''The Domes of Pico'' is a juvenile

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 ...

, the second in Hugh Walters' ''Chris Godfrey of U.N.E.X.A.'' series. It was published in the UK by Faber in 1958, in the US by Criterion Books in 1959 under the title ''Menace from the Moon'' and in the Netherlands by Prisma Juniores as 'De Maan Valt Aan' in 1960.

Plot summary

To the

lunar dome A lunar dome is a type of shield volcano that is found on the surface of the Earth's Moon. They are typically formed by highly viscous, possibly silica-rich lava, erupting from localized vents followed by relatively slow cooling. Lunar domes are ...

s previously photographed in ''

Blast Off at Woomera ''Blast Off at Woomera'' is a children's science fiction novel, the first in the ''Chris Godfrey of U.N.E.X.A.'' series by British author Hugh Walters. It was published in the UK by Faber in 1957, in the USA by Criterion Books in 1958 (under ...

'' and situated near

Mons Pico Mons Pico is a solitary Moon, lunar mountain that lies in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin, to the south of the dark-floored crater Plato (crater), Plato and on the southern rim of a Palimpsest (planetary astronomy), ghost crater. This ...

has been added a cone emitting powerful

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...

radiation which is causing havoc to the Earth's

nuclear power stations A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

. The diminutive Chris Godfrey has the job of piloting a British rocket to plant a

homing beacon An emergency locator beacon is a radio beacon, a portable battery powered radio transmitter, used to locate airplanes, vessels, and persons in distress and in need of immediate rescue. Various types of emergency locator beacons are carried by airc ...

next to the cone to enable a strike by American rockets carrying Soviet

nuclear warheads A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (Thermonuclear weapon, thermonu ...

...

Reception

Floyd C. Gale ''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 Edit ...

of ''

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 ...

'' rated the novel four stars out of five, stating that it "is as carefully and realistically detailed as its predecessor" and "will appeal to the young reader".

References

External links

''Domes of Pico'' page
an
Text extract
Review by Ken Slater 1958 British novels 1958 science fiction novels Chris Godfrey of U.N.E.X.A. series Faber and Faber books Novels set on the Moon {{1950s-ya-novel-stub