Aware of the wide-spread interest in this subject, Mr. Wollheim decided to inaugurate science fiction conventions, and founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association as well. He considers himself a true science fiction pioneer. Among his hobbies are model soldiers. He is considered an authority on them and has a fabulous collection. _Other Winston Science Fiction Novels by the Author_ THE SECRET of the MARTIAN MOONS THE SECRET of SATURN'S RINGS _The Secret of the Ninth Planet_ On the day that the theft of the solar system's light begins. Burl Denning is with an archaeological expedition in the Andes, only a few miles from the source of the "disturbance." Within hours the United States Air Force has ordered the expedition to investigate the strange phenomenon that is causing a dimness and a drop in temperature throughout the world. This is the start of a fantastic adventure that eventually takes Burl, a high-school senior, on the first circumnavigation of the solar system. On planet after planet, he and the crew of the _Magellan_, a gleaming, powerful, and virtually untested spaceship, discover the weird trappings of a brilliantly-designed Sun-tap station. Each planetfall brings unexpected hazards, as the ship draws closer and closer to solving the mystery of the theft. The author has based his story on science fact. Researchers are actually at work on the possibilities of just such a circumnavigation, and on another surprising theory brought out in this book. Other Winston Science Fiction Novels ANT MEN, THE by Eric North--_Geologists find living fossils in the badlands of Central Australia_ ATTACK FROM ATLANTIS by Lester del Rey--_An atomic submarine crew discovers the lost city of Atlantis_ BATTLE ON MERCURY by Erik Van Lhin--_Sun storms sweep Mercury and threaten man's existence_ DANGER: DINOSAURS! by Richard Marsten--_A treacherous big-game hunter leads an expedition back to the Age of Reptiles_ EARTHBOUND by Milton Lesser--_An ex-space cadet is forced to plunder ships he was trained to protect_ FIVE AGAINST VENUS by Philip Latham--_A Moon-bound rocket crashes in the misty wilds of Venus_ ISLANDS IN THE SKY by Arthur C. Clarke--_A teen-ager's adventures aboard a space station_ LOST PLANET, THE by Paul Dallas--_Two worlds on the verge of war_ MAROONED ON MARS by Lester del Rey--_A teen-ager on the first Moon-to-Mars expedition_ MISSING MEN OF SATURN by Philip Latham--_A space crew is held prisoner by froglike men on Saturn_ MISSION TO THE MOON by Lester del Rey--_Scientists make man's first journey to the Moon_ MISTS OF DAWN by Chad Oliver--_A space-time machine hurls a 20th-century boy back to 50,000 B. C._ MYSTERIOUS PLANT, THE by Kenneth Wright--_A young captive on Planet X prevents Earth's destruction_ MYSTERY OF THE THIRD MINE by R.W. Lowndes--_Prospecting in the dangerous asteroid belt_