The Hour of Battle

Name: The Hour of Battle
Brand: Author's Republic
Availability: InStock
Author: Robert Sheckley
ISBN: 9798347393565

Author: Robert Sheckley

Narrator: Stuart Summers

Unabridged: 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 07/11/2025

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction

Synopsis

Step into a chilling future where warfare isn’t just fought with weapons—but with the mind. The Hour of Battle by Robert Sheckley delivers a gripping tale of suspense, set against the vast backdrop of deep space. As Earth relies on its last line of defense, the psychological toll of an invisible, telepathic enemy creates a slow-burning tension that blurs the line between paranoia and reality. A masterclass in speculative fiction, this story explores the depths of human consciousness, autonomy, and the cost of vigilance in a war you might not even know you're fighting.

About Robert Sheckley

Robert Sheckley was one of the funniest writers in the history of science fiction. He did screwball comedy, broad satire, and farce. He could also be deadly serious, but he was always entertaining and always had something pointed to say about our world using the skewed versions of reality he created in his fiction. Starting in the early 1950s, he was an amazingly prolific short story writer, with a lot of his stories appearing in Galaxy Magazine. He launched his novel-writing career with Immortality, Inc., which he followed up with a sequence of excellent books: The Status Civilization, Journey Beyond Tomorrow, and Mindswap. He continued to produce novels and short stories in abundance until his death in 2005.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Al on May 23, 2017

Would you know when your mind was taken over?......more

Goodreads review by Zac on October 31, 2022

A great read 69 years after first publication and very apt for the present. Do much distraction, such a glitchy mind - would we know if we were brainwashed or had our minds taken over? Our egos suggest we are good at detecting but we are blinded by vanity and suck badly at making such distinctions.......more