Wandl the Invader

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

20859

Title

Wandl the Invader

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

In the year 2070, humanity faces an existential threat from Wandl, a mysterious, non-terrestrial planet invading the solar system. This classic science fiction adventure follows Gregg Haljan and his companions as they uncover the alien invaders' plan to use gravity beams to tow Earth, Venus, and Mars into interstellar space, freezing all life. A thrilling tale of interplanetary war, featuring Martian allies, Venusian heroines, and monstrous alien beings, it explores themes of survival, technological warfare, and the resilience of human...

Summary up to 500 words

Set in the year 2070, Ray Cummings' *Wandl the Invader* presents a cosmic horror where a mysterious celestial body, Wandl, disrupts the solar system. Unlike normal planets, Wandl behaves like a spaceship, changing its orbit unpredictably and becoming invisible to standard observation. Navigating officer Gregg Haljan, aboard the wrecked spaceship *Planetara*, learns that Wandl is an intelligent, hostile entity led by Martians Set Molo and Setta Meka. They have allied with monstrous, insect-like aliens called Wandlites. Their sinister goal is to plant gravity beams in Greater New York, Ferrok-Shahn, and Grebhar. These beams will create chains to tow Earth, Venus, and Mars out of the solar system, freezing them in interstellar space before towing them to a distant star for repopulation by the invaders. Detective-Colonel Halsey reveals the truth to Haljan, his fiancée Anita Prince, Anita's Venusian friend Venza, and radio-helio operator Snap Dean. The group infiltrates a secret meeting, discovering the invaders' true forms: bipedal insect-like workers and brain-like Masters. During a critical battle near the Moon, the invaders attempt to destroy a fleet led by General Grantline using a massive gravity beam anchored to the lunar surface. Haljan and Snap, aided by the girls, sabotage the beam's mechanism on the Moon, disabling the invaders' control. The invaders' ships are destroyed or captured, and the gravity beams fade. In the aftermath, the Earth's rotation slows, lengthening the day and creating a new calendar era. The invaders, Molo and Meka, are returned to Mars for trial and imprisonment. Wandl, now drifting without its gravity controls, heads toward the Sun and is consumed by its heat, ending the threat. The novel serves as a foundational text in science fiction, blending adventure, cosmic horror, and early space opera elements to depict humanity's struggle against an alien invasion.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

Download URL

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20859.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg20859.epub

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Categories

• Science Fiction