First book publication of the 1930's serialized novel per ISFDB. Tight, clean, flat, square, sharp book. Spine reinforced with tape, rough edge beyond the book at the top.Previous owners' names, marks and stamps. Pages toned.
Fans of Burrough's Barsoom will Love this Lost Classic! Here is a science fantasy adventure from the 1930s that has it all, kidnapped Earth people, aliens, two intrepid and daring heroines, the first manned mission to other worlds, warrior-princesses, despotic villains, and a brave rebellion.
Set on Mercury as they thought it might be in the early part of the 20th century, Tama of the Light Country, tells of a winged princess from what was thought to be the habitable portion of Mercury, a belt of twilight that circled a world too hot on one side and too cold on the other to support life anywhere else. In rebellion against a repressive, male-dominated society, Tama meets Guy Palisse, who shares her outrage at the way women are mistreated on Mercury. Together with like-minded women and men, they lead a fight for freedom for the women of Mercury that will have tragic, unintended consequences for Earth.
Are all the artificial satellites circling the Earth ours? How can we be sure that these little metal globes, these observational devices with their top-secret interiors, were all made on Earth? Perhaps there is one up there that was not? When such a space satellite was located, it caused a furore. But that was nothing to what happened when it was accompanied by a mysterious rash of kidnappings - young girls were being taken away, carried off to some strange destiny in outer space! TAMA OF THE LIGHT COUNTRY is the startling novel of the conflict with Mercury - the smallest world of the solar system - which harbored an unsuspected secret.
Published in the same magazine that gave birth to Tarzan and Barsoom, Tama, is one of the great pulp sagas from the early days of science fantasy. Watch for its sequel, Tama, Princess of Mercury. Ray Cummings (1877-1957), best-known for his seminal classic, The Girl in the Golden Atom, learned his scientific knowledge first-hand from one of the leading experts of the day, Thomas Edison, while Cummings did technical writing and editing from the legendary inventor. Argosy magazine said, "As a flight of pure imagination, plus a most unusual scientific knowledge, and plus again a rare power of fantasy and delicate romance [his work] has few equals."