i just got into planet stories since i got Northwest of earth for christmas i just ordered the ginger star as well
but i have a small request ever since i saw the swardsman of mars and the outlaws of mars by Otis Adelbert Kline
i was hopeing at some point you could publish his novel Tam Son of the Tiger.
Any chance of this happening
many thanks
Welcome aboard, JJB! And yes, actually, we've been looking into Tam rather heavily for a while now... nothing official yet, but we'll let you know what happens!
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I've read Tam, or at least the hardcover 1960s version that was badly recut from the original Weird Tales serial. It was pretty fun. It's more of a lost world/jungle adventure story than a Planet Story, but the plot is almost identical to most sword and planet novels, so it's not altogether an imperfect fit.
We're considering it. Thanks for the suggestion!
I've read Tam, or at least the hardcover 1960s version that was badly recut from the original Weird Tales serial. It was pretty fun. It's more of a lost world/jungle adventure story than a Planet Story, but the plot is almost identical to most sword and planet novels, so it's not altogether an imperfect fit.
We're considering it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Mr Mona thank you for the responce iv been really getting into the weird tales and other pulp magazine matireal thats why northwest of earth jumped out at me
and Tam has always been on my wish list make it avalable and you will have a sure buy from me
i wish i had some more suggestions
thank you vary much gents
Black Gods Kiss is certenly high on my to buy list
outlaws of mars is also calling out to me since iv never read Mr Kline before
Henry Kuttner is also vary intreiging to me
i also should note i am more then a reader i am a collector of horror and sci fi novles and stories
i also should note i am more then a reader i am a collector of horror and sci fi novles and stories
Then you've definitely come to the right place. :)
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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outlaws of mars is also calling out to me since iv never read Mr Kline beforeHenry Kuttner is also vary intreiging to me
In the case of Kline, you might first try The Swordsman of Mars, as its story occurs chronologically prior to the story in Outlaws. You don't need to read one to enjoy the other, but if you care about publication order, Swordsman is the way to go.
For Kuttner, I'd try The Dark World. We're about to send his next book, Robots Have No Tails, which is both the most "science fiction" and the funniest book we've published to date.
If you subscribe (hint, hint), you'll be receiving it shortly.
Welcome to the line. From one collector to another, welcome aboard!
While I know his publishing history far predates the pulps in the classic sense, any chance you'd ever consider some Algernon Blackwood? I'd love to have some readable copies of Pan's Garden or the John Silence stories in my collection.
And since I'm at it, mind if I recommend Mike Ashley as a good scholar and writer for an introduction to one of your future Planet Stories collections? He's one of the best pulps scholars I can think of and I'd love to hear his comments on Kuttner or somesuch.
Steven
While I know his publishing history far predates the pulps in the classic sense, any chance you'd ever consider some Algernon Blackwood? I'd love to have some readable copies of Pan's Garden or the John Silence stories in my collection.
I'd be pretty sure those are available, especially the latter, being public domain. Try Dover for that sort of thing, cheap.
well iv decided to buy another planet story volume
im just not sure wich one
iv narrowed it down to two
Elak of Atlantis by Kuttner
or Black gods kiss by moore
any help from readers
Don't have Elak. LOVED Black God's Kiss.
well iv decided to buy another planet story volume
im just not sure wich one
iv narrowed it down to two
Elak of Atlantis by Kuttner
or Black gods kiss by moore
any help from readers
Henry must have been so jealous of his wife,he wasn't in the same league at all. Go with 'Black God's Kiss'. In my humble opinion,the best weird fantasy series ever written.'Elak' was my favourite Kuttner but nowhere near as good as 'Jirel' for me. But,as I've seen a lot on here,everyone is different. If you haven't read Leigh Brackett,get that next!!
Henry must have been so jealous of his wife,he wasn't in the same league at all. Go with 'Black God's Kiss'. In my humble opinion,the best weird fantasy series ever written.'Elak' was my favourite Kuttner but nowhere near as good as 'Jirel' for me. But,as I've seen a lot on here,everyone is different. If you haven't read Leigh Brackett,get that next!!well iv decided to buy another planet story volume
im just not sure wich one
iv narrowed it down to two
Elak of Atlantis by Kuttner
or Black gods kiss by moore
any help from readers
Apples and Oranges. Kuttner and Moore collaborated so often after they were married that it's only the material written before that that you can guarentee was written by one or the other. Their writing styles grew so close that one could start a piece and the other finish it seamlessly. Pick up some Lewis Padgett sometime, it was their mutual pen name.
Incidentally, neither Elak nor the Dark World are the best examples of Kuttner you can get. Robots have no Tails should be close though.
well looks like black gods kiss is it
im still in the middle of northwest of earth
and CL Moores stories have grabbed hold of me and screamed "Read Me"
im also reading the Eric J Stark series by Leagh Brackett im on the ginger star and its so good i thought of reading it all in one sitting but dragged it out to savor the good story
REHs Almurac is also on my list
im also reading the Eric J Stark series by Leagh Brackett im on the ginger star and its so good i thought of reading it all in one sitting but dragged it out to savor the good story
You don't have to drag it out too long - it's the first book of a trilogy. :) While Ginger Star can be fun on its own, it plus Hounds of Skaith and Reavers of Skaith are really one giant space-fantasy epic cut into three slices. And if you like those, The Secret of Sinharat gives you two more Stark stories that are just as much fun and let you see Stark on a Mars that's rather familiar (especially if you've been reading NW Smith!).
I tried to portion them out and not read all three straight through...couldn't make myself do it. I had to find out how Stark was going to overcome! And each book was successively better than the previous one.
im really enjoying the Eric John Stark series
im wondering after i finish the ginger star
should i backtrack to the secret of sinharat
or continue on with the hounds of skaith
I've not read Secret, so take it with a grain of salt--I'd press on! (But that's not meant as a discouragement for Moore either.)
Henry must have been so jealous of his wife,he wasn't in the same league at all. Go with 'Black God's Kiss'. In my humble opinion,the best weird fantasy series ever written.'Elak' was my favourite Kuttner but nowhere near as good as 'Jirel' for me. But,as I've seen a lot on here,everyone is different. If you haven't read Leigh Brackett,get that next!!well iv decided to buy another planet story volume
im just not sure wich one
iv narrowed it down to two
Elak of Atlantis by Kuttner
or Black gods kiss by moore
any help from readers
Apples and Oranges. Kuttner and Moore collaborated so often after they were married that it's only the material written before that that you can guarentee was written by one or the other. Their writing styles grew so close that one could start a piece and the other finish it seamlessly. Pick up some Lewis Padgett sometime, it was their mutual pen name.
Incidentally, neither Elak nor the Dark World are the best examples of Kuttner you can get. Robots have no Tails should be close though.
Yes,that's right,they also collaborated a lot as Lawrence O'Donnell and other pseudonyms. The Lewis Padgett ones read like 90% Kuttner to me. Same with all their collaborations except 'Earth's Last Citadel','The Picture in The Portal' (Both 90% Moore for me),and Fury which is usually credited to Henry but was originally published as Lawrence O'Donnell. Apparently there has always been a lot of debate about who wrote what,but going on their individual work,that's how it seems to me.(according to Wikipedia there are a few theories) Kuttner's Gallegher and Baldie stories are popular it seems with the sci-fi fans but I find them painful to read. For me,Elak was good but not in the same league as Moore or Howard or Ashton Smith etc. Basically CL Moore is my favourite writer of all time (with Brackett) but I find Kuttner very ordinary at best. Hey guys,can I request 'The Golden Amazon' series by John Russel Fearn again? That is seriously cool,I promise you'll like it!!
Oh,I forgot,The Willow Landscape new CD available now!!!! www.myspace.com/thewillowlandscape Am I allowed to say that? Go on,buy one!!!
im really enjoying the Eric John Stark series
im wondering after i finish the ginger star
should i backtrack to the secret of sinharat
or continue on with the hounds of skaith
Keep going, and come back to Sinharat once you've finished. :)
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Yes,that's right,they also collaborated a lot as Lawrence O'Donnell and other pseudonyms. The Lewis Padgett ones read like 90% Kuttner to me. Same with all their collaborations except 'Earth's Last Citadel','The Picture in The Portal' (Both 90% Moore for me),and Fury which is usually credited to Henry but was originally published as Lawrence O'Donnell. Apparently there has always been a lot of debate about who wrote what,but going on their individual work,that's how it seems to me.(according to Wikipedia there are a few theories) Kuttner's Gallegher and Baldie stories are popular it seems with the sci-fi fans but I find them painful to read. For me,Elak was good but not in the same league as Moore or Howard or Ashton Smith etc. Basically CL Moore is my favourite writer of all time (with Brackett) but I find Kuttner very ordinary at best. Hey guys,can I request 'The Golden Amazon' series by John Russel Fearn again? That is seriously cool,I promise you'll like it!!
Have you read The Dark World? I thought that was pretty darn good Kuttner. I also really enjoy Robots Have No Tails. Kuttner really knew how to put together a story, from pacing to plot. He wasn't always so great with the lush description, which is why I think he doesn't compare all that favorably to his wife in a lot of readers' minds.
I agree that Earth's Last Citadel has moments that are obviously Moore. I strongly suspect that you can trace who wrote what to the hacky use of the Scottish (?) character's accent. About every other chapter it gets really thick and ridiculous, and then in the next chapter it is totally missing. Still a fine book, though, and one I'd like to republish for Planet Stories some day.
I haven't read any Fearn, but if we did publish any of it I suspect we'd go with his Mars series (which I have) or more likely some of his early Amazing Stories adventures, as they're all sitting about 30 feet from my office.
today i was out at a local book store looking through the sci fi section and
i found a used copy of Steppe so i went into the reading area and read the first few pages its really good
i almost bought it on the spot i then looked at my copys of northwest of earth and the ginger star
i decided to wait and buy steppe from planet stories when it comes out from them
Have you read The Dark World? I thought that was pretty darn good Kuttner. I also really enjoy Robots Have No Tails. Kuttner really knew how to put together a story, from pacing to plot. He wasn't always so great with the lush description, which is why I think he doesn't compare all that favorably to his wife in a lot of readers' minds.
I'm with Erik, here. The Dark World is clearly some of Kuttner's best work (Mutant, Fury and The Graveyard Rats aside).
Untangling who did what, I never bother, I just put down what was on the particular edition of whatever I happened to read.
The Golden Amazon is fun, but Fearn's a pretty poor writer, from what I've seen.
Well, I just finished The Dark World, and it's my first Kuttner, and I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it's as good as the Moore and Brackett books in the Planet Stories, but it's good. I didn't see the twist with Ghast Rhemi coming, but there were so many clues! (I blame late night reading.) ;)
Yes,that's right,they also collaborated a lot as Lawrence O'Donnell and other pseudonyms. The Lewis Padgett ones read like 90% Kuttner to me. Same with all their collaborations except 'Earth's Last Citadel','The Picture in The Portal' (Both 90% Moore for me),and Fury which is usually credited to Henry but was originally published as Lawrence O'Donnell. Apparently there has always been a lot of debate about who wrote what,but going on their individual work,that's how it seems to me.(according to Wikipedia there are a few theories) Kuttner's Gallegher and Baldie stories are popular it seems with the sci-fi fans but I find them painful to read. For me,Elak was good but not in the same league as Moore or Howard or Ashton Smith etc. Basically CL Moore is my favourite writer of all time (with Brackett) but I find Kuttner very ordinary at best. Hey guys,can I request 'The Golden Amazon' series by John Russel Fearn again? That is seriously cool,I promise you'll like it!!Have you read The Dark World? I thought that was pretty darn good Kuttner. I also really enjoy Robots Have No Tails. Kuttner really knew how to put together a story, from pacing to plot. He wasn't always so great with the lush description, which is why I think he doesn't compare all that favorably to his wife in a lot of readers' minds.
I agree that Earth's Last Citadel has moments that are obviously Moore. I strongly suspect that you can trace who wrote what to the hacky use of the Scottish (?) character's accent. About every other chapter it gets really thick and ridiculous, and then in the next chapter it is totally missing. Still a fine book, though, and one I'd like to republish for Planet Stories some day.
I haven't read any Fearn, but if we did publish any of it I suspect we'd go with his Mars series (which I have) or more likely some of his early Amazing Stories adventures, as they're all sitting about 30 feet from my office.
No,I haven't read 'The Dark World' but I've heard it's good. I'll probably get that.It's only really the Robot and Mutant ones I don't like. Surprise surprise,these are the ones that are apparently better written???? Hmmmm,whatever. I'm not a critic,I just like it or not. You're right that Kuttner knew how to put a story together etc,like Edmond Hamilton and those sort of people,but it was often not very imaginative or something,and the humour is corny to me. And yes the lush descriptive style of Moore is just what I prefer. Later on though,when they were collaborating for Campbell etc,even the Moore 'solo' stuff started reading more like Kuttner. Like 'Doomsday Morning' and some of those things she did later. For me,'Jirel' and 'Northwest' was her best by far. Fearn is patchy,for me,'The Amazon' was best. There were a few books in that series but I only have one,that's why I keep asking for it you see? Any Ray Cummings on the horizon?
...It's only really the Robot and Mutant ones I don't like. Surprise surprise,these are the ones that are apparently better written???? Hmmmm,whatever. I'm not a critic,I just like it or not...
I think you’re talking more about a matter of personal taste than the quality of the writing. I know robot and mutant stories don’t appeal to everyone.
Just my two cents.
...It's only really the Robot and Mutant ones I don't like. Surprise surprise,these are the ones that are apparently better written???? Hmmmm,whatever. I'm not a critic,I just like it or not...
I think you’re talking more about a matter of personal taste than the quality of the writing. I know robot and mutant stories don’t appeal to everyone.
Just my two cents.
Yep,absolutely,just personal taste.
i was out with my weekly RPG crew on friday and i got to talking with a new member of our grupe who is a big fantisy reader
and he brought up Michael Moorcock and the elric saga
that got me to thinking my next buy from planet stories will be
city of the beast
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Any Ray Cummings on the horizon?
Maybe. There was a Cummings book on the schedule until a recent change made me bump it for something that will definitely sell more copies.
I have a certain fondness for Ray Cummings, though I don't think it's quite correct to say he is a good writer.
Any Ray Cummings on the horizon?Maybe. There was a Cummings book on the schedule until a recent change made me bump it for something that will definitely sell more copies.
I have a certain fondness for Ray Cummings, though I don't think it's quite correct to say he is a good writer.
Cool. I personally would much rather read a good story by a bad writer than a boring story by a good one! As I've said before,I don't even know what good writing is. Is it like 'good' music? No such thing for me,it's just music. I like it or I don't. But yes,trying to sell Ray might be a bit difficult I suppose.
There was a Cummings book on the schedule until a recent change made me bump it for something that will definitely sell more copies.
You taunt us! Come on, tell us what it is!
You taunt us! Come on, tell us what it is!There was a Cummings book on the schedule until a recent change made me bump it for something that will definitely sell more copies.
Yes,come on!!
I'd rather not say, honestly. It involved women with wings from a nearby planet.
That narrows it down a lot less than you might think, though.
Hmm,I think I know,but in light of what you say I'm not sure now. From memory,there was only one woman with wings in the one I'm thinking of. (is the 1st initial B, or aren't you prepared to say?)
I'd say there's a fair chance you will like the Dark World, johnny.
It is also online, so you can check out the start and see, too, to make sure.
http://freesf.blogspot.com/2008/12/dark-world-henry-kuttner.html
I like Mutant quite a bit, but have always liked that sort of story. The couple of robot stories of his I have seen don't matter to me one way or the other.
I still haven't gotten around to reading Girl In the Golden Atom or other Cummings, though. Sometime soon.
I forget if this has been asked before, but any chance of seeing a collection of Clark Ashton Smith stories? He was a brilliant author, and for some reason today he's almost forgotten.
And how about Boats of the Glen Carrig by William Hope Hodgson?
I'd rather not say, honestly. It involved women with wings from a nearby planet.
That narrows it down a lot less than you might think, though.
Hmmm, that doesn’t help much. One safe guess though, is the nearby planet Venus?
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Neither of you are thinking of the right Cummings story.
Clark Ashton Smith is doing quite well in the hands of Nightshade, who are reissuing his entire output (albeit a bit slowly).
I have a difficult time believing those electronic Kuttner books are sanctioned by his estate, and would (of course) prefer people buy our edition of The Dark World. It is a fantastic fantasy novel that will not disappoint you.
Neither of you are thinking of the right Cummings story.
Clark Ashton Smith is doing quite well in the hands of Nightshade, who are reissuing his entire output (albeit a bit slowly).
I have a difficult time believing those electronic Kuttner books are sanctioned by his estate, and would (of course) prefer people buy our edition of The Dark World. It is a fantastic fantasy novel that will not disappoint you.
I was actually looking up Cummings the other day - The L ight Country stuff then?
Can't put your Dark World on my Palm though, too big :) (apart from the fact I already have it).
You also do have excerpt failure in general, come to that, for people wanting to check them out? There's been the odd bit on the blog, but that is certainly something that is lacking.
Neither of you are thinking of the right Cummings story.
Clark Ashton Smith is doing quite well in the hands of Nightshade, who are reissuing his entire output (albeit a bit slowly).
I have a difficult time believing those electronic Kuttner books are sanctioned by his estate, and would (of course) prefer people buy our edition of The Dark World. It is a fantastic fantasy novel that will not disappoint you.
I was actually looking up Cummings the other day - The L ight Country stuff then?
Can't put your Dark World on my Palm though, too big :) (apart from the fact I already have it).
You also do have excerpt failure in general, come to that, for people wanting to check them out? There's been the odd bit on the blog, but that is certainly something that is lacking.
Ahhh,of course,Tama. Yes,go on do it!!! I don't have all of them!! (or are we still wrong?) And yes,'The Girl in The Golden Atom' is just one of the most ridiculous things you'll ever read,but he somehow manages to pull it off. There were heaps of sequels which I don't have so that's another one I'd love to see. Yes,I've heard before that 'The Dark World' is a good one. I've just read a few beauties by CAS,especially 'The Dead Planet'. Now that's what I call WEIRD. I've also been reading one Northwest Smith story every few weeks to savour the experience. It's all just as good second time around.
Pretty soon as it turned out for Cummings. If the others that Erik was talking about are of similar quality, or worse, I'd be skipping them too. Especially in favor of Brackett's Shadow Over Mars, or something Kuttner/Moore, or whatever, certainly.
The writing isn't Robert Moore Williams bad, but pretty average.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Shadow Over Mars is definitely on the list.
I just don't think Cummings would sell, as much as I like the idea of publishing his planetary romance stuff. The writing at best is at least equal to Otis Kline.
Then again, the Kline books are doing somewhat better than I had expected. Swordsman has shown up at most Barnes & Nobles I've visited recently, and our distributor has reordered a few times. Initial orders on Outlaws of Mars were relatively strong.
So maybe I shouldn't undersell "The American H.G. Wells" so much.
Shadow Over Mars is definitely on the list.
I just don't think Cummings would sell, as much as I like the idea of publishing his planetary romance stuff. The writing at best is at least equal to Otis Kline.
Then again, the Kline books are doing somewhat better than I had expected. Swordsman has shown up at most Barnes & Nobles I've visited recently, and our distributor has reordered a few times. Initial orders on Outlaws of Mars were relatively strong.
So maybe I shouldn't undersell "The American H.G. Wells" so much.
So you think the Cummings Mercury books are as good as Kline?
The Girl in the Golden Atom isn't in the same class as the Kline Mars books. Haven't read the Venus ones - they are online, but from what you say about the Mars books they may be butchered versions, so hesitant to try them rather than the better ones.