Well of the Worlds by Henry Kuttner
Startling Stories, March 1953
Samuel Mines, ed.
Continue reading “Well of the Worlds”It was a corridor between two worlds…between Earth, and the strange floating islands of the godlike Isier!
Well of the Worlds
Tag: 1952
“The Hunters”
“The Hunters” by Walt Sheldon
Startling Stories, March 1952
Samuel Mines, ed.
Continue reading ““The Hunters””The Aliens invaded, conquered, killed…
it was their way
Lady Killer
“Lady Killer” by Chad Oliver
Startling Stories, March 1952
Samuel Mines, ed.
Continue reading “Lady Killer”The human race faces extinction—unless Earthmen can find mates on Mars!
Things of Distinction
Things of Distinction by Kendell Foster Crossen
Startling Stories, March 1952
Samuel Mines, ed.
Continue reading “Things of Distinction”Billions were spent in advertising…but the Antareans simply wouldn’t buy McFinister Hats! Now it was Jerry Ransom’s job to find out why…
The Long Loud Silence
The Long Loud Silence by WIlson Tucker
Dell Books, 1952
Price I paid: 50¢
Continue reading “The Long Loud Silence”Corporal Russell Gary—operator—angle man—black-marketeer, junior grade—liberator of anything loose—veteran of Salerno and Normandy—a man who knew how to live by his wits and a gun.
Celebrating ten years in khaki, Gary went on a monumental binge…
While he slept it off, the United States east of the Mississippi was laid waste by atomic bombs and plague germs. The few who survived were immune to the plague but carriers of the toxin. No one from the contaminated area crossed the Mississippi and lived more than a few seconds. The army guarded every bridge, every inch of shore line. If you happened to be east of the river when the bombs fell, you stayed there until you died. There was no other choice, no other future.
When Corporal Gary woke up he was on the wrong side of the river, the bombed and contaminated side…
The Day of the Triffids
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Audible, 2009 (audiobook version)
RosettaBooks, 2000 (eBook version)
Originally published by Michael Joseph, 1951
Price I paid: $2.99 (audiobook), I don’t remember (ebook)
Continue reading “The Day of the Triffids”Bill Masen, bandages over his wounded eyes, misses the most spectacular meteorite shower England has ever seen. Removing his bandages the next morning, he finds masses of sightless people wandering the city. He soon meets Josella, another lucky person who has retained her sight, and together they leave the city, aware that the safe, familiar world they knew a mere 24 hours before is gone forever. But to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, one must survive the Triffids, strange plants that years before began appearing all over the world. The Triffids can grow to over seven feet tall, pull their roots from the ground to walk, and kill a man with one quick lash of their poisonous stingers. With society in shambles, they are now poised to prey on humankind. Wyndham chillingly anticipates bio-warfare and mass destruction, 50 years before their realization, in this prescient account of Cold War paranoia.
From the audible.com publisher’s summary
The Starmen of Llyrdis
The Starmen of Llyrdis by Leigh Brackett
Ballantine Books, 1952
Price I paid: 50¢
Michael Trehearne had always been an outcast among his people on Earth. He knew he was different…but he did not know how or why.
Then one day, on the wind-swept coast of Brittany, a bewitchingly beautiful girl appeared and told him he had the look of the Vardda—those elite star travelers who alone could withstand the rigors of intergalactic flight.
Michael had to join them…had to find his place in the universe at last. But it would not be easy. For even when they allowed him to risk his life aboard their ship, to seal his fate upon their planet…even then, they viewed him as an outcast, a dangerous changeling who suddenly threatened them.
He was a man who sooner or later would have to be destroyed!
Schlock Value 