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Scientifictionist, v. 2, issue 2, whole no. 8, March-April 1947

Page 10

ceeded; but as the hodge-podge it was, it failed utterly in my estimation, it was dull. It was uninspiring, unentertaining, unamusing, uneducational; the writing was not enough above the average to make it worthwhile on that ground alone. It had nothing to make it stand out. I think it stunk.

...The Green Man, on the otherhand, was a real story. It was entertaining and amusing. The writing was above average. It had no pseudo-emotional appeal of the best seller type a la the Strange Woman, etc. It was engrossing from start to finish. It had a thought underneath, too.

I wonder if de la Ree has read "Titans' Battle". He will probably say it is a classic. In my opinion it was a particularly rotten textbook. Don Wilson, 495 North Third Street, Banning, California.

"A Would Be Utopia Maker"

This issue was an improvement over the last two, with Kennedy's article the outstanding item in the issue. I was particularly interested because I am or was one of those would be Utopia makers. Back in 1937, before I even knew fans existed, I started up a club called the "Peace-Makers", and it was our ambition to eliminate all war from the world by uniting the world under one flag. Our method of accomplishing this was to invent some super weapon which would make us invincible, and force the nation to combine for their own good. I haven't given up all hope on this project yet, but am biding my time till I finish my Disinto-Exploso-Invisibility Ray! I lost almost all touch with fandom during the war years and so missed the Claude Degler affair. It must have been fun while it lasted!

Stanley continues in his usual interesting style on his very interesting subject. It's funny, but whenever I read one of Stanley's articles I always begin to try to figure out a way to rob the library of Congress of its complete collection of Science-fiction. (By this time some of you fans are wondering what kind of complex I have -- mostly criminal!) Karl Brecker did a good job on his reviews of the Astonishing Stories series, although I would have enjoyed longer comments on many of the stories he mentions; but I imagine space and time limit him. While going over his article, a thought struck me. In all the time I've been in touch with fans I've never heard anyone mention two oldtime mags which I thought contained a lot of science fiction. They are "Dusty Ayres and His Battle Birds" and "Operator #5". The former concerned the adventures of Captain Ayres of the USA Air Corps during a time when the USA was being invaded by an Asiatic dictator who had managed to conquer all the world except the western hemisphere. Most of the stories had very little about flying in them tho the title of the magazine might lead one to believe otherwise, and many of the stories were quite good. Operator 5 was about a secret service man's adventures, and the last year or so involved a dictator who had conquered all of the world and most of the US. These stories also I thought were good and much along the order of "Final Blackout". Perhaps some fan could be found who had a collection of these mags and would be willing to write up an article somewhat along the lines of Brecker's.

Stein's bit about semantics and SGW didn't impress me very much. I somehow got the idea from reading it that Stein got off the track in his article and finished up in an entirely new angle.

I don't know anything about Technocracy, but if it will solve all the problems that Hodgkins infers in his letter, perhaps it would be worth looking into. At any rate he had one of the most interesting letters you've published in several issues. I also am looking forward to seeing some good replies, for he has chosen some worthy opponents to attack! The book reviews and other letters rounded out what was quite a good issue in my opinion. Let's have more of the same and oftener. Al Lopez, Pooh Corner, Bingham, Maine.

Utopia and Fandom

Kennedy's there with a bang! His remarks on the socialistic trends in fandom outdo the entire issue combined. After finishing a Binder or Williamson yarn, I

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ceeded; but as the hodge-podge it was, it failed utterly in my estimation, it was dull. It was uninspiring, unentertaining, unamusing, uneducational; the writing was not enough above the average to make it worthwhile on that ground alone. It had nothing to make it stand out. I think it stunk. ...The Green Man, on the otherhand, was a real story. It was entertaining and amusing. The writing was above average. It had no pseudo-emotional appeal of the best seller type a la the Strange Woman, etc. It was engrossing from start to finish. It had a thought underneath, too. I wonder if de la Ree has read "Titans' Battle". He will probably say it is a classic. In my opinion it was a particularly rotten textbook. Don Wilson, 495 North Third Street, Banning, California. "A Would Be Utopia Maker" This issue was an improvement over the last two, with Kennedy's article the outstanding item in the issue. I was particularly interested because I am or was one of those would be Utopia makers. Back in 1937, before I even knew fans existed, I started up a club called the "Peace-Makers", and it was our ambition to eliminate all war from the world by uniting the world under one flag. Our method of accomplishing this was to invent some super weapon which would make us invincible, and force the nation to combine for their own good. I haven't given up all hope on this project yet, but am biding my time till I finish my Disinto-Exploso-Invisibility Ray! I lost almost all touch with fandom during the war years and so missed the Claude Degler affair. It must have been fun while it lasted! Stanley continues in his usual interesting style on his very interesting subject. It's funny, but whenever I read one of Stanley's articles I always begin to try to figure out a way to rob the library of Congress of its complete collection of Science-fiction. (By this time some of you fans are wondering what kind of complex I have -- mostly criminal!) Karl Brecker did a good job on his reviews of the Astonishing Stories series, although I would have enjoyed longer comments on many of the stories he mentions; but I imagine space and time limit him. While going over his article, a thought struck me. In all the time I've been in touch with fans I've never heard anyone mention two oldtime mags which I thought contained a lot of science fiction. They are "Dusty Ayres and His Battle Birds" and "Operator #5". The former concerned the adventures of Captain Ayres of the USA Air Corps during a time when the USA was being invaded by an Asiatic dictator who had managed to conquer all the world except the western hemisphere. Most of the stories had very little about flying in them tho the title of the magazine might lead one to believe otherwise, and many of the stories were quite good. Operator 5 was about a secret service man's adventures, and the last year or so involved a dictator who had conquered all of the world and most of the US. These stories also I thought were good and much along the order of "Final Blackout". Perhaps some fan could be found who had a collection of these mags and would be willing to write up an article somewhat along the lines of Brecker's. Stein's bit about semantics and SGW didn't impress me very much. I somehow got the idea from reading it that Stein got off the track in his article and finished up in an entirely new angle. I don't know anything about Technocracy, but if it will solve all the problems that Hodgkins infers in his letter, perhaps it would be worth looking into. At any rate he had one of the most interesting letters you've published in several issues. I also am looking forward to seeing some good replies, for he has chosen some worthy opponents to attack! The book reviews and other letters rounded out what was quite a good issue in my opinion. Let's have more of the same and oftener. Al Lopez, Pooh Corner, Bingham, Maine. Utopia and Fandom Kennedy's there with a bang! His remarks on the socialistic trends in fandom outdo the entire issue combined. After finishing a Binder or Williamson yarn, I page 10