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Fantasite, v. 1, issue 2, February 1941

Page 10

THE FANTASITE.....10
Argosy Fiction in 1940
by HARRY WARNER, JR.

Below you'll find appended a list of the stories from the 1940 issues of Argosy that would be of interest to fantasy fans.  First column contains title; second the author (or in one case authors), third date of issue or date of first and last issues a serial appeared in, and the fourth a formula to indicate length of yarn.  Legend: sh--short story; ss--short-short story; nt--novelette; sn--short novel; and s followed by a numeral indicates serial and the number of installments it ran.  All such divisions are as listed on the contents pages of the magazines.

In making up such a list, it's very difficult to determine just what should be included and what shouldn't.  I've made such a list for three years now, and this time I leaned over backward to include everything that might be considered fantasy.  In so doing, I possibly---maybe probably--included several yarns that really don't belong, as I'll explain later.  But I hardly think I left anything fantastic out.

Dividing these stories into three divisions--weird, fantasy (such as the Unknown type) and science fiction is an even more difficult job.  No such division was indicated in the magazine, and I'll have to assume full responsibility for it.  My own classification and comments on the yarns follow:

Ten might be considered science fiction.  Of the ten. the best in my opinion beyond all doubt was "He Didn't Want Soup".  It was a very customary little plot--the man who gets transported into the world of the future, doesn't know how he got there, where he is, his effort to get acclimated, and so forth.  You've read much the same thing a dozen times or more, and there isn't anything that can be pointed out as particularly brilliant about this--no one thing.  But the whole tale will linger in my memory longer than any other short story I read in a pulp magazine during 1940.  Maybe it was meant as a warning against totalitarianism; I wouldn't know.  But I recommend that every fantasy fan try to find a copy of this issue of Argosy and read this yarn for a fine experience.

"Minions of Mars" and "Minions of Mercury" were sequels to "Minions of the Moon" which appeared in Argosy in 1939.  The original story was superb; "Minions of Mars" an awful let-down, but "Minions of Mercury" is much better and almost up to the standard set by the first of the series.  You've probably heard about these, and the amazing Omega, elsewhere, so I'll not go into detail.  Similarly the "Tomorrow" series by Arthur L. Zagat has gained quite a bit of renown.  Unfortunately the author has been stretching them out more and more, until the two for 1940 became somewhat boring.  They aren't truly bad; but they aren't superior.  Jack Williamson's "Racketeers in the Sky" was the only other really good science fiction tale of the year.  He created quite a character in the hero of this tale, and it isn't nearly so bad as the title indicates.  As for the rest of the stf yarns, "The Green Flame" was a rather hacky though tolerable save-the-earth-from-the-mad-scientist, and "Satans on Saturn" worse.  The latter might not have been so bad 20 years ago, but there's been too much Farley and Burroughs since.  Two other yarns were science fiction: The Golden Empress and The World that Drowned, one a sequel to the other, and they give promise of developing into a series.  Could be worse, but hardly enjoyable with their age-old situations.  The theme is that of a too-adventurous man of the future who finds relief from boredom in past ages; sounds rather familiar, eh?

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THE FANTASITE.....10 Argosy Fiction in 1940 by HARRY WARNER, JR. Below you'll find appended a list of the stories from the 1940 issues of Argosy that would be of interest to fantasy fans. First column contains title; second the author (or in one case authors), third date of issue or date of first and last issues a serial appeared in, and the fourth a formula to indicate length of yarn. Legend: sh--short story; ss--short-short story; nt--novelette; sn--short novel; and s followed by a numeral indicates serial and the number of installments it ran. All such divisions are as listed on the contents pages of the magazines. In making up such a list, it's very difficult to determine just what should be included and what shouldn't. I've made such a list for three years now, and this time I leaned over backward to include everything that might be considered fantasy. In so doing, I possibly---maybe probably--included several yarns that really don't belong, as I'll explain later. But I hardly think I left anything fantastic out. Dividing these stories into three divisions--weird, fantasy (such as the Unknown type) and science fiction is an even more difficult job. No such division was indicated in the magazine, and I'll have to assume full responsibility for it. My own classification and comments on the yarns follow: Ten might be considered science fiction. Of the ten. the best in my opinion beyond all doubt was "He Didn't Want Soup". It was a very customary little plot--the man who gets transported into the world of the future, doesn't know how he got there, where he is, his effort to get acclimated, and so forth. You've read much the same thing a dozen times or more, and there isn't anything that can be pointed out as particularly brilliant about this--no one thing. But the whole tale will linger in my memory longer than any other short story I read in a pulp magazine during 1940. Maybe it was meant as a warning against totalitarianism; I wouldn't know. But I recommend that every fantasy fan try to find a copy of this issue of Argosy and read this yarn for a fine experience. "Minions of Mars" and "Minions of Mercury" were sequels to "Minions of the Moon" which appeared in Argosy in 1939. The original story was superb; "Minions of Mars" an awful let-down, but "Minions of Mercury" is much better and almost up to the standard set by the first of the series. You've probably heard about these, and the amazing Omega, elsewhere, so I'll not go into detail. Similarly the "Tomorrow" series by Arthur L. Zagat has gained quite a bit of renown. Unfortunately the author has been stretching them out more and more, until the two for 1940 became somewhat boring. They aren't truly bad; but they aren't superior. Jack Williamson's "Racketeers in the Sky" was the only other really good science fiction tale of the year. He created quite a character in the hero of this tale, and it isn't nearly so bad as the title indicates. As for the rest of the stf yarns, "The Green Flame" was a rather hacky though tolerable save-the-earth-from-the-mad-scientist, and "Satans on Saturn" worse. The latter might not have been so bad 20 years ago, but there's been too much Farley and Burroughs since. Two other yarns were science fiction: The Golden Empress and The World that Drowned, one a sequel to the other, and they give promise of developing into a series. Could be worse, but hardly enjoyable with their age-old situations. The theme is that of a too-adventurous man of the future who finds relief from boredom in past ages; sounds rather familiar, eh?