White Spot

The crew of the Danaë is stranded between stars, their drive failing, their supplies dwindling. When they finally limp to the nearest planet, all they need is food to survive the long journey home. What they find is something far older and far deadlier than starvation. The planet looks barren at first glance. But that strange white spot on its surface draws their attention, and then fires a heat ray that kills one of them. What they discover is an ancient intelligence, a creature that once consumed an entire civilization and has been waiting eons for new prey. With a mutinous crew member sowing discord and the creature learning from every encounter, the crew must use every ounce of ingenuity to survive. This is 1950s hard SF at its finest: a survival story where the greatest threat isn't the void of space, but something that thinks of humans as merely the next course. For fans of classic alien horror, for readers who want their science fiction with genuine stakes and a monster that earns its terror.