Costigan's Needle

Jerry Sohl believed Costigan’s Needle (Rinehart & Company, New York, 1953) to be his best science-fiction work: Dr. Costigan invents a device which appears to produce an opening into a different world. Since his first model is not large enough to actually explore this different world he secures the backing of a large mid western electronics company to build one large enough for a human to go through. When a fanatic damages the “needle”, everyone within two hundred yards of the machine are transported to this different world. They find themselves in a place that is fresh, clean and unpopulated. Everyone is called upon to do what he or she does best in-order to make this new world a comfortable place and to rebuild technology to the point where they can return to the world they left.Costigan’s Needle is fast paced and entertaining. It contains complete characters who develop a personal a sense of purpose, something that people in 1953 were discouraged from doing.