Project Gutenberg 2009-07-18 Public domain in the USA. 504 Sheckley, Robert 1928 2005 Barbee, Phillips Lang, Ned O'Donnevan, Finn Barbee, Phillip Krenkel, Roy G. 1918 1983 Krenkel, Roy Gerald The Hour of Battle Produced from Space Science Fiction September 1953. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "The Hour of Battle" by Robert Sheckley is a science fiction novel likely written in the early 1950s. The story centers around a crew of Guardian ships tasked with protecting Earth from a telepathic enemy capable of taking over human minds without warning. With a blend of suspense and existential questioning, the narrative explores themes of mental control and the psychological impact of warfare in the context of space travel. The plot follows a small crew aboard one of the Guardian ships as they anxiously await an expected attack from this mysterious telepathic race. As the men grapple with the boredom and tension of their station, they engage in speculation about their enemy's capabilities and the nature of mind control. They discuss the implications of a crew member's capture by the enemy, which heightens their anxiety and fear of losing their own autonomy. In a moment of impulsivity, they decide to take action and confront the enemy, propelled by the desperate need to protect their minds and Earth. Through their interactions and the looming threat of an unseen enemy, Sheckley examines the fragility of human consciousness in the face of external manipulation. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 79.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 38968 2025-08-12T07:52:46.309926 text/html 34852 2021-01-05T08:44:56 text/html 239838 2025-08-12T07:52:50.006922 application/epub+zip 238183 2025-08-12T07:52:47.858909 application/epub+zip 78060 2025-08-12T07:52:46.841915 application/epub+zip 357825 2025-08-12T07:52:51.526919 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 350658 2025-08-12T07:52:49.306903 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 122122 2022-09-13T15:26:33.658976 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 32472 2025-08-12T07:52:46.057920 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 32355 2021-01-05T08:44:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19655 2025-08-12T07:52:51.660890 application/rdf+xml 11754 2025-08-12T07:52:47.324908 image/jpeg 3316 2025-08-12T07:52:47.081911 image/jpeg 174110 2021-01-05T08:44:56 application/octet-stream application/zip 12401 2021-01-05T08:44:56 application/octet-stream application/zip 237234 2025-08-12T07:52:46.322936 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia