Elusive in collectible condition

Moore, Patrick ~ Raiders of Mars

First UK Printing : Burke Publishing Co. Ltd., London : 1959

The First UK Printing published by Burke Publishing Co. Ltd., London in 1959. 8vo., navy publisher’s boards lettered in orange to backstrip; pictorial dust wrapper featuring a martian base illustrated by ‘Cullen’ (7s 6d net); The BOOK a near Fine copy lightly spotted to the fore-edge; in the Very Good++ or better WRAPPER with some light shelf marking to the lower panel; faint rubbing to the upper edge; one small closed tear to the upper edge with a very discrete internal tape repair to the verso. The wrapper artwork is striking in a removable Brodart archival cover. Credited with bringing popular science and astronomy to the forefront of public consciousness, Patrick Moore was a prolific writer of popular science books, including the Boys’ Book of Space, as well as guides to the moon, planets, and Mars, the last of which was closely followed by this, a science fiction story aimed at children and based on a small colony founded on Mars. The book was the fifth and final instalment in the loose ‘Maurice Gray’ series which encompassed Mission to Mars (1955), The Domes of Mars (1956), The Voices of Mars (1957) and Peril on Mars (1958). This latest plot is set twenty years after the first people set foot on the Martian surface, with plans to overthrow the relative peace of the small settlement. With “Murder and destruction…rocket ships, helicopters, space suits, and a description of the techniques used to keep the modern city of Lowell Base flourishing on this unfriendly planet, Patrick Moore has once again written a gripping story of Mars and adventures in outer space.” ( wrapper blurb )

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine
JACKET: Very Good++