Tanks by Murray Leinster Episode #104
Murray Leinster | September 25, 2023-
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Tanks by Murray Leinster Episode #104
Murray Leinster
TANKS
Episode #104 · Written by Murray Leinster · Narrated by Scott Miller
War in Tanks is fought without sight. Thick fog-gas smothers the battlefield, muting sound, erasing distance, and turning entire front lines into blind zones where orders travel faster than understanding.
As armored units maneuver beneath the haze and command staff track glowing indicators on distant maps, something goes wrong. Observation posts fall silent. Reports stop arriving. No one knows whether the enemy is advancing—or waiting.
Amid this uncertainty, two infantrymen cut loose from their unit find themselves inside the gap everyone else is guessing about. Their small, improvised discoveries begin to matter more than the careful theories being debated far behind the lines.
The story builds tension by contrasting massive mechanized forces with fragile human judgment. Tanks and aircraft dominate the battlefield, yet the decisive moment depends on interpretation, timing, and whether a commander is willing to trust information that doesn’t fit expectations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Murray Leinster was a foundational figure in American science fiction, publishing steadily from the 1910s through the 1960s. His stories appeared frequently in Astounding Science-Fiction, Analog, and Amazing Stories, and he wrote influential works such as First Contact, Sidewise in Time, and The Runaway Skyscraper.
Leinster had a particular interest in how systems fail under pressure—especially military, technological, and communication systems. In Tanks, that focus is sharpened into a wartime scenario where centralized planning collides with incomplete information, and victory depends on noticing what vast machines overlook.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to Tanks by Murray Leinster — a vintage science fiction war story where fog, machines, and human judgment collide on a battlefield no one can see.
MURRAY LEINSTER SHORT STORIES
Murray Leinster, the pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, was one of the most influential figures in early and mid-century science fiction. Writing across multiple decades, he helped define the structure and pace of modern science fiction storytelling, producing a vast body of work that appeared in the leading pulp magazines of the era.
His stories are driven by clear problems that demand immediate attention. A strange phenomenon appears without warning. A system fails in a way no one expected. A routine mission turns unstable with no obvious solution. Leinster builds tension by forcing his characters to respond in real time, often with limited information and no margin for error.
He had a gift for taking a single idea and pushing it as far as it could go. Rather than slowing the story with explanation, he lets events unfold step by step, each development tightening the situation. His work helped establish the fast-moving, problem-solving style that became a foundation of classic science fiction.
The stories below showcase Murray Leinster’s range—from interconnected Bud Gregory adventures to standalone tales that capture the urgency and imagination of vintage science fiction.
- The Gregory Circle by Murray Leinster
- The Nameless Something by Murray Leinster
- The Deadly Dust by Murray Leinster
- The Seven Temporary Moons by Murray Leinster
- Tanks by Murray Leinster
- The Other Now by Murray Leinster
- Invasion by Murray Leinster
- Nobody Saw the Ship by Murray Leinster
- The Life–Work of Professor Muntz by Murray Leinster
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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.
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Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.
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