This issue has been fun to put together. As a Maryland resident, I’ve 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 “David Frome” 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 wasn’t 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, there’s 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. Campbell’s 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 I’m 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.
—John Betancourt, Editor
Here’s the complete lineup:
Mysteries:
“This Will Slay You,” by Dale Clark [novelet]
“Playing by the Rules,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
“The Pipeline Juggernaut,” by Lester Dent [short story]
“Pink Ears,” by Murray Leinster [short story]
“The Right Profile,” by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera [Barb Goffman Presents Mystery]
Murder in Maryland, by Zenith Brown [novel]
Science Fiction & Fantasy:
“The Pipes of Pan,” by Lester del Rey [fantasy short story]
“The Incomplete Theft,” by Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett [science fiction short story]
“The Last Guardian of Ru Ishtl,” by John Gregory Betancourt [fantasy short story]
“The Battle of the Bells,” by Jerome Bixby [fantasy short story]
Get Off My World, by Eando Binder [novel]"
