FANI TASY F R[VI 3F VV Vol. If. No. 8 SIXPEI\iCE APR.-M&Y'48

Future Fiction O.K. Nory Heinlein No Model Critic FR,OM FOR,REST J. ACKERN,LAN- The recent tendency towards science flction in the "siicks," such as Robert Heinlein's space-travel stories in Satevepost, may only be a flash in the pan. Aithough the genel'ai magazines are now prepared to entertain tales $:ith futuristic settings, the accent must sti1l be on the story rallrer than the setting. In this respect, the editorial attitude hasn't changed, according to Peter Granger, rvho devoted his Review Page in the March Writers' Ma.rkets and Methods to "Unusual Fiction." Says Granger: "The World of To-morrow seems at lssl close enough, or at least predictable enough, to be acceptable in most magazines as the stage for' characters to be on. This is that rather limited-formulation future which is no further f1'om to-day 1,han tlanslantic air\\'ays were ln the 1920's, and certainly not so far away as was lhe atom bomb in '40. The writer interested in the fleld for general magazine submis- sions must be content rvith the non-prophetic storl', it seems, and must keep in mind that editorial eyes are hardl)' further ahead of fact than is the newsreel. This tends to bling the stor-v- close to to-day . . . " Mentioning Heinlein's recent Post story, "The Black Pits of Luna," he maintains that, for the rvriter interested in this form of fiction, it "should serve as a warning rather than an example or model to be followed. T'he author has depended so much upon the novelty of the setting, the strangeness of the locale, to hold the reader that he has worked no tangible story, but has used an incident to keep his characters moving against his scener-v. It would seem that this story would represent the extreme limits to $.'hich an author could go without a stoly and sti1l make a sa1e. A writer trying this fieid would be on firmer ground giving considelabllr more attention to story value and characters of some interest to the reader." At the same time, Granger recommends writers of the more ever)'day story to study fantasy-flction for the methods it employs to induce plausibility. "Characterisation usually must be ver1, strong to keep the reader feeling there is a human connection between hlmself and the story. Plot details are usually clear-cut and deflnite, with the relation of the actions and results to the characters very distinct," he admits. FANTASY The Adrnirable Weinhaum By D. fil. SMITH Tiifl name of Staniey G. Weinbaum -iaded readers lr,ho greeted it with lap- is cile t.r'hici] m*.jr havet little signifi- rurous pralse and can:e as an inspiraiion io for many of to-day's readers. in rnany rvriters r."'ho sought to emulate spilc 01 ;rs inr.it sjon in ihe Halt oI his c-xernple if noL acLuclly imitate his Fainc u'hilh science,fantasv has built si5,1g. It was the new approach. the foi ,. .el i. itcsh toucir scicuce fiction needed \\iith 'ihe prospect of his storiei. Weinbaum, then aged 32, was a mem- so oiten I'epririted in the magazines, 'oer cf a lltei.ar5r group beilgr preset'ved for safe keeping on our known as the ir,{ilwaukee Fictioneers, of which Rar,'- bocl:heives, it would seem appropriate pJllnel. to r:rticipaie qupsli6ns rnond A. and Ratph Milnc Fa'r"_ Lhe which the iey u-ere others alread_y jn counfless readei's who cio not know his well-known sciaucc .,:c1 ion cilcles. Tt $rs F 2:'tcv wor:k are llound to ask. and to recall for rrith \1'h(..n he ]rad ..rf"t*"i.d-'i'.i those x'ho do how they breathed his $'riting gangsLer name $ritir ter/erence in days when he a novel, who sug- gesied that he tiy his hand at the inore $,as lhe L{aster of Science Fiction. imagi?lative type pl.esumably Fer',' writers in any field can have met of stcry. Lrr nccded iii-rle pcltilasion. since it rvas rrith srrch insLant succcss as did Wein- a type very attractive beum in rhe fieid of science-iantasv. It to hs capacities; brit it is said thai his first piece 1'ras was a[ r rime when comp]aints were dellbcrlrely Ia:hioned hear,'d on evlry hand tha.b science flc- so that- Lhe fan- ta.stic element wouid be as humorouslv tion was in a int: when the field com- i:itravagaitL as priseci bui ihree rnagazines, trvo of hc couid malie it. riirit'h h:'r n:L lonq [o li\e-aL least, in If tiris is tru.e. then Weinbaum,s tal- ii)cj. c-\,,,tinS shapc. His first si or5', ents cannot, have incii;ded a facilitv for. the no$'-f at:rous "A Martian Odyssey," brrrlt,:que. Fu:" A M:lrtian OCyiscSr" appearing in the July '34 Wonder l,,,as tco good a story alicgether'. The St{rrles, c;[re !.s a reviving draught to faatasiic ingredients, even to the slow- n:oving siiicon creature eternallv eat- ing s,rnd anC r.xcleting bricks, all .,r'r'Il'rpd quire logical possibi]iries to Lhe FANTASY REVIEW hardened science fiction reader. and as such wcre fal more acceptable than A Journal for Readers, Writers and rnitch he rvas expected to swallow. Coliectors ol Imaginative Fiction I{oreover, it was written in a pleasantly BI-IIION'IHLY: SIXPENCE ljq.j',. rlrncsi Rippant s1yle, mosr re- ECitorial. Advertising and Pub- f r c,5i1;;1g af ter th.e dull sclernnitrr of Iishiri.g OIhce: 115 Wanstead Park orl-,, r',riters: a sLyle artisLieaily valid, tr-oaci. Ihord. Essex. since lhe narraiion was through a suit- Subscription rates: In Grcat a.lrle characte::. Whatever his intention, Bi'itain and Dominions (except tLre newcomer had produced per one of ihe Canada) 3/6 l,ear. Singie cop- fer-,' spccimens of magazlne science fic- ies, 7d., post free. In Canada and U.S.A.,75c. per year. Single copies, trcn capable of being measured by ordi- 15c., post free. nary standards oI good writing, and his readers found it immenseiy to their Vol. 2, No. 8 Apr.-May '48 iiking. Erlitor: Walter Gillings. With their appreciation as a spur. Associate Erlitors: John Carneli, Yfeinbaum rapidly became one of the J. I\{ichael Rosenblum, D. R,. Smith, most p oliflc, as weII as most readabl€, Arthur F. Ilillman, Fred C. Brown, Nigel Lindsa,v, Frank Edward Ar- science fiction auihors of that period. nold. J. O. Newman, A. Vincent After producing a sequel to the tale of Clarke. Tweel, his delightful Martian cr:eature A m e r i c a n Correspondents: ("Valley of Dreams": Wonder, Nov.'34) David Kishi (New York), I'orrest he turned his attention to the fast- J. Ackerman (Hollywood), Sam developing Astounding, in which he Moskowitz (Newark, N.J.), Joseph appealed B. Baker (Chicago). .first with "Flight on Titan" in the Jan. '35 issue. In raoid succes- REVIEW .J sion came "Parasite Planet" (Feb.), autocracy lacked his usnal originality, "The Lot"us EateIS' (Apr. r, "The planet it was irladiated in new and glcrving of Doubt" (Oct.), "The Il,ed Peri" colours by Weinbaum's spalk of genius, (Nov.), and "The Mad ln{.oon" (Dec. '35'l ; ali interplanetary stolies in which A fnrthel novel, "The New Adem,'' his lertile imagination peopled the ti'hich had been rejecLed by more than So1:rr System wilir equally fascinating one magazine as meat too strong for folrns ol life. theil Ieadcrs, xppcxrcd eveniLlally in book iorrn. but was latel featr,lred by In these his style was more sober, Arnau islg Stories (Feb.-Mar. '43), of bul as vivid and rucid as in his tirst, rvhich Rai'tnond A. Palmer, s'l-ro olga- Irlost memoraote piece; anci his chatac- nised the ncw fabulouslv valuable tel's a1] siood. ouu as genume personali- 'I'he Wernb:LLin-r fler,orial VolLriie, Itad be- ties. recepr,ion oi anothel Astound- come ediiol'. l,Vei:rbanm's sistet' Helen, in6 slory puolshed undel- the pseltdo- a rvr'lter of m]'stery stcries. also rvoiked nJiii Jonn Jessel t"The Adapiive U.iti- on one cf his abandoned pieces to pr+. maie': Nov. '35) snowed that his popu- duce "Ti.lai X{oon" (Wonder: Dec. 58). lai'rty did not depend entilely on tlre with vhich his narne was associated as Ieputation he had gained by that a ceitaln ailraction to thcse ri-ho inrtiai success. And in Wonder lre con- talked of his r-,'ork long aftei his hand tinued io exercis'e hls rare gilt f or was stilied. hurnoIous fantasy wi-uh his t,ales of the irascrble genius Haskei van I'Iander- Bttt thele \l'ere some \\ho, even at th3 poolz and the perennrally unsuccessfui height of t]-rls posthumous enthusiasm Ca.sarlovd, Dixon Welies. iol Vieinbaurn's stclies. had the auda- On Dec. 14th '35, Stanley crauman .it] Lo sil!:3esl, lhal he Cid t:ot de.,et'-;e an s'rlchtadllita*uiorr. The f avoulite clral ges Wernbauln died, airer irlness which cf these dstractois wer'e that he hed iasted six weeks, and science fiction r.lleaC jtten leaciels lnoulned hirn as the lveird tale r' $'r himself oLrt, that he moul'n ]rad soon be:ome a hack like the rest. enlhusiasts we|e later to Love- had good ciaft. For a time his star shone ali the and that he nevel been as magazines as all that, anJ'\\'ay. This attirL:de sas br'-ghter, as the scrambled almost certaini-v a natural reactron to to publislr his lt-iri"uning ',irrLrngs, oi $-hich distrnguished few. the cver-e?.gerncss of his \\'or'*li.jlltlis: thele were a Lovecraft is anoiirer sufferer fiorn the Foiiowing "Smothered Seas' (Jan. '36), conplaint. his in wirich he had couaborated with his same In appraising real {r'iend Farley, Astounding had still to merit, ii must be conceded th.rt part of present "Redemption Cail'n" (Mar.) his briliiance rvas the result cf contrast "PIoDcus rvrth a hilJ5- duli b.rcl

DR. E. E. SMTTH talks a'nout the farnous "Skylark" tales and the "Lensmen" series, in an interview with THOMAS SHERIDAN. Just 20 ycars ngo. \rhcn Hugo collc'cicrs, it $'as so much in demand by Gelnsback's Amazing Storles \\.as in its thcse who irad never read it thai a Lhild vear of pioneering irr the science second edition was called fot'. flction medium., it featut'ed on Lhe covet Aftsr t$'o decades. "Doc'' Smith's fi.tst, of i-Ls Augr,ist issue three names: I{. G. space epic I'iad become so legendaty \Vells, Edq'ard Elmel Smith and Philip thai he, g'ho irad long since attaineC I,-r'anlrls No\\.lan. Weils' piece was one fronL-fank author status for his more of tire famous short sLories the maga- and inore ambitior.rs serial-tales, r','as zi.ne \\'as busy replinting. Nowlan's siill bcing lefel red to. elen mol'e ,,r'as a tale of one Anthon-v Rogers, an faniliarll-. as "Skylal'k" Smith. Thet'e advcntulet' in the 25th century wlro was were other "Skylal ks," of cout'se; desl ined to be better-kno."'u'n. years latet', stolies for rvhich his fans clamoul'ed. as Bilck RogeIS of lhe comic strips. But But rtiren he flnished thaL first one in Amazing \l'as lnol'e cettain of Mr. '20, \\'ith the collaboration of MIS. Smith's rosy future than of Buck's yet Lee Hau'kins Garby, it prov.ed Loo rlnsrlspected potentialities. Though his wild even for' Argosy, which had already conilibLltion had been lejected by prac- featuied mu.ch "psendc-science" flction. ticallt' elcl')' othcr stoly magazine in So. for six yea1s, the manuscript went America before Genlsba.ck accepted it, th€ r'ounds and the author wenN ot1 the pioneer blr.u'bed: "It ls one of the amassing rejection slips-the most com- ouLstanding scientifi.cLion sfolies of the plete collectlon one stoly ever acqlttred, decade . . . it wiu be leferred to by fans he boasts. for years to come." Then Amazing started, presenting a "It" was "The Skylark of Space,' suitable loosting-place for "The Sky- $hich Smith had begun to write soon IaIk." Smith followed it up, two years after he started as a ctremical engineer laLer', with a sequel, "Skylark Three" lrack in 1914, yet in which he foresaw (Aug.-Oct., '30), for which readers had the application of atomic energy to ttre worried him in the interim. Having probiem of space-travel. It introduced taken Seaton and his inter-galactic Lhose now well-known characters, traveliing companion, Crane, as far as Seaton and DuQuesne, lvas full of he thought they should venture, he naive heroics and the plots and coun- wrote into this tale an epilogue calcu- ter-plots for which his work was to be- Ialed to end the "Skylarks" tttere and come nota,ble among the adventure- then-and ploceeded to write "Space- loving section of fantasy-fiction's en- hounds of IPC" (Amazing: Jui.-Sep., larging audience. Bv present-day stan- '31), which also saw book ptlblication dards, ib might be considered "corny." recently (see Fantasy Review, Jun.-Ju]. Yet trvo years ago, when the first of the '47). new fan-organised publishing enter- "This." he assured me, "was really prises began to produce limibed editions scientiflc fiction: not, iike lhe Skylarks, of "classis" reprints for fantasy book pseudo-science. But, being the victims REVIEW ) FURTHER A$iD FASTER and physical calculations, observaLions of scientif,c plausibility, the Space- and sketches. Then, skipping the hounds couldn't go b:i.ond the bonnds second novel in the projected series to of the Solar System-ri.hich irked the avoid revealing prematurely the nature Jans nc littie. 'It's a good yarn,' thel, of the fundamental confiicL, he wlote "GaIaciic Patfol'' (Astoundingt Sep., w|ote the Editot'. 'but rve want Smith '37-Feb., lo wiite stories of scope and range. We '38), ostensibly the first of the want mole Skylarks!' So-', "Lensmen' tales, intloducing bhe Ie- doubtabie Kirrr Kinnison and his col- So followed "The Skylark of Valer'on." loapucs-and niore of the slt'ange, in \\'irich Smith tried (as he put iL) fo othcl-\rorldly liie-forms which Smith is "irandle the unhancllea.ble," and did ic sc adept at dleaming np. (Aug., '35). for Astounding '34-Feb., Tire f nlther e:Fantasy Press, iook a co.smic view this case a mad Arisian. Of the trvo of history from the dawn of creation to evils, I decided to risk the temporary the future era of interplanetary rela- stigma rather than leave Lhe loose ends tions-and conflict, in the no\d well- dangling. Bub it was made clear in the established Smith tradition. He liked last stoly thaL Fossten was neither' the set-up so much that he planned a mad nol an Alisian, so I hope I'm for- whole series of novels rvhich would fu1ly given." exploit the possibilities il offered. To As ir obvior,rs from leading them- this chore he devoted 18 months even to those rvho don't enthuse too of imaginative thinking, ploducLive much over th€m because they are of 600-odd pages of mathematical "space opera"-Doc Smith takes enor'- (t FA NTASY mous pains in wliting his stories, which It sfarted in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in mostiy run to 100,000 words. He be- 1890; the scene soon shifted to a tim- lieves in portraying as faithfully as he lrerland homestead in northern ldaho, can his human and superman char- wheie young Eddie learned to work aclels, as well as the alien beings of metal without machine tools in the his porverful imagination. Invaitably Smiths' blacksmith shop. Studying ab he piots a graph to help hirn develop home, he did rrell enough to enrol in his plot, to show the progress of e.rents, the Prep Schoo of Idaho University" the reaction oI the characters to Lh^ and went on studying for the nex! bizarre situations they encounter, and seven years. Eut as money was scarce, the background atmosphere he has to he was at odd tirnes a millhand, a rail- work into the story. "B.eaut;ful things, roader, a miner, a calpenter, an elec- these glaphs. But although I can't tlician, a stevedore, a sh:eeLcar con- seem to get along rvitircut one of them. ductor, shipping clerk, surveyor and a I've nevcr' 1-et n:anagcd to sticl: 1c cr-o r'rr:f. There rvere a couple of other' pl'cperly. Somehow or oth.er m:r, clt:lt- j rbs, too. acters bleak loose and taks fhs yarl Oa graduating in 1914, he found him- out of my hands-which is a good self a food chemist in Washington" thing, I griess." D.C. T'hen, being short on fundamentai Besides consuiting his s:'rriill: o t: nlc chomistry, he wcnt bae:< to fr:enCs to settle knottv te:hnic:ti :ctirci-afiri' matt5ing a lassie f:c;:: points. he gathors ideas and criticisms Giasg.ow who worked as a s'uenographer fr.'..i1r. correspondents of his as far aneld to help him gel h:s M.S. and Ph.D. as S\.,ieden, Sou{h Africa and Australia. She stiil types lris inanuscripts; nobody Beic're he completes them, he tnrns his else can make sense of his handrwiiten, rianuscfipts over to a grcup of science mnch-revised dlafts. Dluing the first flcticn fan:-the "Galactic Roarrers', of \4/ol'1d War he wol'ked cn flour substi- Michigan and Los Angeles-fol. them to tutes, and latel became chief chemist nti.ke suggestions s'hich, if he doesn't for a 1\{ichigan firin of flour millers. rcjcct Lh:m.. he incolpole.t es in the In '36 he left to become production story. Sa]'s he: "If two heads are better manager of a doughnut-making con- than one, 50 are betfer still. A lot cern, and when World War II came, de- of the credit, if thcre's any due, shouiC serted the donghnuts to supelvise ihe go to these helpful friends of mine who prepalation of high explosive at an don't get iheir names on the tiUe- Indiana ordnance plant. In '45 he page." joined a celeal manufacturing film in The story of Doc Smith himself? Chicago, where he is stiIl. Writing Contest on Spa€e Conquest Diflerent, journal of the Avalon are needed, and the willingness to learn World Arts Academy, Rogers, Arkansas, from a highel civilisation if such be rvircse founder-director is Lilith Lor- discovered.^' raine, one-time contributor to American Sciencc flction authcrs in particuiai' science-fantasy magazines, will devote are invited to srrJsi: stories on the its Sept.-Oct. '48 issue to "The Conquest thcrne for p:rl;lioaiion in this and a of Space." Poets and writers through- later issu: ci tir.e migazine. Ten out the "to doliars rv:]i be paid for each one rvo|ld are invited divert the accepted irnd marketing advice given m.inds of our readers from the minor in respect of eniiies which are noi dissensions thab lead to war on this suitable or crrnnct be accomrnodated. little planet by submitting poems and trVoldlimit is 2,5G0; hackneyed plots stories" on this theme. are not v/anted and the best literary Cash plizes are offered for the twenty styie desirable. Final jtldge in this de- best poems selected by reader-reaction pa|tmeni will be Stanton A. Coblentz, and received before July lsb. No poem fantasy eclitol oi Different. must exceed twenty lines; entries will The ".Ask Me An-rl-hing" d.epartment be judged on thought-content and style. ol the magazine wili '--liso be devoted to By space cGnquest is meant, not the the subject, prizes being arvalded for subduing of possible inhabitants of acccpbed quesllons dealing wilh aspects other worlds, but "the bringing of the of space conquesL rvhich are not merel): blessings of true civilisation where they mechan!e,r-1. fiEVtEW IVa,lter Gilling:s' W'ANTASHA rncensed lry piece in Lilliput by novelist Margot Bennett chivwing ,,incredible- sci.ence writers," A. Beriran:r chandler (for one) $,:rote protesting: ,,iou've taken inferior rubbish as representative of science flction . . . ', Article, tiiled ,,space-ships also Leak," burlesqued work of western story writer N. wesley Firth, alias Ri-ce Ackman, alias Leslie Halward, in British strange Adventures, Futuristic 3tories; also poked fun at New worlds, Astounding Science Fiction, with "green mammoth €gg- headed statues and an intrepid pilot on the cover . Moral of this scientinc piip seems to be to keep tile future rvith its fatal exaggeration of the present away fi.om your door As for the ice-men, metal-men, flsh-men, space-jeuy and incredibte- writers, a bottle of Martiarr sitch would probably keep them ali quiet for a small part of the futu-re, at ]easl" Observer article blt Charles Davy, "Robots on the March,,' aiso referred, more sefi.ously, to "r'obot stolies in American scicnce fiction magazines,', particulariy Jack williamson's "with Folded Hands" in recent Astounding . . . roplcar angle was BBC televising of Karel Capek's "R.U.R,.,,,with action advanced thirty years to fggO. Our critique: exiepting Joi)n stualt, rvhom robots spared, the humani earned. extinction by their aeting . . Fleartening news for amazing readers-the shaver Mystely will remain unsolved, Editor Raymol'ld A. Palnler explained in April issue why dero "truths" rvere omilted: others took over burdeD of proof. There'il be no more "true" stories strcet & smith to publish an unknown arthology Nllich, says Editor campbell, wiII "serve as a stiaw in tire rvind" until magazine's hoped-for revival Torque, oftcial journal of the Torcon (6th World S-F Convention to be held Toronto in July), norv appearing . . . H. S. Bellamy's latest, "The Atlantis Mytll,, (Faber, t0/6) gave nuip to work of Atlantis Research centle lun b]' Egerton sykcs, organising new society of Lost Continent theorists "L]ano of Gathol,' (Edgar Rice Bulroughs, 52.00) continucs John Carrer's advcnturcs on Barsoom Toronto Star rleekly featured fifth of John Russell Fearn's "Goiden Al11azon" sefies, "The Amazon Stt'ikc,s Again." His latesL thriller,.,Thy Arm Alone," uDder pseudon-vm Jchn Sie'ie. to i:e follotved b-v "The Five 1\[atchboxes,', tale of scieutiflc deiection Fornlcr' scien'.inctionist lrTathan ("r Am Not God") schachner author of "The \f anderer," r:cvel ci Dante & Beatr.ice published here by Melrose.. . Lilith Lorraine \\'ill make comc-back in Fantasy tsook with ,, City of perfection.,, Collection of her past r,vork in prepala,tion E. Ifayne Hull's,,Arthur B1ord,'tates to see book publication Sequel i-o A. E. van Vogt's ,,Wor]d of Null-A,, to be tiiled ..The Players of Null-A" . . . Prof. J. O. BaiL:}.,::'.rliror of "Pilgrims Through Space & Time,,'rvrites to U.S, fan mag. Tympani: "So far no-one has said yes to my proposal fcr follow-up book to grve cor)rfetelit and ihclough auai)'sis to s-f in magazines . I wish I Ilaci time to keep up n'ith latest slorles and be a fan" . . . Ii:Iy Bladbury realised ten--vear anbition iry a.ppeafing in The I'Ierv Ycr.lier, also acquit'ed a wife recenily; Jack Willi:lntson man'ied, loo With rcversion of Air Trails & Science Frontiers to Air Traits Pietorial, John W. Campbel] Jr. again giving fuII time to Astounding; L. Jerome Stanton no lotger Associate Editor . Assenbly of Campbelt's Don A. Stuart tales titled "Who coes There?" to be published by Shasta, lvho rvill also r.eprint Robert A. Heinlein's "Methuselah s Childrcn," L. Spraguc de Camp's "Ttre Wheels of If ,' and othcls Australiair fans issuing coliection of Alan ("Dream's End,') Connell's stories from lVonder and Flanet . . Dr. David H. Keller writing analytical study of ]I. P. Lovecraft, eleven of s'hose hest pieces now available in Avon pocket-book titied "Thc Lurking Fear." Magazine Digest featured life story of 63-)'ear-o1d Hugo Gernsback, "inventor of science flction," rvho published his own "trail-blazers" in Modern Electrics (e,g., 'Ralph 124C41+") back in 1911, long before he launched Amazing Stories. Articte by Eric Hutton, "I{is Pipe Dreams Are To-morrorv's Inventions," mainly concerned his Radio.Craft gag \^rrite-ups of fantastic gadgets which have since materialised . . . Paul Dennis Lavond, in cul'r'ent Fantasy Book, pseudon}'m of ll'ederick Pohl, rvho edited Astonishing Stories . . . Peter Phillips will appear in Astouniling with "Dl:eams Are Sacred" . . Canadian fan Leslie A, Croutch to make debut as author in Famous Fa"ntastic . . . Arthur C. Clarke's pet piece, "Against the Fall of Night," a Stapledonian :rovel rvhich took him ten years to write, $'ill t,e featured by Startling Stories . . . FANTASY NIGEL LINDSAY & KENNETH SLATER giving revie*'s of current issues and nel's of stories to come AMONG THE MAGAZINES First issue of The Arkham Sampler Both Thr;lling lVonder and Startling (\n'inter'48), which was announced Siories have acqllired a New Look and some months ago, has now arrived ffom ,enlalged by 32pp. Wonder for April Sauk City. For the serious fantasy fan carries a dL.zen pages of readers'lette|s who appreciates literate material, espe- which, as always, are as entertaining cially "background" material, presented as the stolies; mo]'e so. in some cases" withouf any fancy wrappings, thls will As well as typographicai impt'ovements be of absorbing interest. But we doubb which ale already evidenl, Editor Mer- if ii will appeal vel'y strongly to the rvln promises "bette| balance and not-so-studious reader of science fiction greater varieiy" in the contents of fu- at its price of $1 per issue; for there ture issues. is ]ittle s|ory-content in it compared Best stoly in this isstie is Geolge O. with the non-fiction items, which are of Smith's short. "A Dog's Life," dealing significance oniy to the genuine student \,vitir mental time-tia.rel. The novei, of the field for rvhom the magazine was "The I'aceless l\[en," f.;v Arthur Leo prirnalily designed. Zagat, bas the us'-ri.ri he|o, gi|i and as- But Lovecraft fans, whether ol not sor'red villains involved in a world- they are as much interested in the man destluction plot. Althur J. Burks' as in tris work, will welcome the oppor- "Thieves of 'Iime" is pule fanfasy tunliy to secnre the rare "Dleam-Quest dresseC up as s-f, $'ith atomic power of Unknown Kadath," the fi.rst part of substituting fcr magic-bub it's good! which is presented here. There ale also Similarly, G?rman for l\tartian and sea- two short stories: "Mara," by Stephen vessel fo| spaceshlp would make little Grendon, and "Messrs. Turkes 8: Tal- tliflelcnce io l.:enneth Putnam's "Dttd.' bot," by H. Russell Wakefield: Lcve- Ca|l Jaccbi is hardly at his besL jn craft's "History of the Neclonomicon,'' "Gentlemen, The Sca-rengers!" rvhich edited by August Derleth; three poems conccrns a planetoid used as a salvage by C]ark Ashton Sinith, and Ieviews of dump, but we enjoyed Frank BeIknaP recent fantasy books, with othrr fc:t- L{rit,l s "\,r/orld of Wulkins," perhaps be- tules. The format is slightly i,.ir";,-'r' cai-rse the chatactels seemed sc real than lhe average novel, but tlrele are ''Plle of lfror,tble," by Heni'y l{uttner" fe\-.':r' pages and no artwork. The pa"pel a "Hogben" yarn, and a faster'-than- is gcod, but the binding might b€ bet- light piece b:r' ;Uatt Le,'. "A Problem in ter. Copies are available throngh the Astrogation," make up the issue. Not British agency of Arkham House. forget'Ling a rather pcintl€ss piece on Second issue of Fantasy Book is also "l4an's Jotuney to the Stafs" by one t,o hand, but as yeL unread. I'eature Dr. Amadeus RaflertY, who has evi- story is A. E. van Vogt's promised "Ship dently decided that science flction needs a Nat Gubbins. of.W,ells Dalkness," supported by a Basil novelette, "Caverns of Ith'" with The June issue brings novelettes b5' a sub-Terra set-up. Shorts: "Star of William Tenn, v/ho turns io satire, and the Undead," by Paul Dennis Lavond, the old maest|o RaY Cummings, rr;ho "Bargain With Beelzebnb," by Gene turns up again with his "most power'- Hunter, and "Little Johnny," by the ful and thought-provoking tale" since new artist O. G. Estes, Jr., vrho illtls- "The GirI in the Golden Atom" (vide trates his own story. That serial by Ed.) George O. Smith and RaY Brad- Festus Fragnell which got left out of bul'y will aiso ccntribute. 'Nuff said. No. 1 now makes a start; title, "The Wesley Long's "One of TLU'ee," in Machine-God Latlghs." The cover is by March Startling, is quite a fair offering' yet another new artist, Crozetti. but the scene changes so often in the Next issue will intloduce a new de- flrst part thab we found it hard to fol- partment featuring fantasy poetry, run low. Nothing special about Ft'ank B. by Lilith Lorraine. Stories: "Out of the Long's "And We Sailed lhe Mighty Sun," by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, "T'he Dark," but good reading. Henry KuLt- Gifts of Asti," by Andrew North; ns1'5 "Don't Look Now" was amlrslng others by E. E. Evans and Terry Thor. (be careful-the man next to You may REVIEW I be a iuelLian!r. "Mistakc IrsiJe, by Oone; "Spl|it of the Keys," a neat sltort Ja.mes Blish, which might lrave fltfed by Chester S. Gei'er about a typewritef Unknown; "Climate-Disoidcled," by that felt in 1ove, and Geoff St. Rey- Cai.cr Splagllc {de Camp?,, a:rd "The nard's "Make Yourself a Wish," aiso Penllltimate Trump,' by R. C. W. Et- shorv the stliking change for ihe bet- tilger'. '"vith Weinbattm's "HalI of te| wlrich is rekindling fan-interest in F:i:no rcpr:nt, lound off the 148 peges. this magazine. "Lair of the Grimalkin," by G. H. Ir'\tin, a monster tale \..'ibh a Instead of giving us patiial proof of Venus setfing, is fentured in the April bhe Sha!e1' Mystely as promlsed, Editor "The Apt'il number. ri'ith Culse of Re. b1' Paimer inCicates in the issue tlrat H. B. Hickey, and "FlighL into 1,'og.' Amazing will drop tiris business once by Lee Francis. Coming in lrlla-v is an(i fo: ali. lealing lulther investiga- Lawlenr.e (Ber- tiorl to tlie membership of the Shaver "Folgotten Worlds," by CIub, $/hich seems to have reached tram) Chandler. staggei'ing pt'opor'uions. It remains to Another Chesley Bonest€ll covet' be seen if this means the end of fhe g|aces the latesi rApril) Astounding, much-maiigrred Lemurian tales; btti, rve rvith reference to an article b"v R. S. are assui'ed that Shaver will continue Richardson concer.niDg "Man oli X[ira.' io l\'rite fci' the magazine. Stories in Lewis Padgett's sclewy scientisl Gal- this irisue al'e, al the worst, rcadabie; legher, complete witll r'obot, nakcs a fcr. P,t$Azing they are vely good, esp€- welcome ccme-bzlck; and l,here s al in- ciailr'Gltl. Alcirelte's "Secret of the telesting novelette by H. Bean Piper Yeiloi'", Cr1,strr1," wilich poses the old basecl on thaf oit-quoted incident of qLrestion of wha,t happened to the Mal'- tire Bi'itish attache who vanistreC into tians. "'f]re \r/andeling Egos," by Em- thin air', over a centr"lry ago, .uld has mett Mcllowell, deals simiiarly rvilh the never been seen since. Ti1"le: "He idea of a lace v,'irich once inhabit'ed Walked Alormd the HoISes.' Jack Wil- Earth s seccnd mcon-a really good liamson's seqtiel to "Wiitr Folded story. Chestct' S. Geler's "Seclei of the Hands.'' " . And Seelching Nlind," R,ocol" is enioyalrle scienc,e-fantasy; continues to mystify r-ls \i,rith its lobols, and thele are others by J. J. Pelletier' Irumans and mutants, and the enig- Be|ksiey Living:tone and Lester Bal'c- matic Ironsmilh rvho seems to be 1ay. neither one no1' the otirer. This began in the Malch issue, which also featured Sllavel' f ans got tI-Ie besL of lasL (Marchl lssue, anYivaY: thsre were Mul.lay Leinstel''s noru elette, "West 116pil. oI "Gods cf Venus," including Wind," a.rld an exceilent sirort by Geo. illusirations and footrlotes. For the rest O. Smith. "The Incredible Invasion," very both dealing with future war; a Doc we have "The Egg of Time," a Itrarhrrcalah r1ia.a h!- Pnno T oferpff.o amusing piece by Milton Cooke; "Evel'y- rdrl P1\ in which Berkeley and "Fl]m of Death," by J. Scctt Camp- thing Bui the Sink," cr1' rrolhinp nf on Livingston-. produces a new explanation hell 'T'o tn alLicle of the I'iying Sa,"lcers, and "Flesl-r "The Endochronic Properties of Re- Against Spilit," by Alexander Blade' sublirnaLed Thiobimoline," by Isaac Isi- which is a re-hash of Shaver mythos- mov, and another by L. Sprague de and not as well done as the original; Camp on "The Space Suit" which rvas for rvhatever you think of his science- more in onr line, fantasy, you must adrnib that Shaver' The second (May) issue of the re- can rvrite a stoly. So tlrere! R,og PhiI- vived Fantastic Novels presents "Jason, lips' lan depaltment, "Cltlb House," Son of Jason," the last in tlie mem- sbarted off rvell-sans Shaverism. orable J.U. Giesy "Palos" trilogy of All- Fantastic Adventures coniinues to Story days. With it is Met'ritt's originai implove. "The Court of l(ublai Khan," short novel of "The Moon Pool," witich by Da','id V. Reed (March issue), is a wiII be foliowed in due course by "The fantasv with a time-Paradcx idea Conquest of the Moon Pool," serialised treated quite plausibly; the \lriting, too, by FFM eight yeat's ago. Coming in is r,rnusually good. Shaver's "The Thin Famous Fantastic fcr June is "The 'Woman'' is not dero, and tends to prove Devil's Spoon," by Theodora DuBois; the pcint' u,e make above. "Zelo A.D."' and the sixth issue of Avon Fantasy by Lee Francis, is good s-f with a novel Reader wiil feature stories by lVlet'r'itt, ide,1: that the whole of Creation is an Lovecraft. Keller, Williamson and expefiment. Bernie l{amins' "Astral others. No. 5, by the way, was delayed Rhythrl1." not so new but quite well by cover changes but is now available. 10 FA NTASY Book R,eviews The Null-A Mystery THE WORLD OF A, by A. E. van Vogt. his characters, Lrowever dumb Mr. Der_ Slmon and Schrlster. New ]lor.k. leth mav nnd them, always scem to us s2.50. to have a close affinity with their Rerriewed by Thomas Sheridan creatof; to actually expl'ess his thoughts, either in their dialosue If 1,6u 5.r. read that excellenf tiltte or theil aLtempts to find a wav out of bcck on the science of science fiction the b€wildet'ing mazes he constnrcts rrr.iting,": you will recall that Mr. Esh- for them. bach has galled van vogt flre Master. of .w.hich Co:rfnsion among onr rnodetn author.s For exarnple, in this story, de_ of fartasy, because he has pelfecteci rives its mystery-and wI-rat mystely! the alt of so complicating his stories -from the fact that neittrer the hero thrt the5,' bristle $,itl'r problems, the nol his antagonists have more than the soluticn of witich js most fascinatine vaguest idea what it is all about. the to his leaders. We oulselves have com-- gill who seems to be two diflet'cnt per- mentcd l:efore on the stt'angely in- sons I'enalks to the man who doesn't Dri:r-rling quality' of l-ris qrork, which knorv u:ho he is: "You're really just a seenls Lo spling as rnuch from its ob- pawn." And \rhen he feels a bit hurt, ,scrililies as flom its extravagant yet lre question5 rvher.e she flis into it all (to r.rs) quite pla'.tsibie conceptions. And any\va]'. Wlrereupon she counters: he hi:nsel{ has explained ltis method of "You']] \\.itnt to know a]l about ,X' (a proriucing one of his complex pieces: haif-human. half-plastic monstrosity). horr he rvrites in separate "scenes,, into So do the Iest of us no one knorvs which he packs ali the ideas which rvhal his purpose is." She seems to corne to hlm and eacir of t'hich helps to have got vel'y near the truth rvhen she deveiop his plot I'ith all the puzzling confldes fnl'ther: "The Galactic Leasue twists and turns he can devise. people ale bewildered. Thev can't de- More olten than not. he tells us, he cide whether the cosmic chess plal-er doesn't rvorry aboiit rvhat he is to make who moved you into thi5 game is an of his ideas so long as he can keep the aIly or nob. Everybody is groping in the lcadcr interested. Hence, when he dark, r'vondering what to do next." realll' gets going and begins to "manip- That comes-onIy as a temporary set- ulate" his matelial, he is stuprised and back-after 11 chapters of this book ,loLrbtiess relleved to f,nd that what at presentation of whai Mr. Campbell nlst was onl)' a nebulous concept has described as "one of those once-in-a- iregun to solidify into a story suitable decade ciassics of science fiction," rvhen fol Mr. Car:rpbell's criticai clientele. lre plesented it in Astounding tcwald.s .a,llr"ly of his br'lclis he inor.rids with a the end of '45 and it proved so thor- c1c:r| idea oi his pu|pose, "and yet be- oughly bervildering that ever'1'boCy was I'o:r'.i is a glet: dxt'kness. Whele to delighted. At the end of the second nexi'? What abolit the ending?" He instalment, he observed in passing: stlll doesn't worr']'. Aftel shufling his "The full impiications of the ending . . . sc'rl?s, he mal' find that one he rvrote take abont 24 hours to percolate. A nt tlre beginning has become part of fact wlrich you're apt to find disconcert- the ending, ',vhich so writes itself. ing when the thing does flnally stack We rvill not pretend that, unfil he had np. But you'll flnd out-." Later, confessed to this peculiar technique, rvhcn the fuli scope of the piece became which has proved itself many times, we apparent, he gave us two days to con- were ver]' celtain about it, but we had sider. Months afterwards, in spite of long suspected from reading his tales attempted explanations by other van that mnch of van Vogt's success was Vogt fans, we still couldn't be sure if due to his nevel knowing-or caring- we'd "found out" or not. But we wefe what was going to happen next. For duly disconcerLed, and we liked it. .:+ Of Worlds Beyond, a st.mposium edited {?yittg read it again, we are not too by Lloyd ai.inui einui;h -iFa"t;;t p_ositive about anything beyond the fact press, $Z.OO). that the author has re-manipulated the nEvlEw l1 in version and entirely 1'e- before have encountered a story Astounding kitled. off at the end wf itten the ending to make it-presum- rvhich tlre hero is ablv-less disconceriing to ordinary of Chapter' 5, to nnd himself on Venus, offered as "A quite alive, in the first line of Chap- iea"ders. to whom lt is sProuts trees Science Fiction Adventure"; the word ter 6. A Venus which lis-rr,ashbuckling" even being emplo-ved :,OOO teet high, through whose tun- for two days to lure them into coping with its denials nelled-out roois'he $'alks null - A before he decides to go back for some of the underlYing credo of like lhilosophr'. that no tt-o objects in the sandwiches, and who reads books be identical. There ale, iThe Egotist on Non-Aristotelian un.vcrs-e ian But, then. this is non- of course, the omniscient Machine and Venus' in bed. Lo Aristotelian flction. And if they don'6 the threat to the Solar SYsLem that attract them-and the tantaiisinC IvI)'l: like it, they- wiil at least discover give of bar'- A in a book-title these day-s terl'. But we'd our copy "Slan!" I'ancn ior" a sight of some of the postcards doesn't mean one of those wnlcfr tne publishels have issucd rvith folnances. casual buyer Messrs. Simon and Schuster prolr-Irse the volurne, inviting the this' if comes up to theil ,-rt *otu icience fiction books after to let them'knorv it get on those post' expectations. and if not, whY not? iv" i-top" theS' kisses i[any of them, we imagine, wiII never cards. Ptath Without A TightroPe THE BOOK OF PTATH, bY A. E. van mcLhod- thanks to van Vogt s richness Vogt. Fantasy Press, Reading, Pa' oI inl'enlion and stle;mlined sty1e, is $3.00. artisticallY- sonnd. BuL a iteady diet of srich tours de' Reviewed bY John K. Altken for A good stage or screen thriller does folce may flnaliy induce a desile not need a flar'"'less piot. lfhe Great ?uie mor'" simpie and dorvn-to-earth' his stage appear- ihat is thY "The Book of Ptath" Detective need not, in isianl" of ances, reason rvith absolute logic; the s-i.ales-ititn the distinctlon holes fhough Leine tlte most entil'e1y satisfyrng of all villain's alibi, riddied v'ith " The it be, will seem cast-iron; tlle hero's this r.,'riter''s brilllant or-ttput. den can defy icene is approximately 'uerrestrial, the escape from the coiners' lhe the iaws of probability-just so long as ptoi co*pa.itively strdighlforward; piling event characteis have time to behave as ihe speecl iJ kepb up. By for the on event so that the audience has no oeonle rarher than as nere foci good intelr:lat' of folces of galactic scope'. iime to reflecl, one can contrive in drama from a situetion which would et',i-toueh il criginally appeat'ed question a sedate novel' the last (Amerj.can) issue of Unknown be out of the in cer- The fact Urat Mr. van Vcgt can sllc- Worlds, "The Book of Ptr'th" is Lhis technique of the Lainll. bcience flction rathet' than fan- cesslullv apply wiih.its basis tight-robe to the ru iting of science fic- iasy:"god-po\.,'el' aibeit the scienc.'. may of a:.rd prayer-sticks. is oI tion -where, above all. the reader a tribuie to the qltalitv irr""iot'l t hich only van Vogt could exnect'his tosic-is The plot, reduced to ibs of workmanship. Gasping in a be- truuJitto'"t-tt"a. essentials. is one of the authcr's-and wilderment almost as complete as that he portion his unfortu- t-iee i:e'":ie,iei''s-f avourites, on which comrnonly the of of virtuoso nate irero, one hurtles 'uhrough a m?ze ha. a numbel impiication and conjec- varlut'iotti,"o-Pou.d "The Chroniciel" and "The of assumpticn, other examples' ture of ever-increasing complexity; ;ret ]A:ioria of Nuu-A" are of the ine-protagonist, who believes that he iuch is the sheer fascination American, finds tralf-comprehended narrative that-one is a irventleth-century draw Iiimseli in the world of a futtlre so dls- would rather die ttran Pause, tlle very -birds breath, and try to understand a little lutriri-tat the continents. more. The dark jungle of evasion, sur- and beasts, ale utterly alien' {" ls' the thoush he does not knovr' iL. 1ne Imcn- mise and intrigue which surrounds more- fleeting, bt'ight-Iit incident serves only l)in of a struggle between tv;o to rre'iirrten its power to enthral' ihan-human forces: the treacherous, are ulti- iutr.l".J golden goddess rneznia and Whether or nof explanations almost de- mafely provid.ed, and are convincing irrJ i*ptiso"ed, already a careful study rpili ieatea oa-,-t g6ddess L'onee. He is,

THE TORCH-Jack Bechdolt, The Argosy classic. 13/6

Sole British Representative : E. J. CARNELI. 17 BURWASH R,OAD. PLUMSTEAD. LONDON. S.E. 18 14 FA NTASY jungle, vr'ho aims to rule the world and for live chapters we gave up. Perhaps snares in her seductive web (by hyp- it was because such females as She notic powers, of course) a young Eng- ("sburdy, full-bosomed, handsome wibh lish farmer, handsome as a Greek god. an al'rogant style of beauty, virile, de- And while we are playing with the capi- termined, captivating, adulbly alluring") tal letters, ieb it be known that Queen always scare us stifi; as for Alicias Xia must always be referred to as She spun gold hair and wide violet eyes, we by Her lowly servants. know that type too, and they leave us Poor Peter is rescued by his faithful cold. These men, the poor simps, fell but piain friend, who loves a champion for everything. But we hadn't the heart Yorkshire lass but daresn't tell her so to go with thern into the ant-ridden because Fate obviously intends her for jungle to discover the inevitable city. Peter in spite of Her evil designs on We could see what was coming to them, him. "She is so wonderfully well-read, and could only leave them to their fate. so frightfully keen on ancient history If you ask us, they deserved it. and such like queer things. I have If he had not, to be quite truthful, never known a girl quite so clever, quite sent us finally to sleep, we might be so interestedly and pleasingly enthusi- angry with Mr. Wallis for declining to astic as Alicia Treforest." Poor Tim- rest content with his past accomplish- othy, too. Quite so. rnents and foisting upon us a storY And poor us. For we have never which is enough to make any reviewer known a book quite so difficult to enjoy. Haggard. As it is, we feel more inclined Try as we might, several times, once to direct our fury towards the publish' even on a long journey when there was ers for applying to such material either nothing etse to read, we just couldn't of the appellations "master thriller" get on with it, and after persevering or "science flction." AIBTruilAD[ TTOU]SE BOOIIS

FOR,THCOMING: ABOUT GATS First -itemsDublication of a Lovecraft essay, with SOMETHING other concerning his rvork and three & OTHER PIECES stories-"The Invisible Monster,'r "The Eiectric Executioner,'r and "The Last Test"' By H. P. Lovecraft 16/6

GENIUS LOGI The third collection of stories by one of fantasy's living masters. Twenty in ?11, in-- & OTHER TALES ctudin! "The-Eternal World." "Vulthoom" By Clark Ashton Smith and "fhe Colossus of Ylourgne." 16/6

THE WEB OF EASTER A ne$/ weird novel $'hich marks the return The of a popular-a exponent of cosmic horror' ISLAND tate i,f strang-e green stone and a terrifying By Donakl Wandrei quest. 1616

STRANGE PORTS OF GALL Twenty masterpieces of science flction bJ Keller; Wandrei, Dunsany, Iovecraft, Kutt Etlited by August Derleth ner,. Ifeinlein, and other favourites. 251-

SELEGTED LETTERS An irnportant addition to the literature of Americ-a's master of the macabre, who was By II. P. Lovecraf,t. also one of the great letter-writers. 361' G. KEN GHAPMAN (British Sales Representative), 23 Farnley Road, South Norwood, London, S.E.25 REVIEW The Dunsany Touch THE FOURTH BOOK OF .'ORKENS, He is practical, too, is our Mr. Jor- by Lord Dunsany. Jauolds. London. kens. The first 96. story in this latest book of his expicits is about an attempt by Reviewed by A, Bertram Chandler a scientist to control the weather. Foi fantasy fleid this experiment the Earth must be .The is overpopulated encircled by a belt of metal. u'ith assol ted Supermen ahd tnose A man of l.esser calibre than Jorkens. or his cre- T'n9., ul tne dr.op. of a BergeDhoim, sally rortn [o savc civilisation from a fati ator, would have used up four or five worse than (It hundred pages to describe how the belt death. may be Fifth was pushed along ocean Columnry, but the dreadfut tirought has beds. across occurred to rne deseits, over mountrin pealis. Not Jor- of late that it might be kens. "There is plent:i better for all concerneA if S6stone of metal run- won). ning round the worid; railway lines, cables, telegraptr wires, etcetera, and And were it not for their inevitably got high rnot'lality they Lhe use of scme of thern bv rate. the Unlortunatcs_l paying a smail rent. Anri ihev con- Lnose wno Lanlle \\-ir.h. the dark Iorces nected up of supelscience with a feiv miles of ivire of c;r' ihe supernatural their own, to the house near the Ciom- and come o1l second besr-would hardlv weli Road." flnd slanding room. The Clowns are tare. That is one of the stories. one plot all too Iantiliar 1;o fhe sci.nce fic- _ Like all gcod clowns, Mr. Joscph Jor- tioneer, handled Kens essentially in Dunsanj,'s own in- ts human. No Leadel imitable way. And there is a Voyage to of forlorn hopes he, no Saviour of Iace. the the Other Side of the Snn. There is a But, if we were exposed to the Message to Mars (Pythagoras' Theorem perils to u.hich Mr. Jorkens is so well done accustomed in bonflres on the Sahara). and it is doubtful if we should the reply. There is a Dreadful Warn- survive. Only the ciowns have the ing power" ability amble against the misuse of atomic to on, ail unconoet'ned, The idea behind thaL one haj been while the worid crashes about theirl used by both Mr. Heinlein and myself- ears. Add to this ability a certain but lve hadn't Mr'. Jorkens to give it shrewdness, a whoie-hearted devotion that wry kink to its tail. to the inLelests of Mr. Jorkens. and you have the secret of his indestructi- Halrnt€d lvocds, deals with the Devil, bility. He survives-not, perhaps, with battle, murder and sudden death-Jor- honoul ar giory, but he survlves. And kens ccmes through them all. tells the that, in these Limes. is somerhing. tale in his easy, anecdotal style, trots The Jcrkens stories are lantasy, but oui the last sentence that could weli not in ihe sense that some of Dunli,ny's be l:y Shaggy Dog crit of O. H,enry. And, earlier works ar.e; his tales of stranec yri. therc is ar e:senti:tl sctiolrsness; lanils arld peoples and Lheir sod1. the essential serionsness of the good. Other s h.r,ve ploughe6 that luirori-, jcs'er who is lar mole in tune with the rvitirout the same skill as he. The re- tlisedy of l-Ie ihan all the plophets of sults of their efforts-the horror, iike doo:n, all the professional purveyors of manure, piled on with a shovel-has sackcloth and ashes will ever be. been a rank jungle of fantasticallv un- But don't let that worry you. There, couth lerbiags thlough whictr the are thirty-three stories in the book and, struggiing reader must hack his wav by my count, twenty-eight good laughs. with a machete, emerging haggard and You may find more. delirious, babbling some gibberish about a goat with a thousand young. The light touch is lacking, and Lvithout it lmportant to Subscrlbers writing of that kind is as absurd as If a subscription blank is enclosed, the Gothic romance of the iast cen- you should renew your subscription tury. But it is in the Jorkens sLories immediately. Note the new address that the light touch comes into its owni to which it shoultl be sent: ihe light touch, and the outraseous FANTASY REVIEW punch iine----except that it ls never ir- 115 Wanstead Park Iioatl, relevant, is alvrays true to the frailties Ilford, Essex of human nature. x6 FANTASY ders them mol.e than passable fa'}e fol' ,Hope Hodgson's th€ inveterate |eader of weird tales, wirether or nob he already kno$'s Hodg- son's rare skill in handling the strange Psychic Sleuth and abnolmal. Those qualtties of un- .CARNACKI, THE GHOST-FINDER, der'I]'ing menace which made "The by WiUia.n Hope Hodgson. Mycroft, House cn the Border'land" such a mem- Sauk Cil]', Wis. S3.00 o|able esperience are present in such stories as "Tire Gateway of the Mon- R,eviewed by Arthur F. Hillman sfs1," "!fhe Whistiing Room" and "The Hog." To read them is to open a door Pslchic deteclives. like their mole on to the \vor'ld beyond, a wol'Id filled mundane ]-rletfrl'en. have their admit'- u'ith fiends whose aspect strikes one ing followers; and a generation ago lik€ a chal'nel breath of ghoulish hor- the exploits of i{odgson's Carna.cki IOI'. earned him a place \\-ith BiackwooC's The worst crjtrcism that may be lev- John Silence and LeFanu's Dr. Hes- some of Mj'croft, db Molan, with whom elled ar this collection is that selius. Lhe tales such as "The Thing In- Arkham llollse afe associated, are to ex- be commcnded fol blinging once again visible." ionclude with a scientific to public notice the half-dozen Car- planation of theil supel'natural impli- adventules published here in cations. To build up an intense at- nacki mosphere of mystery, and then shattel 1910, togeth€r with three hitherto un- an account dlscovered episodes. thris making avail- the delicate structure with of mechanistic devices, is to disappoint able the first complete collection of pin Calnacki the I'eader rvho prefers to his faith stolres. in the elemental folces of the Outside. Although tirese tales have little or But, forbunately, these rational expla- none of the scintillation the modern nations are in Lhe minolity, and there macabre specialist iinpal'ts, they ali is sfi]l plenty of strong meat for the have a qenuine eeeriness which ren- lover of the trulY bizarr'e. Titles Tha,t Spea,h Volumes Out of the LJnknown Triplanetar)'-E. E. Smith: l6;'6 By A. E. van Vogt and E. NI The Black Flame Weinbaum: Hull: an anthologl'. 14/6. - 16i 6 The Book of Ptath-van Vogt: 16,16 Final Blackout The Skylark of Space- Bl' L. R,on Hubbald. 16/'6 E. E. Smith. 16/ 6 The illightiest ]Iachine- World of Null-A Carnpbell. 16/ 6 Bl' A. E. var"r Vogt. 14'6 Edison's Conquest of Mars- Serviss. 1916 The Forbidden Garden-Taine: Beyond This Horizon 16,,6 Bv Robert A. Heinlein. 16/6 A Treasury of Science Fiction- lllo

The Sunken World SINISTER, BARRIER Il,ussell: By Stanton A. Coblentz. 16/6 Readv June. - 1616

E. .f . CARNELL 17 BURWASH ROAD, PLUMSTEAD, LONDON, S.E. 18 iREVIEW LI Gooffrey Giles writes ABOUT BOOKS Reviewers have been in rhapsodies over T. H. Whlte s new fanta-qv. ,.The Elephan"u and the Kangaroo ' ,Cape, 8i6), which teils of a visiting ar.changet $'ho blings walning of a seconC Flood to the inhabit:tnts of a.n Irish villaee. and of their complicxrcd effol.ts to bili-lcl an ark to save themselves from the de- luge. Those r','ho enjcyed the delightfr-ri "Mistress Masilam's Repose,', u'hich -,vas just as highly p|aised not many months ago, rvon't ',r'ant to miss this one. A "must" for collectors is "The Best Short Stories of M. p. Shiet,', which trave been selecLed bv'Gollancz John Garvsworth and published by at 10 6. They include items which have been H.,P, Lovecraft, as seen by Virgil Finlay out of print for many years, such as on. .the dust-jacket of the lorihconringl the Frince Zaleski and Cummings King Arkha-m-House volume. ..Selecl ed Letrers,n Monk tales s'hich are beins assembled compiled lrom the volumirrous eoLres- b5' Mr. Derleth pubiicarion pondence files oI rlrc 'Sage ot providence.,. for undet ot \\.nom Augusl Derlelh has $r.itten: ..He the Mycroft & Moran imprint. Mr. liked to obsess himself rr,'ith the Gaq'sworth, Shiel's literary executor, eighteenth centur]'. $rriting poetly in the has another coliection in Lhe makine Jlanner of that rime, sometimes dating !o lollo\\' this f,rst memorial volume oI his letters tu'o hundred years back, and a writer in whose work Machen -confessing, 'I rvould actuaily feel m6le at discovered "a wildet' $'onderland than hom,e in a silver-button'ci coat, velvet Poe." small-clothes, \\'rg, steenkirk cral'at and. "Angels aU that goes $-ith such an outfit from and Beasts," a voiume of sword to snuffbox, lhan in rhc nlain French sholt stories selected bv Denis modern garb that g,ood senle- UiaJ-me Saurat and published by Westhouse, wear in this pr.osaick aera."' (..H.p.L.: contains several fantasies: among them A Memoir"). "The Chitd of the High Seas,i con- cerning a vanishing village which which is a tale of undet'glound terrols: seems io float on the surface of the another deels $ith a stianse world of Atlantic, and "The Waif of the Seine," the funrre. Aiso itom Ne$' ].otk comes a macabre piece which describes the "The Well of the Unicorn," by George undersea world of shipwrecked souls. U. Fletcher' ( Sloane, which, Both these al'e authored by Jules dealing with a mvthical"$3.50), $orid that Supervielle. acknowledges magic as a profession, is Students of fhe supernatural story strikingly similal to the stories of L. should be interested in two volumes bv Sprague de Camp and Fietcher pratt Montague Summers being adver.tised in the halc)'on days of Unknown, by the Fortune h'ess. One is a historv of the Gothic novel, Gothic Admirers of rvhich witl be inLerested "The to hear that the New Collector's Group, Quest" (42l-), and the other "A Gothic jr.rst Bibliography," which is published at which has delivered the long- 3 gns. awaited Merritt novel, "The Black Wheel," completed an{ illustrated by MORE FROM MR. HEARD Hannes Bok, has added to its schedule Lwo de Camp-Pratt collaborations: Just arrived from America is a new "The Cat'nelian Cube,', and an as yet book of four fantasLic tales by H. F. untltled sequel to "The Incomplete En- lleard, author of "The Greab Fog', and chanter." A book of Merritt's short "Dopp,elgangers," which have been re- stories is also being planned by the viewed in this journal. The title is Group, which is said to be considering "'The Lost Caveln" (Vanguatd, 53.00), a proj€ct fof a monster bibliography of 18 FANTASY fantasS; ficticn which wouid be pttb- has written an Introduction, and the lishtr.i ir tpa;'.'r- seetions and l-Lln to a book version of George O. Smith's total of 6,000 pages. (Wesley Long) Astounding serial, "No- NEW TAINE NOVEL mad." L. Ron Hubbard's Unknown storles, The first catalogue of I'antasy Pt'ess, "slaves of Sleep," "Tirpewritet' in the covering '48-9, announces several mol'e Sky," "The Ultimate Adventure" and intliguing Lifles as "tentatively sche- "Tl]e Ghoul" are all being prepared duled," in addition to those already for book publication later. ihis year, to- mentioned in these pages. Among lhein gether- rviLh a voiurne of h:s short are Arthur Leo Zagat's Argosy serial, stories titled "Danger in +'he Dark." "Seven Out of Time," A. Hyatt Verrill's "The Indigestible lfriton," which a.p- Amazint Quarter!y classic, "The Bridge peal'ed undet h.s pseudon5'm, Rene of Light," and "Genus Homo," an ex- Lafayette, is aiso scheduled to foilow tended version cf the L. SPrague de "Death's Depuly" in the list of forth- Camp-P. Scbuyier Miller collaboration colning productions of the Fantasy wtuch peei's a million years into the Publishing Co., now includes future. John Taine's unpubiished"vhich novel, "The A. E. van Vogt's Astounding tales, Cosmic Geoids," and the interplanetary "Recruiting Station" and "The Change- classics of J. U. Giesy, "Palos of the ling" wil1 be combined in a volume Dog Star Pack." "The Mouthpiece of titled "Masters of Time." Jack WiI- Zitu" aird "Jason, Son of Jason.' iiamson s "One Against ihe Lcgicn" Prime Press i','i11 make a coilection vriil also kle corrrbined with "The Come- of 1,he inl,erplaneilrl' tales of anothei' lpers" as a lollc*-rtp Lo "The Legion oI favourite of earller da:is, R. F. Siarzl Space"; and among other iitles visua- (remelnber the i.F.P. series in Won- lised for the future are his "Go]den der?), and will aiso put Eando Bindel"s B]ood,' "The Legion of Time" and "The Argosy seriai, "Loi'cis of Creation," be- Ii,elgn of Wizaldry.'' In addition to trveen hard covers. Expected shortly the "Lensmen" series of Dr. E. E' from Phlladelphia are a collection of Smith. a new story of his, "The Vortex Theodore Sturgeon's best tales, "With- Blaster," '"vill be loltlrcorning from ihis out Sorce|y," fof lvhich Ray Bradbur) source.

Read.ers' lett€rs on any aspect of fanta.sy-fiction are Fa,nta,sy welcomed for this feature. Address: The Eatitor, FAN- ['orurrr TASY EEI'IEW, 115 Wanstead Park Road, Il-ford' Essex- WETRD YS. SCTENCE- FANTASY It is evident from his criticism of my "Sleep no More" was published in an article that Mr. August Derleth is Armed Services Edition of 140,000 paper- severely prejudiced in favour of the bound books rvhich were given free to the rveird ta.1e and thab his opinion of science U.S. Forces. He himself gave that infor- flction is none too high. Bearing in mind mation when he spoke to the Eastern publishes predominantly Science Fiction Associa'tion, of which I that he books '47. of "weird" appeal, he $'ould not, there- am Di.ector, on Sept. ?t]n. when he fore, care for my suggestion that the further informed the meeting that his recent spate of weird anthologies was three weird anthologies, "Sleep No More," due to the paradoxical situation of "Who Knocks?" and "The Night Side," science flction fans bul'lng them as tlle had sold only between 13,000 and 20,000 alternative to poor s-f magazines. The copies. foundation of his arguments Iies in the ithe actual paid sales of "Sleep No information with 'lvhich he supplies us More" (the last edition of which $/as that his book "Sleep No More" has sold remaindered at $1.00 a copy in New upwards of 155,000 copies; and he sug- York) is the flgure $'hich Mr. Derleth gests that if the science fictionists were quoted-minus 140,000 ! On numerous responsible lor that truh' phenomenal occasions he has described "Sleep No sale, the sales of "Adventures in Time Mote" as his besfseliing book' On his and Space" and "The Best in Science orvn admission, "S1an!" was almost out Fiction" should aiso have approached of print after only nine months and an that figure. edition of 4,000; whereas some of the He omits to mention, however, that weird books he pulrlished earner took two f,fiEVIEW 19 years to sell out an edition of 2.000. des- not draw personal pite upon experienee when the fact they appear.ed during a $'aI wj:iting this flrst-person novel about a boom. psychopathic killer. As far as I know, The same ready sale has also awaiteci I've neuer killed anybody. the appearance of s-f books from other For the nast 13 years I,ve lvfitten fan- publishers such as Fantasy press. rvho tasy and whodunits, often in the flrst- sold oul 3.000 copios of E. E. SmiLh s person, rvithout anl'one ever asserting "Spacehounds of IPC" in nine inonths. :hat I s'as citl)er a l]:clislel. or a And now Mr. Derieth himself has edited detecLive. ,'Strange I'\'e al.so turncd cut a lot of a science nction anthology, humour, and a1l sorts of adircrt:i-cing copy Ports of Cail,'f u'hich he has justifled bv and political speeches, trrithoeit bearing thinly disguising ir as a collecrion of the ellegation 'Lhat I $ras a ccneciian. a s-f "literary" . What better verification cotnmelcial entrcl)encui, a ])ol jtician or could he provide for m.-/ statement, that an adherenL of a parrticular pa|ty. These these s-f books are crowding the rveirds oiher activities represent approximately into the background? Indeed, the rveird 95 pcl cent. oI my \vriting Lo dare; and c5'cle appcars to har.e cnded. \\,ith such no one has ever attempted to analyse my books being remaindered tn large nuru- pe$onaiity frorn this moun.uain of work. bers; \\'hile science flction seems to be in BUL on tiie basis of the other b per cent.- for a run of prosperit-v. with three the l-loveI-several ci.itics have drarvn anthologies scheduled anC Sirncn & ro,sh conclusions. Schuster inaugurating a series of s-f Fortunately, I've had a number of titles.-Sam Moskowitz, Nerralk, N.J. ic.r-rers from psycho-analysts and psychia- trists \\-ho read "The Scarf ,,, ancl they I,IR, ER.OCH'S NOVEL collcur with me ihat while writing is Congratulations on oompleting ti're catharsis iu is noi conscious cathar.sta: iI nrst year of FANTASy REVIEW, swety tllere is ailylh.ing oI ntlscli in Lhe book one of the most stimulating rnagazines in it is sl.mbolically disguised past ordinary tile genre. and. a mosi welcome voice irom lecoglition posstl)ly ,,The and quiLc uniike rhe overscas. I 11ote vour revielv of chalacteiisation therein portra-r.ed.. Anv- Scarl," for t'll.ich I must thank you; al- hou'. Lhe poinL inlcresied inc. b(cause I though 'uhe book has been rui6gh, (ai1d, a-n at present lvriting a sccor.d novel in on the u'hole, favourably) revie[red in tile an entirell. dift-erent vein, public .fil'st sarire, and I lrres:i over het:e, youl.s is lhe $cidcl' 1[ r'e|ieue|s \ill Icga|cl mc as a i'air magazirre I'evie11' f 9s 5131'. Eu. I "flippant" person because of ii.-Robert nlust set I'ou slraight on one point: I did Rioch. l{rhl.aukee. Wis. SMCLLE. ADWFRTS Special llate to Collectors: 2d. per WE ARE SPECIALISTS in the wor{i (5c. Canada and U.S.A,); mini- Occult and kindred subjects, and cnum 12 words. To Traders and others: 3d. per word (?c. in Canatle and U.S,A.). have a large stock of new and All advertisements in this section must be second-hand occult and fantastic prepaid. Box numbers 6d. (15c.) extra. flction. Please \\'rite for cai_aiogue, WILL EXCHANGE "The Fireside Book of Ghost (Bobbs-Merriu) price 3d. '"Marginalia"Stories" for or any Arkham book.- ATLANTIS BOOIdSIIOP Box 115, Fantasy Review. TI/ANTED: hmerican Horror Stories, {9a Museum Street, 'Phone: Terror Tales, Dime Mystery,-BM/FRVV, London, W.C.l, HOLborn London, W.C.I. 2120 OPERATION FANTAST-Ihe ]-radine Departmeut of rhe Brilislt FanLasv M. P. SHIEL novels wanted to complete Librarl'. collection: "Rajah's ,.Weiid Scien(e ficliun anri tant.asy b,ooks ..ManSapphire,,' u' ,and mags. bought, sold, exchanged. FYee It," "Isle of Lies,,' Stearers."_box advice on all fantasy matters gladly given. 112, Fantasy Review. 'Canadian and American fans shoutd write IF XOq are thinking of insufance, con- to John E. Koestner, 2124 Rene Court, sult J. Michael Rosenblum, 4 GranEe Brooklyn, 2?, N.Y., U.S.A. Fans in other Terrace. Chapeltown, Leeds, ?. We undel- parts of the world should contact K. F. take all types of insurance: life, endow- Sla,ter, Riverside, South Brink, Wisbech, ment, fire and burglary, householder's, Cambs., England. When inforrnation is property owner's. house purchase (via, wanted, please €nclose stamped, addressed endowment policy), jewellery, accident, €nvelope. etc. Inquiries invited. For Collectors and Students OVER 3OO TITLES of the Necromantic MALLEUS MALEFICARU]VI are in our latest list of second-hand DISCOVERIE OF WITCHCRAT"I voiumes of Science and Fantasy- ]}lalleus Maleficarum: translatecl Fiction, $,hich is available on into English from edn. of 1489 application. Ib includes such with introduction b.v ilIontague popular authofs as Merritt, Staple- Summers. Pubd. Rodker, London. don, Burroughs, Btackwood and 1928, in edition of 12?5 numbered copies of which Fowler Wright. It also gives detaits this is copy No. 1266. Bollnd cloth, quarter reci of recent American books ofiered vellun, ?'iin. x 11jin., 2?8pp.- at I'educcd prices. If you wish to $60.00. gef on our mailing list, drop us a Discoverie of Witchcraft, by postcard. I?eginald Scot, lr'om edn. of 1b84. Introduction bl- Montague Sum- mers. Pubd. Rodker, London, 1930 * in edition of 7275 nun]bcred copies of Nhich this is No. 409. Bound cloth, quarter leether, ?,litl. x E. WILLIAMS 11liu. 282pp.-s59.96. Both these books arc in excellent I I Clowders Road, coDdition, and ha1'e been car.efullv opened. Catford, London, S.E.6 Box 1'11, Fantasy Review

ADVANCE INFORMATION Service for Fontosy Fons to I?egulor I?eaders of O Large stocks of Weird. Fan,,astic Astounding and Scicntific Fiction. I Direct Mail Subscriptions (and Renewals) placed to American SCIEI{CE FICTION Magazines including those jn (BRITISH EDITION) Lhe Fanras.v Field, e.9., Astound- ing Science Fiction. 16s.6d. per year. The APRIL 1948 ISSUE wili be OSeU us your Collection of Science Fiction. Send List stat- ON SALE SATURDAY. APR,IL ing condition and get our Cash 1?th Ofier. CON'l'ENTS includc a "Want Lists" receive individual attention. AESOP Clifiord D. Simak O Orders welcomed from the Em- TIIE BARBARIAN A. E. van Vogt pire and U.S.A. Send Inter- COMMAND. BernardLKahn national Money Order. C Catalogue Free on liequest. Price 9d, SGIENGE . FANTASY SERVICE ATLAS PUBLISHING & (Dept. DISTRIBUTING FR,8) CO. LTD. 6E Victoria, Street, Liverpool, I 18 BRIDE LANE, LONDON 8.C.4 (Please note new addr€ss)

Ripley hinting Society Ltcl., Ripley, Derbys, This version of the rnagazine was assembled by Farrago & Farrago using scans provided by Andy Sawyer at the Science Fiction Foundation in Liverpool.

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