Project Gutenberg 2022-02-04 Public domain in the USA. 154 Blish, James 1921 1975 Atheling, William Blish, James Benjamin Griffith, Fuller King of the Hill $aUnited States :$bRoyal Publications, Inc,$c1955. Produced from Infinity Science Fiction, November 1955 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "King of the Hill" by James Blish is a science fiction novel written in the mid-20th century. The story revolves around Colonel Hal Gascoigne, the sole occupant of Satellite Vehicle 1, who faces a crisis involving the potential bombing of Washington D.C. while grappling with his own deteriorating mental state. The book examines themes of isolation, responsibility, and the psychological toll of advanced warfare technology. The narrative unfolds as Gascoigne receives conflicting orders about deploying hydrogen bombs but struggles with hallucinations and the reality of his situation—no one else is aboard SV-1 but him. As tensions escalate, Peter Harris from the Civilian Intelligence Group (CIG) is sent to provide assistance. In a gripping psychological confrontation, Harris must help Gascoigne confront his delusions and the possibility that the bombs he commands are merely a bluff. The plot culminates in a deep exploration of madness within the confines of power, the weight of command, and the absurdity of military bureaucracy, leading to profound implications about the nature of reality and responsibility in an increasingly complex world. (This is an automatically generated summary.) 20211031100642blish 1955 US Reading ease score: 86.5 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Psychological fiction Space stations -- Fiction Nuclear weapons -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 51516 2025-07-26T13:20:11.792921 text/html 27750 2024-10-18T19:11:32 text/html 363130 2025-07-26T13:20:13.895874 application/epub+zip 361959 2025-07-26T13:20:12.294869 application/epub+zip 76320 2025-07-26T13:20:11.997877 application/epub+zip 398604 2025-07-26T13:20:15.329914 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 391279 2025-07-26T13:20:13.590924 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 105830 2022-09-30T09:16:22.086404 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 44485 2025-07-26T13:20:11.663898 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 24607 2024-10-18T19:11:32 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17674 2025-07-26T13:20:15.555871 application/rdf+xml 30035 2025-07-26T13:20:12.116895 image/jpeg 4708 2025-07-26T13:20:12.056866 image/jpeg 458389 2025-07-26T13:20:11.807929 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