Thief of Mars

"Thief of Mars" by Henry Hasse is a science fiction novel written during the early 20th century. The narrative follows Ron Jordan, an Earthman on a covert mission amidst a chaotic and lawless pirate base on the asteroid Ceres. The book explores themes of deception, survival, and the quest for justice as it unfolds in a universe filled with dangerous creatures and interplanetary criminals. In "Thief of Mars," Ron Jordan's primary objective is to clear his brother, Carl, of a false smuggling charge that led to a life sentence in a notorious prison. Posing as a down-and-out laborer among pirates, he searches for the ship that wronged his brother, ultimately leading him to confront the treacherous Martian captain Tarnuff. The story climaxes in a deadly duel of strategy and wits between Jordan and Tarnuff against the backdrop of a spaceship filled with the dangerous Silicytes, creatures that digest metal and threaten to destroy the spaceship. With urgency mounting as a Patrol ship approaches, Jordan risks everything to secure his brother’s freedom and face the dangers that lie ahead. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Henry Louis Hasse was an American science fiction author and fan. He is probably known best for being the co-author of Ray Bradbury's first professionally published story, "Pendulum", which appeared in November 1941 in Super Science Stories. Hasse co-authored two more published stories with Bradbury: "Gabriel's Horn" (1943) and "Final Victim" (1946).