02473cam a22003613u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000360011324500170014926400510016630000470021733600260026433700260029033800360031649000420035250000310039450800960042552013400052153400450186165300200190665300180192665300290194470000340197383000420200785600430204999900190209264072UtSlPG20260610134457.0mcr n260607r2020||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aLong, Frank Belknap,d1903-199410aLake of Fire 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2020  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from Planet Stories May 1951  aRelease date is 2020-12-18  aGreg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net  a"Lake of Fire" by Frank Belknap Long is a science fiction novel written in the early 1950s. The story explores themes of love, identity, and the tension between aspirations and reality, set against the backdrop of a Martian landscape filled with relics of an ancient civilization. It delves into the complexities of an Earth man's obsession with a Martian mirror that captures the image of a long-dead woman, leading to a struggle between emotional attachment and sanity.  The plot centers around two main characters, Steve Claymore and his companion Tom Gierson, who discover a Martian hand mirror in the desert. The mirror reflects the image of a beautiful Martian woman named Azala, who captivates Steve and leads him into a dangerous obsession. As Steve becomes increasingly fixated on the image and his belief that she is alive, Tom tries to intervene, understanding the destructive nature of such an infatuation. The story escalates into a confrontation with other treasure-seeking men, showcasing both the peril of Steve's fixation and Tom's determination to protect his friend. Ultimately, the narrative culminates in an unexpected twist when the shattered mirror leads to a genuine connection between Steve and Azala, revealing deeper themes of love transcending time and culture. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories  aMars (Planet) -- Fiction1 aVestal, Herman B.,d1916-2007 0aProduced from Planet Stories May 195140uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64072  c104896d104896