Golden Age Fiction

How far would you go to visit vengeance on the killer of someone you'd only just met, someone you didn't know. This novelette appeared in the August 1928 issue of Weird Tales. This was Howard's first published Soloman Kane story. ----- Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the charac...

How do you lie by telling the truth? Well, when your life, and the life of the human race is on the line, you find a way. This short story appeared in the July 1957 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, under the pen name of David Gordon. ----- Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett (December 16, 1927 – December 31, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was a contributor to Ast...

How do you fight those who have the power to steal suns? Captain Dur Nal and his crew of the Interstellar Patrol are about to find out. This novelette appeared in the April 1934 issue of "Weird Tales". ----- Edmond Moore Hamilton (October 21, 1904 – February 1, 1977) was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century. He is known for writing most of the Captain Futu...

Royal babies were pretty important on Dynak, even if they did hatch out of eggs. So when Boccaccio di Vino mated with the Shannil, everyone held their breath. Especially di Vino. He might not have much more of it. "The Price of Eggs", by Randall Garrett appeared in the December 1959 issue of "Fantastic Science Fiction Stories" on pages 96 to 119. ----- Gordon Randall Phillip David...

Can a robot be a person? Can a robot have feelings? Can a robot fall in love? Can one fall in love with a robot? With the latest technology and the right programming, the answer appears to be ... yes. "Helen O'Loy" appeared in the December 1938 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction" on pages 118 to 125. It was one of the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of...

A robot must obey orders, but must also, on the other hand, have sense enough to disobey if the order would destroy it. But that can lead to a most embarrassing sort of situation, when a robot gives its owners a handsome runaround!  Today's story is "Runaround", by Isaac Asimov. It appeared in the March 1942 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction" on pages 94 to 103. "Runarou...

When an offer seems too good to be true, it usually is. Today's story is "The Story of the Late Mr Elvesham", by H G Wells. It appeared in the June 1927 issue of "Amazing Stories" on pages 253 to 259. ----- Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included...

It’s comforting to hear a robot say: “I’ll take care of you!” But it can be terrifying, too.  Today's story is "Compassion Circuit", by John Wyndham. It appeared in the December 1954 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 90 to 98. Regular readers of classic science fiction may notice the resemblance of the Compassion Circuit to Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics which w...

There are several mechanical means, like the movie films and phonograph records, to preserve youthful charms or a gorgeous voice or expressions of brilliant minds, but there is no growth, or even variation. What if some scientist should discover the secret of indefinite prolongation of life and a young body? Off-hand such a discovery would seem to be a boon to humanity. But is it? Today's stor...

George Gregory took an instant dislike to the man Martell. He could not put his finger on why exactly, but when the woman George was in love with started to associate with the man, he had to find out what the attraction was. His investigation turned up something far more sinister, however. Today's story is "The Fate of the Poseidonia" by Clare Winger Harris. It appeared in the June 192...

It was entirely unlike Poirot to be taken in by superstition and tales of the supernatural. Perhaps it was the heat of the Egyptian desert or the incessant sand. Would Poirot's little grey cells still be able to unravel this mystery? Today's story is "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" by Agatha Christie. It appeared in the book "Poirot Investigates" published by The Bodle...

Our psychologists of today have set up colonies of monkeys and other animals as experiments. On a larger scale, with larger means, a greater experiment could be undertaken —  Today's story is "Death Sentence" by Isaac Asimov. It appeared in the June 1944 United Kingdom issue of "Astounding Science Fiction" on pages 55 to 63. ----- Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 199...

Did you ever wonder what would happen if the thoughts of every man, woman and child on Earth were set down in black and white for future historians to read? Could you endure having all of your thoughts laid bare, from the cradle to the grave? Today's story is "Memorium," by Basil Wells. It appeared in the March 1956 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 105 to 109. ----- Basil...

There was time now—plenty of time on this strange, dark planet—for those erudite exiles from frozen Earth to ponder the value of man's accumulated knowledge. Today's story is "The Dancers," by Margaret St Clair. It appeared in the January 1952 issue of Planet Stories on pages 76 to 80. It appeared under the pen name of Wilton Hazzard. ----- Margaret St. Clair (17 February 1911, Hut...

To Dicky, grownups were absurdly like ants. They worked hard for no good purpose. But some day a big, big change would be coming! The Laugh, by Robert Abernathy appeared in the June 1956 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 73 to 79. ----- Robert Abernathy (June 6, 1924 – April 6, 1990) was an American science fiction author during the 1940s and 1950s. He was known primarily for his shor...

Robbie was only a machine, but he was Gloria’s best friend, and she wanted him back.  "Strange Playfellow" appeared in the September 1940 issue of "Super Science Stories" on pages 67 to 77. "Strange Playfellow" was Asimov's first robot story, written on June 10, 1939, and initially titled "Strange Playfellow" by editor Frederik Pohl. The story was later reprinte...

Hercule Poirot's little grey cells penetrate straight to the heart of the solution when a million dollars worth of bonds are at stake. "The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" appeared in the book "Poirot Investigates," published by "The Bodley Head Limited" in 1921 on pages 80 to 91. ----- Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 –...

The Galaxy had a nice, stable civilization — Till Earth-men, the prize gadget maniacs of space, came along! Homo Sol appeared in the September 1940 issue of Astounding Science Fiction on pages 117 to 131. ----- Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big T...

The telepaths were a danger and a threat—to a world grown monstrous. But the human mind can unlock a multitude of doors. "The Forerunners" appeared in the March 1956 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 59 to 69. ----- Norman Arkawy If you have information about this author, I would be grateful if you could let me know ot goldenagefiction@proton.me . Stanley Henig If you have inf...

Shambleau. A name out of myth and legend. The Greeks on Earth had a name for it, as did the civilizations on countless other planets. Northwest Smith, itinerant adventurer, was about to find out just how mythical the creature was... "Shambleau" appeared in the November 1933 issue of "Weird Tales" on pages 531 to 550. "Shambleau" was the first published story of Moore's...

How much is the health of the mind tied to the health of the body. George Gregory is about to find out... "The Artificial Man" appeared in the Fall 1929 issue of "Science Wonder Quarterly" on pages 78 to 83. ----- Clare Winger Harris (January 18, 1891, Freeport, Illinois – October 26, 1968, Pasadena, California) was a pioneering science fiction writer whose short stories were publi...

A man came out of the sky and they took him and hanged him from the nearest tree thinking that they lynched a devil. But perhaps they crucified a saint instead—there in the beauty of the desert. "Biddy and the Silver Man" appeared in the February 1957 issue of "Fantastic Science Fiction" on pages 6 to 29 and 110 to 130. It appeared under the pen name of E K Jarvis, a house pen name...

Kirby was always up for adventure, for trying out one of Professor Martyn's new inventions. His latest invention, however, which could grow or shrink a man indefinitely, promised to revolutionize science. But at what cost...? "The Man from the Atom" appeared in "Amazing Stories," April 1926, pages 62 to 66 and May 1926, pages 140 to 147. ----- G Peyton Wertenbaker (1907-1968) w...

King could remember how golden and glorious the house had seemed to men-and what the science he hated had done to his friends. "Keepers of the House" appeared in the January 1956 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 82 to 93. "Keepers of the House" is also included in "The Best of Lester del Rey," published in 1978, a collection of several of his most acclaimed sh...

They were the heirs of space-flight: They planned to be the first humans to land on Alpha Centauri, but the original Hartnett expedition had been lost and they had to find it first. They followed the signals and found that they led to what looked like a one-way excursion to the screwiest planetoid in the galaxy! "Einstein's Planetoid" appeared in "Science Fiction Quarterly," Sp...