Transcribe
Translate
Fantascience Digest, v. 2, issue 5, July-September, 1939
Page 26
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
FANTASCIENCE DIGEST PAGE 26 frequency. And never so well liked. And the thought-variants! Any story that presented a new idea was that. Soon the name was overworked, horribly. At least one, sometimes more, pieces of fiction an issue got the tag. Finally I think even F. Orlin tired of it. But that 1934 dozen of issues is a tremendous achievement. Look at some of the titles on the covers of YOUR set if you don't believe. Stories like "A MATTER OF SIZE", "THE LEGION OF SPACE", "THE MAN WHO STOPPED THE DUST", "BORN OF THE SUN", and dozens of others. And in 1935 the science became super-science! Now, instead of knocking about a mere galaxy or universe, a brain would wipe off all creation; time-warps would set up new natural laws throughout the cosmos; and, as the ultimate, the explanation of why life is a disease was given! All this time, "BRASS TACKS" was growing. Over one story there had been a tremendous dispute; and a certain fan had set up a society with an alphabet-soup string of initials that swept all before it, disrupted fandom alarmingly, and led one to wonder if all fans would not be bset put in a madhouse immediately. And then, the inevitable reaction set it. Gradually--very gradually--super science began to pall. It went so far--no further--and the magazine began to degrade in quality a tiny bit at a time. Tremaine did his darndest; took institution-Brown off the covers; set up "SCIENCE DISCUSSIONS"--he couldn't have done worse--and made more and more changes. But uselessly. And John W. Campbell, Jr., came to the rescue, under circumstances that will probably never be fully learned. The arguments still range as to JWC's editorial ability. Of course, even though ASTOUNDING was a little poorer than it had been, had almost nothing to gain and everything to lose. And it started out as if he were doing his best to do the latter. He introduced mutants. Bad. Changed the name of the magazine. Good. "Nova" stories--where is the second one? Astronomical covers--after the let-down of the big surprise, great. New authors--uncertain success mainly, but it did bring to the fore L. Sprague de Camp, and brought back a couple of old timers. And that's about the way the magazine stands today. There is, of course, a dissension of opinion on its merits. But it came out first in a recent fan mag poll; and most important, the FANS like it. You'll find they're usually right in the long run. Campbell has a large knowledge of things technical, which helps the science in the stories. He's not afraid to experiment, whether it be for better or for worse. And he's very much in earnest, and sure of himself. Isn't that the best thing of all? Yep, it's truly astounding.
Saving...
prev
next
FANTASCIENCE DIGEST PAGE 26 frequency. And never so well liked. And the thought-variants! Any story that presented a new idea was that. Soon the name was overworked, horribly. At least one, sometimes more, pieces of fiction an issue got the tag. Finally I think even F. Orlin tired of it. But that 1934 dozen of issues is a tremendous achievement. Look at some of the titles on the covers of YOUR set if you don't believe. Stories like "A MATTER OF SIZE", "THE LEGION OF SPACE", "THE MAN WHO STOPPED THE DUST", "BORN OF THE SUN", and dozens of others. And in 1935 the science became super-science! Now, instead of knocking about a mere galaxy or universe, a brain would wipe off all creation; time-warps would set up new natural laws throughout the cosmos; and, as the ultimate, the explanation of why life is a disease was given! All this time, "BRASS TACKS" was growing. Over one story there had been a tremendous dispute; and a certain fan had set up a society with an alphabet-soup string of initials that swept all before it, disrupted fandom alarmingly, and led one to wonder if all fans would not be bset put in a madhouse immediately. And then, the inevitable reaction set it. Gradually--very gradually--super science began to pall. It went so far--no further--and the magazine began to degrade in quality a tiny bit at a time. Tremaine did his darndest; took institution-Brown off the covers; set up "SCIENCE DISCUSSIONS"--he couldn't have done worse--and made more and more changes. But uselessly. And John W. Campbell, Jr., came to the rescue, under circumstances that will probably never be fully learned. The arguments still range as to JWC's editorial ability. Of course, even though ASTOUNDING was a little poorer than it had been, had almost nothing to gain and everything to lose. And it started out as if he were doing his best to do the latter. He introduced mutants. Bad. Changed the name of the magazine. Good. "Nova" stories--where is the second one? Astronomical covers--after the let-down of the big surprise, great. New authors--uncertain success mainly, but it did bring to the fore L. Sprague de Camp, and brought back a couple of old timers. And that's about the way the magazine stands today. There is, of course, a dissension of opinion on its merits. But it came out first in a recent fan mag poll; and most important, the FANS like it. You'll find they're usually right in the long run. Campbell has a large knowledge of things technical, which helps the science in the stories. He's not afraid to experiment, whether it be for better or for worse. And he's very much in earnest, and sure of himself. Isn't that the best thing of all? Yep, it's truly astounding.
Hevelin Fanzines
sidebar
