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Fantasy Digest, v. 1, issue 2, February 1939

Page 27

FANTASY DIGEST             27

cally all of his stories, with the exception of his post-humous works, were of adventure on other planets, and in space. His first published stf. yarn was perhaps the most popular of all he ever wrote, "A Martian Odyssey". This was followed with many others---"Valley of Dreams", "The Lotus Eaters", "The Red Peri, etc., all with the same basic theme of interplanetary adventure. None of these stories contained world-shaking plots, nor is there any incident in any which can be taken, and said of, "this one of the finest excerpts from a. stf. story available". What, then, accounts for these yarns' popularity? No one seems to know. The fact remains that they are great.
One exception to the interplanetary yarns was the "Van Manderpootz" stories he did for WONDER STORIES. The delightful humor, fine characterization, and masterful description in these is great beyond measure.
After Weinbaum's death a tremendous cry went up from the fans for more of his unpublished work----and little was available. Only one piece was in his customary style---"Redemption Cairn"---and that was inferior to the majority of his work along this line. But of his post-humous work, which is so different from his earlier yearns, too-loud praise cannot be given. "The Brink of Infinity" was the first yarn ever written around a mathematical enigma; "The Circle of Zero", which some call his greatest work, turned up un-dreamed of vistas of imagination. "Shifting Seas", his only published material in AMAZING under Sloane, is rather poor compared to the majority of his writings, but "Revolution of [1050?]", originally titled "The Dictator's Sister" more than made up for that momentary lapse.
But Weinbaum's greatest effort was his 180,000 word novel, which has been divided into three parts. One portion was published in his Memorial Volume as "Dawn of Flame", and another part as "The Black Flame". Only "The New Adam" remains unread by most fans.
To try to cover Weinbaum in 700 words is almost impossible; I have not tried to do it. Later I may write the articles mentioned. One thing is certain,

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FANTASY DIGEST 27 cally all of his stories, with the exception of his post-humous works, were of adventure on other planets, and in space. His first published stf. yarn was perhaps the most popular of all he ever wrote, "A Martian Odyssey". This was followed with many others---"Valley of Dreams", "The Lotus Eaters", "The Red Peri, etc., all with the same basic theme of interplanetary adventure. None of these stories contained world-shaking plots, nor is there any incident in any which can be taken, and said of, "this one of the finest excerpts from a. stf. story available". What, then, accounts for these yarns' popularity? No one seems to know. The fact remains that they are great. One exception to the interplanetary yarns was the "Van Manderpootz" stories he did for WONDER STORIES. The delightful humor, fine characterization, and masterful description in these is great beyond measure. After Weinbaum's death a tremendous cry went up from the fans for more of his unpublished work----and little was available. Only one piece was in his customary style---"Redemption Cairn"---and that was inferior to the majority of his work along this line. But of his post-humous work, which is so different from his earlier yearns, too-loud praise cannot be given. "The Brink of Infinity" was the first yarn ever written around a mathematical enigma; "The Circle of Zero", which some call his greatest work, turned up un-dreamed of vistas of imagination. "Shifting Seas", his only published material in AMAZING under Sloane, is rather poor compared to the majority of his writings, but "Revolution of [1050?]", originally titled "The Dictator's Sister" more than made up for that momentary lapse. But Weinbaum's greatest effort was his 180,000 word novel, which has been divided into three parts. One portion was published in his Memorial Volume as "Dawn of Flame", and another part as "The Black Flame". Only "The New Adam" remains unread by most fans. To try to cover Weinbaum in 700 words is almost impossible; I have not tried to do it. Later I may write the articles mentioned. One thing is certain, Continued on page