The Secret Martians

In Short

Jack Sharkey's The Secret Martians is a 1960 pulp science-fiction mystery that plunges an ordinary ad man into an interplanetary conspiracy. Sent to Mars to solve the impossible mid-space disappearance of fifteen Space Scouts from a locked transport, hero Jery Delvin uncovers a web of rogue Earth officials, rebellious colonist factions, and four-dimensional native beings. Blending hard-boiled detective logic with breezy mid-century humor, the novel has endured as a charming, fast-paced example of classic silver-age space opera where intellect and keen observation ultimately trump raw firepower.

The Story

The story opens in New York, where Jery Delvin—an advertising copywriter gifted with an uncanny ability to spot logical flaws—is recruited by World Security Chief Philip Baxter. Fifteen young Space Scouts have vanished from the spaceship Phobos II during a routine run from Mars to Earth. Armed with an all-access "Amnesty" badge and a deadly "collapser" ray gun, Jery boards the liner Valkyrie bound for Marsport. On board, he meets Snow White, a striking woman with corn-silk hair who steals his key equipment at knife-point to keep Security off her own trail.

Upon reaching Mars, Jery applies his deductive talents to the crime scene. He realizes the boys were never aboard during the flight; the culprit substituted fifteen hundred pounds of desert ice into the ship's bunks, which melted during takeoff to spoof the ship's weight sensors while the youngsters willingly slipped away to play the hero. His investigation quickly pulls him into a treacherous political landscape. Mars is caught between greedy Earth bureaucrats, a faction of anti-Earth Neo-Martian rebels, and the native "sugarfeet"—lizard-like, crystalline beings who live on air and water and whose outer crusts dissolve lethally upon contact with liquid.

Deep in the cavernous underground beneath Marsport, Jery makes contact with Clatclit, an intelligent sugarfoot who communicates through expressive gestures. Clatclit guides Jery to the "Ancients," the true native Martians. These four-dimensional entities cannot be fully perceived by normal human eyes, but Jery's unique mind allows him to comprehend their form. The Ancients reveal that Chief Baxter himself is the mastermind, plotting to manipulate the planet's alien technology and declare himself dictator. They have taken the fifteen boys into protective custody—and now hold Snow as leverage—demanding that Jery eliminate Baxter.

Returning to the surface, Jery confronts the Security Chief. He discovers that "parabolite," a mysterious Martian mineral immune to Earth tools, serves as the anchor between the third and fourth dimensions. Baxter plans to sever the Ancients from the physical world by detonating this contact material. A chaotic shootout and native rebellion erupt in the facility, plunging Jery, Clatclit, and Baxter down through the broken floorboards into the subterranean labyrinth.

In the final confrontation within the Ancient caverns, Jery uses a collapser to destroy the room's geothermal energy converter. The resulting dimensional shift collapses the danger, leaving Baxter trapped in the winding, dark tunnels. With the Ancients secure and the boys safe, Jery reunites with Snow and prepares for the voyage home.

How It Unfolds

The summons to service Jery Delvin is plucked from his desk at an advertising agency by World Security agents. Chief Baxter equips him with an absolute-authority Amnesty disc and a lethal collapser weapon before shipping him toward Mars to solve an impossible disappearance.

The flight and the knife Aboard the liner Valkyrie, Jery is cornered in his cabin by Snow White, a blonde stranger wielding a steak knife. She commandeers his authority disc to evade Security, forcing Jery to rely entirely on his wits once he lands.

Deduction in the desert Arriving in Marsport, Jery inspects the Phobos II and proves the missing boys never entered space. He deduces that the kidnappers used blocks of frozen Martian night-air ice in the bunks to trick the ship's mass-sensitive instruments before it launched.

Allies in the dark Captured and double-crossed by local agents, Jery is rescued by Clatclit, a sugar-crystallized native. Clatclit leads him into hidden tunnels to meet the Ancients, four-dimensional beings who use Jery's perceptual gifts to expose Chief Baxter's bid for total galactic control.

The subterranean showdown Jery confronts Baxter inside the Security headquarters just as a Neo-Martian revolution breaks out. A weapon blast destroys the flooring, sending Jery, Clatclit, and Baxter tumbling into the cavernous depths beneath the city for a final showdown.

Resolution and recovery By blasting a geothermal converter in the alien caverns, Jery thwarts Baxter's scheme, leaving the villain lost in the labyrinth. The Space Scouts are restored to safety, and Jery earns both the truth and Snow's affection.

The People

• Jery Delvin wants nothing more than a quiet life writing ad copy, but his sharp mind continually spots the errors others miss. What stands in his way is his complete helplessness around attractive women and his lack of physical combat training. By the end, he transforms from a passive corporate worker into a decisive investigator who trusts his own mind over official authority.
• Philip Baxter wants absolute, unchecked dominance over Earth and Mars. Standing in his way are the four-dimensional Ancients and the unpredictable element of Jery's intelligence. He ends up defeated, stripped of his authority, and marooned in the dark subterranean mazes of Mars.
• Snow White wants to protect her brother—one of the missing boys—and expose the corruption in Marsport. Her initial distrust of Security leads her to sabotage Jery, but her desperation holds her back until she realizes Jery is genuine. She finishes the story safe, vindicated, and romantically linked to Jery.
• Clatclit wants to safeguard his species and preserve the peace of his home world. Impeded by his inability to speak human language and his fragile, water-vulnerable crystalline body, he relies on sign language and agility, ultimately ending up as Jery's trusted, lifelong friend.

In Its Own Voice

"So, you are our weapon. Now, the question is: Which way do we point you?"

— Chief Baxter explains the risky strategy of sending an unpredictable ad man to investigate a Top Security mystery.

"There were remnants of buildings still to be seen half-buried in the rust-red sands, and bewildering little artifacts for which no conceivable use had as yet been convincingly postulated."

— Jery describes the mysterious landscape of Mars and the lingering traces of its vanished builders.

"Where an animal merely discerns eyes, feeding apparatus and breathing vents, the human eye sees a face."

— An Ancient Martian explains why human perception relies on mental concepts rather than raw physical sight.

What It's Really About

Underneath its outer-space mystery, The Secret Martians explores the limits of human perception and the danger of authoritarian control. The book argues that true understanding requires looking past surface appearances, whether that means seeing through a corporate ad campaign, interpreting the gestural language of an alien, or perceiving a four-dimensional entity. Sharkey contrasts the rigid, power-hungry bureaucracy of Earth's Security apparatus with the adaptive, open-minded problem-solving of an ordinary citizen. The plot continually asks whether humanity is mature enough to coexist with alien intelligences without trying to exploit or destroy what it cannot immediately comprehend or dominate.

Why Read It Today

The Secret Martians will delight fans of classic 1960s pulp science fiction, mid-century detective yarns, and vintage space-age aesthetics. Reading it feels like stepping into a snappy, fun, black-and-white television serial filled with ray guns, mysterious alien ruins, and clever twists. It moves at a brisk pace, relying on quick dialogue and practical deductions rather than dense technical jargon.

Modern readers should be prepared for period attitudes typical of 1960s Ace double novels: female characters are frequently framed through the protagonist's self-admitted romantic weakness, and the future technology reflects the mid-century imagination (such as using physical paper memos and analog thermostats aboard advanced spaceships). Additionally, the alien dialogue relies heavily on Jery interpreting Clatclit's silent pantomimes, which occasionally slows the narrative pace. Yet, these retro quirks give the book its genuine period flavor. What stays with you is its buoyant optimism, its lighthearted humor, and its satisfying conviction that clear, independent thinking is the greatest superpower in the galaxy.

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