| Dreadful Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
Dust-jacket from the first edition |
|
| Author(s) | Eric Frank Russell |
| Cover artist | Edd Cartier |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Fantasy Press |
| Publication date | 1951 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 275 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
| OCLC Number | 2080056 |
Dreadful Sanctuary is a science fiction novel by author Eric Frank Russell. It was first published in book form in 1951 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 2,975 copies. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Astounding beginning in 1948. Russell completely rewrote the novel for the paperback edition published by Lancer Books in 1967.
The novel concerns an international conspiracy to prevent mankind from achieving space travel.
Boucher and McComas gave the original edition of Dreadful Sanctuary a mixed review, praising "its vivid whodunit plotting and its magnificent concept," but castigating its "ridiculously anticlimactic ending."[1]. New York Times reviewer Basil Davenport described the novel as "essentially a spy story, a good and exciting one, full of suspense."[2] P. Schuyler Miller similarly described it as one of the few successful fusions of the detective novel with SF, saying it was "one of the most believable science-fiction books in years."[3]