Joseph Millard (1908–1989)

An early 60s book which represents 50s Golden Age Science Fiction better than if it was a contemporary pastiche, or, if you like, an accurate simulation of 50s "B" sci fi movies: let loose your logic and have a ball reading this. A crazy quilt of tropes and borrowings, meteors land in Kansas (why? spoilers!) carrying alien beings (thank you Mr Wells), but they're invisible, attaching to people's necks and controlling them like, er, Puppet Masters (thank you Mr Heinlein, Outer Limits, Star Trek...), but, the universe is saved through the actions of a Meteoritics professor who also has intimate knowledge of many other branches of physics, is an electrician, car mechanic, crack shot with a gun, can climb mountains, well you get the idea (Mr Millard should again thank Mr Heinlein). Of course, he manages to in the process also save his blond bombshell girlfriend (who also has as many PhDs as him, but, umm, for some 1950s reason is only his "assistant".) Oh, the aliens, they're evil because, you know, evolving to be emotionless beings of pure intellect makes you evil (again, thank you Mr Wells). Get some popcorn, imagine the characters in grainy black and white and 50s special effects, and have a heck of a fun afternoon with this short novel.… (mais)

Here is a google translation of vdb's (French) review:

Edgar Cayce (18 March 1877 near Beverly, Kentucky, United States - 3 January 1945 in Virginia Beach, United States) is sometimes referred to as the "sleeping prophet" and one of the "greatest mystics" of the United States . During readings, entering into a trance through hypnosis, he answered questions about an individual. These readings evoke, in the beginning, the physical health. Then, the councils diversify and relate to the past lives, the interpretations of dreams, the psychic phenomena, the mental health, the meditation, the prayer, the spiritual development, but also the trade and Atlantis. He remains known for the parts of his work that he considered most important, such as caring (the vast majority of his "readings" were made for people who were sick) or Christian theology (Cayce was all his life a member of the Disciples of Christ, a Protestant church). It could be the origin of the idea that California will one day be "overwhelmed". Although he lived before the emergence of the New Age, he had a great influence on some ideas of this current. Skeptics doubt his psychic prowess, as well as conservative Christians who question his orthodoxy.… (mais)

Even though this story was at times corny and a bit dated scientifically, it was a fast and enjoyable read. Only took me a couple of hours, but it was time well spent.

Originally published in 1941 (and I haven't read the original version that appeared in a science fiction magazine), this alien body-snatching story had a few new twists to what some may consider old and cliche.

Now I'll have to add the 1967 move They Came From Beyond Space to my Netflix queue to see how well this novel was adapted.

Besides, I felt compelled to read a book about my home state -- Kansas!

Ad aspera per aspera!

Latin for "To the stars with difficulty!"

… (mais)