This is science-fiction with a religious content and should surprise those readers of The Restless Flame. The Golden Thread and Set All Afire who have found this author's fictionized biographies of early church father worthwhile in scholarship and research. They will not however be surprised at his able arguing which here takes his earth people to Mars and eventually to avert, through spiritual concepts, a Martian invasion. Test pilot Chris Cary, who has a mystic feeling for the Catholic Church, is better able to absorb and understand the superiority of ""unfallen"" Martians and see the reality behind the myth than scientist Brandeis whose use of new fuel and a new design helicopter has taken them to their destination. But the new paradise has its serpent, Marmon, who is transported to Mars and whose perversion of fact and truth speed the Martians to conquer Earth, for his own satanic satisfaction. It is Chris' faith, love and integrity that turn the Martians back home when the showdown cames. There's a girl, too, and the earthmen-Martian adjustments are interesting while the double-conversion angle, to religion and science-fiction, has good points. It does help to take the comic book quality out of SF.