''The Power'' is a

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by American writer Frank M. Robinson. It first appeared in the March 1956 edition of ''

Blue Book Blue book may refer to: Academia and education * Blue book exam, an essay test named for the "blue book" pamphlet testees write into * A component of the '' Blue and Brown Books'', containing lectures by Ludwig Wittgenstein in 1933 and 1934 * The ...

'' magazine and then in a standalone book published by J. B. Lippincott in May that year. Its protagonist, a researcher named Tanner, discovers evidence of a person with psychic abilities among his coworkers. As he tries to uncover the superhuman, his existence is erased and his associates murdered, until he faces a showdown with an apparently invincible opponent. The novel was made into a ''Studio One'' television episode and a 1968 film under the same name.

Reception

Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

'' reviewer Floyd C. Gale praised the novel as "a harrowing chase that will have you biting your nails."

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...

found that the novel's logical extrapolation was "not so much absurd as just absent. . . . . there has never been a less credible picture of the next step in evolution"; but he, too, praised Robinson's melodramatic storytelling."Recommended Reading," ''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...

'', July 1956, p.94.

References

1956 American novels 1956 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Novels about psychic powers Works originally published in Blue Book (magazine) American novels adapted into films Science fiction novels adapted into films American novels adapted into television shows Novels by Frank M. Robinson {{1950s-sf-novel-stub