The Great Dome on Mercury

"The Great Dome on Mercury" by Arthur Leo Zagat is a science fiction novel written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around Earth's outpost on Mercury and explores themes of survival and conflict in a hostile environment. The backdrop of the narrative includes advanced technology, alien interactions, and the looming threat of war, specifically between Earth and Mars. In this gripping tale, protagonist Darl Thomas, the captain of the Mercury outpost, faces a dire emergency when a leak in the dome threatens the lives of his team and the alien workers from Venus. As he attempts to repair the damage, he discovers a Martian, who is orchestrating attacks on the dome with the help of the native Mercurians. Captured by this Martian, Darl must withstand the threats posed by both the alien and the merciless little natives while trying to protect his friends and the Earth by refusing to divulge vital military secrets. Meanwhile, his companions, Jim Holcomb and Angus McDermott, work desperately to fend off the attackers and signal for help, leading to a climactic showdown that tests their courage and determination against overwhelming odds. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Arthur Leo Zagat (1896–1949) was an American lawyer and writer of pulp fiction and science fiction. Trained in the law, he gave it up to write professionally. Zagat is noted for his collaborations with fellow lawyer Nat Schachner. During the last two decades of his life, Zagat wrote short stories prolifically. About 500 pieces appeared in a variety of pulp magazines, including Thrilling Wonder Stories, Argosy, Dime Mystery Magazine, Horror Stories, Operator No. 5 and Astounding. Zagat also wrote the "Doc Turner" stories that regularly appeared in The Spider pulp magazine throughout the 1930s and the "Red Finger" series that ran in Operator #5, and wrote for Spicy Mystery Stories as "Morgan LaFay". A novel, Seven Out of Time, was published by Fantasy Press in 1949, the year he died. His most well-known series is probably the Tomorrow series of six novelettes from Argosy, collected into two volumes by Altus Press in 2014.