The Isle of Dead Ships is a Lost Race novel set on a network of ships in the Sargasso Sea. Originally published as a serial in The Scrap Book in 1909, it was twice filmed as The Isle of Lost Ships in 1923 and 1929.
In this volume the author describes more than 3000 short stories, novels, and plays with science fiction elements, from earliest times to 1930. He includes imaginary voyages, utopias, Victorian boys' books, dime novels, pulp magazine stories, British scientific romances and mainstream work with science fiction elements. Many of these publications are extremely rare, surviving in only a handful of copies, and most of them have never been described before.
During the Silent Era, when most films dealt with dramatic or comedic takes on the "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" theme, other motion pictures dared to tackle such topics as rejuvenation, revivication, mesmerism, the supernatural and the grotesque. A Daughter of the Gods (1916), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Magician (1926) and Seven Footprints to Satan (1929) were among the unusual and startling films containing story elements that went far beyond the realm of "highly unlikely." Using surviving documentation and their combined expertise, the authors catalog and discuss these departures from the norm in this encyclopedic guide to American horror, science fiction and fantasy in the years from 1913 through 1929.
Our 57th issue opens with an original tale by Mark Thielman, courtesy of acquiring editor Michael Bracken. It does triple-duty as a crime story, a science fiction story, and a dystopian story. All with a great punch. As for our other acquiring editors—Barb Goffman has selected a great tale by Dee Long, and (not to be outdone) Cynthia Ward has a real winner from Chris Willrich. We will have a contribution from Darrell Schweitzer next issue. As if that’s not enough (when is it ever for the Black Cat?), we have gone back to the pulp era for historical mystery novels by Harold Bindloss and Nicholas Carter, and uncovered some classic short science fiction by Damon Knight, Frederik Pohl, and Jerry Shelton. Rounding things out is a rare historical Lost Race fantasy by Crittenden Marriott set in the always-spooky Sargasso Sea. In coming weeks, expect to see more fun, with ghosts & goblins & things that go bump in the night — climaxing with a Halloween Spooktacular issue. Don’t miss it! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Future Tense,” by Mark Thielman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Mystery Map,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Fool’s Gold,” by Dee Long [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Man Who Measured the Wind,” by Harold Lamb [novella] The Intriguers, by Harold Bindloss [novel] Nick Carter Rescues a Daughter, by Nicholas Carter [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Future Tense,” by Mark Thielman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “A Wizard of the Old School,” by Chris Willrich [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Definition,” by Damon Knight [short story] “A Hitch In Time,” by Frederik Pohl [short story] “You Are Forbidden!” by Jerry Shelton [short story] The Isle of Dead Ships, by Crittenden Marriott [novel]