Combat

"Combat" by Mack Reynolds is a science fiction novel written in the early 1960s. The story revolves around Hank Kuran, an American operative who finds himself thrust into a high-stakes mission when extraterrestrial beings land in Soviet Moscow, presenting a unique challenge in the context of the Cold War. Kuran's task is to communicate the Western viewpoint to these newly arrived beings in the hopes of preventing Soviet dominance through their potential alliance. At the start of the narrative, Henry Kuran returns from an assignment in Peru to discover an unexpected situation in Washington: aliens have landed in Red Square. As he is briefed by his superior, Sheridan Hennessey, he learns of the potential consequences of the extraterrestrials siding with the Soviets. Kuran, who is initially reluctant to be treated as a soldier in this covert operation, must navigate the intricacies of espionage while posing as an average tourist on his way to Moscow. The opening sets a tone of tension and historical significance as Kuran grapples with his role in a world on the brink of change, driven by both political ambitions and the intrigue of interstellar visitors. (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.