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**Title:** The Missionaries
**Author:** D.G. Compton (David Guy Compton)
**Publisher:** Ace Books (Catalog #53570)
**Format:** Mass Market Paperback (Paperback Original / PBO)
**Publication Year:** 1972 (First Printing)
**Cover Art:** Jack Gaughan ---### **Item Description & Narrative Summary**
Up for sale is a beautiful, highly collectible first edition copy of the vintage science fiction novel, **\"The Missionaries\"** by celebrated author D.G. Compton. Published in 1972 by Ace Books, this is the true first printing paperback original (PBO). It features incredibly striking, vibrant psychedelic sci-fi cover art by Hugo Award-winning artist Jack Gaughan (identified by his distinctive \"JG\" initials hidden in the artwork).The novel is a brilliant work of satirical first-contact social science fiction. The plot follows a spaceship of advanced alien missionaries that lands on Earth with the noble intention of giving humanity a new, enlightened religion so they may join the galactic community. Complications arise as paranoid humanity immediately distrusts their pure motives and does everything possible to drive them back into deep space.### **Condition Details**
This book is in **Great Vintage Shape**—a highly well-preserved specimen perfect for an Ace or classic sci-fi collection:
* **Cover:** Extremely bright, vibrant colors with superb gloss. Showcases exceptional eye appeal with minimal edge wear. No heavy creasing, library stamps, or structural damage.
* **Spine:** Completely uncracked, straight, tight, and square. This indicates the book has been handled with maximum care and likely unread or minimally read.
* **Pages:** Complete and tight to the binding. The interior text block is clean, crisp, and completely free of writing, highlights, or bookstore stamps. Standard natural tanning/age-toning is present on the pulp paper as is consistent with 1970s books, but pages remain perfectly supple.
* **Overall:** An excellent collector-grade copy of a classic 1970s paperback original.*Please review the high-resolution photos carefully for exact cosmetic details. The book shown in the photos is the exact item you will receive.*
