The Secret of the Ninth Planet

"The Secret of the Ninth Planet" by Donald A. Wollheim is a science fiction novel written in the late 1950s. The story centers around Burl Denning, a young member of an expedition searching for Inca treasures in the Andes, who abruptly becomes embroiled in a global crisis involving the theft of sunlight from the Earth. The narrative combines themes of adventure, exploration, and the implications of advanced technology set against the backdrop of space. The opening of the novel introduces Burl Denning and his expedition as they study ancient ruins in Peru while the world around them begins to experience a mysterious dimming of sunlight. As they notice these changes, they receive an urgent message from the U.S. Air Force, indicating that they are the closest scientifically trained personnel to the source of this sunlight disturbance. This prompts them to embark on a treacherous journey to uncover the cause, leading them to a black structure in a remote valley. There, they discover advanced technology, suspecting it's the work of an extraterrestrial race attempting to siphon energy from the Sun, which sets the stage for an interplanetary adventure to save their world.