"The Blue Atom" by Robert Moore Williams

The novel was written for the book and in conformance with the above-stated rule is the weakest story. It starts out well enough. Someone is abducting solar system citizens. A blue light appears, people are grabbed, and the blue light disappears. It's as if they're being teleported through a hole by unknown people or aliens for reasons unknown. The de facto human leader (and protagonist) Jarr Rahmer investigates; he and his men's mission: 1) Find out who is behind the kidnappings and why. 2) Stop them and effect the return of the citizens.

Had Williams confined his story to the above mission, it would have made for a good novel. However, Williams could not be boxed in to so mundane a plot with so little at stake. Therefore in comes some secret race using mind control. They prove to be behind the abductions. Eventually Jarr and his men decide to rescue a woman archaeologist that was abducted and who seems to know the most about this previous race. There are two members of the lost race still alive in some ape city who can't for reasons not explained stop the evil users of the blue atom. One of Jarr's men defects and tries to help the people in control of the blue atom. In the end, the good guys win, but by that time the story has become so jumbled it hardly matters. (Dan, Goodreads)