The Gods Hate Kansas

An early 60s book which represents 50s Golden Age Science Fiction better than if it was a contemporary pastiche, or, if you like, an accurate simulation of 50s “B” sci fi movies: let loose your logic and have a ball reading this. A crazy quilt of tropes and borrowings, meteors land in Kansas (why? spoilers!) carrying alien beings (thank you Mr Wells), but they're invisible, attaching to people's necks and controlling them like, er, Puppet Masters (thank you Mr Heinlein, Outer Limits, Star Trek...), but, the universe is saved through the actions of a Meteoritics professor who also has intimate knowledge of many other branches of physics, is an electrician, car mechanic, crack shot with a gun, can climb mountains, well you get the idea (Mr Millard should again thank Mr Heinlein). Of course, he manages to in the process also save his blond bombshell girlfriend (who also has as many PhDs as him, but, umm, for some 1950s reason, is only his “assistant”.) Oh, the aliens, they're evil because, you know, evolving to be emotionless beings of pure intellect makes you evil (again, thank you Mr Wells). Get some popcorn, imagine the characters in grainy black and white and 50s special effects, and have a heck of a fun afternoon with this short novel.