John Sylvester - Master of the World

[𝘗rincess 𝘵uvstarr]

Juvinile SF novel by John Sylvester, a pseudonym for Hector Howton, who was a famous humanist writer in his time.



Cover and blurb from goodreads.

Blurb:

"Whilst the wits of scientists and politicians are being taxed to ensure that the evil possibilities hidden in the discovery of atomic energy shall not get into the wrong hands, we are, in this exciting story, whirled one step further in the invention of the harnessing of cosmic rays. Chris Buckley's father is living in foreign climes in close association with Sinistra, who has made this latest discovery and adapted it to an air-plane with staggering possibilities. What an eddy of thrills young Chris tumbles into when he accompanies his uncle abroad in search of his father."

First published in 1949 by Ward Lock
224 pages, Hardcover


The Jet age was exploding when he wrote this, the 1950s would be exciting times for aircraft development.
One thing that worries me (I've not read it) is that someone called Sinistra has made this discovery. Really in pulps the heroes aren't the smartest, as it's usually a bit of a giveaway when the man who did the bad things turns out to have been "Count Vampiros" or "Doctor Evilor", and they were hanging out with him all along and never noticed.