"The Onslaught from Rigel" is a compelling science fiction novel authored by Fletcher Pratt. This famous novel transports reader to a future where Earth is threatened through an approaching extraterrestrial invasion. The narrative opens with a devastating attack on Earth by an intelligent alien civilisation hailing from the Rigel solar system. The Rigelians, armed with superior technology and overwhelming might, indicate an important danger to humanity's very existence. As a result, nations all across the globe have banded together to address this unprecedented issue. Fletcher Pratt's story deftly combines aspects of military science fiction, political intrigue, and social critique. The story of the book digs into the intricacies of international cooperation in addition to the tenacity of human creativity in the face of an existential threat. Readers are introduced to a wide group of people, including scientists, military leaders, and diplomats, who must work together to devise novel methods and defenses against an alien invasion. "The Onslaught from Rigel" exemplifies the continuing attraction of early twentieth-century science fiction.
Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was a history, science fiction, and fantasy writer from the United States. He is well recognized for his writings on naval history and the American Civil War, as well as his collaboration with L. Sprague de Camp on fiction. Pratt was born near Tonawanda, New York, according to de Camp. He attended public schools in Buffalo before graduating from high school in 1915 at the Griffith Institute in Springville, New York, where his father had a trucking transportation operation between Springville and Buffalo. Following high school, he spent a year at Hobart College in Geneva, New York. The Associated Press reported in February 1916 that he had been jailed in Geneva for theft following a string of nocturnal cash drawer robberies that supposedly paid him less than $25. He was said to have informed police that his father did not provide him with enough money to live in Hobart. "Pratt's father came on from Springville yesterday, and it was practically decided to send the youth to the State Hospital for the Insane at Willard, pending an investigation of his case by the grand jury," the Buffalo Enquirer reported on February 23. He is suspected of being mentally ill.
