Eric Frank Russell - Three To Conquer

[scifimike]

Three to Conquer by Eric Frank Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Eric Frank Russell followed the ideas of Charles Fort: humans in the future would include some special ability. In this case, the proganist is Wade Harper, a maker of microscopic tools and a telepath. Harper normally hides his ability - but when he reads the mind of a non-human, he realizes that the world has a serious problem. Combatting an alien invasion is more important than hiding from the military and media... He announces himself and his talents to the government, and they press him into the war against the aliens. Only he can detect them - which makes him their prime target.

Russell's blend of humanity and wit makes him my favourite writer of SF. This novel was written in the cold war, so there are morals to be made and parallels to be drawn - but only if you want to. It's good SF, and a good thriller. That combination makes it worthy of a read. Don't worry if you don't like SF, read if for the light comedy, the chase, the storyline. I've dipped into it several times in the decades since it was written - it's always entertaining.



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