Black Cat Weekly #83 has something for everyone -- modern and classic mysteries? Check! Science fiction? Check! Fantasy? Check! Even a crime tale set in the Old West! Novels, short stories, series tales featuring such great characters as master detective Nick Carter, western hero Hashknife Hartley, and sword & sorcery team Frostflower and Thorn are ien this issue. One of our best! Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Lucky Day” by Bruce D. Arthurs [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Grand Larceny at the Grand Prix” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “How Does He Die This Time?,” by Nancy Novick [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Blood Will Tell, by Nicholas Carter [Nick Carter series, novel] Hidden Blood, by W.C. Tuttle [Hashknife Hartley series, novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Truth About the Lady of the Lake,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [Frostflower & Thorn series, short story] “Time for Survival,” by George O. Smith [short story] “Nobody Saw the Ship” by Murray Leinster [short story] “Momentum,” by Charles Dye [short story] Convoy to Atlantis, by William P. McGivern [novel]
Welcome to Black Cat Weekly. I can’t believe it’s been 100 issues! Time flies when you’re having fun. To help make this issue special, I asked Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken to contribute some special stories of their own. I think you’ll agree, they are among the highlights of this issue. On the mystery side , we also have stories by Nancy Pickard, Bradley Harper, and a novel from the legendary Fredric Brown—his classic Knock Three-One-Two. And what issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles? On the more fantastic side of things, we have another of Darrell Schweitzer’s historical interviews with a legend of science fiction, this time Robert Sheckley. Conducted in 1981, it talks about his becoming fiction editor of Omni magazine, the science fiction community in New York City, and more. As for fiction, we have that, too, of course. Fantasy from Joseph Payne Brennan and Aeryn Rudel. Science fiction from Larry Tritten, Frank Belknap Long, and a rare novel, The Green Girl, from Grandmaster Jack Williamson. A big thanks to everyone who made the first 100 issues possible, including Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, Paul Di Filippo, Darrell Schweitzer, and Cynthia Ward, staffers Sam Hogan, and Karl Wurf, and of course all our readers! -- John Betancourt, Editor Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Wolfhound” 2023 by Bradley Harper [short story] “Things That Go Bump” 2022 by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “If Only You Would Leave Me” by Nancy Pickard [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Lord Is My Shamus” 2012 by Barb Goffman [short story] “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’” 2021 by Michael Bracken [short story] Knock Three-One-Two, by Fredric Brown [novel] Nonfiction: “Speaking with Robert Sheckley” by Darrell Schweitzer [interview] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Smile Price” by Aeryn Rudel [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Exit Laughing” by Larry Tritten [short story] “The Miniature Menace,” by Frank Belknap Long [short story] “The Seventh Incantation,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story] The Green Girl, by Jack Williamson [novel]
Yes, it’s our annual Halloween kickoff issue—for the next four Black Cats, extra spooky stories will be creeping and crawling into every issue. This time, we have vampires and scarecrows and werewolves (oh my!) as well as scarecrows and sinister strangers for your reading pleasure. Plus some other tricks and treats. As always, special thanks to our Acquiring Editors for helping round up great stories, and to the volunteer readers who keep discovering great stories for us. If you’re a writer (published or not) we welcome appropriate submissions through our portal at our website. Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Skip Trace,” by Angela Zeman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] Skip Rose swore he’d never return to his childhood home, but a desperate family hires him to find out why their daughter was murdered. His investigation drags him back to dark memories and deadly secrets. “The Treasure Map Intrigue,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] After her uncle’s death, Marcy and her cousins find a cryptic note attached to an old map. As they search for treasure, Marcy discovers a hidden clue. Can you solve it before Marcy uncovers the truth? “Special Delivery,” by Linda Cahill [Barb Goffman Presents short story] When a young girl takes over her friend’s paper route, she encounters strange men, dark stories, and a house feared by all the neighborhood kids. What begins as a simple errand turns into a chilling mystery. “Ol’ Crowbait,” by Bobbi A. Chukran [short story] When pranksters target Minnie Tate’s farm, they uncover more than Halloween mischief—triggering events that unravel a long-buried disappearance. As Sheriff Josie Miller digs deeper, eerie scarecrows and strange whispers lead to a chilling discovery. Scotland Yard Can Wait, by Zenith Brown [novel] Inspector Lord investigates a decades-old bank heist. As bodies pile up, can he unravel the mystery before the cunning mastermind escapes with the loot? Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Howl At the Moon,” by John S. Glasby [short story] A cursed castle, a full moon, and an ancient, terrifying secret. When Robert Temple arrives, determined to unearth the truth, he finds himself face-to-face with a horror beyond his worst nightmares. “He Who Stakes,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] In Prince Vlad’s cruel court, Father Clement’s faith is tested when martyrs rise from their stakes. Can mercy and justice prevail over a ruler blinded by righteous fury. “Waystation,” by Hannah Birss [short story] In a rundown bar on Space Station SOL, a lonely miner share a fleeting, intimate encounter with a mysterious woman on a pilgrimage for a new sun. “The Jackson Killer,” by Philip E. High [short story] Sent to a frontier planet to track down a highly intelligent and dangerous mutant, Lassen must outwit his prey while grappling with the morality of his own role as an Eliminator. “The Scientific Pioneer,” Nelson S. Bond [short story, Horsesense Hank series] A farmer with uncanny “horse-sense” shocks university scholars by solving complex scientific problems with ease. But when offered fame, fortune, and love, his unyielding logic leads him on a different path.
Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #24—another great issue packed with new and classic mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. Here are: Mystery and Suspense: THE ADVENTURE OF THE CURIOUS CUBE, by A.L. Sirois A JAR FULL OF CHARITY, by Hal Charles THE SLEEPER CAPER, by Richard S. Prather WHERE THE STRANGE ONES GO, by Steve Hockensmith IT NEVER GOT INTO THE PAPERS, by Hulbert Footner WON BY MAGIC, by Nicholas Carter Science Fiction and Fantasy: PANCHO VILLA’S FLYING CIRCUS, by Ernest Hogan THE ENGINEER, by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth THE DATE, by Larry Tritten TRAUMEREI, by Charles Beaumont KING OF THE HILL, by James Blish THE OLD ONES HEAR, by Malcolm Jameson
Black Cat Weekly #4 presents more tales of the mysterious and fantastic—4 mystery short stories (including a Derringer Award-winner), a mystery novel, 2 science fiction short stories, a fantasy story, plus a science fiction novel. Here are: THE HAMMERING MAN by Edwin Balmer and William MacHarg [mystery short] [Luther Trant series] FLOORED, by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery short] TWILIGHT LADIES, by Meg Opperman [mystery short] [Derringer Award Winner] WEST OF QUARANTINE, by Todhunter Ballard [western/mystery novel] THE BROTHERS OF THE LEFT HAND PATH, by Frank Lovell Nelson [mystery short] [Carlton Clarke series] THE HERPLE IS A HAPPY BEAST, by Paul Di Filippo [science fiction short] THE POWER OF WAKING, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman [fantasy short] THE KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE, by Lester del Rey [science fiction short] ANDROMEDA GUN, by John Boyd [science fiction novel]
Black Cat Weekly #102 has quite an eclectic lineup. We have modern mystery tales by Joseph S. Walker and Marc Lecard (thanks to Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman. A parody of Harlan Ellison’s work from Larry Tritten. Noir from Bruno Fischer. A story featuring traditional British detective Sexton Blake from Hal Meredith. Classic sci-fi by Lester del Rey. And let’s not forget our solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. We also have more than a few stories by famous authors that appeared outside of the genre for which they are most famous. This time it’s mystery writer Evan Hunter, plus horror writers Joseph Payne Brennan and H.P. Lovecraft, all with science fiction stories. Lovecraft’s first appeared as a 3-part serial in Astounding Stories. How did Lovecraft’s work manage to appear in Astounding? For a brief time, he had an agent—who made the sale for him to a market that paid significantly more than Weird Tales. Surely Lovecraft never would have submitted to Astounding on his own. And never mind that it really is a science fiction story, though there are cosmic horrors as well. Literary quality sold it. And so Lovecraft became a science fiction pulp writer! Evan Hunter—slumming in the science fiction field—sold his story to Science Fiction Quarterly—a respectable market, if not in the top tier. Brennan’s tale appeared as an original in his 1963 collection, Scream at Midnight. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: "Making the Bad Guys Nervous," by Joseph S. Walker [Michael Bracken Presents short story] "Things That Go Bump," by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] "Teardown," by Marc Lecard [Barb Goffman Presents short story] "Py Ponk," by Hal Meredith [Sexton Blake series, short story] "Stop Him!," by Bruno Fischer Science Fiction & Fantasy: "Painbird, Painbird, Fly Away Home," by Larry Tritten "Operation Distress," by Lester Del Rey "The Dump," by by Joseph Payne Brennan "Reaching for the Moon," by Evan Hunter At the Mountains of Madness, by H. P. Lovecraft [novel]
Our 84th issue features a pair of original mysteries from Bev Vincent and Stacy Woodson. Plus we have a Bryce Walton Hollywood crime story and a Frank Kane mystery novel (featuring detecive Johnny Liddell). And, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. On the science fiction side, we have an anti-war story from Richard Wilson, a UFO story from Paul Torak, a rather silly science fiction/detective story from Noel Loomis, and a time-travel tale from Lester del Rey. Plus a pre-Golden Age science fiction novel from oldtime master Ray Cummings: The Man on the Meteor, which appeared in Science and Invention in 1924, two years before Amazing Stories and the genre of science fiction were launched! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The River Heights Ripper,” by Bev Vincent [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Jellybean Justice,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Before the Highwaymen,” by Stacy Woodson [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Actor’s Showcase,” by Bryce Walton [short story] Crime of Their Life, by Frank Kane [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Day They Had a War,” by Richard Wilson [short story] “Flight 18,” by Paul A. Torak [short story] “Remember the 4th!,” by Noel Loomis [short story] “Absolutely No Paradox,” by Lester del Rey [short story] The Man on the Meteor, by Ray Cummings [novel]
Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #47. Another fine issue is at hand—with mysteries from Peter Lovesey (thanks to acquiring editor Barb Goffman), Laird Long (thanks to acquiring editor Michael Bracken), and classics from Christopher B. Booth, Edgar Wallace, and Nicholas Carter. (Not to mention a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles!) On the science fiction front, we have Nisi Shawl’s excellent “Lazzrus” (thanks to acquiring editor Cynthia Ward) plus classics from George O. Smith, E.E. “Doc” Smith, and Algis Budrys. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Suicide Sleep,” by Laird Long [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Boxed In,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] Popping Round to the Post,” by Peter Lovesey [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Penny Protection,” by Christopher B. Booth [short story] Chick, by Edgar Wallace [novel] The Sultan’s Pearls, by Nicholas Carter [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Lazzrus,” by Nisi Shawl [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Firegod,” by Algis Budrys [short story] “Robot Nemesis,” by E.E. “Doc” Smith, Ph.D. [novelet] Pattern for Conquest, by George O. Smith [novel]
Black Cat Weekly #87 features more modern and classic mysteries, fantasies, and science fiction tales. Included this time are: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Weary Are At Rest,” by Veronica Leigh [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Case of the Anonymous Note,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “In a Bavarian Forest,” by Warren Moore [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Kaluki Kings of Queens,” by Cathi Stoler [short story] Bluffer’s Luck, by W.C. Tuttler Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Glyphs,” by Phyllis Ann Karr and Clifton Alfred Hoyt [short story] “Gentlemen: Please Note,” by Randall Garrett [short story] “Two Worlds For One,” by George O. Smith [short story] “No War Tomorrow,” by Wallace West [short novel] The Grandfathers’ War, by Murray Leinster [short novel]
Black Cat Weekly #101 presents 10 great tales of mystery. fantasy, and science fiction -- a pair of novels, a novella, and 7 short stories. Hours of great reading await! Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Lost Boy” by Neil S. Plakcy [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Case of the Disappearing Document” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “River Secret” by Anne Swardson [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “A Network of Crime,” by Nicholas Carter [novella] Anybody’s Pearls, by Hulbert Footner [short story collection] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Knocker Baby,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story, Bart Maverel series] “Gentlemen: Please Note,” by Randall Garrett [short story] “Killer Cat,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story] “Pen Pal,” by Stephen Marlowe [short story] The Hidden Kingdom, by Francis Beeding
