The Hour Of The Phoenix by Richard Saxon (book review).
Firstly, there are a lot of Richard Saxons out there now. The author of The Hour Of The Phoenix appears to have been a pen name used by Joseph Lawrence Morrissey, although I might question that attribution, as he is supposed to have been born in 1905 and is still sometimes listed as living. Anyway, whatever.
The Hour Of The Phoenix starts with the end of the world. Another large blue star, complete with its own planets, is slowly colliding with the Solar System. This gives mankind time to prepare and select 500 people, comprising 300 men and 200 women, to continue the species. Of these, only 83 are couples, and they are sent into space with ten years of supplies as part of Project Eden, intended to keep mankind going elsewhere.
We follow the lives of Christopher, known as Kit, and his wife Stella. Instead of travelling to Proxima, they land on one of the planets belonging to the blue star, have a couple of children and, in turn, send them off again. That’s the plot in a nutshell, although there are a few spoilers in there. The back cover does not match the story, another lesson in not trusting the covers of 1970s SF paperbacks.
There is still a lot wrong with this book, although much of it was probably not recognised at the time. Both Kit and Stella are subjected to high-intensity ultraviolet radiation, which permanently darkens their skin. What we know now is that this would probably increase their risk of skin cancer. Sending the survivors out only in pairs would also severely restrict the genetic pool and create an obvious risk of inbreeding.
Awareness of these problems may not have been as sharp in the 1960s, but you would still think they might have sent out groups aboard larger spacecraft rather than scattering people in pairs. In some respects, I suspect Saxon was trying to avoid copying plot elements from the film When Worlds Collide. Instead, it feels more like a bottle episode in novel form.
I found it a quick read, really, and this review is mainly here to demonstrate that you can have a fast turnover if you want a short book.
GF Willmetts
July 2026
(pub: World Distributors, 1972, from a 1963 book. 140-page paperback. Price: varies. ISBN: 7235-5099-9).
