E. E. Doc Smith 
Masters of the Vortex 

A churning nuclear fireball, appearing out of nowhere, bringing utter destruction — and countless numbers of them were menacing planets throughout the Galaxy! ‘Storm’ Cloud, nucleonic genius, set out in his spaceship Vortex Blaster to track and destroy the mysterious vortices — and embarked on a saga of adventure, discovery and conflict among the far stars that could have been told only by the incomparable ‘Doc’ Smith.