''The Planet of Peril'', later republished as ''Planet of Peril'', is a 1929

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 by

Otis Adelbert Kline Otis Adelbert Kline (July 1, 1891 – October 24, 1946) born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, was a songwriter, an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. Much of his work first appeared in the magazine ''Weird Tales''. Kline was an ...

. Originally serialized in six parts in

Argosy All-Story Weekly ''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the fi ...

during the summer of 1929, it was published in hardcover later that year by

A. C. McClurg A. C. McClurg was a stationer, publisher, and book wholesaler for over 120 years in Chicago, Illinois. The business began in 1844, as Chicago's first stationery store and changed hands several times, often as the result of a fire. Alexander McCl ...

and reissued in a lower-price edition by

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Gro ...

. It was revived in 1961 as an

Avalon Books Avalon Books (originally Bouregy & Curl) was a small New York-based book publishing imprint active from 1950 through 2012, established by Thomas Bouregy. Avalon was an important science fiction imprint in the 1950s and 60s; later its specialty wa ...

hardcover and saw its only mass market paperback edition from

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

in 1963. The later editions, well after Kline's death, were revised and shortened. ''Planet of Peril'' is the first volume in Kline's "Grandon" trilogy. It is a

planetary romance Planetary romance is a subgenre of science fiction in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Some planetary romances take place ag ...

, telling the story of Robert Grandon, who exchanges his mind with an inhabitant of Venus, finds himself a slave, escapes his captors, and rises to leadership of an army of rebels. He eventually marries the princess of the oppressive regime and becomes a benevolent emperor."In the Realm of Books", ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

'', March 1930, p.1188

Reception

'' described ''Planet of Peril'' as "an exceedingly well-spun yarn

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

can heartily be recommended to all our readers, and to all lovers of imagination-stirring fiction".

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 ...

wrote that ''Planet'' was "an open imitation of Burroughs, though on a different planet"."The Reference Library", ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

'', November 1963, p. 91

E. F. Bleiler Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...

found the novel to be "sword-play and fantastic adventure in imitation of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

, describing it as "competent pulp adventure".''Science-Fiction: The Early Years'', Kent State University Press, 1990 (p. 409)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Planet of Peril, The 1929 American novels 1929 science fiction novels