How about bringing back a classic SF series call Perry Rhodan? There are over 3000 stories published in the series but in German. Ace books brought about 137 to the United States. Those have been out of print since the 1970's. I would not mind having those in print again - they are tough to track down. Not having this series in English is a tragedy. So gear up and restart a PerryVerse invasion in the U.S.!
Seconded! I had never heard of Perry Rhodan, despite growing up in Germany (1-10, 14-16)... I guess I was more of a Jan Tenner lad and by the 14-16 the American and British fiction had sunk into me.
But I've been reading up on PR and I'm really interested.
A buddy of mine just loaned me Lyndon Hardy's "Master of the Five Magics". This is a pretty good fantasy read with an interesting take on magic, and it appears to be out of print since 1988. He wrote two follow-ups, "Secret of the Sixth Magic" and "Riddle of the Seven Realms". I haven't read them yet, but they also appear to be out of print for over a decade.
The book reminded me alot of Vance's "Dying Earth".
Not a suggestion for publication, but for people who all the older stuff, if you like the space patrol type stories, here's a really early novel, and a pretty good one. Interplanetary agents, alien infiltration, inhabitable planets, all that cool stuff.
(Or as the intro blurb says "Where the crested invaders came from no man could say--but they threatened to bring destruction to the three civilized planets!
Seeking a Vacation, Interplanetary Guard Jack Sanders runs into Romance and a Space War!")
Vandals Of the Void - James Morgan Walsh
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0603501.txt
I'd certainly throw in my vote for Wagner's Kane, though. Particularly ahead of your Otis Adelbert Klines et. al. :)
If your Robert Moore Williams stories are as crazy as Skull-Face might be fun to see - you could consider a 'ePlanet stories selection' perhaps, for lesser stuff like that?
Tangentially, how about a Planet Stories logo t-shirt(s)?
bt
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I know he's mostly Science Fiction, but have you ever thought of re-printing some of Frank Herbert's works. Specifically, I'm thinking The Godmakers and Direct Descent. You could also do an anthology with some of his short stories.
Another suggestion would be A.E. van Vogt. I've read Slan and I have a few of his other works, but from my understanding, most of his stuff is out of print.
And, to go in a completely different direction - What about some Lloyd Alexander? I read his Chronicles of Prydain when I was in highschool, and enjoyed those books. However, I never see them in book stores these days. Also, I've seen his wikipedia entry and there are a lot of other books of his that I've never read.
ok here's a list for you...ray cummings(tama of mercury etc.),john russell fearn(golden amazon etc.),wallace west,ralph milne farley,francis stevens,a.merritt(all of it,but especially 'face in the abyss' and 'the snake mother'),l.taylor hansen,robert moore williams,peter dagmar,ivar jorgensen,karl mannheim,julius newton,nictzin dyalhis,louis charbonneau,charles fontenay,m.p.shiel,arlton eadie,clifford ball etc etc and ANY more leigh brackett you can get!
The first couple Lensmen books are in print, but the publisher seems to have abandoned the series. That makes it difficult for us to track down the rights and re-launch it, but we're definitely considering those books (or some of Doc Smith's other, lesser-known works).
Keep the suggestions coming!
I used to read Perry Rhodan, a german series with a thousand or so episodes. The first 100+ were translated by Forrest J. Ackerman's wife Wendayne and published by Ace. The originals were not long enough to produce a full book, so a lot of other stuff was added after the story. A whole series of New Lensman stories as well as others were produced. A lot of this stuff was great reading and probably can be reacquired (if necessary) as I don't expect that Ace and 4EJ spent large sums acquirng the rights.
I basically bought all the Lensman and D'Alembert Family books based on this short series.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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ok here's a list for you...ray cummings(tama of mercury etc.),john russell fearn(golden amazon etc.),wallace west,ralph milne farley,francis stevens,a.merritt(all of it,but especially 'face in the abyss' and 'the snake mother'),l.taylor hansen,robert moore williams,peter dagmar,ivar jorgensen,karl mannheim,julius newton,nictzin dyalhis,louis charbonneau,charles fontenay,m.p.shiel,arlton eadie,clifford ball etc etc and ANY more leigh brackett you can get!
I just finished reading Cummings' Tama stories (including "Aerita of the Light Country"). I have some Fearn photocopies but haven't read much of it yet.
I've read a few Farley stories and plan to start his Radio-Man series very shortly. We've got plans to do at least one Merritt book (look for an announcement next month), and I'm looking at several others as strong possibilities. It's impossible to tell who owns the rights to these and whether or not they are still in copyright, so it's an uphill climb (but a very worthwhile one).
I love Robert Moore Williams, but I haven't yet found the right project for Planet Stories. I've been accumulating his stuff, though. I've got all of the Jongor and Zanthar tales, and perhaps a dozen other books or pulps.
I have some Nictzin Dyalhis material, but it's buried pretty deep in the "to read" pile.
Clifford Ball will be showing up shortly, I suspect.
More Brackett is on the way!
Never come across any Clifford Ball, that should be interesting.
ok here's a list for you...ray cummings(tama of mercury etc.),john russell fearn(golden amazon etc.),wallace west,ralph milne farley,francis stevens,a.merritt(all of it,but especially 'face in the abyss' and 'the snake mother'),l.taylor hansen,robert moore williams,peter dagmar,ivar jorgensen,karl mannheim,julius newton,nictzin dyalhis,louis charbonneau,charles fontenay,m.p.shiel,arlton eadie,clifford ball etc etc and ANY more leigh brackett you can get!I just finished reading Cummings' Tama stories (including "Aerita of the Light Country"). I have some Fearn photocopies but haven't read much of it yet.
I've read a few Farley stories and plan to start his Radio-Man series very shortly. We've got plans to do at least one Merritt book (look for an announcement next month), and I'm looking at several others as strong possibilities. It's impossible to tell who owns the rights to these and whether or not they are still in copyright, so it's an uphill climb (but a very worthwhile one).
I love Robert Moore Williams, but I haven't yet found the right project for Planet Stories. I've been accumulating his stuff, though. I've got all of the Jongor and Zanthar tales, and perhaps a dozen other books or pulps.
I have some Nictzin Dyalhis material, but it's buried pretty deep in the "to read" pile.
Clifford Ball will be showing up shortly, I suspect.
More Brackett is on the way!
...hi erik...great news about farley(radio man series was exactly what i had in mind)...also clifford ball...ALL the merritt is excellent...my faves are 'the ship of ishtar','the dwellers in the abyss','the metal monster','the moon pool' and 'the face in the abyss'(i don't have the sequels 'conquest of the moon pool' and 'the snake mother'...so try to get those!!)...now, i just read some of your posts re lost race novels etc. so maybe this isn't really you're thing!...i totally see where you're coming from with the racist thing etc...however i don't remember that being much of an issue with merritt...(not like capt.meek and stanton coblenz and some of those guys!!)...nictzin dyalhis's 'the sapphire siren' is a classic...only a short story but a collection of his stuff would be great...do you have rm williams' 'the bell from infinity'?..that'd be a good one to publish!...there are stacks of cool ray cummings interplanetary ones...you MUST read john russell fearn's 'the golden amazon' series!!!...PLEASE try to put that out!!!...here's another little list of classics...'earth's last citadel'-moore/kuttner(i reckon it's their best),'the citadel of fear'-francis stevens(lost race i'm afraid but a bloody good one!),'corpus earthling'-louis charbonneau,'whom the gods would slay'-ivar jorgensen,'lords of atlantis'-wallace west,'cosmic crusade'-peter saxon,'the forgotten planet'-julius newton,'blue moon'-norman l knight...etc...it seems(from the requests here)that not many people are aware of this cool old stuff...and while i totally respect people's taste etc.,this seems like a great opportunity to bring back some of the more obscure romantic adventure type of sci fi for a change...you can easily get doc smith and all that in second hand shops for like 50c...(in australia anyway)...it's been put out so many times already...i s'pose people will think i'm a snob...cest la vie...i CONGRATULATE P.S. for bringing back my two all-time favourite writers,leigh brackett and catherine moore!!(there are quite a few brackett stories that as far as i know have never been published in book form -'thralls of the endless night','cube from space','dragon-queen of jupiter','it came from the sea' etc...all the northwest smith in one volume-awesome!!!...and jirel is just sublime)...also kline and kuttner and my fave 'modern' writer mike moorcock...i personally can live without the new stuff but i s'pose if that's what you think you need to do to sell this stuff...whatever...cheers
oops...i meant 'dwellers in the mirage',not the abyss...and i'd also love to see some of the older jack vance...not 'the dying earth'(i love it but they're all easy to find)...what about 'the five gold bands','the space pirate','vandals of the void','dust of far suns' etc
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I own about a quarter of that stuff. I'm aware of about another quarter, and about half of it is new. My strong hope is that Planet Stories continues for years to come, so that we can continue to find interesting, obscure science fiction classics for the modern audience to enjoy.
Sometimes this is an uphill struggle, as book buyers and customers often know nothing about these authors, no matter how legendary they may be.
A. Merritt was once the most popular fantasy writer in America, but nowadays it is impossible to tell who controls his literary estate, and no person of influence in the book buying world has ever heard of him. The god's honest truth is that I could put out an "Erik Mona" book right now and sell more copies direct into the market than an A. Merritt book.
That's not me trying to toot my horn, only to show that Merritt is a non-entity as far as sales generation ability at the moment. Thankfully, there is an interesting and well documented back story with him, so there are biographical details that can help sell the importance of a book.
A good cover helps.
Right now I encourage anyone interested in seeing this "deep cut" material to subscribe to Planet Stories. The more subscriptions we have, the more likely we will be able to keep on doing this for years to come.
I own about a quarter of that stuff. I'm aware of about another quarter, and about half of it is new. My strong hope is that Planet Stories continues for years to come, so that we can continue to find interesting, obscure science fiction classics for the modern audience to enjoy.
Sometimes this is an uphill struggle, as book buyers and customers often know nothing about these authors, no matter how legendary they may be.
A. Merritt was once the most popular fantasy writer in America, but nowadays it is impossible to tell who controls his literary estate, and no person of influence in the book buying world has ever heard of him. The god's honest truth is that I could put out an "Erik Mona" book right now and sell more copies direct into the market than an A. Merritt book.
That's not me trying to toot my horn, only to show that Merritt is a non-entity as far as sales generation ability at the moment. Thankfully, there is an interesting and well documented back story with him, so there are biographical details that can help sell the importance of a book.
A good cover helps.
Right now I encourage anyone interested in seeing this "deep cut" material to subscribe to Planet Stories. The more subscriptions we have, the more likely we will be able to keep on doing this for years to come.
...well all i can say is GOOD LUCK...do your younger readers like this stuff (brackett,moore etc.)?...in an age when buffy the vampire slayer and harry potter books are in the sci-fi section it makes me wonder...i just noticed there's another'vandals of the void'by a james morgan walsh mentioned above...sounds cool
A. Merritt?
I second this. Merritt was one of the greatest early 20th century fantasy authors, and while I already have nearly everything he wrote (even his non-fantasy novel, "Seven Footsteps to Satan"), I'd love to have copies from Paizo.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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...well all i can say is GOOD LUCK...do your younger readers like this stuff (brackett,moore etc.)?...in an age when buffy the vampire slayer and harry potter books are in the sci-fi section it makes me wonder...i just noticed there's another'vandals of the void'by a james morgan walsh mentioned above...sounds cool
I hope my "younger readers" speak up and let us know what they think of Brackett and Moore, but I can confirm that both authors (along with Robert E. Howard) are the most popular books we've done in terms of sales so far. So I think there is an audience there (I wish it was larger, through, truth be told).
I recently bought the James Morgan Walsh "Vandals of the Void." It probably won't get to it for a while, but I'll post a review here when I do.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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A. Merritt?I second this. Merritt was one of the greatest early 20th century fantasy authors, and while I already have nearly everything he wrote (even his non-fantasy novel, "Seven Footsteps to Satan"), I'd love to have copies from Paizo.
Seven Footprints to Satan is the book I keep in my car in case I get stranded on a drawbridge or stuck waiting for someone somewhere. It's fun.
I expect to announce something Merritt-related soon.
Armageddon 2419 A.D
Apologies if it has been mentioned previously.
Google it. or Wiki it. You may be surprised.
I think that it fits right in with Planet Stories.
Armageddon 2419 A.D
Apologies if it has been mentioned previously.
Google it. or Wiki it. You may be surprised.
I think that it fits right in with Planet Stories.
It's an interesting read, early Buck Rogers and all, but I wouldn't want to be trying to sell it. Nor his Prince of Mars returns planetary romance.
Buck Rogers - Armageddon 2419 AD
Buck Rogers - The Airlords of Han
The Prince of Mars Returns
You do have the Buck Rogers angle, of course.
The Walsh is better than these.
Never come across any Clifford Ball, that should be interesting.
...see if you can find 'the thief of forthe'(weird tales july 37)...it was published in a great collection called 'the barbarian swordsmen' ed.sean richards by star books 1981
Never come across any Clifford Ball, that should be interesting....see if you can find 'the thief of forthe'(weird tales july 37)...it was published in a great collection called 'the barbarian swordsmen' ed.sean richards by star books 1981
Thanks Johnny, I will. I hadn't heard of that book, and I have a lot of this stuff, and know of a few more I don't have. One to add to the list!
Browsing further, I find the same tale you mention is in Savage Heroes, a book I did have on my list to get, and a couple more may be findable, too :-
"Duar the Accursed" (May 1937; reprinted in New Worlds for Old, edited by Lin Carter (1971)
"The Thief of Forthe" (July 1937; reprinted in Savage Heroes, edited by Eric Pendragon (1977) and The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (1981)
"The Goddess Awakes" (February 1938; reprinted in Realms of Wizardry, edited by Lin Carter (1976)
"The Swine of Ææa" (March 1939)
"The Little Man" (August 1939)
"The Werewolf Howls" (November 1941; reprinted in 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1994)
Wouldn't have thought to look in the last book, that is for sure.
Browsing further, I find the same tale you mention is in Savage Heroes, a book I did have on my list to get, and a couple more may be findable, too :-
"Duar the Accursed" (May 1937; reprinted in New Worlds for Old, edited by Lin Carter (1971)
"The Thief of Forthe" (July 1937; reprinted in Savage Heroes, edited by Eric Pendragon (1977) and The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (1981)
"The Goddess Awakes" (February 1938; reprinted in Realms of Wizardry, edited by Lin Carter (1976)
"The Swine of Ææa" (March 1939)
"The Little Man" (August 1939)
"The Werewolf Howls" (November 1941; reprinted in 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1994)Wouldn't have thought to look in the last book, that is for sure.
...hi blue...cool,thanks for that little list!...i'll keep my eye out for those lin carter anthologies...i think i've seen them over the years...i desperately want them now!...no doubt there are other gems in there as well!...just got home from our twice-yearly book-fair...you wouldn't BELIEVE some of the classic old stuff i got...
Thanks, Erik, for your interest and appreciation of the Grand Pulps, and for your efforts to get these authors and their stories back in print! While it's great fun to prowl musty used bookstores in search of gems such as a 1st-edition paperback of Leigh Brackett's "The Coming of the Terrans" with a Gray Morrow cover :-), it's better to see such books on Amazon and on shelves!
A. Merritt is an excellent example of a forgotten American lord of pop culture. "The Face in The Abyss" is my favorite lost-worlds novel ever -- 1920's-30's adventure, gorgeous exotic babes, lost civilizations and ancient science, mutants, dinosaurs, dream theaters and two of the greatest fantasy characters, the Snake Mother and the Shadow of Nimir.* Someone once made a handsomely illustrated hardbound edition that I've only seen once. (Frankly, I want to see this tale as a retro feature film, complete with Ray Harryhausen-quality stop motion for the creatures. Who's brave enough to pit her stop-motion Snake Mother against Uncle Ray's Hydra or Medusa? :-)
A later author who really impressed me as a youth, from the late 60's/early 70's, is Mark S. Geston. DAW Books published his haunting, dark science fantasy with lovely covers by Jack Gauguin, George Barr and others. "The Lords of the Starship", its sequel "Out of the Mouth of the Dragon" and the wonderful "The Day Star" are worthy of greater reknown.
*Merrit's Shadow of Nimir shares many qualities with Tolkien's Sauron: the inspiration of Milton's Lucifer, the loss of a physical body and persistence as a malevolent spirit in quest of a new incarnation, a corrupting influence on others and a lust for supreme power. I know of no evidence that either man read the other's work; it may have been a post-Great War meme common to many artists.
Some other notions:
Philip Jose Farmer's excellent Burroughsian works "Hadon of Ancient Opar" and "Flight from Opar", which DAW published many years ago with luscious Roy Krenkel covers and some cool maps.
Stanley G. Weinbaum - EVERYTHING...
What about a groovy eye-candy book of the Pulp Solar System?
Hey Erik
Any chance of seeing the excellent Lin Carter pastiches: the Zanthodon series, and the Green Star series?
Been enjoying the series immensely so far, even though i've read and collected many of them in the past. Keep up the good work.
mal
A. Merritt is an excellent example of a forgotten American lord of pop culture. "The Face in The Abyss" is my favorite lost-worlds novel ever -- 1920's-30's adventure, gorgeous exotic babes, lost civilizations and ancient science, mutants, dinosaurs, dream theaters and two of the greatest fantasy characters, the Snake Mother and the Shadow of Nimir.*
I've read some Merritt stories, but this is the only novel I have read. I liked it quite a bit.
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I don't have much experiance with the pulp genre, either SF or Fantasy, but if I can make a request anyway, I'd love to echo a few of the poster here and ask for Asimov's older stuff. He wrote a lot that I have simply not been able to track down and would love the chance to read what was written by the guy who basically single-handedly invented SF. Ray Bradbury's stuff would be pretty cool too, but I don't think any of it is out of print at all. It's all still too popular. I know there were a lot of good, pulpy SF writers, unfortunately, the only Fantasy authors I know are newer and either still in print or else just came out, and for all of the "classics", I've been looking towards your line anyway.
I also happen to think that an often overlooked genre for books would be the westerns. I know there were enough stories and novels written in the early to mid 20th century to fill a shelf, if not an entire library just with westerns. I used to love reading my dad's old books and mags, but darned if I can remember any of the authors, titles or characters now. OH! Authors Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey (or was it Gray?) and Karl May are some big names to start with.
I also think it could benefit from some straight up mystery novels as well, but I did read that the PS line is for SF&F stories. just not sure how exclusive you plan to keep that, so I figured I'd throw in some stuff that isn't.
Sorry I can't be more help.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Browsing further, I find the same tale you mention is in Savage Heroes, a book I did have on my list to get, and a couple more may be findable, too :-
"Duar the Accursed" (May 1937; reprinted in New Worlds for Old, edited by Lin Carter (1971)
"The Thief of Forthe" (July 1937; reprinted in Savage Heroes, edited by Eric Pendragon (1977) and The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (1981)
"The Goddess Awakes" (February 1938; reprinted in Realms of Wizardry, edited by Lin Carter (1976)
"The Werewolf Howls" (November 1941; reprinted in 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1994)
I've got all of those.
Still missing these:
"The Swine of Ææa" (March 1939)
"The Little Man" (August 1939)
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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...hi blue...cool,thanks for that little list!...i'll keep my eye out for those lin carter anthologies...i think i've seen them over the years...i desperately want them now!...no doubt there are other gems in there as well!...just got home from our twice-yearly book-fair...you wouldn't BELIEVE some of the classic old stuff i got...
Could you possibly be talking about the Friends of the Seattle Library sale on Friday in Seattle?
I was there and snagged 25 vintage SF paperbacks. Pretty good selection this year.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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A later author who really impressed me as a youth, from the late 60's/early 70's, is Mark S. Geston. DAW Books published his haunting, dark science fantasy with lovely covers by Jack Gauguin, George Barr and others. "The Lords of the Starship", its sequel "Out of the Mouth of the Dragon" and the wonderful "The Day Star" are worthy of greater reknown.
I'm not familiar with Mark S. Geston. I will have to look out for his stuff.
Like I said, a Merritt announcement is imminent. I'm starting with my favorite, but if sales warrant I suppose we could try to do all of them.
Old Abe certainly deserves it! He is one of the greatest, most popular authors of fantasy fiction, but few people under the age of 35 even know who he is and much of his work remains very difficult to find.
I haven't read all of his works yet, but I look forward to every one.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Some other notions:
Philip Jose Farmer's excellent Burroughsian works "Hadon of Ancient Opar" and "Flight from Opar", which DAW published many years ago with luscious Roy Krenkel covers and some cool maps.
Did you know that Paizo editor Christopher Paul Carey has co-written written an authorized third book in this sequence? The book is currently in review at major New York publishers, and we expect big things from our resident PJF fanatic.
Stanley G. Weinbaum - EVERYTHING...
A Martian Odyssey is the very next book on my reading list.
What about a groovy eye-candy book of the Pulp Solar System?
Been thinking a lot about this. A "Planet Stories Guide to the Solar System," or something. The thing is I'd prefer to write such a tome (which would be a very expensive undertaking), and I'm still in "research" mode (and will be for some time!).
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Hey Erik
Any chance of seeing the excellent Lin Carter pastiches: the Zanthodon series, and the Green Star series?
Been enjoying the series immensely so far, even though i've read and collected many of them in the past. Keep up the good work.
mal
I have all of those books in my collection, but it will probably be a long while until I get to them. Even within Carter's output there are a half-dozen books I'd probably rather do, and if "underground prehistoric land" is the genre in demand I think there are probably more deserving, less available stuff on the docket.
I'm thinking of stories like "Dian of Lost Land" or "The Radio Flyers" or something like that.
I have recently read a lot of crap Lin Carter stories, though, so I probably need to read a really good one to jolt me into respecting him more as a writer than as an editor.
Any suggestions?
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I don't have much experiance with the pulp genre, either SF or Fantasy, but if I can make a request anyway, I'd love to echo a few of the poster here and ask for Asimov's older stuff. He wrote a lot that I have simply not been able to track down and would love the chance to read what was written by the guy who basically single-handedly invented SF. Ray Bradbury's stuff would be pretty cool too, but I don't think any of it is out of print at all. It's all still too popular. I know there were a lot of good, pulpy SF writers, unfortunately, the only Fantasy authors I know are newer and either still in print or else just came out, and for all of the "classics", I've been looking towards your line anyway.
I also happen to think that an often overlooked genre for books would be the westerns. I know there were enough stories and novels written in the early to mid 20th century to fill a shelf, if not an entire library just with westerns. I used to love reading my dad's old books and mags, but darned if I can remember any of the authors, titles or characters now. OH! Authors Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey (or was it Gray?) and Karl May are some big names to start with.
I also think it could benefit from some straight up mystery novels as well, but I did read that the PS line is for SF&F stories. just not sure how exclusive you plan to keep that, so I figured I'd throw in some stuff that isn't.
Sorry I can't be more help.
The focus for Planet Stories is science fiction and fantasy, so while it's sometimes tempting to consider a Leigh Brackett western or a Henry Kuttner/C. L. Moore mystery novel, I really don't want to dilute the brand while we are just getting started.
I can understand wanting to see more early Asimov, though I must take huge exception to the idea that he "single handedly" invented SF, or even that he "invented" SF at all. A lot of his early stories appeared in the pulps alongside those of folks like Edmond Hamilton and Jack Williamson, who were already considered veterans in the field before Asimov published his first story.
Before that there was Ray Cummings or Homer Eon Flint, and of course Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and you might even include Mary Shelley. Not to slight Asimov's huge popularity or his impact on the genre, but he stood on the shoulders of giants who stood on the shoulders of giants.
Planet Stories is largely about exploring some of those giants, who might otherwise fade into obscurity.
Isaac Asimov will never fade into obscurity, and at the present moment I don't really think he needs our help.
I'll look into tracking down some of his harder-to-find older stuff, though, because I'm sure a collection like that would sell pretty well.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Obviously I was catching up after being away from the thread for a bit! Sorry about all of the posts at once.
I can't tell you guys how pleased I am to see a community of Planet Stories readers on these forums.
It's early enough in the line that every sale literally helps to decide the future of the line, so it's exciting to see you guys here talking about the books and supporting Planet Stories.
I appreciate the interest and support!
Keep those requests coming!
Browsing further, I find the same tale you mention is in Savage Heroes, a book I did have on my list to get, and a couple more may be findable, too :-
"Duar the Accursed" (May 1937; reprinted in New Worlds for Old, edited by Lin Carter (1971)
"The Thief of Forthe" (July 1937; reprinted in Savage Heroes, edited by Eric Pendragon (1977) and The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (1981)
"The Goddess Awakes" (February 1938; reprinted in Realms of Wizardry, edited by Lin Carter (1976)
"The Werewolf Howls" (November 1941; reprinted in 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1994)
I've got all of those.
Still missing these:
"The Swine of Ææa" (March 1939)
"The Little Man" (August 1939)
Got them but haven't read them, or got them and read them?
This is a long shot, but what about Mary Stewart's Myrdden books?
There's a lot of talk of SF, but not much fantasy! :)
Now I will digress, and suggest John Norman's Chronicles of Gor. I'm interested in reading this since seeing the terrible Gor movie on Sci-Fi last week.
The Crystal Cave, etc? Not really the thing he is looking for, I think. But that does remind me of something.
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I can understand wanting to see more early Asimov, though I must take huge exception to the idea that he "single handedly" invented SF, or even that he "invented" SF at all. A lot of his early stories appeared in the pulps alongside those of folks like Edmond Hamilton and Jack Williamson, who were already considered...
I'm sure you can't begrudge a fan his rose-colored glasses (or would it be blinders in this case? hmm...). The problem being that while i've been exposed to Asimov and heard about his impact and even read most of his stuff that I could get my hands on, a lot of the others (Edmond Hamilton and Jack Williamson spring to mind) were always footnotes or mentioned, but I could never read anyhting by them and therefore have no idea of their impact, or even remember their name unless I see it elsewhere. I was aware of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, but I figured that they're still way too available for you to consider. I am sorry if I offended you in any way though, and it's good to know you're considering an Anthology of that sort. I'd preorder it the day it becomes available.
And I can see what you mean about not wanting to dilute the line too soon. I'll try and tailor my requests to fall in line in the future, but the problem still remains that any author or story I might mention is still too popular, or new to consider, or is still being published elsewhere.
Anyway, Thanks for broadening my reading horizons. (Oh, and I am really enjoying the Anubis murders. Definately going to try and get the others.)
The two most over the top fantasy novels I have read pretty much are Mark C. Perry's Morigu: The Dead and Morigu: The Desecration.
These are from the '80s. Seriously hardcore badass.
Here's the back of the second book :-
"The mightiest champions ever seen: the full armies of the elves, dwarfs, and humans. Beside them--the hero Niall Trollsbane, sorceress Dermot, and Anlon the unicorn god. A war so dire that even Lord Death has chosen sides.
The greatest enemy they will ever know: demon princes, traitor gods, the Queen of Magic; and all the slavering hordes of goblins, trolls, undeads led by the last Dragon. Monsters who do not conquer--only destroy, as they poison the wombs of women and seek to kill the very land itself.
Between them stands the Morigu: a creature made with the power of the Goddess, an elf possessed by the Earth's pain. The defender who must ease his agony with slaughter, the Morigu is Nature's passion, destined to soothe the shattered land with a sea of blood.
They are warriors of a holocaust that rages from desert to swamp, from broken skies to crystal caverns A war with no quarter--for the prize is the living soul of the world."
Despite the elf/dwarf thing, this ain't no Tolkien. Hobbits would last nanoseconds.
One small bit of one of the crazy battles:
"The Gate widened, the infinite darkness spread, and one by one the Demon Lords rose and made war. Apkieran, Lord of the Undead, wielded his bleeding ax; Roella, the Fire Lord, followed by his burning minions; and others, great vast shadows, insectlike horrors, sheaps of leprosy and nightmares, for here Hell revealed all its might. There was no constraint, no fear of the last battle, and they were winning.
The cries of the tortured deafened all sound, the stench of a physical weapon, and in the middle Dammuth stood, unbowed, his magic flashing from him as lightning, as fire, as pure bolts of energy, and Death himself shuddered at the horror and madness of it all."
See amazon people Amazon page for The Desecration
I can understand wanting to see more early Asimov, though I must take huge exception to the idea that he "single handedly" invented SF, or even that he "invented" SF at all. A lot of his early stories appeared in the pulps alongside those of folks like Edmond Hamilton and Jack Williamson, who were already considered...
The other thing about the early Asimov, is that, in general, it isn't very good. I've read pretty much all his stories, barring the collections about the guy and his little magical demon, or all the Black Widowers.
Not much of it really fits with Planet Stories either. He wrote the occasional thing like Black Friar Of the Flame early on (I think this one was probably in Planet Stories or something similar, given how different it was), which absolutely is the Edmond Hamilton sort of thing - if people want one to check out.
There are several collections called 'The Early Asimov', for those interested, although fairly old. Asimov is popular enough the interlibrary thing might still work for him.
Would he sell? Quite possibly I suppose. :)
The focus for Planet Stories is science fiction and fantasy, so while it's sometimes tempting to consider a Leigh Brackett western or a Henry Kuttner/C. L. Moore mystery novel, I really don't want to dilute the brand while we are just getting started.
Leigh Brackett's Western is an historical novel novelising the life of a real bloke, too, so not what you are after, at all.
Certainly nothing like Logan Winters Spectros, a shapeshifting gunslinging wizard. :)
Hmm, also how about Tully Zetford's "Ryder Hook" series -- Whirlpool of Stars, The Boosted Man, Star City, and the Virility Gene.
Also Mark Ramsay's "Falcon" (Draco de Montfalcon) series -- The Falcon Strikes, The Black Pope, The Bloody Cross, and The King's Treasure.
I've read a couple of those Ryder Hook books. Right sort of crazy stuff, but they don't deserve republishing, ever. :)
I've never come across one of the Falcon books, would like to.
Finally found one of David C. Smith's Sword and Sorcery books a while ago. Anyone else read these?
Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but Charles R. Saunders. Night Shade did his first two Imaro books, but not the third - and what looks like self-publishing of Dossouye. He has more of the former, too, I think.
Really good African flavored Sword and Sorcery.
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I have two David C. Smith books, "Oron" and "The Sorcerer's Shadow." I've heard good things about Smith, but right now these books are not very high at all on the "to read" pile. I think he also may have co-written three Red Sonja books I picked up at a "cheap as dirt" library sale last week, but for now these are "deep storage" material I won't get to for at least another year or so.