The history of the science fiction magazine, Part I: 1926-1935

by Mike Ashley (Editor)

First U.S. edition. History followed by various appendices which list various authors' works, summary of magazine issues, glossary of magazine editor and notes on key illustrators. 239 pages. cloth.. 8vo..

Genres: Science Fiction

239 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Michael Raymond Donald Ashley is the author and editor of over sixty books that in total have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Chatham, Kent.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of several volumes edited by Ashley that details the history of the genre magazines, a decade at a pop. It's much more of a text than a light entertainment, with a long and scholarly history and several appendices and summaries of the first ten years of periodicals of the field. There is no table of contents, which was annoying. There are ten stories included, some from writers who went on to be among the best-known in the field like Clifford D. Simak, Raymond Z. Gallun, Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, and Edmond Hamilton, and others like Charles Willard Diffin, R.F. Starzl, Francis Flagg, Philip Barshofsky, and D.D. Sharp who are now virtually forgotten. The Coming of the Ice by G. Peyton Wertenbaker was the first original story to be published in Amazing Stories, the first sf magazine, which I didn't know. The stories themselves are very, very dated, with "big idea, sense of wonder" themes and little to no characterization, but they're interesting from an historical perspective, as are Ashley's biographical notes about the authors. There are similar "Before the Golden Age" volumes edited by Damon Knight and Isaac Asimov that are more entertaining, but this is probably the best from an educational perspective.

[Muzzlehatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only managed to track down this first volume of Michael Ashley's HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE; there were at least two further volumes of this history/anthology series, each offering another 10 years of stories and commentary. The book starts out with a 40-page introduction, "An Amazing Experiment", which details the history of the early American pulp magazines from the early twentieth century through the founding of the first all-science fiction magazine, Hugo Gernsback's AMAZING STORIES, in 1926, and the early years of that magazine's history and those of it's principal competitors. It's perhaps less flavorful and entertaining than Isaac Asimov's coverage of the period in his anthology BEFORE THE GOLDEN AGE, but what it lacks in personal character it makes up for in serious information. Following this, the anthology proper, which consists of the following stories (with original publication dates):

"The Coming of the Ice" by G. Peyton Wertenbaker (AMAZING STORIES June 1926)
"The Machine Man of Ardathia" by Francis Flagg (AMAZING STORIES November 1927)
"Out of the Sub-Universe" by R.F. Starzl (AMAZING STORIES QUARTERLY Summer 1928)
"The Eternal Man" by D.D. Sharp (SCIENCE WONDER STORIES August 1929)
"The Power and the Glory" by Charles Willard Diffin (ASTOUNDING STORIES July 1930)
"The Voice from the Ether" by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (AMAZING STORIES July 1931)
"The Asteroid of Gold" by Clifford D. Simak (WONDER STORIES November 1932)
"The Island of Unreason" by Edmond Hamilton (WONDER STORIES May 1933)
"One Prehistoric Night" by Philip Barshofsky (WONDER STORIES November 1934)
"Davy Jones' Ambassador" by Raymond Z. Gallun (ASTOUNDING STORIES December 1935)

There's a brief biographical note provided for each author; following the stories are four useful appendices -

A - Checklists of all of the authors' works with dates of publication from this era, and additional checklists for 10 other important writers in the genre during that period: Miles J. Breuer, John W. Campbell Jr., Stanton A. Coblentz, David H. Keller, S.P. Meek, P. Schuyler Miller, Nat Schachner, Edward Elmer ("E.E. `Doc'") Smith, A. Hyatt Verrill, and Donald Wandrei.
B - Summary of magazine issues during the period - number of issues published per year, including "weird" titles that have only borderline SF interest.
C - Glossary of magazine editors.
D - Note on key illustrators/cover artists.

None of these stories are duplicated in any anthology I have from the period, and some of the writers, like Sharp and Barshofsky, have faded into almost complete neglect. So this is a very worthwhile collection for the hard-core fans of the pulp era, and the stories for the most part are pretty solid examples of that era; my favorite is probably Wertenbaker's, a surprisingly chilling (no pun intended) and dour apocalyptic tale; Hamilton's and Starzl's pieces are above-average as well. Readily and cheaply available used here and elsewhere - go for it!

[Tim Evanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is essentially an anthology of what the author considers "historic" science fiction stories by highly regarded authors. The "history" part is a 50-page opening chapter that gives a good precis of the history of science fiction magazines from their first appearance to 1935.

As a brief overview, that chapter is fine. Its focus is on Hugo Gernsback Astounding Stories and to a lesser extent F. Orlin Tremaine and Amazing Stories. But it's brief. The prose writing is all right, but so densely packed at points with story titles, author names, and dates that it's a bit tough reading.

As an anthology, I'd probably give it 3 or 4 stars. As a history, just two.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go back in time and enjoy the wonder and ideas of these tales from the past...The Golden Age is Science Fiction....😊....second reading...and I'm still in Awe.....

[John Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part history of science fiction and part anthology, this book succeeds completely. Int he first section, Ashley details the beginnings of magazine science fiction in the pulp era, beginning with the publication of the first all science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in April 1926. He follows the history through 1935 pointing out when each new science fiction magazine premiers and discussing important editors, authors, and stories. In the second half of the book, Ashley carefully selects a representative story for each year covered. The stories are all excellent and give the reader a feel for the evolution of science fiction during the period.

I highly recommend this as a first text for someone wanting to systematically study the history of science fiction. As a long time reader I was familiar with some of the authors and stories but Ashley puts everything into context and provides the reader a solid foundation in science fiction history.

[Patrick Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great anthology of Golden Age SF published between 1926 and 1935 coupled with a informative and interesting history of the magazines of that decade. I highly recommend this book to SF fans old and new - if you're not familiar with how the genre started you really ought to get educated. This is a great place to start. I wasn't impressed by The Eternal Man or The Power and the Glory, but all the other stories are crackers.

I've reviewed this volume - and each story individually - on my blog as part of my 2013 reading projecy, 'Science Fiction is Dead.' The posts start here: http://philosophicalasides.blogspot.c...

[Ed Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of Ashley's three volumes about this history. The information is definitive for the hard-boiled fan, with an excellent appendix of notes. The stories are obviously quite dated, but enjoyable and representative of the era as intended. The artwork is reproduced in black and white, which is a disappointment.