***
Light, fast-paced, almost flippant story that begins when a manned expedition to Ursa Major returns with no crew but rather a message from its captain warning the people of Earth of a terrible approaching danger. Seems there's a war going on in space, and the Ursa Major crew's physical similarity to one of the combatants leads another to conclude that Earthmen, too, are an enemy. Fortunately, Earth has a thriving space program; not so fortunately, their ships are hopelessly outclassed by the aliens'. Physicist Fred Hoyle supplies the clever idea that just might save humankind, while his son Geoffrey jollies the plot along with loads of gallows humor that is so cheerful one might forget that the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Somehow, it works. Followed in 1974 by a sequel, Into Deepest Space.
Light, fast-paced, almost flippant story that begins when a manned expedition to Ursa Major returns with no crew but rather a message from its captain warning the people of Earth of a terrible approaching danger. Seems there's a war going on in space, and the Ursa Major crew's physical similarity to one of the combatants leads another to conclude that Earthmen, too, are an enemy. Fortunately, Earth has a thriving space program; not so fortunately, their ships are hopelessly outclassed by the aliens'. Physicist Fred Hoyle supplies the clever idea that just might save humankind, while his son Geoffrey jollies the plot along with loads of gallows humor that is so cheerful one might forget that the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Somehow, it works. Followed in 1974 by a sequel, Into Deepest Space.
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