menu

Lost Sci-Fi

chevron_right

The Minions of Midas by Jack London Episode #322

Jack London | January 28, 2025
  • play_circle_filled

    The Minions of Midas by Jack London Episode #322
    Jack London

THE MINIONS OF MIDAS

Episode #322 · Written by Jack London · Narrated by Scott Miller

What happens when immense wealth becomes a battlefield and every act of defiance costs an innocent life? In this gripping tale of unseen enemies and public terror, a powerful young heir finds himself trapped in a ruthless contest of will. Each passing week brings another calculated blow somewhere in the city, turning private decisions into public consequences.

Fear spreads not through riots or armies, but through letters, whispers, and sudden violence that seems to come from nowhere. The struggle is not only against a hidden foe, but against doubt, guilt, and the crushing weight of responsibility. As resources are poured into protection and investigation, the danger grows more precise, more personal, and more impossible to ignore.

This is a story of principle tested to breaking, where morality collides with survival and the fate of strangers rests on a single refusal to yield. Power offers no shield, money buys no peace, and every attempt to fight back reveals an enemy that cannot be cornered. The result is a relentless moral siege that asks how much any one person can endure for the sake of society itself.

Written at the dawn of the twentieth century, the story feels startlingly modern in its portrait of organized coercion, economic tension, and public panic. Its menace lies not in spectacle, but in inevitability. The threat is patient, methodical, and terrifyingly calm.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack London was one of America’s great literary adventurers, a writer who blended raw experience with sharp social insight. His works ranged from tales of survival in brutal landscapes to examinations of power, labor, and inequality in modern cities. He wrote with urgency and conviction, bringing both action and ideas to the forefront of popular fiction.

In The Minions of Midas, London turns his attention to the machinery of wealth and the unseen pressures that shape civilization. The result is a tense, unsettling narrative that explores how fragile order can become when challenged by forces that refuse to be seen, named, or stopped.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to The Minions Of Midas by Jack London — a vintage science fiction short story about power, fear, and the consequence of unseen threats.

RELATED STORIES

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked #1 in 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.3 million listens, introducing classic science fiction to a global audience of devoted fans.

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:

★★★★★ “Classics from the Masters. Great stories! I listen every week, sometimes the stories are shorts by a famous master of vintage Sci-Fi. Sometimes they are great stories by someone you never heard of. The narrator is perfect, I imagine sitting in front of a classic radio.”
—TCBermy

★★★★★ “A legitimate Top Tier Pod. I can’t do justice to how good this podcast is, truly. The host has an affect and vocal style that’s just perfect. The stories are buried gems, sure, there’s problematic vocabulary but you have to enjoy it in the spirit it’s offered. I LOVE seeing how creative people from 40-50 years ago, imagined how the world would exist. It’s just glorious and I love it.”
—bwdesmo

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.

📬 JOIN LOST SCI-FI WEEKLY

25,000+ Listeners Can’t Be Wrong

Get vintage sci-fi stories, podcast episodes, and surprises every Monday.

FREE SCI-FI EVERY WEEK

✅ Check your email and confirm — that unlocks your free sci-fi downloads.

No spam in this galaxy. You can eject anytime.





  • cover play_circle_filled

    01. Lancelot Biggs Master Navigator
    Nelson S. Bond

  • cover play_circle_filled

    02. The Day The Monsters Broke Loose
    Robert Silverberg

  • cover play_circle_filled

    03. Hide and Seek
    Arthur C. Clarke

  • cover play_circle_filled

    04. Two Black Bottles
    H. P. Lovecraft

  • cover play_circle_filled

    05. Don’t Look Now
    Henry Kuttner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    06. Cosmic Tragedy
    Thomas S. Gardiner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    07. The Broken Axiom
    Alfred Bester

  • cover play_circle_filled

    08. Gambler's Asteroid
    Manly Wade Wellman

  • cover play_circle_filled

    09. Process
    A. E. van Vogt

  • cover play_circle_filled

    10. The Old Timer
    Richard R. Smith

  • cover play_circle_filled

    11. Dead Man's Planet
    Russ Winterbotham

  • cover play_circle_filled

    12. The Secret Flight of Friendship Eleven
    Alfred Connable

  • cover play_circle_filled

    01. Welcome to LostSciFi.com

  • cover play_circle_filled

    02. The Madness of Lancelot Biggs by Nelson S. Bond

  • cover play_circle_filled

    03. Don't Look Now by Henry Kuttner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    04. Poor Little Warrior by Brian W. Aldiss

  • cover play_circle_filled

    05. The Life–Work of Professor Muntz by Murray Leinster

  • cover play_circle_filled

    06. The Black Ewe by Fritz Leiber

  • cover play_circle_filled

    07. A Walk in the Dark by Arthur C. Clarke

  • cover play_circle_filled

    08. Time Enough At Last by Lynn Venable

  • cover play_circle_filled

    09. Duel on Syrtis by Poul Anderson

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Ultimate Paradox by Thorp McClusky Episode #496
    Thorp McClusky

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Ultimate Wish by E. M. Hull Episode #495
    E. M. Hull

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Death Wish by Robert Sheckley Episode #494
    Robert Sheckley

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Helen O’Loy by Lester Del Rey Episode #493
    Lester Del Ray

  • cover play_circle_filled

    World’s End by Henry Kuttner Episode #492
    Henry Kuttner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Welcome to Paradise by Allyn Donnelson Episode #491
    Allyn Donnelson

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Final Exam by Sam Merwin Jr. Episode #490
    Sam Merwin Jr.

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Seller of the Sky by Dave Dryfoos Episode #489
    Dave Dryfoos

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Wainer by Michael Shaara Episode #488
    Michael Shaara

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Citizen Jell by Michael Shaara Episode #487
    Michael Shaara

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Up For Renewal by Lucious Daniel Episode #486
    Lucius Daniel

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Peacemaker by Alan E. Nourse Episode #483
    Alan E. Nourse

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Age Of Kindness by Arthur Sellings Episode #484
    Arthur Sellings

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Zeritsky’s Law by Ann Griffith Episode #485
    Ann Griffith

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Big Tick by Ross Rocklynne Episode #482
    Ross Rocklynne

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play