The Essential Hal Clement Trio for Slide Rule and Typewriter

Vol. 1: Three full-length novels from Clement (Still River, 1987) dating from an era when novels ran to 150--200 pages and didn't wear out their welcome. Most of his best works feature children and young people solving intriguing puzzles within a solid science framework. In Needle (1949), an alien criminal crash-lands on Earth, closely pursued by a policeman of the same species. The twist is that they're parasitic blobs of jelly, dependent on a host to survive. Iceworld (1953) lacks both a puzzle and youthful protagonists; an alien criminal from a very hot, bright planet perceives Earth as a gloomy, frigid netherworld. The brave young girl and her alien counterpart of Close to Critical (1958) become trapped on the surface of a planet under conditions where phase changes make water unpredictable. Persuasive aliens, remarkable world-building, and splendid puzzles: fans partial to any of these will find Clement well worth investigating.