"Planet of the Damned" by Harry Harrison is a science fiction novel published in 1962. When the desert planet Dis threatens neighboring Nyjord with cobalt bombs, champion athlete Brion Brandd is recruited for a desperate mission to prevent interplanetary genocide. On Dis, Brandd must navigate deadly attacks and unravel the mystery behind the ruling magter's suicidal aggression before a nuclear strike destroys the entire planet. His discovery reveals a disturbing biological explanation for their behavior and a race against time to disable the bombs. (This is an automatically generated summary.)