The spaceship landed on the planet Earth to bring it the message of a new religion and a new way of life that would fit the terrestrial barbarians to take their place in the great community of the Galaxy.
Their motives were beyond reproach. Their objectives were honourable. It was not their fault that humanity distrusted their motives, repudiated their objectives - and did its best to drive the missionaries back into space . . .
D G Compton (1930-2023)
David Guy Compton was born in London in 1930. His early works were crime novels published under 'Guy Compton', but he began producing SF as 'D.G. Compton' in 1965 with The Quality of Mercy. His 1970 novel The Steel Crocodile received a Nebula nomination, but it was 1974's The Continuous Catherine Mortenhoe that made his reputation. Eerily predictive of the 21st century's obsessions with media voyeurism and 'reality television', it was filmed as Death Watch in 1980.