The literati mock pulp science fiction.  I don’t read it in public:  I don’t want to be judged by the cover art.  But the pulp SF writer, Lester del Rey, was eerily prescient about the future.  In his gripping novel, Nerves, written as a novelette in 1942, expanded into a novel in 1956, then revised again in 1976, describes a terrifying accident at an atomic industrial plant.

I found this especially relevant because I recently read about the reopening of Three Mile Island, the site of the worst  accident in the history of American nuclear power plants.  It will reopen in 2028 to provide power for Microsoft data centers.  What are they thinking?  we wonder wearily.  Not again.  Our memories are so short. No wonder Nerves is out-of-print!

Nerves starts out with awkward sentences and corny dialogue, but 25 pages later you are absorbed in a  thriller.  It begins when Doc Ferrell, the chief doctor at an atomic plant, receives a phone call at 6 a.m. from his boss, Palmer.  “Your grandson get a stomach ache, or has the plant blown up?”

Palmer is worried about the latter, or at least the possibility of a minor accident.  Accidents, by the way, are commonplace at the plant, and Doc is used to treating atomic burns.  But Palmer is worried because a group of inspectors and a politician are touring the plant, and this will cause additional stress for the men. Doc and Palmer agree that there is likely to be an accident under these conditions. Doc agrees to come in because neither he nor Palmer quite trust the powers of Doc’s intense young assistant, Jenkins. 

In del Rey’s novel, the issue of atomic power is controversial and the majority seem to oppose it. The hyper-critical newspaper editorials and the crowds of protesters mirror a time that was perhaps smarter than our own. The residents of Kimberly, a town established to accommodate the workers at the plant, know about the danger:  Doc’s wife believes that living near the plant caused her miscarriage  Still, Del Rey presents its good side, such as it is: it “transmutes useful isotopes” to sell to hospitals and other industries. 

Palmer, the manager, has many worries.  A  bill is being reviewed in Congress that would require atomic plants to move further out from the city. He is not sure such a move would be possible.  How could they safely move the volatile atomic material?. And what about the toxic waste dumped in the marshes?

The novel is told mainly from Doc’s point of view, but Palmer plays a significant role.  He makes a deal with the devil, or rather, with Morgan, a politician who is a former actor.  If the plant will manufacture its new weevil super-pesticide, Morgan will tout the advantages of atomic power during his campaign.  But it is a dirty deal: the product has not undergone the requisite testing. 

There is a colossal accident.  A dangerous, heavy new isotope is let loose that will apparently destroy half of North America if it isn’t stopped.  Many workers die; others are wounded. Doc works stoically, but he and Jenkins can’t keep up.  More doctors and nurses are called in, and they hope to find Jorgenson alive, the only one who could stop the nuclear fission (if that’s what it is).

Writing about the accident from Doc’s point-of-view is inspired.  And his assistant, Jenkins, is also a sympathetic character. Actually, there are no unsympathetic characters except Morgan.

I was on edge while I read this and had to drink camomile tea to calm down. A brilliant thriller, a novel of ideas, though there isn’t much style.

Please recommend anything you’ve read by del Rey! He seems to be praised as an editor , and was such a prolific writer that I don’t know where to start.