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Tellus, issue 2, November 1941

Page 19

TELLUS         PAGE NINETEEN

   These, for instance: SPACE FLIGHT OF TERROR, in SCIENCE FICTION; SPACE LINER X87, PHANTOM OF THE SEVEN STARS, in PLANET; BEYOND THE STARS, for ARGOSY*ALLSTORY, in which the action occurs in a strato liner; and EARTH-MARS VOYAGE 20, also in ARGOSY-ALLSTORY. Every one is such a palpable re-write, that only a desperate need of material could have induced any editor to accept them.
   In two of these epics, Cummings kills off the same person, a fellow called Green: still no complaints have been received from the murdered one, so he will probably have to undergo the same fate a third time, if Mr. Cummings can not think up a new name for the "chubby third mate."
  Also in two of these the same device of pouring gas through the ventilating system to asphyxiate the hero who is barricaded in the captain's cabin... Cummings' heroes have a habit of barricading themselves in the captain's cabin, but they always get knocked in the head anyhow so they might as well give themselves up peacably at the start. 
   Mr. Cummings' propensity for standardization also extends to title. To cite an example, three stories of this author's, published in ARGOSY some time ago, were called THE SEA GIRL, THE SNOW GIRL, THE SHADOW GIRL--in that order.
   As for more of Cummings' re-writes: his ONSLAUGHT OF THE DRUID GIRLS, a novel in FANTASTIC, which was heralded by McCauley's magnificent cover. The Onslaught of the D.G.'s (not T's) related the dull adventures of a very dull young man in Earth's second moon. This attempt was weakly unconvincing, and became even more so when Super Science Novels presented as its feature a story by Ray Cummings, a palpable rehash of the Druid Girl fiasco, which was a palpable rehash of another novel in ARGOSY called TAMA OF THE LIGHT COUNTRY. Still another example of what makes science fiction fans take up book-keeping was this same worm-out plot, with the locale changed to Venus. Printed in Planet, it was called THE WAR NYMPHS OF VENUS, and struck a new low in the magazine's standards that has never been approached by any other writer for that magazine.
   One thing else--a short-short I found in an old ARGOSY called THE THREE-EYED MAN. Need I mention its counterpart in TWS? In this little number, Mr. Cummings did not even bother to change the names of the characters; he let the action go a wee bit farther, and let it go at that.
   In closing, I should like to point out one thing: Ray Cummings is not a stf degenerate; he is a result of conditions in the modern stf world. He knows he can get away with murder, and he does it without a qualm. There are a great many who follow in his path. As long as his, and other hacks' trash can be stomached by an uncomplaining public, then there is something radically wrong with science fiction as it is understood today. To keep expanding, this type of literature must improve steadily, and it certainly cannot with the burden of cheap pulp-writers it has accumulated. I think when new authors have been developed, the old tripe peddlers can be eased out. But when I see hacks rehash the old familiar tripe again and again, and still receive no complaints, it makes me wonder.

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TELLUS PAGE NINETEEN These, for instance: SPACE FLIGHT OF TERROR, in SCIENCE FICTION; SPACE LINER X87, PHANTOM OF THE SEVEN STARS, in PLANET; BEYOND THE STARS, for ARGOSY*ALLSTORY, in which the action occurs in a strato liner; and EARTH-MARS VOYAGE 20, also in ARGOSY-ALLSTORY. Every one is such a palpable re-write, that only a desperate need of material could have induced any editor to accept them. In two of these epics, Cummings kills off the same person, a fellow called Green: still no complaints have been received from the murdered one, so he will probably have to undergo the same fate a third time, if Mr. Cummings can not think up a new name for the "chubby third mate." Also in two of these the same device of pouring gas through the ventilating system to asphyxiate the hero who is barricaded in the captain's cabin... Cummings' heroes have a habit of barricading themselves in the captain's cabin, but they always get knocked in the head anyhow so they might as well give themselves up peacably at the start. Mr. Cummings' propensity for standardization also extends to title. To cite an example, three stories of this author's, published in ARGOSY some time ago, were called THE SEA GIRL, THE SNOW GIRL, THE SHADOW GIRL--in that order. As for more of Cummings' re-writes: his ONSLAUGHT OF THE DRUID GIRLS, a novel in FANTASTIC, which was heralded by McCauley's magnificent cover. The Onslaught of the D.G.'s (not T's) related the dull adventures of a very dull young man in Earth's second moon. This attempt was weakly unconvincing, and became even more so when Super Science Novels presented as its feature a story by Ray Cummings, a palpable rehash of the Druid Girl fiasco, which was a palpable rehash of another novel in ARGOSY called TAMA OF THE LIGHT COUNTRY. Still another example of what makes science fiction fans take up book-keeping was this same worm-out plot, with the locale changed to Venus. Printed in Planet, it was called THE WAR NYMPHS OF VENUS, and struck a new low in the magazine's standards that has never been approached by any other writer for that magazine. One thing else--a short-short I found in an old ARGOSY called THE THREE-EYED MAN. Need I mention its counterpart in TWS? In this little number, Mr. Cummings did not even bother to change the names of the characters; he let the action go a wee bit farther, and let it go at that. In closing, I should like to point out one thing: Ray Cummings is not a stf degenerate; he is a result of conditions in the modern stf world. He knows he can get away with murder, and he does it without a qualm. There are a great many who follow in his path. As long as his, and other hacks' trash can be stomached by an uncomplaining public, then there is something radically wrong with science fiction as it is understood today. To keep expanding, this type of literature must improve steadily, and it certainly cannot with the burden of cheap pulp-writers it has accumulated. I think when new authors have been developed, the old tripe peddlers can be eased out. But when I see hacks rehash the old familiar tripe again and again, and still receive no complaints, it makes me wonder.