E. E. 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. (Goodreads)