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Horizons, v. 2, issue 4, June 1941

Page 9

HORIZONS
9

A YEAR OF REPRINTS

but that was nothing new at the time, and doesn't make the story better. About the only way we might have thought it as good as it's supposed to be would have been to read it before any other atom story. Even if that had been the case, we probably have been able later to distinguish between the nostalgia and the worth of the story. THROUGH THE DRAGON GLASS: 4. It's not Merritt at his very best, but interesting in that it contains within its ten pages virtually every trick of writing Merritt has made famous since writing it. THE MIDDLE BEDROOM: 3. Like most fans, we dislike dialect stories of all sorts. This is a bit better than the ordinary weird yarn, mostly for its slightly hackneyed theme. Can you possible imagine a worse name than its author's -- H. daVere Staepeele? SPAWN OF INFINITUDE: 2. Another example of one ahead of its time but terrible just the same. Doc's poem to Poe one his very best efforts, 4, but the much discussed little cat that was put atop it is about as appropriate as a snow man in the summer time. The Cummings autobiography is about as bad as his stories. And the letters all say the same thing as they had said in the past year. We'd give anything to see one printed here that cussed out the magazines. Stories, in order, Through the Dragon Glass, People of the Golden Atom, The Middle Bedroom, and last and certainly least, Spawn of Infinitude. By the way, does anyone know just what "infinitude" is supposed to mean? We can't see anyone in it.

Famous Fantastic Mysteries: Oct., 1940. Cover: 3. It lacks something. The picturization is apt, and it's rare among covers in that it shows the climax of a story. We think this should be true of most covers. They usually merely illustrate an incident -- any incident -- but climaxes almost always contain lots of action; these things being equal, wouldn't it be nicer to have the important scene in picture, rather than some possibly important scene which has next to nothing to do with the actions? But to return, the drawing is too sharp. The face's expression is wrong, and the proportions seem all cockeyed. We're dissatisfied. THE FACE IN THE ABYSS: 4. Although little more than a prologue, it seems to hold together nicely as a complete story. However, we're inclined to think that Snake Mother makes it seem just a bit better than it really is. Its one real fault is the slowness with which it starts. Wouldn't it have been perfect if they had put Face in the Abyss and Snake Mother together in one issue? They probably would have fitted, too, in the 144 pages of small type that The Blind Spot took up. FUNGUS ISLE: 4. It seems better than most of the stories of this type, and far better than the previous reprint of Fisher's. The writing we found suitably skillful, and it didn't gently squeak out at the ending as do so many yarns which sustain power for a long time. Of course, it's not so good as The Face; if we were rating on a 1 - 10 scale, The Face would get 8 and Fungus Isle 7. We're using the broader scale on 1941's yarns, incidentally. OUT OF THE DARK: 3. Oddly, we remember little about it, although it's been only some either or nine months since it was read. The rating is thus tentative, but it couldn't have impressed us so very much. Doc's poem we can't get the full benefit of, for we're so used to pronouncing the character in Siegfried "nee-mah" that we must needs stop after the fourth line of the poem to realize that "mime" in English actually does rhyme with "time". So sad it is. 3. The editorial was quite interesting, and the letters a little above average, which isn't saying much. Walt Conever has another letter, but we can't remember his showing up anywhere since. Yarns in order: The Face in Abyss, Fungus Isle, Out of the Dark.

Fantastic Novels: November, 1940. Cover: 5. If anyone says this isn't the best cover of 1940, he should be told to go 'way back and sit down. In fact, it is very close to being the very finest cover to appear on any science fiction or fantasy magazine since 1923 -- unless we never saw some of the very best. We have the cover from Argosy where it first appeared ten years ago, and it appears that Finlay might possibly have used it as a starting point. Needless to say, there's no comparison between the two. If only there hadn't been that black sticker on the upper right; no author could wish a better picturization of his work than this; that's certain. THE SNAKE MOTHER: 5. We regard it as some of Merritt's very best work, although that may be partly because we've read it twice

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HORIZONS 9 A YEAR OF REPRINTS but that was nothing new at the time, and doesn't make the story better. About the only way we might have thought it as good as it's supposed to be would have been to read it before any other atom story. Even if that had been the case, we probably have been able later to distinguish between the nostalgia and the worth of the story. THROUGH THE DRAGON GLASS: 4. It's not Merritt at his very best, but interesting in that it contains within its ten pages virtually every trick of writing Merritt has made famous since writing it. THE MIDDLE BEDROOM: 3. Like most fans, we dislike dialect stories of all sorts. This is a bit better than the ordinary weird yarn, mostly for its slightly hackneyed theme. Can you possible imagine a worse name than its author's -- H. daVere Staepeele? SPAWN OF INFINITUDE: 2. Another example of one ahead of its time but terrible just the same. Doc's poem to Poe one his very best efforts, 4, but the much discussed little cat that was put atop it is about as appropriate as a snow man in the summer time. The Cummings autobiography is about as bad as his stories. And the letters all say the same thing as they had said in the past year. We'd give anything to see one printed here that cussed out the magazines. Stories, in order, Through the Dragon Glass, People of the Golden Atom, The Middle Bedroom, and last and certainly least, Spawn of Infinitude. By the way, does anyone know just what "infinitude" is supposed to mean? We can't see anyone in it. Famous Fantastic Mysteries: Oct., 1940. Cover: 3. It lacks something. The picturization is apt, and it's rare among covers in that it shows the climax of a story. We think this should be true of most covers. They usually merely illustrate an incident -- any incident -- but climaxes almost always contain lots of action; these things being equal, wouldn't it be nicer to have the important scene in picture, rather than some possibly important scene which has next to nothing to do with the actions? But to return, the drawing is too sharp. The face's expression is wrong, and the proportions seem all cockeyed. We're dissatisfied. THE FACE IN THE ABYSS: 4. Although little more than a prologue, it seems to hold together nicely as a complete story. However, we're inclined to think that Snake Mother makes it seem just a bit better than it really is. Its one real fault is the slowness with which it starts. Wouldn't it have been perfect if they had put Face in the Abyss and Snake Mother together in one issue? They probably would have fitted, too, in the 144 pages of small type that The Blind Spot took up. FUNGUS ISLE: 4. It seems better than most of the stories of this type, and far better than the previous reprint of Fisher's. The writing we found suitably skillful, and it didn't gently squeak out at the ending as do so many yarns which sustain power for a long time. Of course, it's not so good as The Face; if we were rating on a 1 - 10 scale, The Face would get 8 and Fungus Isle 7. We're using the broader scale on 1941's yarns, incidentally. OUT OF THE DARK: 3. Oddly, we remember little about it, although it's been only some either or nine months since it was read. The rating is thus tentative, but it couldn't have impressed us so very much. Doc's poem we can't get the full benefit of, for we're so used to pronouncing the character in Siegfried "nee-mah" that we must needs stop after the fourth line of the poem to realize that "mime" in English actually does rhyme with "time". So sad it is. 3. The editorial was quite interesting, and the letters a little above average, which isn't saying much. Walt Conever has another letter, but we can't remember his showing up anywhere since. Yarns in order: The Face in Abyss, Fungus Isle, Out of the Dark. Fantastic Novels: November, 1940. Cover: 5. If anyone says this isn't the best cover of 1940, he should be told to go 'way back and sit down. In fact, it is very close to being the very finest cover to appear on any science fiction or fantasy magazine since 1923 -- unless we never saw some of the very best. We have the cover from Argosy where it first appeared ten years ago, and it appears that Finlay might possibly have used it as a starting point. Needless to say, there's no comparison between the two. If only there hadn't been that black sticker on the upper right; no author could wish a better picturization of his work than this; that's certain. THE SNAKE MOTHER: 5. We regard it as some of Merritt's very best work, although that may be partly because we've read it twice