Skin Game by Charles E. Fritch

"Skin Game" by Charles E. Fritch is a science fiction novel likely written in the early to mid-1950s. The story revolves around a con-artist duo, Harding and Sheckly, who engage in schemes to swindle the alien inhabitants of outer planets. The narrative explores themes of deception and cultural misunderstanding in a setting far removed from Earth. The plot follows Harding and Sheckly as they arrive on a planet inhabited by humanoid lizard creatures. Despite Sheckly's unease about their intentions, Harding is confident they can easily exploit the locals. However, their plans take a dark turn when they discover that the lizard aliens intend to "help" them shed their skins literally, as they have misunderstood the nature of the human con. Sheckly's desperate attempts to escape highlight the tension between their criminal intentions and the horrifying realization of their imminent fate. The story culminates with a twist, leaving readers questioning the true nature of deception and survival in a world where roles can suddenly reverse. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

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About this eBook

Author Fritch, Charles E., 1927-2012
Illustrator Freas, Kelly, 1922-2005
Title Skin Game
Series Title Produced from If: Worlds of Science Fiction May 1954.
Credits Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net
Reading Level Reading ease score: 75.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
Language English
LoC Class PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
Subject Science fiction
Subject Short stories
Subject Swindlers and swindling -- Fiction
Category Text
eBook-No. 31665
Release Date
Last Update Jan 6, 2021
Copyright Public domain in the USA.
Downloads 266 downloads in the last 30 days.

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