Troubleshooter for European space Dag Fletcher was involved in the mystery as soon as the Interstellar Two Nine disappeared in the gravisphere of Bromius. There must have been more to the loss of the starship than navigational error or mechanical failure. The Bromusians were such a cheerful and sociable race that it seemed incredible they might be involved in interplanetary intrigue. But what was the purpose of the strange island Fletcher found? He learned that answer soon enough. A barbaric ritual was enacted periodically there, a ritual that disclosed facets of the Bromusian personality successfully hidden from their galactic neighbors and as old as time- a barbaric ritual that this time would have Fletcher as its object...
Author
John Rankine (born Douglas Rankine Mason) is a British science fiction author, who has written books both as John Rankine and as Douglas R. Mason. Rankine was born in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales and first attended Chester Grammar School and in 1937 went to study English Literature and Experimental Psychology at the University of Manchester, where he was a friend of Anthony Burgess (as mentioned in Little Wilson and Big God: The First Part of the Confession, AB's autobiography).
