This issue has been fun to put together. As a Maryland resident, Iâve always been partial to stories set in my home state, and Golden Age mystery author Zenith Brown is here this time with Murder in Maryland, a classic mystery originally published under her âDavid Fromeâ pseudonym. (She also wrote as Leslie Ford.) Add to that more mysteries by Hal Charles (another Solve-It-Yourself mystery challenge), Lester Dent (author of the famous Shadow pulp novels), Murray Leinster (whose name most science fiction readers should recognize), plus a great tale by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera (selected by Barb Goffman), and you have a terrific lineup. Alas, I wasnât able to get to another Frank Lovell Nelson story, but his telepathic detective will be back next week.
In the words of TV hucksters, But wait, thereâs more!
Remember, we also include great science fiction and fantasy in every issue, and here we have a bunch of classics by Lester del Rey (a rare fantasy from John W. Campbellâs Unknown first published in 1940), a devilish fantasy tale by Jerome Bixby, and a science fiction story by Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett in collaboration. Plus Iâm sneaking in one of my own Zelloque fantasies, written when I was reading the Richard Burton translation of The Thousand and One Nights. The influence shows. Our science fiction novel this issue is Get Off My World, by Eando Binder.
âJohn Betancourt, Editor
Hereâs the complete lineup:
Mysteries:
âThis Will Slay You,â by Dale Clark [novelet]
âPlaying by the Rules,â by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
âThe Pipeline Juggernaut,â by Lester Dent [short story]
âPink Ears,â by Murray Leinster [short story]
âThe Right Profile,â by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera [Barb Goffman Presents Mystery]
Murder in Maryland, by Zenith Brown [novel]
Science Fiction & Fantasy:
âThe Pipes of Pan,â by Lester del Rey [fantasy short story]
âThe Incomplete Theft,â by Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett [science fiction short story]
âThe Last Guardian of Ru Ishtl,â by John Gregory Betancourt [fantasy short story]
âThe Battle of the Bells,â by Jerome Bixby [fantasy short story]
Get Off My World, by Eando Binder [novel]"