The terrors of the upper air by Frank Orndorff
"The Terrors of the Upper Air" by Frank Orndorff is a science fiction short story published in the late 1920s, likely during the early years of the genre's popularization. This tale combines elements of adventure and mystery, exploring the treacherous and largely unknown realms of high-altitude flight, as a duo of daring aviators unwittingly stumble upon extraordinary dangers far above the Earth. The narrative follows Pemberton, a detective tasked with capturing twoaviators, Kidwell and Dexter, suspected of a bank robbery. As they ascend in their plane to break the world's altitude record, they encounter violent winds and strange phenomena that lead to a harrowing adventure in the upper atmosphere. In a shocking twist, they discover floating islands filled with bizarre vegetation and fearsome creatures. Despite their initial triumph, tragedy strikes when Dexter is killed, and Kidwell disappears, leaving the ground-level spectators in shock. The story concludes with a poignant ambiguity about the fate of the aviators, raising questions of truth and deceit, suggesting that their adventure may have been both real and a clever ruse. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Orndorff, Frank, 1885-1971 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Paul, Frank R. (Frank Rudolph), 1884-1963 |
| Title | The terrors of the upper air |
| Original Publication | New York, NY: Experimenter Publishing Company, 1928. |
| Series Title | Produced from the Winter Edition, 1928 issue of Amazing Stories Quarterly magazine. |
| Note | Reading ease score: 80.4 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Credits | Roger Frank and Sue Clark |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Criminals -- Fiction |
| Subject | Air pilots -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 73477 |
| Release Date | Apr 27, 2024 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 116 downloads in the last 30 days. |
| Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! | |
