This issue, we have a pair of original tales—Aeryn Rudel’s “The Past, History” (which served double-duty as both science fiction and a crime story, courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Janet Law’s urban fantasy, “The Fountain of Youth.” We also have a pair of stories that fall squarely in the Weird Tales vein, one by fantasy master Seabury Quinn and one by Malcolm Jameson, best known for his military SF tales—this time, he serves up sci-fi horror in South America, complete with monsters! A Jerome Bixby / Joe E. Dean collaboration and a novel of a future in which the United States has cut itself off from the world with an atomic curtain of power (a variation of the “iron curtain” theme…) by Nick Boddie Williams round out the science fiction & fantasy part of the magazine.
On the mystery side, Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman serves up a tale of a potential high school shooter and his best friend in “Everybody Loves a Hero,” by Richard Helms, plus we have a classic short story by Murray Leinster and a powerful anti-racism mystery novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. And, of course, one of Hal Charles’s “solve-it-yourself” puzzlers.
A warning to the culturally sensitive: Dorothy B. Hughes’s novel, published in 1963, contains language which will be offensive to some. It is used to highlight the racism of villains in the story and was a powerful anti-racism tool of the time in a skilled author’s hands.
Here’s the complete lineup—
Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:
“The Past, History,” by Aeryn Rudel [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
“What’s Wrong with this Picture?”by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
“Everybody Loves a Hero,” by Richard Helms [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
“Island Honor,” by Murray Leinster [short story]
The Expendable Man, by Dorothy B. Hughes [novel]
Science Fiction & Fantasy:
“The Past, History,” by Aeryn Rudel [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
“The Fountain of Youth,”by Janice Law [short story]
“Share Alike,” by Jerome Bixby and Joe E. Dean [short story]
“The Vengeance of India,” by Seabury Quinn [short story, Jules de Grandin series]
“Chariots of San Fernando,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story]
The Atom Curtain, by Nick Boddie Williams [novel]
