Astounding Science Fiction, July 1939

Astounding Science Fiction, July 1939

Author: John Wood Campbell (Jr.)

Publisher:

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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A reprint of the issue of Astounding Science Fiction that is widely considered to be the first great issue under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Jr. Astounding Science Fiction as edited by Campbell was the pre­mier magazine of the golden age of American science fiction. This special reprint edition ably demonstrates why the science fiction magazines of that era were so important to the develop­ment of modern science fiction into the popular and important literary form it is today. Unquestionably a classic issue, it begins with the cover story, "Black Destroyer," the first published work of A. E. van Vogt and also features "Trends" by Isaac Asimov, his first sale to Astounding. Significant as these debuts are, it is the overall strength of the issue that finally impresses. These are stories by some of the best-known writers in the field: Nat Schachner, "City of the Cosmic Rays"; Nelson S. Bond, "Lightship Ho!"; Ross Rocklynne, "The Moth"; C. L. Moore (one of the first women to achieve prominence in writing science fiction), "Greater than Gods"; as well as thought-provoking articles on nuclear energy, computers, and hemispheric migration. But this new edition is far more than just a fine reprint of an important issue. There is a commentary on Astounding by Stanley Schmidt (the current editor of Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact, the successor to Astounding)and memoirs of the stories and the magazine by Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, and Ross Rocklynne.


The Voyage of the Space Beagle

The Voyage of the Space Beagle

Author: A. E. van Vogt

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2008-07-08

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780765320773

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An episodic novel filled with surprises and provocative ideas, this is the story of a great exploration ship sent out into the unknown reaches of space on a long mission of discovery. They encounter several terrifying alien species, including the Ix, who lay their eggs in human bodies, which then devour the humans from within when they hatch. Reissue of a classic.


One Against the Legion

One Against the Legion

Author: Jack Williamson

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2013-07-25

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0575111704

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"I am omnipotent and omniscient. I want every man on every planet to shudder and grow pale when he thinks of Me. For I have suffered gross injuries that must be avenged..." This sinister message - and a loathsome serpent-like trademark - were the only clues the Legion of Space had to the identity of Mankind's most evasive and horrible enemy. But meanwhile, He or IT - had meticulously begun to destroy the world... The Legion of Space was well accustomed to facing mortal peril in the black depths of outer space in order to defend humanity against its unearthly foes. But even they were to find their courage and ingenuity tested to the utmost limits in their fight against the vile phantom that called itself God and shrouded the Universe in an incredible web of terror...


Astounding

Astounding

Author: Alec Nevala-Lee

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2018-10-23

Total Pages: 619

ISBN-13: 0062571966

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Hugo and Locus Award Finalist An Economist Best Book of the Year A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best Book of 2018 “An amazing and engrossing history...Insightful, entertaining, and compulsively readable.” — George R. R. Martin Astounding is the landmark account of the extraordinary partnership between four controversial writers—John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbard—who set off a revolution in science fiction and forever changed our world. This remarkable cultural narrative centers on the figure of John W. Campbell, Jr., whom Asimov called “the most powerful force in science fiction ever.” Campbell, who has never been the subject of a biography until now, was both a visionary author—he wrote the story that was later filmed as The Thing—and the editor of the groundbreaking magazine best known as Astounding Science Fiction, in which he discovered countless legendary writers and published classic works ranging from the I, Robot series to Dune. Over a period of more than thirty years, from the rise of the pulps to the debut of Star Trek, he dominated the genre, and his three closest collaborators reached unimaginable heights. Asimov became the most prolific author in American history; Heinlein emerged as the leading science fiction writer of his generation with the novels Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land; and Hubbard achieved lasting fame—and infamy—as the founder of the Church of Scientology. Drawing on unexplored archives, thousands of unpublished letters, and dozens of interviews, Alec Nevala-Lee offers a riveting portrait of this circle of authors, their work, and their tumultuous private lives. With unprecedented scope, drama, and detail, Astounding describes how fan culture was born in the depths of the Great Depression; follows these four friends and rivals through World War II and the dawn of the atomic era; and honors such exceptional women as Doña Campbell and Leslyn Heinlein, whose pivotal roles in the history of the genre have gone largely unacknowledged. For the first time, it reveals the startling extent of Campbell’s influence on the ideas that evolved into Scientology, which prompted Asimov to observe: “I knew Campbell and I knew Hubbard, and no movement can have two Messiahs.” It looks unsparingly at the tragic final act that estranged the others from Campbell, bringing the golden age of science fiction to a close, and it illuminates how their complicated legacy continues to shape the imaginations of millions and our vision of the future itself. "Enthralling…A clarion call to enlarge American literary history.” — Washington Post “Engrossing, well-researched… This sure-footed history addresses important issues, such as the lack of racial diversity and gender parity for much of the genre’s history.” — Wall Street Journal “A gift to science fiction fans everywhere.” — Sylvia Nasar, New York Times bestselling author of A Beautiful Mind


The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s

The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s

Author: Gary Westfahl

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2019-10-14

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1476674949

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 By examining important aspects of science fiction in the twentieth century, this book explains how the genre evolved to its current state. Close critical attention is given to topics including the art that has accompanied science fiction, the subgenres of space opera and hard science fiction, the rise of SF anthologies, and the burgeoning impact of the marketplace on authors. Included are in-depth studies of key texts that contributed to science fiction's growth, including Philip Francis Nowlan's first Buck Rogers story, the first published stories of A. E. van Vogt, and the early juveniles of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.


The Work of Ross Rocklynne

The Work of Ross Rocklynne

Author: Douglas Alver Menville

Publisher: Wildside Press LLC

Published: 1989-01-01

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 0809515113

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Ross Rocklynne (1913-1988) was the pen name used by Ross Louis Rocklin, an American science fiction author active in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Born in 1913 in Ohio, Rocklynne was a regular contributor to the science fiction pulps. He was a professional guest at the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939. Despite his numerous appearances and solid writing, Rocklynne never quite achieved the fame of his contemporaries Robert A. Heinlein, L. Sprague DeCamp, and Isaac Asimov. His most well known story is probably "The Men and the Mirror," first published in 1938. Rocklynne partially retired from writing in the late 1950s, but made a notable return in the 1970s when his novelette "Ching Witch " was included in Harlan Ellison's original anthology, Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). "Ching Witch " was later nominated for a Nebula award. This volume contains an annotated bibliography of Ross Rocklynne's work. It features an introduction by Arthur Jean Cox, plus an index.


The World of Ā

The World of Ā

Author: Alfred Elton Van Vogt

Publisher: New York, Simon and Schuster

Published: 1948

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13:

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Contact has been made between other planets and Gilbert Gosseyn finds himself trying to stop a galactic war between Earth and Venus.


Murray Leinster

Murray Leinster

Author: Billee J. Stallings

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2011-08-12

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 0786487151

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Will F. Jenkins, known to science fiction fans by his penname Murray Leinster, was among the most prolific American writers of the 20th century. "The Dean of Science Fiction," as he was sometimes known, published more than 1,500 short stories and 100 books in a career spanning more than fifty years. This biography, written by his two youngest daughters, chronicles Murray Leinster's private and literary life from his first writings for The Smart Set and early pulp magazines such as Argosy, Amazing Stories and Astounding Stories, through the golden age of science fiction in the 1930s through the 1950s, to his death in 1975. Included as appendices are his famous 1946 story "A Logic Named Joe" and 1954 essay "To Build a Robot Brain."