“As Shuster and Bailey rush to investigate, they find a strange reptilitan creature, eight feet tall with a prehensile tail. Dead—apparently electrocuted by the relatively low voltage of their power lines.”
Henry Slesar (1927–2002) was a prolific author, scriptwriter, and copywriter, famous for his twist endings. He is created for coining the phrase “coffee break” during his early years as an advertising copywriter. His first fiction sale was “The Brat” (Imaginative Tales Sept. 1953).
Two years later he wrote the novelization of the Columbia Pictures’ classic 20 Million Miles to Earth for Ziff-Davis in the the one-shot digest, Amazing Stories Science Fiction Novel.
Read the complete synopsis of Slesar’s novel, with highlights of the differences between film and novel in The Digest Enthusiast No. 14. Available now: 14C (full color print)–$20.00 from Lulu.com and Amazon.com 14BW (b&w print)–$12 from Amazon.com 14 Kindle (full color digital)–$4.99 from Amazon.com 14 digital (full color digital)–$4.99 from Magzter.com
New Releases Amazing Stories Volume 77 No. 2 Sept. 2020 The home of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, publisher of the first stories of Ursula K. Leguin and Isaac Asimov–Amazing Stories–is back in print after an absence of more than a decade! This relaunch of the iconic first science fiction magazine is packed full of exciting science fiction, fantasy, and articles, all in a beautiful package featuring eye-catching illustrations and cartoons.The Amazing Stories Summer 2020 issue (the 619th issue since 1926) includes work by: Steve Davidson • Darrell Schweitzer • Marie Vibbert • Tom Jolly • Bo Balder • Ellen Denton • D. K. & Jeffrey Blair Latta • Sam Asher • Lindsey Duncan • Laura Davy • Gunnar de Winter. Print $9.95 Kindle $2.99
Digest Magazine Reviews Ron Fortier reviews The Guns of Pluto (Captain Future) by Allen Steele at Pulp Fiction Reviews.
Gideon Marcus reviews Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov. 1965 at Galactic Journey.
Doug Ellis reviews A Man of Science: A Study of the Readership of Analog Science Fact-Fiction at Black Gate.
Todd Mason reviews EQMM Oct. 1962, Fantastic Oct. 1970, Partisan Review Vol. 44 No. 4 (1977), and Great Ghost Stories of the Old West at Sweet Freedom.
Victoria Silverwolf reviews Fantastic Nov. 1965 at Galactic Journey.
Digest Magazine Blogs Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker on “Visiting the Land of the Stone Giants” on Easter Island at Fate Magazine.
TDE Contributors’ Corner Jack Seabrook and Peter Enfantino review Batman No. 331, Detective No. 498, and The Brave and the Bold No. 170 at bare•bones e-zine.
Robert Lopresti reviews the origins of his series character PI Marty Crow at Sleuthsayers.
Jack Seabrook’s The Hitchcock Project—Alfred Hayes Part One: A Piece of the Action at bare•bones e-zine.
TDE Booksellers Bud’s Art Books’ latest weekly NEW ITEMS blog post headlines King-Size Editions.
Readin and Writin’ EconoClash Review continues its streak of stellar issues with No. 6 from Down & Out Books. A terrific collection of short stories or “Quality Cheap Thrills” as editor J.D. Graves promises to deliver. Every one was worth reading, but among my favorites this time were stories by Preston Lang, Serena Jayne, and John Kojak. And it was great to read a story from the editor himself in this edition. All in all, a top-notch anthology—highly recommended.
Justin Marriott and friends pack a lot of reading into the 64-page Paperback Fanatic No. 44. I have to admit reading about novels featuring natural disasters in the middle of a pandemic gave me pause. The issue opens with an overview of Gil Cohen: One Man Army by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle, with a gallery of Cohen’s original paintings for Mack Bolan, The Executioner series. Then it’s on to disaster. First up: floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, avalances, and tidal waves. You name it, there’s a novel written around it—probably several—some natural, some induced by an evil genuis or organization. But the paperback landslide of The Plague Chronicles dwarfs the former disaster subgenre with more titles than I thought possible. Even after 22 pages, the Fanatic hadn’t exposed them all. No problem, I was ready to move on. Fortunately, the next piece, Prose and Cons, is all about convicts who turned to writing crime fiction, which I found by itself worth the price of the issue—outstanding! And to cap things off, the final pages provide almost two dozen retro-reviews of collectible paperbacks. Some worth seeking out and some cautionary tales.
My interview with Emily Hockaday wrapped this week, so the only substantial content remaining for The Digest Enthusiast No. 13, is the news gathering phase, which I’ll begin next month. At this rate, the issue should be out in December. For the rest of this month, I’ll concentrate on proofing pages and working on my other two projects: Pulp Modern Vol. 2 Nol. 6 and the Roman Scott collection.
Our current issue: The Digest Enthusiast No. 12 is available in print at Lulu.com and Amazon, and in digital formats at Kindle Books and Magzter.
New Releases Pulp Modern Vol. 2 No. 5 Summer 2020 Contents Page Alec Cizak: From the Editor Andrew Bourelle “Companion” Peter W.J. Hayes “The Bowie Knife” Mandi Jourdan “These Violent Delights” “Doc” Clancy “Ghost Town” Timothy Friend “Burnin’ Love” Serena Jayne “Necessary Evils” Adam S. Furman “Intercession” Victoria Weisfeld “The Unbroken Circle” Nils Gilbertson “How to Make a Boulevardier”
Publishers: Uncle B Publications & Larque Press LLC Editor: Alec Cizak Design: Richard Krauss Cover: Rick McCollum Interior Artwork: Ran Scott Cartoons: Bob Vojtko 5.5” x 8.5” 132 pages Print $6.99 Kindle $2.99
Editor Alec Cizak reads his introduction to the issue on ACTV.
The Jul/Aug 2020 issues of Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen are now available. For contents click on their titles.
Amazing Stories has launched a Kickstarter Campaign to help fund another four issues of the magazine.
Storytime The second issue of Close to the Bone is out with crime fiction and other genres. Free download.
Digest Magazine Blogs Robert Reed on “Who Carries the World” from F&SF May/Jun 2020 at Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Uncle Jack (Seabrook) and Cousin Peter (Enfantino) review Vampirella No. 17, Eerie No. 40, and Creepy No. 46 at bare•bones e-zine.
Readin’ and Writin’ There’s no other magazine I can think of like Nostalgia Digest. It’s kind of like TV Guide, only for radio; radio from its golden era celebrated anew every Saturday on WDCB and WGN, on air and online. The quarterly Digest shares the schedules and synopsis of all the shows and rounds out every issue with nearly a dozen articles on celebrities, popular culture, and history. The Summer 2020 edition, which I read this week, is the all-vintage swimsuit issue, featuring celebrities Ava Gardner, Doris Day, Anne Baxter, Kirk Douglas, Loretta Young, Alexis Smith, Jackie Cooper, Leila Ernest, Kay Stewart, Eddie Bracken, Richard Conte, Gene Tierney, Beryl Vaughn, Jimmy Durante, Maureen O’Hara, Marie Windsor, and Ginger Rogers. The articles on Keir Dullea, Andy Griffith, Jack Pearl, wartime baseball, the Chautauqua movement, and Jimmy Stewart were all enlightening and entertaining. My thanks to Editor, Publisher, and Host Steve Darnall for another great issue, and for all you do to keep old time radio and those thrilling days of yesteryear alive!
Also read the second issue of Verdict, for a work-in-progress article. Haven’t decided yet if it’s for The Digest Enthusiast No. 13, or elsewhere. Verdict No. 2 a terrific issue of a terrific magazine. Sad it only lasted four issues. Some strong entries here by Samuel Blas, Bruno Fischer, Dorothy B. Hughes, Henry Kane, Cornell Woolrich and of course Rex Stout, whose Neo Wolfe novel Fer De Lance is serialized.
Many thanks to Kevin Tipple for highlighting Michael Bracken’s story “El Despoblado” in The Digest Enthusiast No. 12 at The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog.
Thanks also to David Haden of Tentaclii, an H.P. Lovecraft blog, for including The Digest Enthusiast No. 12 in a post this week.
Received comp copies of the new issue of The Digest Enthusiast No. 12 from the printer and began mailing them out to contributors. This time the printed book was produced by Lulu.com and I’m very pleased with the results. Their all-new website and new standard color option enabled this edition to include a full color interior at a reasonable, if not inexpensive, price. The book is available in print at lulu.com and for Kindle and Magzter. Among many other features is Lester del Rey’s The Five Ages of Science Fiction by Ward Smith.
Launching what will hopefully be the beginning of a new series, Amazing Selects debuts with Captain Future in Love by Allen Steele, a story first serialized in the pages of Amazing Stories Vol. 76 No. 1 and 2. Captain Future and crew’s latest adventure picks up where Steele’s earlier Avengers of the Moon leaves off. Besides the adventure itself, the book includes several background features that provide all the behind-the-scenes details on the project’s origin and why Tor won’t be publishing a sequel to the successful first novel.
Contents Page
Introduction: Overture for a Space Opera
Publisher’s Introduction
Prologue: The Black Pirate and the King
Novella: Captain Future in Love
Essay: A Brief History of Captain Future
About the Author
About the Concept Artist
About the Cover Artist
Captain Future in Love by Allen Steele Publisher: Steve Davidson Cover: Tony Sart Interior Art: Nizar Ilman Comet II Art: Rob Caswell 5.5” x 8.5” 130 pages Print and Digital $6.99 each
AppleTV+ (AppleTV Plus) new streaming service is planned for a November launch and will include a reboot of Steven Spielberg’sAmazing Stories series.
The Amazing Stories Selects program is set to roll out soon—individually packaged longer length works than those that appear in the magazine.
Congrats to Sandra Kasturi for her Rhysling Poetry award nomination for her poem from a 2018 edition of Amazing Stories—and to the magazine for their 2019 Nefty Award for Best Magazine.
Amazing Stories Fall 2019 All Color Issue! Contents Ira Nayman: From the Editor’s Desk: Pratical Advice for Impratical Situations Vincent Di Fate: Amazing Cover Artist S.P. Somtow “Another Avatar” art by Jon Eno R.S. Belcher “Home” art by Tom Miller Liz Westbrook-Trenholm “Blindside” art by Matt Taggart T.B. Jeremiah “Robots at Dawn!” art by Anton Oxenuk Bud Sparhawk “Dog Tales” art by Igor Avdeev Wendy Nikel “Stone and Starlight” art by Phil Foglio & Cheyenne Wright Matthew Hughes “Stopover at Meech’s World” art by Chukwudi Nwaefulu Sandra Kasturi “In the Moon Garden” art by Amanda Makepeace Shirley Meier “Buyer Beware” art by Roberto Armas Jack McDevitt “Breaking News” art by Renan Boe Sally McBride “The Doll Ladies” art by Melisa Des Rosiers S.L. Saboviec “The Boy With the Matalliderm Arm” art by Lianna Ribeiro Paul Levinson “The P&A” art by Richard Mandrachio Amber Royer “When Krom-ish Eyes are Smiling” art by Brad Foster Adam-Troy Castro “Genesis for Dyslexics” art by MD Jackson Dave Creek “The Typhoon Rider” art by Olivia Beelby Poetry: Darrell Schweitzer, Roger Dutcher and Francine P. Lewis Jack Clemons “Intruder” art by Ron Miller Paul Di Filippo “Ancient Hearths” art by Derek Whitaker Lawrence Watt-Evans “The Night People” art by Anthony Rhodes
Amazing Stories Vol. 77 No. 1 (No. 618) Fall 2019 Publisher: Steve Davidson Editor-in-Chief: Ira Nayman Art Director: Kermit Woodall Cover: Vincent Di Fate Full size magazine: 8.5” x 11” 154 pages Available at select conventions and by subscription from the Amazing Stories website Print $19.95 Kindle $2.99
Amazing Stories Vol. 76 No. 4 Summer 2019 Content Ira Nyman’s From the Editor’s Desk: Practical Advice for Impractical Situations Amazing Cover Artist: Yoko Matsuoka Gary Dalkin: Rachel Armstrong Interview Jack Clemons’ Citizens of the Solar System: Neil Armstrong David Gerrold “Follow the Other Brick Road or In The Land of the Wurlikins” art by Roberto Armas M.J. Moores “Shadow Phoenix Episode I: Answering the Call” (excerpt) art by Melisa Des Rosiers Jen Frankel “Home-O-Cide” art by Anton Oxenuk Tatiana Ivanova “The Scheduled War” translated by Alex Shvartsman, art by HMW Cathy Smith “Canuck Commodities and Futures” art by Olivia Beelby Brad Preslar “Worth Doing Wrong” art by Tom Miller Brian Rappatta “The Prufrock Whisperer” art by Ron Miller Jo Miles “#SaveJade” art by M.D. Jackson Shirley Meier’s Throwing Rocks at the Void, art by Staff Ricky Brown’s Inspiring Books for Amazing Stories Readers Uche Ogbuji, Mary Soon Lee, R. Gene Turchin, and Jerri Hardesty (verses) Steve Fahnestalk: William Gibson Interview, art by Pratap Sharma
Publisher: Steve Davidson Editor-in-Chief: Ira Nayman Art Director: Kermit Woodall Cover: Yoko Matsuoka Full size magazine: 8.5” x 11” 94 pages Available at select conventions and by subscription from the Amazing Stories website
Amazing Stories Vol. 76 No. 3 Spring 2019 Contents Ira Nyman’s From the Editor’s Desk: The Future is Fun, art by Matt Taggart Tom Barber: Amazing Cover Artist John Grant (aka Paul Barnett) interviewed by Darrell Schweitzer, photo by John Grant Jack Clemons’ Citizens of the Solar System, Cool Science and Technology on the International Space Station, art by Olena Perekhrystiuk R.S. Belcher “Red Shift” art by Tom Miller, M.D. Jackson Marie Bilodeau “Out-of-Most-Worlds Planet Cessation Extravaganza” art by Matt Taggart J.M. Frey and D. Simon’s TTC Gothic Kathy Kitts “Cricket Songs” art by Amanda Makepeace Sean Grigsby “A Swift Drop; Two Bits” art by Ron Miller Cartoon Marc A. Criley “Impending Karma Strike” art by Britt Martin Cartoon Matthew Timmins “Damn Lousy Teapots” art by Sean Chappell Rosemary Claire Smith “Conservation of Mismatched Shoes” art by Melisa des Rosier J.M. Frey and D. Simon’s TTC Gothic Paul Levenson “The Whether App” art by Richard Mandrachio Tyler Hagemann “The Day the Animals Turned to Sand” (verse) Clara Blackwood “The Girl Who Loved Birds” (verse) Tanya Karen Gough “T-Minus” art by Chukwudi Nwaefulu Elsa M. Carruthers “God Bless the Freaks” art by M.D. Jackson Shirley Meier’s Off the Top of My Head, art by staff Steve Fahnestalk’s SF on Film, art by Pratap Sharma Veronica Scott’s Why Give Science Fiction Romance a Second Look, photos by various
Publisher: Steve Davidson Editor-in-Chief: Ira Nayman Art Director: Kermit Woodall Cover: Tom Barber Full size magazine: 8.5” x 11” 100 pages Available at select conventions and by subscription from the Amazing Stories website
“My criteria are subjective, obviously. I only include fiction; anthologies and collections count alongside novels, but nonfiction is out . . . . To be included, publishers had to be legitimate companies devoted to putting out the work of others . . . . Trying to settle on a definitionof a “digest” was surprisingly difficult . . . . I do not include chapbooks . . . . This [series] is my attempt to merge all my research into a single source listing.”
Steve proceeds in alphabetical order.
“Amazing Stories Science Fiction Novel is about as awkward an appellation as publishers’ lines ever get. Fortunately, its sole book was the 1957 movie tie-in 20 Million Miles to Earth by Henry Slesar. This is a prime collectible because of its rarity and the gigantic space lizard from Venus on its cover.”
Per the criteria, not a true One-and-Done as it was published by giant Ziff-Davis, but nevertheless a fascinating one-shot.
Amazing Stories Vol. 76 No. 2 Winter 2018
Contents Ira Nyman’s From the Editor’s Desk: The Future is Diverse, art by Matt Taggart Gary Dalkins’ European Author Profile: An Interview with Nina Allan Jack Clemons’ Citizens of the Solar System, First Steps: Near Earth Orbit and the Moon, art by Al Sirois Allen M. Steele “Captain Future in Love” part two, art by HMW/Nizar Lena Ng “Robot on Rampage” art by Richard Mandrachio Marina J. Lostetter “The Asteroid Contention” art by Tom Miller Neal Holtschulte “Bold New Flock” art by Ivan Montoya Daniel M. Kimmel “The Ransom of Red Robot (Beta)” art by Joe Eno G. Scott Huggins “In the Republic of the Blind” art by Sean Chappel Julie Novakova “Reset in Peace” art by M.D. Jackson Noah Chinn “Alison’s Bluff” art by Matt Taggart Sandra Kasturi “Trips to Impossible Cities” (verse) Valerie C. Kaelin “Reptilian Brain” (verse) art by Pixabay Vonnie Winslow Crist “A Horse and Her Boy” art by Ron Miller Steve Fahnestalk’s SF in Film, art by Staff Shirley Meier’s Off the Top of My Head, art by Staff
Publisher: Steve Davidson
Editor-in-Cheif: Ira Nayman
Art Director: Kermit Woodall
Cover: M.D. Jackson
8.5” x 11” 88 pages
Available at select conventions and by subscription Amazing Stories website
