Project Gutenberg 2020-12-18 Public domain in the USA. 276 Long, Frank Belknap 1903 1994 Vestal, Herman B. 1916 2007 Vestal, H. B. (Herman B.) Vestal, Herman Beeson Beeson Lake of Fire Produced from Planet Stories May 1951 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Lake of Fire" by Frank Belknap Long is a science fiction novel written in the early 1950s. The story explores themes of love, identity, and the tension between aspirations and reality, set against the backdrop of a Martian landscape filled with relics of an ancient civilization. It delves into the complexities of an Earth man's obsession with a Martian mirror that captures the image of a long-dead woman, leading to a struggle between emotional attachment and sanity. The plot centers around two main characters, Steve Claymore and his companion Tom Gierson, who discover a Martian hand mirror in the desert. The mirror reflects the image of a beautiful Martian woman named Azala, who captivates Steve and leads him into a dangerous obsession. As Steve becomes increasingly fixated on the image and his belief that she is alive, Tom tries to intervene, understanding the destructive nature of such an infatuation. The story escalates into a confrontation with other treasure-seeking men, showcasing both the peril of Steve's fixation and Tom's determination to protect his friend. Ultimately, the narrative culminates in an unexpected twist when the shattered mirror leads to a genuine connection between Steve and Azala, revealing deeper themes of love transcending time and culture. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 83.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Mars (Planet) -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 45945 2025-06-25T09:34:44.933410 text/html 22181 2024-10-18T09:09:01 text/html 373799 2025-06-25T09:34:46.633452 application/epub+zip 372626 2025-06-25T09:34:45.345394 application/epub+zip 79648 2025-06-25T09:34:45.110389 application/epub+zip 408469 2025-06-25T09:34:47.783470 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 401188 2025-06-25T09:34:46.428408 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 108299 2022-09-28T20:58:35.167432 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 39485 2025-06-25T09:34:44.832376 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19684 2024-10-18T09:09:00 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17565 2025-06-25T09:34:47.905441 application/rdf+xml 30208 2025-06-25T09:34:45.207386 image/jpeg 5223 2025-06-25T09:34:45.158405 image/jpeg 505500 2025-06-25T09:34:44.948411 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