L. W. Currey, Inc.

Laumer, Keith. A PLAGUE OF DEMONS. [New York]: A Berkley Medallion Book published by Berkley Publishing Corporation, [1965]. Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Berkley Medallion F1086. "Aliens nurture wars on Earth to cultivate and reap a crop of 'computers' -- human brains. John Bravis is surgically converted to 'superman' to investigate. Caught, he finds his brain placed in control of the multi-ton tank fighting an unknown war on an unknown world. He rebels, frees fellow enslaved brains, and girds for endless war against the alien enemy. Entertaining space opera ..." - Anatomy of Wonder (1981) 3-468. "Laumer's singletons are varied, ranging from broad Humor like THE MONITORS (1966) ... to taut, efficient sf thrillers whose structures amalgamate space opera and the favorite SF theme of the coming to awareness of the superman. The best of them is probably A PLAGUE OF DEMONS (1965), in which a tough human is biologically engineered into an indomitable fighting machine so that he can deal with a threat to Earth, and finds -- after a long, remarkably sustained chase sequence ending in his capture by some singularly efficient Aliens -- that for centuries Earth has been being despoiled of its best fighting men, who, like himself, have been taken off-planet and surgically transformed into command centers for gigantic, armed fighting machines embroiled in an aeons-long interstellar war. In this cyborg form, he regains autonomy, organizes a revolt of his fellow cyborg-supertanks and prepares to carry -- fabulously armed -- his message of freedom to the stars." - SFE (online). Earth's Secret Masters (the Ultimax Group) battle brain-stealing aliens masquerading as humans on Earth during a gigantic intergalactic war. One of Laumer's best, and a classic of 1960s paranoid SF. A shorter version of this novel was published as a two-part serial in IF, November-December 1964 as "The Hounds of Hell." 1965 Nebula Nominee. Survey of Science Fiction Literature IV, pp. 1687-91. Reginald 08677. A fine copy. (#158303).

Price: $35.00