''Double Jeopardy'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by Fletcher Pratt. It was first published in

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

by Doubleday in 1952, and reprinted as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club in 1953. The first paperback edition was issued in digest form by Galaxy Publishing Corporation as its '' Galaxy Science Fiction Novel'' #30 in 1957; a second paperback edition was issued by

Curtis Books The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home Jour ...

in 1967. The novel has been translated into Italian. The book is a combination of two shorter pieces, the novellas "Double Jeopardy" and "The Square Cube Law," originally published in the magazine ''

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

'' in the issues for April, 1952 and June, 1952, respectively.

Plot

The story features Pratt's detective hero George Helmfleety Jones in two adventures dealing with the ramifications of a newly discovered matter-duplication process. The first concerns a case of industrial espionage involving the bootlegging of duplicated drugs, and includes Jones's marriage to a duplicated woman. The second is a locked-room mystery in which a fortune is somehow stolen from a sealed, pilotless cargo plane.

Reception

Groff Conklin called the book "a slick, fast-paced science fiction detective story, one of the best-integrated combinations of its kind." He rates the second part "considerably better than the first," with its "twist on the locked-room school of murder mysteries ... a highly effective one."Conklin, Groff. "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf," in ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'', November 1952, pp. 122-123. The book was also reviewed by Noah Gordon in ''Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader'', January 1953, an anonymous reviewer in '' Weird Tales'', January 1953, and

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

in ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', April 1953.

References

External links

* American science fiction novels 1952 science fiction novels Novels by Fletcher Pratt 1952 American novels {{1950s-sf-novel-stub