Thursday, October 16, 2014

Paperback 825: The Radio Planet / Ralph Milne Farley (Ace F-312)

Paperback 825: Ace F-312 (PBO, 1964)

Title: The Radio Planet
Author: Ralph Milne Farley [Roger Sherman Hoar]
Cover artist: John Schoenherr

Yours for: $8

AceF312

Best things about this cover:

  • Flash Gordon cosplay just got Real.
  • Myles Cabot: Ant Barber!
  • Are those ants? Beetles? Entomologists—little help?
  • Yeah, get that "Milne" name in there. Someone might take a chance.


AceF312bc

Best things about this back cover:

  • "Radio transmission of matter"—is that like a 3D printer!?
  • First paragraph is about as dull as one can make a (return!) trip to Venus sound.
  • "Untapped resources." Nice fudge.
  • "But Myles Cabot didn't know the meaning of the word impossible—or "dearth," or "fecundity," or "peripatetic," or "spatula," or a host of other words. But he could build an electronic device from raw rocks and untapped resources, so suck on that, fancy word knowledge people!"


Page 123~

"For Builder's sake, man!" Cabot cut in. This is not time to quibble over words! Give us the plane, if you would save Theoph, yourself, and Arkilu."

Man, Myles Cabot really does have a thing against words. And he worships Bob the Builder. What a character!

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

1 comment:

DemetriosX said...

This was originally published in Argosy in the 20s, which explains the inhabited Venus and the cheesy dialogue. This was also a sequel, which is why Cabot is returning to Venus. Not sure why Ace would have decided to reprint his stuff, but then they've always been fairly decent at reintroducing old authors.

Farley was actually Roger Sherman Hoar, who was a constitutional lawyer, teacher of math and engineering, and a MA state senator. He also invented a system for aiming artillery by the stars.

Schoenherr is already using the palette that he would apply to all of his Dune covers.