George E. Rochester (1898–1966)

Circa 1962, aged 9, I found this book on the library shelf in my classroom, along with a collection of SF novelettes. Between them these stories and the novel kindled a lifelong interest in science fiction - but while I re-read the other fiction, I was never able to find The Black Octopus again, and for many years wondered if I was imagining it.

Eventually a friendly book dealer found me a copy, and I got to re-read it after 40 years or so. It's still a surprisingly fun technothriller, I'd show more guess aimed at pre-teens upwards, in which the octopus of the title is a giant mechanical monster, an atomic submarine / aircraft carrier / land walker operated by a group of "pirates" who are actually fighting an international arms cartel which plans to take over the world. The story includes several battles, an underwater encounter with mer-men, and heroic sacrifices, and would make a good James Bond movie if they dumbed it down a little.

OK, more seriously, this obviously isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but it's a fun read and a very good example of the 1950s/60s juvenile/YA SF/technothriller. show less