Emissaries of Space / Death Plays a Game

Armchair Fiction presents extra large editions of classic science fiction double novels with original illustrations. Our first novel is a true classic from the golden age of science fiction, “Emissaries of Space” by Nathan Schachner and illustrated by Frank R. Paul. Who could have known that during the depths of the great depression, the Earth was being scrutinized by beings from outer space? The Emissaries, beings from the farthest reaches of the cosmos, had set their sights on our world. First there were electrical storms of enormous intensity, the aftermaths of which left thousands of victims temporarily babbling, as though under some strange, outside influence. Then one of the victims, a wealthy industrialist named John Boling, invented a world-changing invention shortly after his recovery. Boling, with the help of his young scientific protégé, devised a revolutionary new atomic motor. It was a motor that could, almost overnight, make current forms of energy production obsolete. With his course set, Boling and his clandestine coalition of other powerful men set out to change the social and economic makeup of the entire world. But who was really in control, and what insidious plans did they have for the people of Earth? The second novel is another fine golden age gem, “Death Plays a Game” by the very underrated David V. Reed. “Death Plays a Game” is a roaring good piece of space opera, full of action and intrigue. It deals with an interplanetary gambler named Cary Harper, constantly in trouble, and constantly on the run from the Interplanetary Police. Harper is the favorite target of Maxwell Green, an IP man who’s been on his trail ever since Harper decked him during an altercation. Adding to the intrigue is Harper’s beautiful girlfriend, Lois Van Horn, whose father is a powerful interplanetary mogul. Author David V. Reed then keeps you guessing and takes you from one prickly situation to another. However, things take a strange turn when Lois’ younger brother Ralph is found in a nearly trancelike state and in possession of a small, glowing white globe—a telltale sign of having taken the Lindite “drink of honor.” A strange alien race from the faraway planet of Lindar, the Lindites have a passion for gambling; and it’s soon obvious that the younger Van Horn has been gambling on a Lindite gaming ship. Unfortunately when you lose to the Lindites, the only way out is to gamble for your life…


Genre: Science Fiction