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.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Final Victim by Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse — a gripping tale of pursuit, justice, and survival in vintage science fiction.

RAY BRADBURY SHORT STORIES

Few writers shaped the emotional landscape of classic science fiction the way Ray Bradbury did.

Bradbury did not rely on hardware or technical spectacle to make the future feel real. He filled rockets with longing, placed ghosts in small towns, and turned distant planets into mirrors held up to the human heart. Whether he was writing about children seduced by virtual worlds, lonely travelers on Mars, or quiet suburban lives unraveling under strange pressure, his stories pulse with warmth, dread, nostalgia, and wonder.

On The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast we’ve explored Bradbury’s astonishing range. In The Veldt (also known as The World the Children Made), technology grants children terrifying power over their parents. Asleep in Armageddon traps a lone astronaut on a hostile world where even the wind seems alive. Dwellers in Silence carries us across the red deserts of Mars, where hope flickers against ancient ruins.

Then there are the quieter shocks: Referent, which exposes envy and obsession with razor precision. Defense Mech and The Monster Maker, where invention and ambition twist into unintended consequences. Even in collaborations like Final Victim (with Henry Hasse), Bradbury’s touch is unmistakable.

From the cold Martian well in The One Who Waits, where an ancient entity waits patiently beneath the sand for new flesh and new thoughts, to Martian longing in The Visitor, from the biting irony of Changeling to the haunting unease of Death Wish, these selections reveal a writer who could make a single image linger for decades. Explore the stories below and experience the voice that helped define vintage science fiction for generations.

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.8 million listens.

Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.

What listeners are saying:

★★★★★ “Killer sci fi. Eagerly awaiting each new episode. Every one is a gem.”
— mur dam

★★★★★ “Love love love this podcast!! I look very much forward to it every week!!”
— Ma Suzie

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.