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Horizons, v. 2, issue 2, whole no. 6, December 1940
Inside back cover
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HORIZONS 11 A YEAR OF UNKNOWN Everything in it seems to come from elsewhere. Not so hot. (Erratum: Please insert in the blank space 14 lines from the bottom on page 10 "have disliked the ....") TRANSPARENT STUFF: This is the worst kind of hack stuff under the guise of good writing. It is well written, but that's about all that can be said for it. The whole thing has been done so often that it's amazing Campbell let himself in for a series like this. THE MAN FROM NOWHERE: Very excellent. Except when he dives into those fantasies of the far future which Astounding printed regularly a half-decade back, Frank Belknap is one of the consistently best writers of fantasy and science fiction, and seems at home wherever he places his yarns. The yarn here is another example of the kind we like in Unknown. Preferred order: But Without Horns, The Man from Nowhere, Master Gerald of Cambray, The Kraken, Transparent Stuff. The poem is fairly good as poetry, but it's not the thing for the magazine. Not much in the editorial; no letter section. July: Cover: We're still undecided about the new style. If the covers before they came into effect had been better, we'd have raised a terrific howl. But most of Unknown's covers have been so bad that almost anything is better. We doubt that they get much of the slick class of readers, though; newsstand dealers just won't bother to put one certain pulp magazines with the slicks each month. (Foregoing five lines to apply to all covers henceforth.) FEAR: This is about the only yarn of the year that raised much comment. Reaction of the veteran fans was distinctly unfavorable, and there seems to be quite a divergence of opinion among others. We liked it. It probably lost a lot of readers, and hardly gained any, but it was worth printing just to show that the pulps can occasionally come up with trick plots and writing and not immediately fail. Sooner or later we want to re-read it and see how it stands up, once the ending's known. Yeah, it's morbid, neurotic, hysterical, and any number of other things. So what? THE DREAM: For some reason, this reminds us of fan mag fiction. It's too long, for one thing. Then too, it's little more than a slightly elaborate weird tale. Superior writing would have made its place in Unknown desirable, but it didn't possess that. Not bad, just the same. FISHERMAN'S LUCK: Another good long yarn. Little to be said about it. THE FLAYED WOLF: Another of our pet children. The idea is rather novel, and there was suspense in it far above the usual story. This is the best work Miller has done in a long while; certainly much better than his recent stuff in Astounding. Order: Fear, The Flayed Wolf, Fisherman's Luck, The Dream. In a weird magazine the last-named would have gone much higher. The article, Spontaneous Fregation, depends like all others of its kind, on the basic truth of the subject matter. Editorial fair-to-middlin', letters good. August: THE MATHEMATICS OF MAGIC: It's the old story. Good yarn, poor sequel. To be frank, we know little about the period of the Faerie Queens. But if we were an authority on it, it's unlikely we'd be more pleased over this. Of course, anything L. Spragus has touched is worth reading. Belphebe is quite a character, and Cartier's illustrations are his best work. But we've seen better. IT: Best novelette or short of the year. This is very nearly slick writing in a pulp. And if you didn't read it, do so at once. TOMBI SINK: Read it in a hurry and didn't care so much for it. Capable, and all that, but a fight with a pre-historic monster hardly fits Unknown. ALL ROADS: Whoever Mona Farnsworth may be, we wish she'd do more for Unknown. Her plots are always fresh, characterization deft, and most important, they fit Unknown -- the stories, that is. In case you're planning to introduce someone to this magazine and are looking around for something to use as a touch-stone, we suggest this. In order: It, Mathematics of Magic, All Roads, and Tombi Sink. The editorial is perhaps the best of the year, and what there were of the letters were enjoyable. September: THE DEVIL MAKES THE LAW: This is the first time we recall seeing a yarn that just as interplanetary stories nowadays begin on the Moon or Mars with rocket-ships a commonplace thing, begins with a fantasy theme implied and to be taken for granted by the reader. Wonder if ten years from now the majority of weird and fantasy yarns will be like that? Remember, it's been only ten years that a science-fiction story had to begin at the very beginning. At any rate, this seems Heinlein's poorest work so far. It dragged, and could have lost ten
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HORIZONS 11 A YEAR OF UNKNOWN Everything in it seems to come from elsewhere. Not so hot. (Erratum: Please insert in the blank space 14 lines from the bottom on page 10 "have disliked the ....") TRANSPARENT STUFF: This is the worst kind of hack stuff under the guise of good writing. It is well written, but that's about all that can be said for it. The whole thing has been done so often that it's amazing Campbell let himself in for a series like this. THE MAN FROM NOWHERE: Very excellent. Except when he dives into those fantasies of the far future which Astounding printed regularly a half-decade back, Frank Belknap is one of the consistently best writers of fantasy and science fiction, and seems at home wherever he places his yarns. The yarn here is another example of the kind we like in Unknown. Preferred order: But Without Horns, The Man from Nowhere, Master Gerald of Cambray, The Kraken, Transparent Stuff. The poem is fairly good as poetry, but it's not the thing for the magazine. Not much in the editorial; no letter section. July: Cover: We're still undecided about the new style. If the covers before they came into effect had been better, we'd have raised a terrific howl. But most of Unknown's covers have been so bad that almost anything is better. We doubt that they get much of the slick class of readers, though; newsstand dealers just won't bother to put one certain pulp magazines with the slicks each month. (Foregoing five lines to apply to all covers henceforth.) FEAR: This is about the only yarn of the year that raised much comment. Reaction of the veteran fans was distinctly unfavorable, and there seems to be quite a divergence of opinion among others. We liked it. It probably lost a lot of readers, and hardly gained any, but it was worth printing just to show that the pulps can occasionally come up with trick plots and writing and not immediately fail. Sooner or later we want to re-read it and see how it stands up, once the ending's known. Yeah, it's morbid, neurotic, hysterical, and any number of other things. So what? THE DREAM: For some reason, this reminds us of fan mag fiction. It's too long, for one thing. Then too, it's little more than a slightly elaborate weird tale. Superior writing would have made its place in Unknown desirable, but it didn't possess that. Not bad, just the same. FISHERMAN'S LUCK: Another good long yarn. Little to be said about it. THE FLAYED WOLF: Another of our pet children. The idea is rather novel, and there was suspense in it far above the usual story. This is the best work Miller has done in a long while; certainly much better than his recent stuff in Astounding. Order: Fear, The Flayed Wolf, Fisherman's Luck, The Dream. In a weird magazine the last-named would have gone much higher. The article, Spontaneous Fregation, depends like all others of its kind, on the basic truth of the subject matter. Editorial fair-to-middlin', letters good. August: THE MATHEMATICS OF MAGIC: It's the old story. Good yarn, poor sequel. To be frank, we know little about the period of the Faerie Queens. But if we were an authority on it, it's unlikely we'd be more pleased over this. Of course, anything L. Spragus has touched is worth reading. Belphebe is quite a character, and Cartier's illustrations are his best work. But we've seen better. IT: Best novelette or short of the year. This is very nearly slick writing in a pulp. And if you didn't read it, do so at once. TOMBI SINK: Read it in a hurry and didn't care so much for it. Capable, and all that, but a fight with a pre-historic monster hardly fits Unknown. ALL ROADS: Whoever Mona Farnsworth may be, we wish she'd do more for Unknown. Her plots are always fresh, characterization deft, and most important, they fit Unknown -- the stories, that is. In case you're planning to introduce someone to this magazine and are looking around for something to use as a touch-stone, we suggest this. In order: It, Mathematics of Magic, All Roads, and Tombi Sink. The editorial is perhaps the best of the year, and what there were of the letters were enjoyable. September: THE DEVIL MAKES THE LAW: This is the first time we recall seeing a yarn that just as interplanetary stories nowadays begin on the Moon or Mars with rocket-ships a commonplace thing, begins with a fantasy theme implied and to be taken for granted by the reader. Wonder if ten years from now the majority of weird and fantasy yarns will be like that? Remember, it's been only ten years that a science-fiction story had to begin at the very beginning. At any rate, this seems Heinlein's poorest work so far. It dragged, and could have lost ten
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