with alien minds. He encounters a whole planet full of alien minds on Estrella when the semi-human inhabitants of this Earth-like world of another sun decide that they want nothing to do with the Federation Planets. Hanlon's investigation's lead him into complications and troubles, all of which contribute to the entertainment of this tale of intrigue on a distant world.The striking jacket of this book is by the master of science fiction art -- Hannes Bok.
- GenresScience Fiction
223 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 1, 2021
I'm sitting in Mrs. Woodbury's 4th grade class at Webster School on Manchester's North End. It is late Spring, mid-afternoon, and bright, dreamy, drowsy sunlight fills the room putting most of the class and even Mrs. Woodbury into a slow-moving torpor.
All except me. I'm reading Edward Everett's Man of Many Minds and loving it.
Flash forward some sixty years. I'm going through Gutenberg's books and select Alien Minds because I like Golden Age SF and it fits the bill.
Gosh it seems familiar. A space cadet who can read minds (a little) must use his special gift to advance the causes of justice and rightness throughout the known universe. His name is Hanlon.
Where have I heard that name before?
Well, I heard it in Mrs. Woodbury's class on that drowsy afternoon. Man of Many Minds is a sequel (kind of) to Alien Minds. It was like meeting an old friend again.
Beyond that, Alien Minds is an okay book. A bit pedantic and cliched but what genre novels weren't back then? The characters are shallow without being two-dimensional (a neat trick, that), the plot is predictable, the climax and outcome expected. But I'll bet it would still be a good read for a 4th grade student on a sunny, lazy afternoon.
All except me. I'm reading Edward Everett's Man of Many Minds and loving it.
Flash forward some sixty years. I'm going through Gutenberg's books and select Alien Minds because I like Golden Age SF and it fits the bill.
Gosh it seems familiar. A space cadet who can read minds (a little) must use his special gift to advance the causes of justice and rightness throughout the known universe. His name is Hanlon.
Where have I heard that name before?
Well, I heard it in Mrs. Woodbury's class on that drowsy afternoon. Man of Many Minds is a sequel (kind of) to Alien Minds. It was like meeting an old friend again.
Beyond that, Alien Minds is an okay book. A bit pedantic and cliched but what genre novels weren't back then? The characters are shallow without being two-dimensional (a neat trick, that), the plot is predictable, the climax and outcome expected. But I'll bet it would still be a good read for a 4th grade student on a sunny, lazy afternoon.
May 31, 2025
An excellent novel by a friend of E. E. "Doc" Smith (they also wrote a novel together).
The plot closely resembles "Call Me Joe," a short story by Poul Anderson, which inspired the film Avatar.
George Hanlon, a secret agent with the power to read minds, is sent to Estrella, an Earth-like planet, to bring it into the Federation. But what to do when the inhabitants don't care about the Federation?
A short, easy-to-read novel.
The plot closely resembles "Call Me Joe," a short story by Poul Anderson, which inspired the film Avatar.
George Hanlon, a secret agent with the power to read minds, is sent to Estrella, an Earth-like planet, to bring it into the Federation. But what to do when the inhabitants don't care about the Federation?
A short, easy-to-read novel.
January 1, 2026
This was better than the first one! I'll have to lower the first one to four stars, ha ha!
The first book in this duology, Man of Many Minds, was the vintage Science Fiction title for my Sci-Fi Month reading this year. I loved it so much I wanted to read this sequel right away.
The first book in this duology, Man of Many Minds, was the vintage Science Fiction title for my Sci-Fi Month reading this year. I loved it so much I wanted to read this sequel right away.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews