The Crystal Ray

In a far-future war between the United States and Asia, ace pilot George Calhoun and scientifically minded Joseph Pelton steal a brief respite in the Andes, only to be drawn into a mystery at an extinct volcano called the Devil's Nest. Welcomed by the solemn Señor Hernando Diaz, they hear of vanished men, strange blue crystals, and a cursed crater that seems to defy nature itself. When they climb the mountain, Pelton's unease deepens and Calhoun's fearless bravado only sharpens the sense that something uncanny waits above. What they uncover in the crater is more than a ghost story: the dead lie amid an unnatural landscape, and the crystals prove to be the key to a terrifying new force. That discovery leads to a secret weapon built in Whitley Park as Chicago faces annihilation from the Asiatic air fleet. Beneath a web of steel pylons and wireless power, Pelton's crystal ray erupts in blue beams that shatter enemy ships and turn the battle at the last possible instant. Yet victory demands a final sacrifice, as Pelton takes to the air once more, meeting the deadly ace Saku and embracing a death that may secure the city's survival. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.