Collected Short Fiction

Stanley G. Weinbaum

Stanley Grauman Weinbaum (also wrote as John Jessel and Marge Stanley) (1902-1935) was an American science fiction author. His career in science fiction was short but influential. His first story, A Martian Odyssey, was published to great acclaim in July 1934. Most of the stories fall into two categories: travelogue types that explore different planets, and the others with Dixon Wells and the great scientist Van Manderpootz, who invents amazing stuff that Wells manages to use to break his own heart over and over again. A collection of stunning short stories written in the 30s but ahead of their time in their depiction of bizarre alien life forms. The final story in the book, Proteus Island, is a bit of an anomaly. Instead of being in the future or space, it seems set more present day.

Dawn of Flame. The Stanley G. Weinbaum Memorial Volume

Stanley G. Weinbaum

After a worldwide plague breaks civilization, Joaquin Smith and his sister build an empire up the Mississippi Valley. Who would be brave or foolish enough to stand in their way? Who but a young backwoodsman named Hull Tarvish? Dawn of Flame was written in the year 1939 by Stanley Grauman Weinbaum. This book is one of the most popular novels of Stanley Grauman Weinbaum, and has been translated into several other languages around the world. After his death, Weinbaum became science fictions first cult author; Dawn of Flame appeared as the title piece of a 1936 memorial story collection, while The Black Flame was the lead feature in the January 1939 debut issue of Startling Stories.

The Black Flame

Stanley G. Weinbaum

When The Black Flame was first published in 1939, Stanley G. Weinbaum had already been dead for three years. This novel contains of two short novels: Dawn of Flame and The Black Flame. Both are very similar stories, the reason for that is that Weinbaum had not released the first one and reworked it into the longer second part. The story itself is a weird SciFi love story set in a very distant future. Mankind had nearly become extinct, but recovers to a good number by the help of scientists who also discover the secret of stopping people from aging and dieing.

The Dark Other

Stanley G. Weinbaum

Pat is a beautiful young woman with many admirers. Nick is a young man with a secret. When his dark side interferes with their burgeoning love, things turn grim, and psychologist Carl Horker has to intervene. The plot wraps up in a way that the coming Hollywood would approve of, and with a deus ex machina that a theater would envy. Stanley Grauman Weinbaum (April 4, 1902 December 14, 1935) was an American science fiction writer. His career in science fiction was short but influential.

The Manderpootz Series

Stanley G. Weinbaum

The Manderpootz Series includes the three stories of Stanley G. Weinbaums early science fiction trilogy. He is best known for his short story A Martian Odyssey which has been influencing Science Fiction since it was first published in 1934. Weinbaum is considered the first writer to contrive an alien who thought as well as a human, but not like a human. In a series of comedies featuring the eccentric scientist Professor Manderpootz including the Alternate-History story The Worlds of If, The Ideal and The Point of View he flippantly devised absurdly miraculous Machines. The humorous stories follow the doings of Dixon Wells, a perpetually late playboy who runs afoul of the inventions of his friend and former instructor in Newer Physics, Professor Haskel van Manderpootz, a supremely immodest genius who rates Einstein as his intellectual equal.

The New Adam

Stanley G. Weinbaum

Edmund Hall, born a mutant with too many joints in his fingers and a double mind, tries to find a purpose in a society of humans. This superman is no caped crusader fighting for justice though. Rather, he is a dual-brained super-intellect with an IQ so far off the charts that normal human beings appear as Neanderthals next to him. In this story, our evolved human is born into modern society without anyone knowing his nature. While pondering whether hes a superman or the devil, he explores pleasure, power, and passion. Slowly he realizes the differences between himself and contemporary humans, and therein lies a fascinating story.

The Planetary Series

Stanley G. Weinbaum

If youre going to launch a series dedicated to the very best science fiction and fantasy writers of the century, it makes sense to start with Stanley G. Weinbaum. The Planetary Series includes ten stories set on worlds of Earths solar system following several centuries of human exploration and settlement. It features a host of fascinating alien creatures, including birdlike Martians (features in A Martian Odyssey and its sequel Valley of Dreams) and The Red Peri and the Venusian trioptes (in Parasite Planet, The Lotus Eaters). Written in the 1930s, the planetary stories were consistent with scientific understanding of the solar system at that time, as well as consistent with science fiction ideas of the planets, most notably a warm and wet jungle-like Venus. Even today, the collection remains a highly readable and enjoyable, a great example of early science fiction that exhibits the finest pulp virtues: fast action, colorful settings and characters, and terrific storytelling.