The Blue Behemoth

"The Blue Behemoth" by Leigh Brackett is a science fiction novella written in the early 1940s. The story is set in a future where an imperial circus travels through space, encountering both bizarre creatures and dangerous situations. The plot revolves around the antics and troubles of the circus as they navigate a mysterious journey on Venus, while exploring themes of survival, fear, and the deep-rooted connections between humans and the unknown. In "The Blue Behemoth," the protagonists, Bucky Shannon and his assistant Jig Bentley, are struggling to keep their failing circus afloat. When they encounter a well-dressed stranger named Simon Beamish, who offers to charter their circus for a lucrative tour, they suspect ulterior motives. As they venture to Venus, events spiral out of control, leading to the escape of dangerous beasts known as "cansins". The story builds tension when an evil force is revealed that threatens to control the "cansins" through a mysterious green entity, culminating in a frantic struggle between humans and the unleashed primordial horrors. The novella combines elements of suspense, adventure, and the uncanny, examining the powerful bond between Gertrude, the last male "cansin", and his kin as they confront their past and seek a connection in an unforgiving universe. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American author and screenwriter. Nicknamed "the Queen of Space Opera," she was one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. As a screenwriter, she was best known for her collaborations with director Howard Hawks, mainly writing Westerns and crime films. She also worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), elements of which remained in the film; she died before it went into production.