FA NI I'ASY RTV It\rv Vol. II, No. ll SIXPENCE ocT.-Nov. ,48 ,EXPANSTON The constructive criticism which FANTASY R.EVIEW has afiorded the fleid over the past two years, its reliable news and informative articles, and, not least of all, its capacity to survive, continue to evoke genuine appreciation from readers, writers, editors and publishers. Among its larger contemporaries who have given it encouragement, Startling Stories, has been most bountiful, pronouncing lt "Jiist about the most adult, alert and informed gazette in the entire fleld-with a surprisingly TransaUantic viewpoint," The comments of readers are far too numerous-and flattering-for us to quote, but they reflect the lnpatience with which our subscrlbersr await every issue and the keen interesL they find in it. So far, so good. These expressions pf satisfaction have been accompanied of late by a demand for the increase in size and scope which we promised in the beginning, and a desire for more frequent publication. Until now, both these improvements have been impracticable; but so insistent has the demand become for a bigger, if not better, FANTASY nEVIEW that lve can deny it no longer, and since lt comes from a steadily enlarging circle of readers in three continents we feel con- fldent enough to meet it without endangering continuity. As from the next issue. therefore. we shall add twelve pages to this journal, which will enable us almost to double its content of articles, reviews and regular features. To make this possible, we shall be compelled to increase the price to Onb Shilling; but we are assured thab this will flnd favour with our suhscribers. The yearly subscription, no'r, witl be 6/- f.or British readers and $1.50 for subscribers in Canada and U.S.A. Unexpired subscriptions will be adiusted to allow for the increase as from the D€c.-Jan. '48 issue, which will consist of 32 pages. Fbr the preseni, we cannot grant requests for more frequent publication, but \Me shall continue to appear at regula,r blmonthty intervals, secure in the knowledge that our readership will multipiy to an extent that will make possible stitl further developments. It would seem to be generally conceded that FANTASY REVIEW is quite indis- pensable to each devotee who wants to keep abreast of the iver-enlarging interests avaitable to him and be guided intelligently ln choosing between them' Yet there must be many more fantasy-flction readers in this country and abroad who would welcome an introduction to this iournal; and we know that our subscribers will assist us in bringing It to their notice. FANTASY B0B FRAZIER recalls the FIRST OF THE FANTASTICS The oldest rearlers of science fiction will be able to remember ..blood,, when their taste fd the fantastic was satisfied by their favourite whether it was rcnums,, 'Boys' Magazine,' or the transitory 'scoops' An authority here of rerates-*ii-"rt the rristoryx what was perhaps the first of all periodicals to feature *""rr *to"i*, cate"ea for tho you,rrg Americans of Jures verne's day anil gave firern many gtimpses of things to come. It is safe to say that no collector has a _complete file of the flrst regular peri- In the next issue odical devot€d entirely to scientiflction. Indeed, it is probable that not one in a WHY BLAME WELLS ? hundred tras ever seen a copy, in spite By JOHN BEYNON of the facb that hundreds of thousahds were circulated through the news- Such was the Frank Reaoe Library, stands 35 years before Amazing, Won. starhq Sept. 24, 1892, by prant fousei, der and Astounding appeared. It was New York publisher of low-priced litei- an illustrated weekly and usuallv con- ature. It sold for flve cents a copy then, sisted of 16 pages, exclusive of iovers, but three to flve dollars is the averaed but sometimes special editions were is- price paid for them by collectors toda-v. sued carrying as many as 48 pages. The Every issue was dedicated to the adven_ covers themselves, though not printed tures of Ftank Reade Jr. and his rn colours, were very sirnilar to those friends. F?ank was an inventor. vears of the fantasy magazines of to-day, ahead of his time, who conceived." con- featuring drawings of marvellous structed and operated airships, sub- machines, weird scenery, fearsome crea- marines, amphibious vehicles. tanks, tures, and daring heroes. But there eie_ctric searchlights, oxygen diving were no shapely heroines in Dalsv Mae suits, robots and terrible weapons, costumes; in fact, the cuties weie not equipped with which he travelled all only kept ofi the covers but, to a great over the world and into the ether. ex- extent, out of the stories as well. plored the deepest ocean depths, and on one occasion bored his way ttrrough the Earth from pole to pole. He discovered strange lands, peoples FANTASY REVIEW and fauna: witness the adventure of A Journal for Readers, Writers and his "White Cruiser of the Clouds, or Collectors of Imaginative Fiction The Search for the Dog-Faced Men," BI - MONTIILY and the account of his voyage in the Edttorial, Advertising and pub- "Electric lce-Boat, or Lost in the Land lishing Office: 115 Wanstead park of Crimson Snow." Once he ventured Road, Ilford, Essex. 100 miles beneath the surface of the sea Subscription rates: In Great ln his "hard shell', subrnarine boat: Britaia and Dominions (exceDt another, volcanic exploration took him Canada) Q/- per year. Single copi-es 7,000 miles underground. He captured 1/-, post free. In Canada and-the a comet that had gone astray to U.S.A., - $1.50 per year. Singte threaten the Earttr, and returned it to eopies, 25c., post free. its proper orbit; in the case of ,The ,.euest Vol. 2, No,. 11 Oct.-Nov. '48 Missing Planet,', he went on a Editor: Walter ' for a Fallen Star." cillinss. Steam and electricity-the latter _ Asociato Editors: Jo[n Carnell, still J. Michael ltosenblum, D. R. Smith. something of a novelty in the early Arthur F. Hil]man, Fred C. Brown. nineties-were the forces R,eade em- Nigel Lindsay, Ibank Edward Ar- ployed to operate his inventions; his nold, J. O. Newman. A. Vlncent creator, in spite of his lively imagina- Clarke. tion, never visualised gasoline. But his _ A g er.i,c.an Correspondants: descriptions of the helicopter, airplane David (New york)-, Forrest propeller, J. Ackerman-Ifishl (Hollylyood), gam arrnoured vehicles and bther -N.J.), *Condensed +..{oskowitz _(Newarki Joseph from Neeromancer. 1619 B. Baker (Chicago). Eastern Avenue, Baltimore. Md., U.S.A. Copyright by David A. Xfclnnes. REVIEW 3 of them. Probably to avoid being throsn out of the church, tarred and feathered by the Parent-Teachers' As- sociation, and denounced bv the news- papers. he wisely wrote ali his stories for' the Frank Reade Lihrary under the pen - name of "Noname.', IIe corres- ponded with Jules Verne, who admired trim for his wonderful imagination ; and, incidentally, he managed to find time marry flgaf,g, T*5':":I':rs-Hse;r, to and raise a family. Fruf JL, Those were the days when narrow- mindedness, masquerading as virtue, imposed so many restrictions on word and deed that to one who,has not actu- ally lived through them thev'that must seem incredibte. The customs of era, as dictated by those who established them- selves as a bulwark between ttre devil and the populace, prescribed certain kinds of reading and proscribed others. Much iavoured were the heavy, stodgy works of certain English authors; the product of America,n writers as a wtrole v/as considered crude. Regarded with distaste were the various types of in- expensive "light" reading turned out by Tousey, Street & Smith and other contrivances might have been written publishers of fiction popular among of the inventions of modern timest. those who could not afiord to spend a The author of the .Frank Reade whole day's wages on a single book. stories was Luis P. Senarens. the son The Frank Reade Library, costing of a Cuban tobacco merchant and his only five cents a copy, sporting an ex- American wife. He was born in Brook- eiting illustration on the cover and lyn in 1865, stalted writing at the age written in easily understood terms, was of 12, and at 14 was seliing his stories classed among the undesirables. Its regularly to various publications cater- critics thought it foolish, even sinful, to ing for juveniles. At 15 he wrote his f,U the mind with such "trash." But first long serial, "The Island Tyeasure," there seemed to be an ample number of which he sold to Frank Tousey for $210. reckless readers willing to take the From then on he turned out serials. chance of addling their brains by regu- novels, short stories, articles and poems larly following the adventures of ,'The for various publishers, and also wrote Boy Inventor"; and so the Tousey some plays. During this period his in- presses continued to rumble, steadily come from his literary activities aver- turning out thousands of copies of the aged $150 per week, which was im- Frank Reade Library every week. portant money i.n those days; and he Until, paradoxicaily, it brought about was also studying at St. John's College its downfail by its own popularity. As of Arts and sciences, from which he its circulation increased, more and gladuated at the age of 23. more graceless juveniles and trifling It was the fashion of the time adults were discovered reading it and, among writers to use many pseudonyms in some instances, as a result of ttreir and Senarens employed no Iess than 27 reading, ,,pilgrims trying to invent something. _-tsayq P_rof. J. O. Bailey in This alarming situation attracted the Jhr_ough Space and Time" (Argus,-New attention and consequent denunciation York), writing of the Franh Reade of parents who feared Library: "Details of the machine are al- for the sanity of ways vague, but it is usually something their offspringi of the pulpit which, as a matter of principle, disapproved of made familiar by Verne or other '"vriters of scientifi.c fiction . . . It described such practically everything; and of the Press inventions as a steam-horse, a steam- wtrich, even in those days, could be de- man, an electric air canoe, submarine. pended upon to climb on any band- robot and alrnoured car. The inventions wagon after it had begun to move, for were always us€d for good purposes, such the purpose of claiming credit for any as using an electric tricycle to break up the African slave trade." Please turn to page 6 I FA NTASY Among the Mogazines W,th KENNEIH SLAIER TOO MUCH LOYECRAFTIANA ? Th€ Arkham Sampler continues to ment of his "Dream-Quest of Unknown give the impression, which we feei is Kadath," which, we'll admit, is the best hardly intended, that it is only an ex- thing the Sampler has given us Yei. cuse for keeping up the stream of An excellent survey of "The Novels Lovecraftiana. We like Lovecraft and of M. P. Shiel," by A. Reynolds Morse' enjoy much of his work, but he begins aJId a short piece on "Strangers from to take on the aspect of a'Messiah and Hesperus," in which Norman Markham we question if this worship is either plumps for Venus as the origin of the necessary or beneficial. The No. 3 Flvins Saucers-and other things-are (Summer '48) issue has another arbicle ot-iriterest to the science flctionist. In on H.P.L. by Samuel Loveman and a spite of its title, H. Russell Wakefield's letter from him to E. Hoffman Price, "A Kink in Space-Time" isn't: it has to neither of which are of outstanding in- do with precognition and has Uttle terest except to his most ardent dis- imaginative appeal. The other fiction ciples. There is also another instal- item, "The Loved Dead," by C. M. Eddy Jr., is a reprint from Weird Tales of '24, a story which raised quite a dust at the NOYA PUBLICATIONS time but which for our part might have been lelt undisturbed. Ttre space de- WILL REVIVE voted to "Further Wesf Counbry Legends" might also have been better used, though we always enjoY the NEW WORLDS' poetry and book revervs. The plan to revive New Worlds on a With its third issue, Fantasy Book co-operative basis beLween publishers, strinks to la,rge pocket-size format, distributors, authors and readers is now and is ha,rdly better for the change as proceeding under the Egis of Nova Pub" far as appearance goes. The cover is lications Ltd., which has been specially unforgivably amateurish, and the half- formed for the purpose. dozen difierent type-faces make the in- Chairman of the new comPany is the side look like a printer's catalogue. weil-known science flction author John There are two interior ilustrations, and Be]41on Harris, who has approved the we might have been spared both. T'he principle of pa]rynent to contributors on whole thing is very reminiscent of a royalty basis so that they will recoup fandom's efiorts to vie with the "pro"' according to the number of copies sold. magazines at various times, though It is intended to publish a fourth some were more successful fhan this. issue of the magazine as soon as print- We'Il try to be kinder to the stories. ting facilities have been secured, and "The Great Judge" is more like A. E. to continue it on a quarterly schedule van Vogt than his previous piece: the if possible. In charge of distribution tale of a wor'ld where the law is so effi- wif be Frank A. Cooper, of Peach cient that a condemned man can be Cooper Libraries, Stoke Newington, freed until the day of his execution. who i.s specially interested in ttre fleld Andrew North's "The Gifts of Asti" is and is associated with the venture. quite a gem in its waY, with a sugges- John Carnell will conbinue as Editor tlon of Merritt-Kuttner in the treat- of New Worlds, with Walter Giliings ment; but the author has Points of as Assoclate Editor also in charge of his own. E. Everett Evans' "Blurb" advertising and publicity. Other work- presents a new twist on the o1d idea ing directors of the company are G. (so beloved of new writersl of flctitious Ken Chapman (treasurer) - and Eric cha.racters coming to life. "Tlrrnabout" Willia.ms, who will look after subscrip is a black magic tale by British author tions. H. S. W. Chibbeit; Terry Thor contri- The aliocation of shares among butes "secret Weapon," and Festus writers and readers who will participate Pragnell's serial continues, but we sug- flnancially in the underta'king is now - gest that the Book might get along proceeding. Those interested should better without serials after this, in view write to the registered offices of Nova of its irregular PublicaLion. Publications Ltd., 25 Stoke Newington September Weird Tales-eleven in all Road. London, N.16. us as satisfying aU tastes. -impressed BEVIEW 5 But August Derleth's Iovecraftian nov- yarn, "Dormant," is also present. eiette, "The Whippoorwills in the Leigh Brackett's "The Moon Ttrat Hills," didn't appeal to us; we could Vanished," in October Wonder, is one guess what was coming right up to ttre of those stories in which the customary nnal "Ai Yog-Sothoth!" This theme rocket-ship, mighty city and automatic is about written out by now. Best of the whatsit are all conspicuous by their shorts: Ray Bradbury's "Fever Dream" absence; instead we have a barbaric, and Ed. Hamilton's "The Watcher of Venusian world where the people move the Ages," Eric FYank Russell's short- around in sailing ships and lrave a short, "Displaced Person," was amusing. mystic religion based on a missing Next (Nov.) issue presents "The Perfect moon. It reminds us of C. L. Moore's Host," by Theodore Sturgeon, Robert old "Northwest Smith" tales; not really Bloch's "The hdian Spirit Guide," and science ficlion at all, but a good tale a Seabury Quinn story, "Such Sfuff as just the same. Arthur J. Burks' "Yes- Dreams," with others by Stephen Gren- t€rday's Doors," a mixture of amnesia don, Carl Jacobi and Russell, who and Atlantis, left us a bit puzzled, comes up again with "The Ponderer." though we grasped the moral. William ff the immense improv€ment in the F. Temple kept us thorougttly tickled in "Thrilling" mags. is maintained thby "Miracle Town," and Ftank Belknap wiII soon take first place in fandom's Long's "Galactic l{eritage" had a beau- affections. Fredric Brown's "What Mad tiful twist in its tale. Of the other Universe," in September Startling nine shorts, "The Square Pegs," by Ray Stories, helped to persuade us towards Bradbury," and Joe Gibson's "I Like ttris conclusion: an excellent concept, You, Too ." impressed us most; well developed, which can be classed as "Date Line," by Benj. Mi[er, with its genuine science fiction. November is- cockeyed time-travel, was so preposter- sue brings Arbhur C. Clarke's promised ous that it wasn't even ludicrously opus, "Against the lbII of Night," and amusing. a reprint of Festus Pragnell's "The A new department, "The Frying Pan,' Isotope Men," as an all-British contri- in which fan-mags. will be griddled, bution to its 180 pages. A van Vogt looks like a good idea. Next (Dec,)

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FANTASY MAGAZINE LIBRARY, THE BOOKSHOP, 25 STOKE NEWINGTON ROAD, LONDON, N.16 (Telelrlrono: Cl,lssold 5541) 6 FANTASY issue features "The Ghost Planet," by Two shorts-"The Gorgons," by Mack Murray Leinster; "Fruits of the Aga- Chapman Lea, and Jotrn L. Mac- thon," by new author Charies L. Har- donald's "Dance of a New World"- ness, concerning a death-predicting were fair enough. No serial in this machine, and "240,000 Miles Straight issue, but October's sees A. E. van Vogt Up," in which L. Ron Hubbard fore- tying up ttre loose ends of "The World sees the possibiiity of the U.S.S.R. rac- of NuIl-A" in a sequel, "The Players ol ing the U.S.A. to the Moon. Null-A." We meet our old friend Gos- September Astounding (we can't get seyn again, and make the acquaintance away from calllng it that !) was of the Chess Player. By the way, the the best for some months, in our judg- wind-up of Eric Fbank Russell's ment. Graced by another Bonestell "Dreadful Sanctuary" in the August cover illustrating an R. S. Richardson issue left us disappointed; there article on "Paper Planets," it featured weren't any Martians at alMut the two British authors' stories: "Dream$ story ended with some fact action and are Sacred," by Peter Phillips, a nice at least man made it to Luna. psychological piece about a science flc- "The Lion's Way," by C. T. Stone- tion writer rvho began to believe in his ham, in Famous Fantastic for Octob€r. own imagini-ngs, and "Inheritance," by is a Tarzan-ish novel which was pub- ,Charles Willis (Arthur C. Clarke), lished here by Hutchinson in '31. With which New Worlds had already given it as makeweight are shorts by Ray us. In spite of the pseudo-technical Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon and Wil- jargon of his talkative clraracters, liam Tenn. Next issue will bring J. J. which doesn't go down with everybody, Connington's fine tale of catastrophe, we liked George O. Smith's novelette, "Nordenholt's Million," recently avail- "The Catspaw," and welcomed back able in the Penguins (reviewed Aug.- OId Doc Methuselah in Rene La- Sep., '47 issue). Coming up in Fantas- fayette's "The Great Air Monopoly"- tic Novels (Nov.) are Tod Robbins' and we hope L. Ron Hubbard lives to classic, "The Terrible Three," and "The write the book mentioned in the foot- Mad Planet," that memorable and oft- note. printed piece by Murray Leinster.

FIRST OF THE FANTASTICS ?""!:T;I.J"' popular results'Lhat might be achieved. When Frank Tousey died in 1902, The ouLcry against such "demoralis- Senarens became editor of all the Tou- ing literature" started a movement that sey publications. In 1911, while still eventually a,ttained the proportions of holding down this job, he began to a crusade. I'rank Tousey had no de- write photoplays, and sold about 60 to sire to buck the public opinion that was various flIm prodncers. He then brought aroused and organised to oppose his or.rt Moving Pictu're Stories, a weekly, policies, and accordingly stopped the whlch he edited for more than a de- publication of the !'rank Reade stories cade. In all he is credited with writing as well a,s several more of his most some sixty million words, all done in profltable pericdicals. Thus, with its neat, micrcscopic longhand rvith a pen. 191st issue, ended the career of the For years he was treasurer of the Frank Reade Library, after nearly four Brooklyn Writers' CIub, as well as be- years of regular weekly appearance. Its longing to many other clubs composed snppression was the lnevitable penalty of authors, playwrights and actors. He of its being fco far in advance of its ret:rred in '23, and died in Brooklyn dur- time. Even Famous Fantastic Mysteries ing Christmas wgek of '39, at the age or Astounding Science Fiction would of 74. have been denounced and run off the His stories oi science fiction were, market if pubiished in those days, now perhaps, mediocre compared with the sarcastically referred to as "the Gay tales we read to-'day, but as products of Nineties"+. a prophetic imagination they were truly amazing. Practically all the in- xSays Prof. Bailey: "Ircve in this ventions he desc|ibed to a scoffing, dis- fiction is always pure; social attitudes dainful pub ic more than half a century are conservative. whatever their value ago have, in one form or another, be- as literature, these juveniles doubtless commonplace; and no diverted many a weeklv allo'wance from come almost one soda-pop to the newsstands. The heaith can take from him the honour of being of America, in body and mind, was no! auttror of all the storieb that appeared threatened..." in the first fantasy periodlcal. REVI EW 7 Walter Gillingls' FANTASIA News of new magazines: Setrpct Science Fiction (P.o. Box 4171, St. Petersbulg' Florida, u.s.A.), to appear monthly at 50c. in pocket-sized,5,000-copy edition, will give unpublished writers chance to see print; invites stories, criticai letters, from iunscriners . . . Robert N. webster, Editor Fate' new occult'scientiflc interest quarterly' prepadng to launch semi-slick science-fantasy one-shot to see regular issue lf sales iarrant I . . ndito. Alden H. Norton ready for revival of wartime Super-Science Stories, considering material by van Vogt, John Aiken, the de Courcys and others . . . Toronto magazine publisher Richard sair preparing series of pocket-book and hard-cover reprints; also new fantasy mag. to make debut next year . . . stories by Manly Wade Wellman, P. schuyler Miller, William Tenn, FYank B. Iong, Fritz Lieber and otlrers, acquired for Avon's suspended fantasy projects (see this col.,_Dec. '4?- Jan.,48), assembted by Editor Wollheim in pocket anthology to appear shortly.. Coming in Thrilling Wonder: new van Vogf novel, "The Weapon Shops of Isher"' ieigh iracketb's ,,Sea Kings of Mars," Murray Leinsber's "Assignment on Pasik" . . wifi stewart (Jack wiltiarnson) to reappear in Asto rnding, which has in store "I,ate NGrrt Finat,' and other.s by Eric Frank Russell . . . Shasta Puplish€rs to issue Nelson Boird's second short story collection, following H. L. Gold's Unknown novel, "None But Lucifer" . . . John Martin Leahy's eariy Weird Tales classic, "Drome," to see book publication... Lilith Iorraine,s Different (sep.-oct. '48) rhapsodised over "The conquest of space,,' guest editorial ("stailway to the stars") by u.s. Rocket society's R. L. with ,.space-F1eet,'r ,.of dinswortn, foems tiged New Worlds Waiting," "Beyond This Known Horizon,', ,,The Planef of Man," etc. . . . Presenting 1-]er own "The Man With- o"i u Wo.fa," she listed new manuscript requirements with a preference for science . i'rench V Magazine featured "Iove in the Year 4000," by Jacques Spitz; fiction . . pin-ups article_' on Tarzan, "Don iuan of the Jungle," by Forrest J. Ackerman; also ..Mr. new film . . wirriu* Powell hooks Ann Blyth in Peabody and the Mermaid,,' Lased on the book by the Joneses Eric Linklater's merman fantasy, "Sealskin Trousers," and James Hilton's "Lost Horizon," presented on radio, which sent Jackson of ,,Adventufe unlimited" seeking "Lost Atlantis"; Richard Goolden, as a space-minded grocer, up in a "Rocket to the Stars" . . . Sunday chronicle gossip's snoop on London circle conclave resulted in paragraph on ,'horror fans of 'science flction,' as poUred out by American pulp magazine presses . .. The atom bomll, even, is out of date (with them). 'Inter-galactic'war is now the thing,Igather.I'oilowersoftheinter-gaiacticleaguetab]esmeeioncea.weekina London tlavern and over their beer-and . soft drinks-discuss scientiflc horrors' elect 'ctassics' and excha.nge magazines" I(enneth (Opera.tion Fantast) Slater iisued proposals for British Scienie.Fantasy Fan Federation, to co-ordinate activities oilo""i groups without depriving them of free action . . . Australian and Canadian ir". pfu,i"i"!World Science fiction League . . . Cincinnati, Ohio, to be venue of '49 Wortd S-f' C6nvention, at which British fandom will be represented if Big Pond Fund is big enough by then . . . canadian fans indignant at Toronto Press wlite-ups of "Torcon." Daily star guyed ,,the guys who turn out this horror stufi thaf makes you wake up screaming ln ltre nigtrt . . .-fney say it helps them relax"; especially Flobert Bloch who "as a boy used d sit in graveyards to get inspiration for his horror stories. 'I'm too old for that ,ro*. f'a get r-heuma.tism',' . . . Ciacked Globe ancl Mait's George Bai1'i "Zapl Zap! ATOMIC iley fS pASSE WITH FI6.NDS. Put down that ray-gun, Buck 1logers. I've got you covered . . . seen any machine-men of zot lately? They have organic brains metal, cube-shaped bodies, you know. What's the word from Helen, the lovelorn in you' ioUot, or'ttre snail-iizards of Venus? How're interplanetary communications with kid? Nothing wlong with me that a long rest-and protection from another science fiction convention-won't cure" . . Montague summers, dean of occult literature, student of witchcraft, died (aged 68) at his desk while on last chapter of his life story . . . olaf stapledon at world Co.rgr".r of Intellectuals in Poland , . , John o'Lonclon's gave pen-portrait of Aldous lruxiey (.,rhe Exile . . . f') as seen by Maurice cranston; Time called his new novel, .,Ape and Essence" (Irarper: $2.50), story of 22nd Century Furvivors of atomic war' "a rather crude biudgeon indiscriminately aimed at all men's thick skulls" . ' ' FA NTASY Geoffrey Giles writes ABOI]T BOOKS U you are one of those who have The Bookman declared itself especi- spent years searching in second+rand a.l]y impressed by the spirit of coopera- bookshops for rare fantasy items, you tion existing in the field. ,,publiahers will probably have collected a lof of advertlse titles of other publishers, suspicious looks from their keepers, if dealers promote services of fellow- nothing more; especially if you have dealers, authors and collectors pass ,finds, on ever told them---or tried to tell them- 'points' and to all parties . . .," what you were searching for. There are The issue carried articles and adverts. a few dealers who have acquired suf,E- by fantasy book publishers and traders. cient appreciation of fantasy-f,ction to a special piece on "The Science Fiction know that such books command hieher Conventions," by Milton A. Rothman, prices, and who now mark them accbrd-'they with a list of fan clubs and fan-mags. ingly. But, generally speaking, Writing on "The Fascination of Fan- would seem to have little unders[andine tasy Fiction," James A. Williams, of of the fleld-until you educate them ii Prime Press, himseff a book dealer, gave it, and make your wants clear to them, his fellows a hint: "Science fiction w.ngreupon you flnd you must pay-they for and fantasy appear to be in about the their enlightenment. At leasi, same position, as far as sales and re- recognise the fanatic-collector ! spectability are concerned, as the de- - In America, where fantasy books tective novel some 25 years ago." Note have always seemed more llentiful that "respectability"! Since when the than they are here (though American Bookman has circularised its sub- collectors have a great respect for scribers reporting the "resounding suc- Britain's output in this department),-much cess" of the special issue, assuring them the bookselling trade had the of its intention to pay more attention same attitude towards the field until to this field, "recognition of (which) just recently. The wave of buying anil was long overdue by the . . . trade,', and selling that resulted from the incrbased adding optimistically; "There are signs demand for books among fantasy fans ahead that Fantasy tr'iction may well dgrllC the war, followed by the 6irowth replace the mystery story and 'who- of the specialist publishers who sought ounrt'! ,, to cater for them, could hardly leave . It's an old cry, but a pleasant-sound- the second-hand dealer unmove-d. Now rng one. Antlquarian Bookman, weekly journal MORE SHAVER BOOKS of the trade, has set the seal of its ap- The Aldebaran Press, McHenry, proval on "this new field of literarv cdl_ Illinois, announces a volume "of the lecting (whichr has graduated jrom deepest interest to followers of the pulps an6 mimeographs ,Theand now has Shaver Mystery and to science flction its own bibliography, Checklist of readers as well as to students of the Fantasbic Literature'," by devoting a occult and prehistoric"-Richard S. special issue to it. Shaver's "The Elder World," which will "Many parts of the book trade.,' an incorporate in its 800 pages the com- editorial confessed, ..have ,I'antasvlooked ask- plete history of the enigmatic "caverns" ance at the fleld of Fiction' as and the "prediluvian culture," with amateurish, upstart, childish and plain an autobiography of the author, titled fantastic . . . But. . . it is time f6r all (appropriately?)'The Dream lMakers.' concemed to revaluate the fi.eld and to With the book, which is being illus- recognise it as a legitimate field of liter_ trated by Theron C. Brown, a former ary collecting with its classics, high- Paramount Pictures artist. wlll also spots and points!" Pointing out that come a folio of "Letters to Shaver," giv- over 95 per cent. of the b,000 tiiles in ing "ttre story of American life tor- Shasta's "Checklist" are out of print, mented and persecuted by invisible and quoting ttre instance of ,,The Out- attacks." sider's" fabulous rise in value as a col- Also forthcoming from this new lector's item, the writer emphasised the source are "Grey Lord of Death," by vast opportunities in the fleld for the Amazing's Guy Archette; r'The Magic antiquarian dealer: "For one of the That Was," by "The Red Dwarf," com- signs of the fantasy fan is his voracious prising three unpublished Shaver Twistian appetite." stories, and "Forever is Too Long," the REVIEW I reprint of a Chester S. Geier novel planet with extinction. They have also whieh was higily praised, even by the issued Upton Sinclair's new play, "A severest critics of the Zifi-Davis maga- Giant's Strength," which has to do with zine, when it appeared in Fantastia Ad- the atom-bombing of America; while uentures. Other volumes in prepara- from Chatto and Windus has come the tion include a complete reference work British edition of Aldous lluxley's new on the Shaver Mystery compiled 'rly novel (also issued by Harper's, New Geier, and a Shaver Omnibus. York), which depicts a barbaric civil- TALE OF THE GREMLINS isation surviving an atom war of two You remember the Gremlins, those centuries hence. The title: "Ape and pesty pets of the R'.A.F.? "Sometime Essence." Never," by Roald Dahl (Scribner's Gerald (H. F.) Heard's story of dual New York, $2.?5), presents a somewhat identities in the world of 1997, "Dop- Shaverian but deliciously satirical pic- pelgangers," which was published in ture of the Gremlin race waiting in its the U.S.A. last year (reviewed June- underground tunnels to take over the July, '4? issue), is to appea,r on this side Earth once man has vacated it. which from Cassell. And those who have heard he does, after two atomic wars; where- of that strange fantasy, "The Circus of upon the Gremlins emerge to claim Dr. Lao," by Charles G. Finney, which what is left of the planet, only to Ben Abra,rrson.'some the New York Pub- vanish themselvgs, how the author iisher. revived time ago, should doesn't explain, but he makes the whole know that it has now been issued here thing very credible, if very grim rn at l5l- by Grey Wails hess. The illus- spo[s. trations are done by G. N. F ish instead BIG BLOW.UP of Artzybashefi. Having given us "The Purple Twi- Have you noticed, by the way, that light" (reviewed this issue), Werner the science romances of Mr. Wells are Laurie have now published "Spurious still in demand? Two of the best of Sun," a novel by George Borodin; this ttrem are now available in new 6/- edi- deals with the results of an atomic ex- tions: "The War of the Worlds" (Heine- plosion which sets ofi an uncontrolled mann) and "The First Men in the chain-reaction and threatens the whole Moon" (Eyre and Spottiswoode).

13OAI}S By SEABURY QUINN 1216 A special, limited edition of the Weird Tales classic. illustrated and jacketed by Virgil Finlay. Tlre whimsical tate of Claus and how he became immortal has been revised and lengthened for the occasion. NOW AVAILIIBLE: TATES OF HORROR GENIUS LOGI AND THE SUPERNATURAL AND OTHER TALES By By Arthur Machen 25t. Glark Ashton Smith 16/6 Edited and with an introduction by Philip Van Doren Stern. The Ttre third collection ol Mr. first omnibus of the best novels Smith's finest work, comprising and short stories of a master of twenty stories from Weird Tales the macabre. and Wonder Stories. G. KEN GHAPMAN (British Sales Represen ative), 23 Farnley Road, South Norwood, London, S.E.25 10 FANTASY Book Reviews l4r. Shoyer's Memories REMEMBER LEMURIA & THE RETURN OF SATHANAS, by 5lichaTd S. Shaver. Venture Books, Evanston, IU., U.S.A. 93.00. Reviewed by Alan Devereux Almost inevitably, the stories which from a fairly objective vlewpoint, In his gave rise to the controversy known to Foreword, he makes quite clear the fandom as the Shaver Mystery,x s,pd claim that they are based on Ns own which gained Amazing Stories a host of memories of a past llfe in a remote age, new readers while alienating the last when the Earth was inhabited (so he remnants of its old army, have now be- says) by giants and weird hybrid gun to appear in book form. Since the humans who eventually had to flee to publication of "I Remember Lemuria" other worlds to escape the evil effects in the March, '45 issue, the fan maga- of the Sun's rays-which is, at least, a zines have been full of acid comment new idea. He further claims that the concerning what was at once construed descendants of those who didn't get as a deliberate attempt by Editor Pal- away still live to-day in a subterranean mer to capture the interest of a larger world, and are able to influence our fraternity-ihe religionists and occult- Iives. He maintains that the sounds of ists of America's "lunatic fringe," whlch our alphabet are the remains of their according to one critic comprises flve "ttniversal space language," which is per cent of the entire populabion, or no "proved" by a glossary based on such less than seven million people. Science premises that the letter C means "see," ttyour" fictionists, resenting the implica,tion, re- B "be," O- and so on. It reminds fused to accept Mr'. Shaver's "thought me of children's backslang; and in records" and "racial memories" as fac- spite of his assertion that from it has tual rather than fictional. But none sprung a]l Ealthly languages, it seems has been able to deny the success of the to me to only with English. preferred work Lemurian Hoax, as they to My first quarlel with Mr. Shaver, deflne it. though, is with his misleading title. I For three years, now, Mr. Shaver's always understood that there were converts have supplied the correspond- three "Lost Contlnents"-Atlantis in the ence columns of Amazin8 with their' Atianfic; Lemuria, in the Paciflc; and own accounts of dreams and voices Mu, or Gondwanaland. in the Indian whlch purport to corroborate his tesfi- Ocean. But he refers to Lhe whole world mony. They have even published their of the period of which he writes as own magazines to take in the overflow, Lemurie, while his hero (or ancestral and formed their own Shaver Mystery ego) lives in a place called Sub-Atlan Ciub to gather conclusive proof of the underneath Atlantis, which apparently things which he contends exist and superimposes several inhabited levels, they are inclined-only inblined, mind the lowest of all being Mu. Which is all you-to believe in. Vide circular from very confusing, particularly if one hap- their President, author Chester S. pens to have r€ad Lewis Spence's "The Geier: "We aren't taking Mr. Shaver Problem of Atlantis," "The Problem of on faith, but enough things have hap- pened Lemuria," or "Atlantis in Andalusia." to prove to us he's not talking Evidently Mr. Shaver hasn't. entirely through his hat . . . Actually, we're challenging the Shaver Mystery One thing that always bothers me with action. Do you want to be in on when I read of these marvellous scien- the showdown?" tific civilisations of the remote past is why they seem to have left absolutely Until now, I have taken no sides in no records of their existence, but always the matter; for the simple reason ttrat isolated themselves in a Lost I have never had occasion to read any Continent, par- now sunk without trace. Yet Mr. of the Shaver stories, nor felt any Shaver blithely assures us that he re- ticular desire to do so. In the opinion members, faithfulness he ac- Editor, seem qualify with a of the this would to cepts "with the absolute conviction of a me to regard this book, which combines Mr. fanatic," the strange world of Mutan two of Shaver's Amazing novelettes, Mion, its Titans, its Elder Gods, and *See Fantasy Review, June-July, '47, its valiformed huma,ns-Mutan's girl REVIEW 1l friend, if you please, has dainty, click- theosophical writings of Madame Bla- ing hooves and a lovely bushy tail vatsky, and those of Churchward. which she wags at him! And vie are Sennelt and Leadbeater, who also tell expected to absorb pieces of Greek and of root-races of giants in Lemuria and Nordic mythology all mixed up in a Atlantis. I am certainly inclined to be- kind of stew, together with all tLr-e usual lieve that he has been inspired by the stock-in-trade of space-opera: inter- success of Lovecraft in attempting to stellar cruisers, death-rays, hollow create a literary mythos with muctr,the planets, and what have you. same basic motif as he developed in his As an persuasion, stories of the Old Ones. But. unlike added the book is Lovecraft, littered with copious footnotes on - Mr. Shaver is not an artist. almost every page, .,ex- To give an air of credibility to fiction mostly of an presenting planatory" nature-the work of Mr. by it as though it were re- Palmer, urho acts as a sort of impar- corded fact is one of the stock tricks tiai, but not too impartial, observer. of fantasy writers, which is legitimate Most of these annotations make litile enough; the reader enters into the more sense to me than the author's spirit of the thing knowing that it isn't, "truths": Mr. Shaver himself confesses really true, but wouldn't it be fun if it were? Mr. Shaver, on the other hand. that he is no scientist, and I am quite palmer, prepared to believe it, as the only ably assisted by Mr. tries td science is the cuslomary pseudo-scien- cram his stuff into his readers' throats and wash tific claptrap of mysterious rays, faster- it down with a liberal dose of thanlight space-flight, gravity Charles Fort, and by so doing he de- nulliflers stroys and the like, which is typical of those the illusion completely for such magazines serving a juvenile audience. sceptics as myself. a'he style of writing, too, is thoroughly I should like to think, none the less. naive, though there is a certain nalra- that he was doing it with his tonque in tive slickness. his cheek. If, as he seems to insist. he actually believes in these creations of I cannot help wondering if the author his own imagination, one can onlv re- derived some of his ideas from the gard it as rather pathetic. The Influence of Compbell WHO cOES THERE? Seven Tales of sent publishers) that the name of Science Fiction, by John W. Camp- Campbell is as important in this fleld beII, Jr. Shasta, Chicago,98.00. as Newton's is in the realm of physics. Reviewed by D. R. Smith Leaving aside his proven capabilities Few names are more respected by as an editor, Mr. Campbelt the readers pulp magazine is indeed of scienc-e.W. the ideal science fiction writer: a tech_ flction than the name of John nician with imagination, and one with Campbell-unless it be that of Don. A. enough sensitivity Stuart,x pseudonym to literature to ap- under which all precirte that lhe real interest in even the stories in this volume were orisin- the most gadgety published storv is not so much ally in the magazine he has the wonderful inventibns as the efiect edited so successfully for the past they have on surrounding humanity. He decade. His influence on the moulding was writing and selling science fiction of the medium towards the type ol at the age of 20, while represented stiu a freshman story by Astounding at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech_ Science Fiction,f which is not entirelf noiogy; insult and he develope6 himself an to the intelligence nor a sop from a writer of stories which were litfle to the emotions, is generally conceded more than interesting catalogues of bv all except, perhaps, Mr. Derleth. possible inventions The preponderance to one who could of Astounding anrl capture the psychical atmosphere of an Unknown material which has been and o_Id, dying civilisation presented per- so artistically is still being in more that,every fantasy editor of the day re- manent form, for the delectation of old fused to have anything and new readers to do with it. of fantasy, is sufficient Not until later was the flrst Don A. excuse for the claim (made by the pre- Stuart story, "TVilight," accepted for xActually devised from the name of his Astounding, of which still later he be- wife, Dona Stuart. came editor, to gather around him a _ + See " The Story of Astountling": new school of writers of similar talents Fantasy Review, Jun.-Jul. - Aug.-Sep. i4g. and aims, and so enrich the field w-ith a L2 FANTASY succession of increasingly mature and entertaining stories. In tJre rrext issue: OF Only by reflecting on ttris accomplish- THE STORY ment can many of us console ourselves .WO N D ER' for the loss of his talenk as an author which became inevitable in due course, making an unusual efiort to portray a and of which we are forcibly reminded numbei of difierent Powerful char- by this volume, so worthily representa- acters. It is for the individual reader tive of his best work. For it he has to decide how near he comes to suc- written an Intloduction giving his own cess: but if there is a flaw it is that undoubtedly binding ruling on the the effort is perceptible, the drama too nature of the various sLories, He com- heavily conv-eyed. The story, a,lready mences this, however, with a rather antholosised on the strength of its wide feeble attempt at definition: "Basically, reputation, wiil doubtless be approved science flction is an effort to predict the Uy tfre majolity as deserving ibs lead- future on the basis of known facts, ins Dlace. cutled largely from present-day science Fo:r myself. I have a slight preference laboratories." Basically, that is true of for the last two tales of the book' the his own work; but it would exclude the oft-reiected "Twilight" and its sequel, interesting body of stories based on "NiEhl." Thev picture two stages in the such sciences as archeology, which try deciv of the-wbrld: the nrst in seven to reconstruct the unknowable past millbn years' time, when natural re- rather than predict the incalculable sources stiU abound but the vibauty of future. Ca.n it be that Mr. Campbell man is ebbing to a level of impotence; has forgotten his contemPorary of ttre second, incomparable ages after, Amazing Stories' better days,. the when ttre universe itself is spent, all beloved A. Hyatt Verrill? life is dead, and onlY imPerishable He goes on to divide scien@ fiction thinkins machines are left, ceaselessly into three broad types: the gadget striving for knowledge without pwpole story, designed to exploit some fantas- in theii struggle. Though they are Iittle tical dream-invention; the concept more than pictures of those possrble story, which explores the efiects of some occasions, brbught to life through -the scientiflcally feasible natural phel- eves of accidenaal time-travellers, they omenon: arid the character story, wlfch citch at tJre imagination, chilling the in general form may resemble either of spirit as Wells did when his Time the other two bul focuses the interest Traveller paused on the dying seashore on the psychological reacLions of the of the far-future to witness that unfor- individuals concerned. Having set up settable scene of cold desolation. such divisions. as a story-teller rather - These two are the only stories in the than a critic, he judiciously admits collection which possess affnities; the that most stories are a mixture of two rest difier from them and each other or more of these types; further, he wilh striking clarity. T'he remaining demonstrates that it is all tremendous foui are "Btindness," the tragedy of fun because it is so uninhibited-"the a man who devoted his life tn solving freest, lea.st formularised of any liter- the problem of atomic Power onlY to a,ry medium." Yet we seem to have nna in the end that it was not needed; heard a good deal, esp€cially among the "Frictional Losses," an exciting account more rejected writers, about the oi an invaslon from the stars which all- "Astounding formula," the "Unknown but obliterated humanity; "Dead Know- slant," and even of "grooves" and led!e," which solves tlrc mystery of-a "ruts." Still, as one who set the ntailei wnose inhabitank had commit- fashion for a more satisfying type of [ed mass suicide; and "Elimination"' science flction, and helPed his dis- which relates the futile efiorts of two coverles to shape their ideas and styles voune scientists to plan a successful to this end, Editor Campbell llas iuturi for themselves by means -of a earned our undying gratitude. forecasting machine. It is a satrsrylng Ttre title-story of this book, which ioilection,-particularly for those who the author classifies as a concept story, eniov stiriruiating scientific concepts, of is in some ways the least chara'cteristic the work of a waiter who at his best of his own contribution to the f,eld. In came num to greatness. The publishers it he strives to create vividly the im' ttavu made a handsome iob o-f the pression of an isolated group of Ant- volume, with the help of some charm- singrr- inslv hideous anthropomorphic mon- arctic explorers menaced by a Bok' larly malign being from another world' i-i6i" o" the dust-iacket by Hannes REVIEW 13 The Rebeflious Hack PEOPLE OF THE COMET, by Austin the rate of 3.000 words an hour. Hall. Grifin & Fantasy Publishing said he: "Every time I get set for Co., Los Angeles, U.S.A. $2.00 something else, the short story market Reviewed by Thomas Sheridan pu1ls me under . . . Back to the old grind again. Same old bandits-same The name of Austin HaIl is synony- old You put mous with that of Homer Eon l"lint. old kill-same story. can't giant in any writing . . . you have to work in that other of American pulp flc- ' a groove so narrow that only a sort of tion of the latter days ol World War I literary angleworm can get through. and the early twenties; a halcyon period The whole fleld is the same-kill, kill, in the evolution of science-fan- kiU!" As a protege of his expressed it, tasy, pre-dating Amazing Stories, which produced he was obliged to "put his genius on the Munsey "classics" of the shelf," while always writing be- Merritt, Cummings and Garret Smith. yond the demands of his medium. "The Besides turning out trundreds of style was there, the imagery and the thousands of words which saw print in inborn feel for words; but there was no the mystery and adventure magazines scope in the narrow grooves of hack of the Lime, Hall and Flint, separately flction the man's breadtht." and in collaboration, wrote a score of for fantasies for All - Story Weekly and Would he have had more scope to- Argosy, a selection of which was pre- day? Though there are pronounced sented to a new generation of fans in editorial grooves even in the field of Famous Fantastic Myst€ries not so fantasy, at least there are more of long ago*. them than there were in those days. These two, while following the role One can imagine Hall making hay protesting while the sun shone on Unknown of haik, and against it, were Worlds; yei he never appeared in men of remarkable imaginative and years literary capacity; intellectual buddies Astounding, which was three old whose interests embraced when he died. Both he and Flint con- the whole tributed but a single story to Amazing: fleld of science, history, philosophy and paid the occuit. Their masterpiece of fan- it was the Westerns that ofi. And pondered it has been left to a new fantasy pub- tasy, "The Blind Spot," the house put between hard mysteries of between lishing to HalI the transition life covers for the first time, after 15 years. and death in a story that was in con- A pity they were unable to honour his stant demaJrd for almost 20 years be- memory, aspirations, pre- fore its reprinting in Fantastic Novels and his by (Jul. serving one of his more satisfying '40). "The Spot of Life" was Hall's works in a binding as good as, if not own sequel, published only shortly be- much better than, this-without the fore the tragic death of his collabora- illustrations, which are positively tor, the circumstances of which re- dreadful. mained obscure in spite of F"lint's pro- mise to communicate with his friends The story, which he called "Hop o' from beyond. My|fhumb," is his one contribution to Nine years later, in '33, IIaU followed Weird Tales, where it appeared in two Fllint into the Inflnite without fulfllling parts in '23. It is fairly typical of the his intention to write a further story science flction featured by this maga- on his favourite theme of life after zine at the time: the science does not death. He left undone, too, a work to matter so much as the colourful back- be cailed "The Hidden Empire," which ground and the naive rcimantic interest, he planned to follow with other "dum- plus a fair standard of writing. A founding masterpieces." But though scientific king originating in the polar tre preferred writing fantasies, eco- world of millions of years ago chases a nomic necessity compelled him to spend comet in an ethership, lands on the most of his days pot-boiling for the nucleus, escapes into the microcosmos Western pulps, for which he is reputed with a maiden stranded on the wander- to have chu.rned out material in the ing world, and eventually reaches the manner of Edgar Wallace, dictating at world of to-day, to retreat into a pro- xHali's fessor's thumb after telling his story. reprints in FF]}I: "Almost Im- The professor had me interested, but mortal" (Nov., '39), "The Man Who Saved the Earth'f (Feb., '40), "The Rebel Soul" Alvas ttre Sansar and Zin of Zar were (Aug., '40), "The Spot of Life" (Feb., *Phil Richards on "Hall and Flint" '41), "Into the Inflnite" (Oct., '42), (FFlltI: Feb., '41). 14 FA NTASY tco much of a type with Sora, daughter unpretentious volume may, we suspect, of the stars, to sustain my curiosity have been Hobsonian, At the least, iC over the enlarged digit except as a is an indication that a master of yester- duty. However, the choice of this par- day's fantasy who deserves some recog- ticular story for the purpose of trtis nition has not been entirely overlooked, uf versfons in Utopio BEYOND THIS HoRlzON, bY Robert time-stasis and sufiers much bewilder- A. Heinlein. Fantasy Press, Reading, ment before he flnds his feet as a foot- Pa. $3.00. ball promoter; a vast research pro- Reviewed by John K' Aiken gramme in paraphysics is inaugurated When that highly irrational, danger- (rather late in the book). and evidence ous and profoundly unpleasant process is forthcoming on the transference "f known as Love has been replaced, as a personality at death to unborn babies. means of infant-production, by deep Through all this moves, with a fine study and control of human genetics, insouciance, the hero, Hamilton Felix, which has also served to eliminate who in spite of being one of the half- such deleterious tendencies as those to dozen most intelligent people in the cancer, infectious disease, nationalism world, the summit of a star breeding and trading for private proflt-then we line, is so beautifuily adjusted to hrs shall have arrived at the Utopia con- environment'that all he is impelled to Heinlein. To reach this do is invent super-pintables. He takes ceived by Mr. gives blissful era we first have to Pass a careless hand in the rebellion, through the Atomic Wars which Iie on airy advice to his inferiority-ridden our immediate horizon, then the still friend and the 20th Century savage, deadlier Genetic Wars; but he is not with a casual word suggests important concerned with these. His story begins new lines for the Great Research, and three centuries hence, when not only is not easily persuaded by the authori- are parents selected but the very genes ties to accept the duty of paternity. which decide the make-up of their off- However, after a little ofihand sparring with his selected mate. he falls in love spring are picked out to ensure the best (oh, pbssible children in the best of all pos- with her Mr. Heinlein!), and in sible worlds. due course achieves the reincarnation of a pipe-smoking South American bel- As always, the author sets his scene darn who knows a thing or two about expertly: the physical minutie of his transubstantiation. Utopia, the dilating doors, the water- This analysis may give the impres- beds. the telephones that hush them- sion of a certain scrappiness and an selves at the 6ode-word "Nuts to you," inconsistent philosophical basis; but, to are both convincing and entrancing. do Mr. Heinlein justice, these are His craftsmanship is equal, too, to the largely masked by his carefree style task of inserting some interesting bi- and his humour. The whole thing is, ology and future his|ory without un- in fact, a mildly thoughLProvoking duiy interupting the narrative. But, piece of quasi-serious lightheartedness, since all that goes to make 20th Cen- good enough to merit criticism at the tury flction what it is-love, crime, war, most exacting level. Yet wha+, a novel politics and flnance-has been quite he might write if he got down to work logically eliminaLed, Mr. Heinlein finds really seriously, polished up his narra- that he must reintroduce these ele- tive form, tied up his philosophical ments in controlled amounts to con- Ioose ends, and refrained from intro' trive an acceptable story by present- ducing thematic red herrings because, day standards. So we have the Utopians' to his invenfiveness, this is easier than habit of lethal duelling when their working out his basic material! artificially high code of manners is in- The illustrations are a good deal fringed; their amatory diversions, and worse than those which graced the even an insurrection by some malcon- story on its original appearance, under tents among them. Mr. Heinlein's Anson MacDonald This having died yotlng-for the pseudonym, in Astounding in '42; and author, quite rightly, cannot persuade although not so bad as some we have himself that a grouP of the mal- seen recently, they are no adornment, adjusted su.fficiently powerful to over- any more than the fatuous chaPter- throw such a society could exist in it- headings for which these publishers other diversions must be found. So a seem to have an unfortunate predilec- 20th Century salesman PoPS out of a tion. REVI EW 15 No Stowaway to Mors THE PURPLE TWILIGHT, by Pelham WE RECOMMEND Groom. Laurie, London, g/6. Reviewed by Geofirey Giles h Print a"nd Available: Having wriLten ten thrillers around the character of Peter Mohune, one of those ex-RAF types who fall naturaiiv WHO GOES THERE ? into the role of ''debonair adventurer.:. by John W. Campbell, ex-R,.A.F. officer pelham Groom looked Jr. about for an idea for his next book. A _ Seven novelettes by the edltor of friend called At'chie came up with the AstounaLing Science-Fiction, written under the.Don A. Stuart pseudon]ryn. suggestion that the versatile Mohune. ,Dead Includes "rwlt€ht.' 'N.ight,' Knowledge,' and this time, should take ofi into spacej the classic shouid_ fly, in fact, title story of weird antirrctic to Mars. Archie, we horror. Wrapper in colour by Hannes Bok. strongly suspect, was a member of the Combined British Astronautical Socie- $3.00. (16/6). ties, and knew whereof he spoke; he convinced Groom that it wasn't 3ucfr a bad idea at that. At any rate, SLAVES OF SLEEP Mohune's creator was moved- to do much- reading of the works of Ley, by L. Ron Hubbard Oberih, Esnault-pelterie and our own - A novel of thrills and high adventure Mr. Cleator, as well as to consult vari- from tlle_pages of Unknownl ttris il-tne ous other litetature appertaining to s[ory o|r-lger, pi_rate and rogue, who lives rocketry, such as the Journal oi the two .simullaneous Uves--one in the Dro- BritiSh Interplanetary Society and a saic here and now, the other in tne fiOu_ paper on "Space Fught lous world of the Jinn. Wrapper in colour and Atomic by Hannes Porver," by our old friend Dr. Janser. Bok. I'or this painsraking research he is $3.00. (16/6). to be commended; and the result is a story of interplanetary travel by a Forthcoming Fantasy wnter accustomed to more down_to_ Fiction: earth themes which, for once, is as technically sound as any initiated THE WHEELS OF IF reader could expect. To all'hls sources of reference he makes due acknowlede_ by L. Sprague de Gamp ment.. even finding it compulsory to ad_ The author of ,,Lest Darkness Fall', in mit that much credit must go to the a. collestion of madcap fantasy wfract

_ ANY BRITISH BOOI{ reviewed in SMALT ADYERTS Fantasy Review may be purchased irom Special Rete to Collcctors: Zd. per Joseph B. Baker, P.O. Box 416. ChicaEo. word _(5c. Canaila a,rral U.S.A.); mini- 90, Iil., at a reasonable price. Check [ii mun 12 wordr. To Traders ads. in Fantasy Advertiier before order- and others: you Qd_' n9r word (7c. in Canade anil U.S.A.). i{rg; the book want may be listed All aalvertisements in this section must be lnere. prcpaid. Box numbers 6d. (l5c.) extra. T9ANTED: American Horror Storiesl WANTED: Copies of Famous Fantas- TerrolTales, Silk Stocking, High HeeI.- tlc Mysteries lrom No. 1 to current issue. BM/FRW, London, W.C.l.' Wilt pay top prices cash or offer OPERATION FANTAST-the Tradins American crime or West masazines in Departmenr of Lhe British FanLasV exchan-ge. Airmail your ofleis!-Roger Liblary. Science flction and fantasy book! Dard, 232 James Street, perth, Westeirn and. mags. pought, soid, exchanged.. Ftee Australia. a(Ivrce_on ail lantasy matters gladlv given. Ar.r. f NEED to complete my nles: Canadian and American fans " should U.S. editign Astounding.- Dec. '42; Un- vrrite to John E. Koestner, 2124 Rene known, Feb., Aug.. Sep.. Dec., ,4Oi Court, Brooklyn, 27, N.y., U.S.A. Fans in Famous Fantastic, Jun., r43. Can onei other parbs of the world should contact, odd copies Weird Tales '29-42 in ex- K. F. Slater. Riverside. South Brink, Wis- change. WilI some big-heaxted Ameri- bech, Cambs., England. When ilt{orma- can. Ian oblige?-Box 120, Fantasy tio! is wanted, please enclose stamped, Review. addressed envelope. WANTED: "Strange to Tell" (Mess- IF YOU are thinking of insurance, ner), "Man into Beast" (Doubledav). consult J. Michael Rosenblum. 4 Grange Brand-new copy, "The Best in Science Ter:race, Chapeltown, Leeds, ?. We undel- Fiction," offered for either.-Box l2l take all types of insurance: Iife, endow- Fanta.sy Review. ..Dark ment, flre and burglary, householder's, EXCHA.\..GE Bradbury's.'And Carni- property owner's, house purchase (via val" Ior del Rey's Some Were endowment policy), jewellery, accident, Human."-Box 123, Fantasy Review. etc. Inquiries invited. What We Hove WEIRD, FANIASIIC AND SCIENTIFIC FICTION to Offer Are you on our Free Monthly Witchcraft in England Mailing List for Catalogues of Hole: 10/6 Books and Magazines ? -Christina Witchcraft and the Black Art W. Wickwar: bl6 S.F SERVIGE -J. (Dept. FR) Before t,Le Dawn -John Taine: 1216 68 VICTORIA STREET Green Fire . I.TVER,POOL I, ENGLANI) Taine: 816 -lohn A Taste for Honey Heard: 110 -Gerald Darkness and the Deep FANTASY LIBRARY Fisher: 616 -Vardis A Unique Loan Service Avon' Fanta^sy Reader Nos. 1,2,3, 5: 9/6 each Latest additions: Keller's "Life Ev€rlasting," Russell's "Sinister Full list on application. Barrier,'r coblentz's "The sunken World." Ilave you joined yet ? E. WILLIAMS S.a.e. brings full details. ll Clowders Road, 143 SOUTHBOR,OUGII LANE, Catford, London, S.E.6 BICKI;EY, KENT

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