Dynasty of the Small — John Russell Fearn

Mankind was being assailed by a disease that made the Bubonic Plague seem insignificant. People were dying by the thousands, especially in America and in England. They would choke, strangle to death, and then, horribly, burst apart as if blown up by gas! And the horror had been unwittingly caused by one man, Doctor Blair, who had, ironically, tried to invent something that would benefit mankind by eliminating all disease! Instead, the results of his experiment led to the world facing total disaster from...the "Dynasty of the Small"! In addition to the title novella, this collection includes the stories "Ice Maiden," "The Vicious Circle," "Chaos," and "Sweet Mystery of Life." Great reading from the classic era of the science-fiction magazines.