But WHY do The Gods Hate Kansas?

But why? (Also this scene doesn't happen in the novel)

I read the story so you don't have to!  

Circa 1950s - There was a saying that "The Gods must hate Kansas" because more meteors were being found in Kansas than anywhere else.  So the Gods hated Kansas so much they threw lots of rocks at it...  I don't know if that was ever actually a saying, or just made up for the novel, but Kansas does seem like a good place to find meteors.

Controlled by aliens?  Drunk? You decide! (this scene does happen in the novel)

Story-wise, The Gods Hate Kansas feels like a prototype for It Came From Outer Space:  Aliens crash on the moon, need resources on earth to fix their ship, and travel there in meteors that keep landing in Kansas.  It gets much, much more convoluted from there, but in the end, the aliens are reasonable and just didn't think to ask humans for help.  Oops.

My pulp copy lacks the standalone editions excellent cover (I first saw that one at Powell's books in the 90's, begging the fascination), but it does include several nicely weird Virgil Finlay illustrations (see above), and this vintage Carhartt ad:

Pete, buddy, you might want to workshop this one a bit more