Leland Hale, Galactic Conman

Leland Hale thought the universe owed him a living--and he was collecting on the installment plan! Here is master science fiction humorist Randall Garrett's rarest and never before reprinted series. Introducing Leland Hale, who will steal your heart - and all your money! Fraud, larceny and murder are all in the day's work for this master interstellar confidence man. He is about to descend on the planet Cardigan's Green with a planetary scam designed to make him rich at the population's expense. What Hale doesn't know is that he is about to become a savior! And if he survives this one, he has two more brilliant schemes in mind. For the first time ever, here are all three Leland Hale capers in one volume. As a special bonus this edition features the original magazine illustrations for the stories by the Hugo winning Artists: Ed Emsh, Virgil Finlay, and John Schoenherr. Randall Garrett (1927-1987) worked as an industrial chemist before turning his hand to science fiction, a happy decision for everyone, as it turned out. During the 1950s and '60s he was a stalwart of the U.S. science fiction magazines, producing well over a hundred short stories and novelettes and writing for virtually every title on the stands, but primarily for Astounding (now Analog). A noted humorist, famed for his delightful Lord Darcy series, even Garrett's most serious works (Anything You Can Do, for example) contain comic or satirical undertones. He was one of the first writers to appreciate the importance of conventions and an ingratiating personality in building a strong fan base. "[These] stories, which have never been reprinted since their one and only appearance on cheap pulpwood paper ... ensure that readers will remember his work at least a little longer. They will have an opportunity to encounter that sly sense of humor, those brilliant mystery and detective problems and that almost unmatched ability to work complex scientific principles into exciting stories." -Mark Cole, Internet Review of Science Fiction.