Far beyond the orbit of Pluto, half-mythical bodies circle the Solar System—the Reefs of Space, unknown, shrouded in mystery, the goal of human conquest, the obsession of the Plan of Man, tyrannical ruler of Earth. The Reefs of Space brings humanity to the brink of the stars. Steve Ryeland, enslaved by Earth's tyrannical Plan of Man computer, is given the world's most important job—to develop a "jetless drive," an extraordinary new space propulsion mechanism. Yet the most important thing on Steve's mind was not his work, but the iron collar locked securely around his neck. Filled with a lethal charge of explosives, it could be detonated any time the Plan of Man considered him too much of a risk. That's why he had to obey every order, and succeed at his experiments. Only then, perhaps, could he use the jetless drive himself… and escape to the safety of the half-mythical Reefs of Space, strange formations rumored to exist somewhere beyond the orbit of Pluto. But if he failed, the next step would be the Living Body Bank—a scientific horror chamber from which no one ever returned. First published in World of IF Science Fiction magazine, 1963.

1st Penguin 1970 edition paperback fine In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Third in the Starchild Trilogy, which also includes The Reefs of Space (1964) and Starchild (1965). Here, a future is depicted wherein mankind is ruled by a brutal authoritarian totalitarian government known as the Plan of Man, enforced by a computerized surveillance state.