(#146263) CONDITIONED FOR SPACE. Alan Ash.

CONDITIONED FOR SPACE. London and Melbourne: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited, [1955]. Small octavo, pp. [1-4] 5-191 [192], dark green cloth, spine panel stamped in white. First edition. Space opera set in 2055 after a nuclear war has destroyed much of the Earth and it is under bombardment by space-faring aliens who intend to colonize it and enslave its human survivors. The story begins with the premise of a present-day Royal Air Force pilot, preserved in ice for a hundred years after an airplane crash, being revived and retrofitted with mechanical parts to suit him for extraterrestrial duty: specifically, to prevent an invasion of Earth by an alien race from the planet Ektolon, which is ruled by rival queens. This is an early story of humans biologically reengineered for survival in an alien environment, an anticipation, by many years, of Frederik Pohl's masterful treatment of the same theme in MAN PLUS (1976). Clarke, Tale of the Future (1978), p. 101. Reginald 00534. A fine copy in fine pictorial dust jacket with just a bit of dustiness to rear panel. An uncommon book which is rare in this condition. (#146263).

Price: $250.00

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Printing identification statement for this book:
"FIRST PUBLISHED 1955" on copyright page.