Passage to Planet X

Mark Travers is a stowaway with a secret device and a talent for surviving trouble, but the secretive spaceship that catches him is no ordinary vessel. Its commander, Janus, and his hard-edged crew of freebooters live outside official authority, and Mark soon realizes he has landed among outlaws who may be less interested in law than in bold opportunity. His story of fleeing invention thieves exposes a larger danger: the BINWI, a predatory bureau that steals or suppresses breakthroughs, now has his invention in its sights. When the ship is challenged by Callisto Station, the crew answers inspection with amused defiance and a daring escape that sends them hurtling past Jupiter at impossible speed. Brownell's experimental Frequency Tuner proves to be both engine and directional control, driving them beyond the known planets toward the legendary Planet X. Their real target, however, is even more elusive: George Ketrik, the near-mythic adventurer they hope to beat to whatever riches or wonders await. Beyond Pluto, the voyage turns into a plunge into the unknown. The crew reaches a strange world of crushing gravity, twilight bands, hostile furry humanoids, ancient robots, and human settlers who have forgotten Earth. In Frell, Mark discovers a hidden civilization, an old war, and a lost human history that may be as astonishing as the planet itself. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.