Forever We Die!

"Forever We Die!" by Stephen Marlowe is a science fiction novel written in the mid-20th century. The story revolves around an Earthman named Phil Rhodes, a student of extra-terrestrial anthropology, who finds himself imprisoned on the alien planet of Kedak, enduring psychological torture from his captors. As he struggles to maintain his sanity and uncover the reason for his imprisonment, themes of fear, survival, and identity emerge, particularly in relation to the alarming belief system of the Kedaki civilization, which revolves around reincarnation and the acceptance of death. At the start of the narrative, the bleak conditions of Rhodes' imprisonment and the cruel psychological games played by his Kedaki captors are vividly depicted. He contemplates his fate while grappling with the intricacies of his captors’ beliefs about life and death, all while preparing for the next round of questioning. The atmosphere is tense; Rhodes is acutely aware that his life is at stake as he attempts to mentally escape from the torturous environment. The opening sets the stage for a deeper exploration of his identity, particularly as the story unfolds to reveal the political and existential implications of his experiences, as well as the chaotic turmoil surrounding the planet's impending disaster and its consequences on the characters involved. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Stephen Marlowe was an American author of science fiction, mystery novels, and fictional autobiographies of Goya, Christopher Columbus, Miguel de Cervantes, and Edgar Allan Poe. He is best known for his detective character Chester Drum, whom he created for the 1955 novel The Second Longest Night. Lesser also wrote using the pseudonyms Adam Chase, Andrew Frazer, C.H. Thames, Jason Ridgway, Stephen Wilder, and Ellery Queen.