''Science Fiction of the Thirties'' is an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
short stories edited by
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...
. It was first published in hardcover by
Bobbs-Merrill
The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Company history
The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...
in January 1976; a book club edition was issued simultaneously by the same publisher together with the Science Fiction Book Club, and a trade paperback edition by
Avon Books
Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reach ...
in March 1977.
The book collects eighteen tales by various authors originally published in the 1930s and exemplifying American magazine science fiction of that decade, together with a foreword and three essays on the period by the editor, and a bibliography. The stories were originally published in ''
Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
'' and ''
Amazing Stories
''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...
'', the premier science fiction magazines of the time. The book reproduces period illustrations that accompanied the stories' original appearances by
H. W. Wesso,
Leo Morey,
Paul Orban
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Howard V. Brown
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
,
Elliott Dold, Jr.,
Thompson
Thompson may refer to:
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* Thompson (surname)
* Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician
Places Australia
*Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality
Bulgaria
* Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province
Canada
* ...
, and
Charles Schneeman
Charles Schneeman (24 November 1912, in Staten Island, New York – 1 January 1972, in Pasadena, California) was an American illustrator of science fiction.
Life
In 1922, his family moved from his birthplace to Brooklyn where he graduated from E ...
.
Contents
* "Foreword" (
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...
)
* "The Early Years" (
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...
)
** "Out Around Rigel" (''Astounding Stories'', December 1931) (
Robert H. Wilson)
** "The Fifth-Dimension Catapult" (''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', January 1931) (
Murray Leinster
Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie ...
)
** "Into the Meteorite Orbit" (''Amazing Stories'', December 1933) (
Frank K. Kelly
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
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* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curre ...
)
** "The Battery of Hate" (''Amazing Stories'', November 1933) (
John W. Campbell, Jr.
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
)
* "The Middle Period" (
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...
)
** "The Wall" (''Astounding Stories'', May 1934) (
Howard W. Graham)
** "The Lost Language" (''Amazing Stories'', January 1934) (
David H. Keller
David Henry Keller (December 23, 1880 – July 13, 1966) was an American writer who worked for pulp magazines in the mid-twentieth century, in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. He was also a psychiatrist and physician to shell- ...
)
** "The Last Men" (''Astounding Stories'', August 1934) (
Frank Belknap Long, Jr.)
** "The Other" (''Astounding Stories'', December 1934) (
Howard W. Graham)
** "
The Mad Moon
"The Mad Moon" is a science fiction short story by American writer Stanley G. Weinbaum, first published in the December 1935 issue of ''Astounding Stories''. As did his earlier stories "A Martian Odyssey" and "Parasite Planet", "The Mad Moon" emp ...
" (''Astounding Stories'', December 1935) (
Stanley G. Weinbaum)
** "Davey Jones' Ambassador" (''Astounding Stories'', December 1935) (
Raymond Z. Gallun
Raymond Zinke Gallun (March 22, 1911 – April 2, 1994) was an American science fiction writer.
Early life
Gallun (rhymes with "balloon") was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the son of Adolph and Martha Zinke Gallun. He graduated from high scho ...
)
** "Alas, All Thinking" (''Astounding Stories'', June 1935) (
Harry Bates)
** "The Time Decelerator" (''Astounding Stories'', July 1936) (
A. Macfadyen, Jr.
A is the first letter of the Latin and English alphabet.
A may also refer to:
Science and technology Quantities and units
* ''a'', a measure for the attraction between particles in the Van der Waals equation
* A value, ''A'' value, a mea ...
)
** "The Council of Drones" (''Amazing Stories'', October 1936) (
William K. Sonnemann)
* "The End" (
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...
)
** "Seeker of Tomorrow" (''Astounding Stories'', July 1937) (
Eric Frank Russell
Eric Frank Russell (January 6, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's '' Astounding Science ...
and
Leslie T. Johnson)
** "
Hyperpilosity" (''Astounding Science-Fiction'', April 1938) (
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
)
** "Pithecanthropus Rejectus" (''Astounding Stories'', January 1938) (
Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman is ...
)
** "
The Merman
"The Merman" is a science fiction story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, based on the concept of human biological engineering . It was first published in the magazine '' Astounding Science-Fiction'' for December, 1938.Laughlin, Charlotte, an ...
" (''Astounding Science-Fiction'', December 1938) (
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
)
** "
The Day Is Done" (''Astounding Science-Fiction'', May 1939) (
Lester del Rey
Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science ...
)
* "Bibliography"
Notes
{{reflist
1976 anthologies
Science fiction anthologies
Bobbs-Merrill Company books