Pogo Planet

Ajax Calkins arrives on the newly discovered world of Midplanet determined to seize it for himself and win eternal fame. Instead, he crash-lands into a hidden civilization beneath a light-trapping black atmosphere, where a bright and habitable surface has long been concealed from Earth. Convinced he has found an untouched empire, Ajax grandly declares himself emperor—only to stumble into a landscape of cracked green clay, drifting smoke, and advanced machinery. His triumph collapses when he accidentally activates a giant powered pogo stick built for crossing the planet's fissures, launching him in a humiliating ride toward the city. There he is captured by the kangaroo-like native inhabitants and learns that he is not the first human on Midplanet. In the city, Ajax encounters Nadia Landor, an Earth woman with an official Interplanetary Union expedition, who has already made contact with the locals and arranged an escape with a giant flea-like creature named Bosco. On this bizarre world, where hopping is the key to survival, Ajax's dreams of conquest give way to a chaotic adventure of rival explorers, strange alliances, and hard-won survival. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.