Boldly go to worlds where no one has gone before.  Fanner Marston was raised a slave as a child, became a petty street thief as a teen, and now masters his own craft and crew as a grown man. He's also gone completely mad. Driven by privation, with a vicious greed and slavering lust for power, Marston alone of forty men has survived the perilous trek through a blistering desert to the magical city of Parva, where legend says a secret awaits which will give him absolute control over the Universe. However, Marston finds the key to all power is not at all what he expected. . . ALSO INCLUDES THE SCIENCE FICTION STORIES "SPACE CAN," "THE BEAST" AND "THE SLAVER""Tremendous attention to detail … audiences will find themselves captivated from beginning to end." —Publishers Weekly starred review