The Great Explosion
by Eric Frank Russell (Dennis Dobson, 1962)
The novel whose gentle drollery earned Russell a posthumous Prometheus Award for libertarian SF. Russell’s short stories often poked fun at authority. In this longer form his anti-conformist, anti-bureaucratic ribbing encompasses also a wistful sense of the individual’s place amongst the stars.
With a Strange Device
by Eric Frank Russell (Dobson, 1964)
Where Russell was renowned for humorous SF, this novel seems more in keeping with Cold War espionage stories (or within Russell’s spectrum, his early Fortean noir outings Sinister Barrier and Dreadful Sanctuary), and maintains its intrigue even upon second or third reading.
Three to Conquer
by Eric Frank Russell (Avalon, 1956)
Russell selectively breeds two SF storylines — alien body snatchers and telepathic outsider — to produce a memorable invasion tale, told in the manner of hardboiled detective fiction (itself melding lone wolf with FBI manhunt). Cited for possible adaptation during Doctor Who’s planning stages.
Sentinels from Space
by Eric Frank Russell (Bouregy & Curl, 1952)
Even if the intrigue generated by Russell’s shadowy, casually powerful protagonist transpires to be greater than the underlying premise — a conceptual stunner, much alluded to but then minimalist in denouement — the story’s (xeno-)sociopolitical setting alone offers plenty of mileage for intelligent exploration.