Die, Shadow!

"Die, Shadow!" by Algis Budrys is a science fiction novel written during the early 1960s. The story centers around David Greaves, an intrepid hero who once aimed for the stars and in the course of time has become a god-like figure worshipped across the universe. The narrative unfolds as Greaves awakens from a long slumber on the planet Venus, where he had engineered an extraordinary survival capsule to protect him from death during a crash landing. Upon awakening, he learns that he is regarded as a deity by some and faces the challenges and consequences that accompany such status. The plot follows Greaves as he grapples with the implications of his newfound godhood while confronting the shadowy antagonist, Mayron, who represents a faction that has straddled the line between humanity and something darker. As tensions rise between the followers of a benevolent legacy and those who have chosen to align with the shadows, Greaves must engage in a fateful encounter with Mayron to determine the future of mankind and the souls tainted by the shadows. This introspective journey explores themes of identity, sacrifice, and the ever-present struggle between light and dark, inviting readers to examine what it means to be truly human amidst the allure of power and reverence. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome in collaboration with Jerome Bixby, John A. Sentry, William Scarff and Paul Janvier. In 1960 he wrote Rogue Moon, a novel. In the 1990s he was the publisher and editor of the science-fiction magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction.