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Fantasy-News, v. 5, issue 10, September 1, 1940
Page 3
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FANTASY NEWS Page Three PRO MAG REVIEW by D.B. Thompson. ASTOUNDING S F: Sep 1940. "Blowups Happen" by Robert A Heinlein. This is THE story of the first atomic power plant. The theories of a brilliant mathematician indicate that a "blowup" will, at most, destroy only a few hundred square miles of desert country. But he may be wrong: and if he is, an explosion will destroy the earth. Therefore, the strain on the Engineers, and the Psychologists who watch them constantly, is terrific. The theory of a "mild" explosion is disproved. The tension grows. Meanwhile, two Engineers, removed from the power plant for instability ity, discover a practical atomic fuel. This makes possible the construction of an artificial satellite to house the plant, and the earth is safe from destruction. Opnion-One of Heinlein's best. "Quietus" by Ross Rocklynn. Two highly intelligent bird-like travellers, nearing the end of a tremendous trip of interstellar exploration, stop on earth. Something has destroyed all life, save in a narrow strip of green. A man and a girl, together with a talking pet crow, are the sole survivors. When the crow frightens the girl, the man throws rocks at it. One of the travellers, sure that the crow which resembles their own race is the more intelligent life-form, shoots the man. Opinion-A relief from the "happy ending". Very good. ASTONISHING STORIES: Oct 1940. "Stepson of Space" by Raymond Z. Gallun. Jack Mathews, just eight, has a childish "invention." But when his father turns it on, it works! Jack knows only that "Mr. Weefles" has taught him to build it and that he has used it to transmit and receive material objects. His father, angered at this interference with his son, prepares and transmits two bombs. Then Jack is seriously injured. Strange, beating, mental commands fill the sickroom; and Jack recovers. Meanwhile, Mr. Mathews rushes home and turns off the power, but (next column) Pro Mag Review Cont'd: two explosions on the Moon show that he has been too late. Opinion-A fine, human, tale. SCIENCE FICTION: Oct 1940. "The Man Who Sold The Earth" by Thornton Ayre. In ten years Mastervil has gained control of Earth's wealth. He plans to sell the planet to Venusians. He tells Calthorp, his Secretary, that he, Mastervil, is going to marry Calthorpe's fiancee. When Calthorp protests, he "exiles" him, and has him forced down, and, apparently, killed at sea. Calthorp is revived by Atlanteans, and with their aid discovers that Mastervil is a Venusian mind in a human body. He has only one fear:--Ghosts! He is frightened into calling off the Venusian deal, and dies of heart failure. Opinion-Good, fast-moving, carefully plotted, mystery. REPORT MUMMY CELLS REVIVED! The German press, reporting on the "Amazing and extraordinary" experiments of Prof. P. Busee-Grawitz in the German clinic of Cordova, Spain, said that the profesor has succeeded in "resurrecting to life" cell tissue from a 5300 year old Egyptian mummy, and is discovering the secret of immortality. At Chicago, Dr. Ludwig Hekton, pathologist and chairman of the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Research, said the results claimed by Prof. Busse-Grawitz "appeared" absolutely impossible, but that further developments should be awaited. Several years ago, Busse-Grawitz began experimenting in the field of resurrecting dead tissue when he noticed that human cells preserved in alcohol for 38 years began to grow again when placed in a special nutritive culture, the German reports said. If these reports are correct, and the German savant has really made these discoveries, perhaps Stanley Weinbaum's "Dawn of Flame" is not far off.
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FANTASY NEWS Page Three PRO MAG REVIEW by D.B. Thompson. ASTOUNDING S F: Sep 1940. "Blowups Happen" by Robert A Heinlein. This is THE story of the first atomic power plant. The theories of a brilliant mathematician indicate that a "blowup" will, at most, destroy only a few hundred square miles of desert country. But he may be wrong: and if he is, an explosion will destroy the earth. Therefore, the strain on the Engineers, and the Psychologists who watch them constantly, is terrific. The theory of a "mild" explosion is disproved. The tension grows. Meanwhile, two Engineers, removed from the power plant for instability ity, discover a practical atomic fuel. This makes possible the construction of an artificial satellite to house the plant, and the earth is safe from destruction. Opnion-One of Heinlein's best. "Quietus" by Ross Rocklynn. Two highly intelligent bird-like travellers, nearing the end of a tremendous trip of interstellar exploration, stop on earth. Something has destroyed all life, save in a narrow strip of green. A man and a girl, together with a talking pet crow, are the sole survivors. When the crow frightens the girl, the man throws rocks at it. One of the travellers, sure that the crow which resembles their own race is the more intelligent life-form, shoots the man. Opinion-A relief from the "happy ending". Very good. ASTONISHING STORIES: Oct 1940. "Stepson of Space" by Raymond Z. Gallun. Jack Mathews, just eight, has a childish "invention." But when his father turns it on, it works! Jack knows only that "Mr. Weefles" has taught him to build it and that he has used it to transmit and receive material objects. His father, angered at this interference with his son, prepares and transmits two bombs. Then Jack is seriously injured. Strange, beating, mental commands fill the sickroom; and Jack recovers. Meanwhile, Mr. Mathews rushes home and turns off the power, but (next column) Pro Mag Review Cont'd: two explosions on the Moon show that he has been too late. Opinion-A fine, human, tale. SCIENCE FICTION: Oct 1940. "The Man Who Sold The Earth" by Thornton Ayre. In ten years Mastervil has gained control of Earth's wealth. He plans to sell the planet to Venusians. He tells Calthorp, his Secretary, that he, Mastervil, is going to marry Calthorpe's fiancee. When Calthorp protests, he "exiles" him, and has him forced down, and, apparently, killed at sea. Calthorp is revived by Atlanteans, and with their aid discovers that Mastervil is a Venusian mind in a human body. He has only one fear:--Ghosts! He is frightened into calling off the Venusian deal, and dies of heart failure. Opinion-Good, fast-moving, carefully plotted, mystery. REPORT MUMMY CELLS REVIVED! The German press, reporting on the "Amazing and extraordinary" experiments of Prof. P. Busee-Grawitz in the German clinic of Cordova, Spain, said that the profesor has succeeded in "resurrecting to life" cell tissue from a 5300 year old Egyptian mummy, and is discovering the secret of immortality. At Chicago, Dr. Ludwig Hekton, pathologist and chairman of the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Research, said the results claimed by Prof. Busse-Grawitz "appeared" absolutely impossible, but that further developments should be awaited. Several years ago, Busse-Grawitz began experimenting in the field of resurrecting dead tissue when he noticed that human cells preserved in alcohol for 38 years began to grow again when placed in a special nutritive culture, the German reports said. If these reports are correct, and the German savant has really made these discoveries, perhaps Stanley Weinbaum's "Dawn of Flame" is not far off.
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