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Horizons, v. 2, issue 4, June 1941

Page 6

HORIZONS

A FEAR OF REPRINTS

the Brink of 2000. The "V" Force, An Astral Gentleman, Behind the Curtain, and The Red Germ of Courage.

FFM: February 1940. Cover: no comment. THE MAN WHO SAVED THE EARTH: 4. We haven't read enough of Hall's works to know whether he started everything he wrote out as in this yarn and The Blind Spot. If he did, it would probably become monotonous. If he didn't, it would be marvelously effective when used. We so far, therefore, find it effective. The story comes close to getting 5, but a firm determination to be conservative holds us back. An average of one yarn per issue of this year's output of the Gnaedinger magazines we intend re-reading one fine day, or some fine days, and this is another. THE SKY WOMAN: 4 again. This is one that's faded from memory a bit, but glancing over it again recalls a pleasant time had by all, and the thought we made at the time that the yarn was written by a woman under a man's name. Maybe not, but it somehow gives that impression. SON OF THE STARS: 3. And here is one over which everyone enthused by us. True, it's a bit above Binder's usual level, which isn't too bad to begin with but merely so blissfully mediocre that disgust is the usual reaction. However, a lot of stories which aren't bad seem worse for another reason: you read them, and then think what a classic might have been made out of the theme, and know that that particular theme can't be used again without much altering, and so a great classic is perhaps lost. THE RADIO MAN: 3. Some stories are good to begin with, and don't stand up over the years. Others are good to begin with, and improve with the years, mostly for their prophecies, which impress people who read them and because of a few remarkable pages conclude the work is the author's finest. Jack London's "Iron Heel" is a fine example of this. (The mis-type in the last word of the title wasn't intended, but is pretty appropriate at that!) The stories of Hall and Stevens are among those which while not great literature when new, have held up remarkably well. The work of Cummings and Farley is as famous as that of Hall and Stevens, and has faded tremendously. We're unconvinced, in fact, that we dislike Burroughs' work just because we read it after lots of modern stf., instead of it being an introduction to fantasy, as with as many fans. We think it's just poor stuff. All this applies to The Radio Man, if you've plowed through this much and are able to see some sort of analogy. THE KISS OF DEATH: 3, and hardly deserving of it. An awful example of "dramatic" writing that fizzled. PLUNGE OF THE "KNUPFEN"; 3. It didn't seem so crude to us. In order: Man Who Saved the Earth, Sky Woman, Son of the Stars, Radio Man, Plunge of the Knupfen, The Kiss of Death. The last four are nicely mediocre and almost any order would suffice, and ours is but approximate.

FFM: March, 1940. Cover: 2. Finlay's poorest cover work, and we can hardly believe he did it with knowledge it was to be a cover. And most certainly he was not to blame for the coloring. It would be up to his standard as an interior drawing, but the inside and outside techniques are vastly different. THE PLANET JUGGLER: 4. When we first read it, it seemed a bit bad for its piling on of one climax to the next. Then we mentioned the copyright line, and our enthusiasm turned to amazement. It could really pass almost as a work of today, and when compared with the original stories that appeared in the first Amazings, written twenty years later, it's even more remarkable. Wonder if Frederick is still living? BOMB FROM BERANGA: 3. Another new yarn over-rated, we decided. Nothing to be said about it. THE BELATED TEARS OF LOUIS MARCEL: 2. Another example of "mystic" writing, and particularly ending, gone haywire. A PLACE OF MONSTERS: 3. This is a wee bit better than most of its type, but we think they are as hacky as Hamilton interplanetaries. Or were as hacky; luckily, they are no longer being bought or, presumably, written. WHO CAN GUESS?: 4. We're no judge of poetry, mayhap, but something appeals to us in this; maybe it's making-every-word count quality. In order (you understand, of course, that in these articles we don't mention serials under the final installment): Planet Juggler, Bomb from Beranga, Place of Monsters, and Belated Tears of M. Marcel. The poetry, as always, can't be rated in relation to the stories.

Saving...

HORIZONS A FEAR OF REPRINTS the Brink of 2000. The "V" Force, An Astral Gentleman, Behind the Curtain, and The Red Germ of Courage. FFM: February 1940. Cover: no comment. THE MAN WHO SAVED THE EARTH: 4. We haven't read enough of Hall's works to know whether he started everything he wrote out as in this yarn and The Blind Spot. If he did, it would probably become monotonous. If he didn't, it would be marvelously effective when used. We so far, therefore, find it effective. The story comes close to getting 5, but a firm determination to be conservative holds us back. An average of one yarn per issue of this year's output of the Gnaedinger magazines we intend re-reading one fine day, or some fine days, and this is another. THE SKY WOMAN: 4 again. This is one that's faded from memory a bit, but glancing over it again recalls a pleasant time had by all, and the thought we made at the time that the yarn was written by a woman under a man's name. Maybe not, but it somehow gives that impression. SON OF THE STARS: 3. And here is one over which everyone enthused by us. True, it's a bit above Binder's usual level, which isn't too bad to begin with but merely so blissfully mediocre that disgust is the usual reaction. However, a lot of stories which aren't bad seem worse for another reason: you read them, and then think what a classic might have been made out of the theme, and know that that particular theme can't be used again without much altering, and so a great classic is perhaps lost. THE RADIO MAN: 3. Some stories are good to begin with, and don't stand up over the years. Others are good to begin with, and improve with the years, mostly for their prophecies, which impress people who read them and because of a few remarkable pages conclude the work is the author's finest. Jack London's "Iron Heel" is a fine example of this. (The mis-type in the last word of the title wasn't intended, but is pretty appropriate at that!) The stories of Hall and Stevens are among those which while not great literature when new, have held up remarkably well. The work of Cummings and Farley is as famous as that of Hall and Stevens, and has faded tremendously. We're unconvinced, in fact, that we dislike Burroughs' work just because we read it after lots of modern stf., instead of it being an introduction to fantasy, as with as many fans. We think it's just poor stuff. All this applies to The Radio Man, if you've plowed through this much and are able to see some sort of analogy. THE KISS OF DEATH: 3, and hardly deserving of it. An awful example of "dramatic" writing that fizzled. PLUNGE OF THE "KNUPFEN"; 3. It didn't seem so crude to us. In order: Man Who Saved the Earth, Sky Woman, Son of the Stars, Radio Man, Plunge of the Knupfen, The Kiss of Death. The last four are nicely mediocre and almost any order would suffice, and ours is but approximate. FFM: March, 1940. Cover: 2. Finlay's poorest cover work, and we can hardly believe he did it with knowledge it was to be a cover. And most certainly he was not to blame for the coloring. It would be up to his standard as an interior drawing, but the inside and outside techniques are vastly different. THE PLANET JUGGLER: 4. When we first read it, it seemed a bit bad for its piling on of one climax to the next. Then we mentioned the copyright line, and our enthusiasm turned to amazement. It could really pass almost as a work of today, and when compared with the original stories that appeared in the first Amazings, written twenty years later, it's even more remarkable. Wonder if Frederick is still living? BOMB FROM BERANGA: 3. Another new yarn over-rated, we decided. Nothing to be said about it. THE BELATED TEARS OF LOUIS MARCEL: 2. Another example of "mystic" writing, and particularly ending, gone haywire. A PLACE OF MONSTERS: 3. This is a wee bit better than most of its type, but we think they are as hacky as Hamilton interplanetaries. Or were as hacky; luckily, they are no longer being bought or, presumably, written. WHO CAN GUESS?: 4. We're no judge of poetry, mayhap, but something appeals to us in this; maybe it's making-every-word count quality. In order (you understand, of course, that in these articles we don't mention serials under the final installment): Planet Juggler, Bomb from Beranga, Place of Monsters, and Belated Tears of M. Marcel. The poetry, as always, can't be rated in relation to the stories.