Ace Double 1968 paperback (H-70, 60 cents.) Condition is Good (minus): tight and square, spine is flat with a line down length; age tanning is mild and uniform. Light to moderate overall wear giving it an overall first impression of VG. But - there is wear/splitting along the left side of Koontz half next to spine, with a 1/8" by 1-1/2" strip of top layer of cover missing at bottom; small-chip/missing corner at lower right corner of same side. There is a very faint stain-trace in margins/borders (3 sides) on the first several pages of the Koontz side: not more than 1/4" encroachment, and fades out by page 25 or so. No stamps, marks or writing.

Ace Double (H-70, 1968): containing the first SF novel by Dean R. Koontz: Star Quest, bound with Emil Petaja's Doom of the Green Planet. When Koontz started out, most of his output could be described as Science Fiction. After a number of years that he found the kind of tales that he was best suited for, and would bring him immense popularity: a mix of horror, thriller, and science fiction. This is Dean Koontz's first book, and has not been reprinted - making it one of his hardest to find titles.

Star Quest (cover by Gray Morrow, 127 pages.) After the galaxy had been settled by men of Earth, the Romaghins and the Setessins had been waging war for control of the galaxy for centuries. A favorite tactic of the Romaghins was to sweep primitive planets of inhabitants, and use them as organic brains for their Jumbo Battle Tanks. They started out using atomic weapons in their wars, and one of the byproducts from this were Mutants. Occasionally purged, these Mutants formed an Underground and waited for the right opportunity. They thought they had found it when Jumbo Ten (formerly Tohm who had loved Tarnilee) - went renegade and escapes during a Setessin attack on the Romaghin homeworld. I don't think galactic empires are Koontz's forte, but this showcases his fascination for the mindbending powers and possibilities of mutants, and a liking for heroes who fight against authoritarian governments.

The other half of the Ace Double is an Emil Petaja novel, Doom of the Green Planet (cover by Jerome Podwil, 127 pages.) This is the sequel to his earlier Lord of the Green Planet.

Diarmid Patrick O'Dowd, after defeating the self-styled god who had previously ruled the planet, now had to solve its problems himself. His nobles and court are restive, feeling that their traditional privleges are being reduced when Diarmid makes decisions which improve the lot of peasants. Then Ex-Captain John Parris - another Terran spaceman - crosses the barrier to the Green World, and enlists the aid of Shalda - daughter of one of Diarmid's most vocal opponents.