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Shangri-La, July 1941

Page 23

SHANGRI-LA   PAGE 23

Others in the top class, and this list is incomplete, are Simak, C.L. Moore, Williamson; Casey; del Rey, with six 3-stars and one 4-star; Weinbaum -- with a rating of two 5-stars, one 4-star, four 3-stars and one 2-star. Heinlein and many others I have not worked the actual statistics out for.
       As UNKNOWN was directly responsible for the variations in the 1939
standard of ASTOUNDING, this article would not be complete without some brief reference to the Star Chart recorded for that magazine. Especially as the first full year was recently completed with the February issue. In this magazine, although the ideas in the stories are
based upon pure fantasy, it has actually been the literary ability of the respective authors which has swung the entire project over, I even go so far as to state that the literary standard has been practically the sole basis of existence, for UNKNOWN is more near to fairy
tales modernised than any other type of fiction I have read.
     In one year the magazine has built a veritable galaxy of stars on the chart and brought to the fore several authors as its mainstay. Others will no doubt be developed, but for the first year Hubbard and de Camp overshadow all others. This, I believe, is entirely due to Editor Campbell finding two outstanding men who grasped immediately his requirements — I almost forgot Guernsey, who has also been "developed"
purposely,
     Out of 66 stories, the chart logs six 5-stars, ten 4-stars and 15 3-stars. All the more surprising when taking into account the fact that the first three issues stumbled along until authors could more adequately get the hang of what was needed. 
     5-star ratings were: SINISTER BARRIER, DIVIDE AND RULE, Kuttner's THE MISGUIDED HALO, and three Hubbard yarns — SLAVES OF SLEEP, THE GHOUL, and DEATH'S DEPUTY.
     Including his stories in ASTOUNDING as well, Hubbard's personal star
chart is nothing short of miraculous, 8 stories, five 5-stars and one each 4-3-2.
     Since I first commenced checking all the foregoing data, the readers' voting on the best stories for the year have begun to appear in the
Magazine. Here, as in ASTOUNDING, my Star Chart conforms adequately with those published reactions.
Let us take the 4-star ratings: THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE, THE GNARLY—MAN, NONE BUT LUCIFER, THE ELDER GODS, (Stuart there again), THE ENCHANTED WEEKEND, A GOD IN A GARDEN, ANYTHING, THE MONOCLE, LEST DARKNESS FALL, and ON THE KNEES OF THE GODS.
     As Campbell himself recently pointed out in SPACEWAYS, short stories always have a tougher time when stacked up against the   lengthy stuff. A short story rated in the 4-star category is really the equal of a 5-star long story,
     What will be the trend of 1940? Can enjoyment be carried even further
with those two magazines? I honestly think it can, and shall be quite prepared to log higher ratings as Campbell really begins to obtain the
stuff he asks for.

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SHANGRI-LA PAGE 23 Others in the top class, and this list is incomplete, are Simak, C.L. Moore, Williamson; Casey; del Rey, with six 3-stars and one 4-star; Weinbaum -- with a rating of two 5-stars, one 4-star, four 3-stars and one 2-star. Heinlein and many others I have not worked the actual statistics out for. As UNKNOWN was directly responsible for the variations in the 1939 standard of ASTOUNDING, this article would not be complete without some brief reference to the Star Chart recorded for that magazine. Especially as the first full year was recently completed with the February issue. In this magazine, although the ideas in the stories are based upon pure fantasy, it has actually been the literary ability of the respective authors which has swung the entire project over, I even go so far as to state that the literary standard has been practically the sole basis of existence, for UNKNOWN is more near to fairy tales modernised than any other type of fiction I have read. In one year the magazine has built a veritable galaxy of stars on the chart and brought to the fore several authors as its mainstay. Others will no doubt be developed, but for the first year Hubbard and de Camp overshadow all others. This, I believe, is entirely due to Editor Campbell finding two outstanding men who grasped immediately his requirements — I almost forgot Guernsey, who has also been "developed" purposely, Out of 66 stories, the chart logs six 5-stars, ten 4-stars and 15 3-stars. All the more surprising when taking into account the fact that the first three issues stumbled along until authors could more adequately get the hang of what was needed. 5-star ratings were: SINISTER BARRIER, DIVIDE AND RULE, Kuttner's THE MISGUIDED HALO, and three Hubbard yarns — SLAVES OF SLEEP, THE GHOUL, and DEATH'S DEPUTY. Including his stories in ASTOUNDING as well, Hubbard's personal star chart is nothing short of miraculous, 8 stories, five 5-stars and one each 4-3-2. Since I first commenced checking all the foregoing data, the readers' voting on the best stories for the year have begun to appear in the Magazine. Here, as in ASTOUNDING, my Star Chart conforms adequately with those published reactions. Let us take the 4-star ratings: THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE, THE GNARLY—MAN, NONE BUT LUCIFER, THE ELDER GODS, (Stuart there again), THE ENCHANTED WEEKEND, A GOD IN A GARDEN, ANYTHING, THE MONOCLE, LEST DARKNESS FALL, and ON THE KNEES OF THE GODS. As Campbell himself recently pointed out in SPACEWAYS, short stories always have a tougher time when stacked up against the lengthy stuff. A short story rated in the 4-star category is really the equal of a 5-star long story, What will be the trend of 1940? Can enjoyment be carried even further with those two magazines? I honestly think it can, and shall be quite prepared to log higher ratings as Campbell really begins to obtain the stuff he asks for.