Skid Row Pilot

Ted Kendall, a veteran spacepilot, comes to Mars expecting nothing more than a routine reflex exam to renew his flying certificate. Instead, the Martian branch of Space Service stalls him with maddening delays, and the computer's final verdict is a career-ending shock: he is no longer fit to fly. Furious and convinced the system has been tampered with, Kendall demands answers, only to lose control and lash out at the clerk. The resulting clash with Martian police leaves him battered, humiliated, and nearly broke, with no clear way home and his future in ruins. Waking in a gutter outside the Space Service office, Kendall seems finished. But when a towering Martian blueskin offers him shelter, a drink, and word that the wealthy merchant Das Shamra wants to see him, his misfortune takes an unexpected turn. On a harsh and alien Mars, Kendall is pulled from despair into a dangerous new opportunity that may change everything. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.