A Zloor for Your Trouble!

"A Zloor for Your Trouble!" by Mack Reynolds is a science fiction novel written in the early 1950s. The story revolves around a professional hunter named Napoleon Prescott, who embarks on a mission to capture a mysterious Martian creature known as a zloor. The narrative is set against the backdrop of Mars, exploring themes of alien life and the challenges of hunting in an extraterrestrial environment. In the book, Prescott is approached by Westley Marks, a man representing the government, who offers him a bet and a job to capture at least one zloor, a rabbit-sized creature suspected to be an alien life form. As Prescott navigates life on Mars, he discovers the zloor's unique properties—its extraordinary weight and impenetrable hide, which complicate his mission. Despite initial setbacks and humorous encounters with fellow hunters, Prescott ultimately devises a clever strategy using peach pits to securely capture and transport two zloors back to Earth, challenging the expectations of both Marks and the other hunters in a delightful conclusion. The story combines adventure, humor, and a sense of camaraderie among the professional hunters, making it a captivating read for fans of science fiction. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Harding. His work focused on socioeconomic speculation, usually expressed in thought-provoking explorations of utopian societies from a radical, sometime satiric perspective. He was a popular author from the 1950s to the 1970s, especially with readers of science fiction and fantasy magazines.