PDF Books in Space Opera Fiction
Amour, Amour, Dear Planet!
by Mark ClutterSpacecaptain Jan Obrien was plain drunk and in no condition to handle an aircar. Which fact perhaps can be understood for a man who has not tasted the liquor of Terra in ten years and who comes home to his native planet to find it wrecked by the worst of its wars.Obrien was in no condition, but nevertheless he was handling an aircar, whizzing down ..
Planet in Reverse
by Henry GuthDarrel Bond allowed himself a grin. The fleet admiral had warned him against straying off the freight lanes. Had, in fact, threatened to break him down to a button-pusher if he did it again. That was a laugh! Button-pusher! What was he now, if not a button-pusher?In the old days, space piloting had been something—a thrill and a challenge. But now—b..
Six Frightened Men
by Robert SilverbergThe thing was at least sixty feet tall and all eyes and mouth. The mouth yawned, showing yellow daggers a foot long. As for the eyes—well, they burned with the cold luminosity of an intelligent and inimical being. I didn't know what the thing was. One minute I'd been examining an interesting rock formation, a second later I was hiding behind it, wa..
Milk Run
by Robert Donald LockeThe Star Rover, a rusty freighter that shuttled between Rigel and the home system, hovered above a transfer station some two million miles out from Rigel's twelfth planet, awaiting port clearance. Every crewman knew the skipper was oiled, but they knew the entropy barrier would set him back a full day, shocking him into cold alertness.Second Office..
A Zloor for Your Trouble!
by Mack ReynoldsAfter the four G's acceleration had cut off and we were in free fall, I took the opportunity to read the contract I'd hurriedly signed with Westley Marks. On thorough reading, the contract didn't seem too bad. All my expenses to and from Mars were paid by Marks. I also got five credits a month in the way of salary—no fortune, but average pay for a ..
X Marks the Asteroid
by Ross RocklynneThe Unterzuyder map was out of hiding. Relayed on a grapevine that spanned the planets, the news caught on big in Marsport. Bigger Bailes sat at a beer-bottle-colored glass desk in his underworld retreat, announcing his intent to claim the reward money that for eighty-five years had been piling up at compound interest in the Terra-First National Ba..
Ticket to the Stars
by Raymond E. BanksThe Ideal came up to him and slipped on the stool beside him with some word of greeting. She was human all right. Too human. She was dressed in white. Most of them dress in white. There was some gold sprinkled on her costume. It was very expensive, made of Scolarian cloth, flowing around her body. Kelly bit his lip and pulled away from the touch of..
The Fifty-Fourth of July
by Alan Edward NourseIt was well after dark when Matt Matthews got back down to the headquarters camp, and saw the city stranger sitting there before the fire. He knew he was a city man after a single glance at the shiny, low-topped shoes and the reminiscence of a crease in the dusty trousers. Matt tossed the gophers and the two small coyotes off his broad shoulders to..