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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 5, Winter 1944-1945
Page 88
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88 FANTASY COMMENTATOR ceived the approbation that was its due. The "Irrelevant" hornet's nest still was being stirred up in "Brass Tacks," but even that was to be preferred to the vaporings of the SPWSSTFM advocates. One Jack Speer of Comanche, Oklahoma (population, 1,704) wrote in, remarking that he was fourteen---yet breaking down to admit that he had begun reading science-fiction at the age of six, which tacitly made him something of an old-timer, one supposed... Wonder Stories, though second to Astounding, was nevertheless still an interesting magazine to read. Frank R. Paul did both the interior and the cover illustrations, and with Gernsback at its helm the publication had a nostalgic air even then. The "new story" policy, analogous to Street and Smith's thought-variant search for novel plots, was producing dividends, too---though these were to be sure smaller than they had been the previous year. Wonder tended more toward science-heavy material than its sister publication, besides. The January number had "One Way Tunnel" by the ever-popular David Keller. As an author, Dr. Keller was overrated in 1935---as, indeed, he still is today. (His chief fault has always been his attempt to use striking ideas in a stylistic vehicle that is not appropriate to their development; and added to this is his mistaking of pedestrianism for verisimilitude---a characteristic by no means confined solely to "One Way Tunnel.") Leslie Stone's "Cosmic Joke" and Edmond Hamilton's "Master of the Genes" were readable yarns, and Mortimer Weisinger and Varick Novins were likewise represented by a pair of short-short stories. In the line of serials, Otfrid von Hanstein's "Hidden Colony" was beginning, and Eando Binder had the concluding installment of his "Dawn to Dusk" herein. The latter was of the Last and First Men type of yarn, though Binder's treatment simply could not approach the scope of the theme; nevertheless, "Dawn to Dusk" was---and is---an enjoyable novel, albeit one must be in a leisurely mood to appreciate it. The February issue had only four stories, mostly because of a lengthy installment of "The Hidden Colony," which was becoming drearier than ever. "The Robot Aliens" showed Eando Binder depicting for the nth time what would happen if the earth were to be invaded from outer space, and the dependable Dr. Keller added "The Life Detour" to the plethora of heavy-water stories that was appearing about this time. In all justice, both were not too bad, a criticism which applies equally well to Hamilton's "Truth Gas," also in this number. Gernsback had his usual watered-down scientific editorial, and an interesting review of "Gold," a U.F.A. moving picture, was featured. "The Reader Speaks" ran to seven pages, and "Science Questions and Answers" was still going strong. This time one Willard Deyo wanted to know if the "canals" of Mars mightn't be entrances to the Martians' underground homes---but the editor was cagy and wouldn't commit himself definitely on the matter. Paul did a fairly good job on the March cover---even if he didn't know that outer space was not blue; this illustrated Hamilton's "Eternal Cycle," a not too-bad yarn. Wallace Saaty did the interior artwork for the story. Another newcomer, Lumen Winter, illustrated Weisinger's "Pigments is Pigments," this being just average. Von Hanstein's "Hidden Colony" came to its conclusion at long last, and the first part of Coblentz' "In the Caverns Below"---a much better novel---appeared. Coblentz meant satire, and although many readers probably weren't quite sure just what satire was, they knew it must be something good, for Coblentz had it, and they liked Coblentz… In his editorial, Gernsback started out by attempting a differentiation between mass and weight and ended by saying that mass, weight, energy, time and space were all the same, anyway---a conclusion that was doubtless comforting to those fans who, like Hugo, apparently were not quite certain just what the differentiation was. All the other regular features were present, including the swap column and chapter news about the moonward-bound science-fiction league.
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88 FANTASY COMMENTATOR ceived the approbation that was its due. The "Irrelevant" hornet's nest still was being stirred up in "Brass Tacks," but even that was to be preferred to the vaporings of the SPWSSTFM advocates. One Jack Speer of Comanche, Oklahoma (population, 1,704) wrote in, remarking that he was fourteen---yet breaking down to admit that he had begun reading science-fiction at the age of six, which tacitly made him something of an old-timer, one supposed... Wonder Stories, though second to Astounding, was nevertheless still an interesting magazine to read. Frank R. Paul did both the interior and the cover illustrations, and with Gernsback at its helm the publication had a nostalgic air even then. The "new story" policy, analogous to Street and Smith's thought-variant search for novel plots, was producing dividends, too---though these were to be sure smaller than they had been the previous year. Wonder tended more toward science-heavy material than its sister publication, besides. The January number had "One Way Tunnel" by the ever-popular David Keller. As an author, Dr. Keller was overrated in 1935---as, indeed, he still is today. (His chief fault has always been his attempt to use striking ideas in a stylistic vehicle that is not appropriate to their development; and added to this is his mistaking of pedestrianism for verisimilitude---a characteristic by no means confined solely to "One Way Tunnel.") Leslie Stone's "Cosmic Joke" and Edmond Hamilton's "Master of the Genes" were readable yarns, and Mortimer Weisinger and Varick Novins were likewise represented by a pair of short-short stories. In the line of serials, Otfrid von Hanstein's "Hidden Colony" was beginning, and Eando Binder had the concluding installment of his "Dawn to Dusk" herein. The latter was of the Last and First Men type of yarn, though Binder's treatment simply could not approach the scope of the theme; nevertheless, "Dawn to Dusk" was---and is---an enjoyable novel, albeit one must be in a leisurely mood to appreciate it. The February issue had only four stories, mostly because of a lengthy installment of "The Hidden Colony," which was becoming drearier than ever. "The Robot Aliens" showed Eando Binder depicting for the nth time what would happen if the earth were to be invaded from outer space, and the dependable Dr. Keller added "The Life Detour" to the plethora of heavy-water stories that was appearing about this time. In all justice, both were not too bad, a criticism which applies equally well to Hamilton's "Truth Gas," also in this number. Gernsback had his usual watered-down scientific editorial, and an interesting review of "Gold," a U.F.A. moving picture, was featured. "The Reader Speaks" ran to seven pages, and "Science Questions and Answers" was still going strong. This time one Willard Deyo wanted to know if the "canals" of Mars mightn't be entrances to the Martians' underground homes---but the editor was cagy and wouldn't commit himself definitely on the matter. Paul did a fairly good job on the March cover---even if he didn't know that outer space was not blue; this illustrated Hamilton's "Eternal Cycle," a not too-bad yarn. Wallace Saaty did the interior artwork for the story. Another newcomer, Lumen Winter, illustrated Weisinger's "Pigments is Pigments," this being just average. Von Hanstein's "Hidden Colony" came to its conclusion at long last, and the first part of Coblentz' "In the Caverns Below"---a much better novel---appeared. Coblentz meant satire, and although many readers probably weren't quite sure just what satire was, they knew it must be something good, for Coblentz had it, and they liked Coblentz… In his editorial, Gernsback started out by attempting a differentiation between mass and weight and ended by saying that mass, weight, energy, time and space were all the same, anyway---a conclusion that was doubtless comforting to those fans who, like Hugo, apparently were not quite certain just what the differentiation was. All the other regular features were present, including the swap column and chapter news about the moonward-bound science-fiction league.
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