Final Victim by Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse Episode #172

Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse | January 18, 2024

Final Victim by Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse Episode #172
Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse

Final Victim

Episode #172· Written by Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse · Narrated by Scott Miller

A hunted patrolman becomes the hunter as a relentless chase across a deadly asteroid leads to a truth darker than space itself. But in the shadows of night-creatures and buried guilt, the most dangerous enemy proves to be the one within.

On a lonely asteroid, a terrified fugitive climbs toward what he hopes will be safety—only to be executed without mercy by Patrolman Jim Skeel, a man whose reputation is whispered about even among his own. But when Skeel returns to Ceres Base, he finds that his latest victim has already been proven innocent. The revelation sparks a deadly chain of events involving a grief-stricken sister, a cunning setup, and a high-stakes pursuit across the asteroid belt.

What follows is a tense descent into caverns filled with strange light-creatures, night horrors that thrive in darkness, and a harrowing escape in which every breath of oxygen counts. Yet beneath the action lies something deeper: a man pushed beyond reason by a trauma he cannot escape, and the one person determined to stop him—no matter the cost. Without spoiling the powerful turn at the end, Final Victim delivers moral weight, tight suspense, and the kind of emotional revelation that stays with you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse began their careers together in the luminous pages of the early sci-fi magazines. Hasse, already known for grand cosmic adventures like “He Who Shrank,” brought a sense of scale, momentum, and sharp-edged tension. Bradbury, even in his earliest works, infused genre stories with empathy, poetic detail, and an unmistakable emotional core. Their collaborations offer a rare glimpse at Bradbury’s formative voice, blending seamlessly with Hasse’s pulp-era intensity.

Bradbury would go on to write some of the most iconic works in speculative fiction—The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and hundreds of beloved short stories. Hasse continued shaping the magazine era with imaginative tales that pushed the boundaries of cosmic storytelling. Final Victim stands as a fascinating early partnership between two writers who helped define the heart and adventure of classic sci-fi.