Sheree R. Thomas

Harold Lamb

Bev Vincent

Michael Bracken

George O. Smith

Hal Charles

Arthur Leo Zagat 

E.E. “Doc” Smith

R.T. Lawton

Philip M. Fisher

 Dick Donovan

Our 51st issue is another strong one one, with four of our acquiring editors finding tales for us. Michael Bracken has an original Bev Vincent mystery, and Barb Goffman has a winner from R.T. Lawton. Cynthia Ward turns the tables on fellow editor Michael Bracken and selects a haunted house story by him! And too-long-absent editor Paul Di Filippo has picked a powerful story by Sheree R. Thomas. Good stuff. As if that’s not enough (which it never is for the Black Cat!), we have gone back to the pulps for some historical mystery-adventure tales by Harold Lamb and Philip M. Fisher, and dived even deeper for a collection of mysteries by Dick Donovan called The Chronicles of Michael Danevitch of the Russian Secret Service. On the science fiction front, we have novellas by Arthur Leo Zagat and George O. Smith, plus Skylark Three, by E.E. “Doc” Smith. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Death Sentence,” by Bev Vincent [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Letter Perfect,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Tightening of the Bond,” by R.T. Lawton [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Man Who Measured the Wind,” by Harold Lamb [novella] “The Yangtze Horde,” by Philip M. Fisher [short story] The Chronicles of Michael Danevitch of the Russian Secret Service, by Dick Donovan [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Little Spring,” by Michael Bracken [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Thirteen Year Long Song,” by Sheree R. Thomas [Paul Di Filippo Presents short story] “The Faceless Men,” by Arthur Leo Zagat [novella] The Kingdom of the Blind, by George O. Smith [novella] Skylark Three, by E.E. “Doc” Smith [novel]

Black Cat Weekly #51

David Goodis

William Burton McCormick

Tom Marcinko

Shannon Taft

Stephen Marlowe 

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #52. This week, our acquiring editors have outdone themselves—Michael Bracken has an original story by William Burton McCormick, “House of Tigers,” which was a Black Orchid Novella Award finalist. Though it didn’t win, it’s a great story. (Competition is fierce for this particular award, since it judged by Linda Landrigan, editor of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. I won the first Black Orchid for my story “Horse Pit,” and I haven’t dared enter since—I try to read all the winners, and they keep getting better and better. These days I probably wouldn’t stand a chance!) Barb Goffman also has an original, “It’s Not Tennis” by Shannon Taft, another good one. And Cynthia Ward has selected the modern classic “Whiter Teeth, Fresher Breath” by Tom Marcinko, which proves aliens do have it all. Even better oral hygiene! Plus we have a mystery novel by David Goodis (author of Dark Passage and Shoot the Piano Player), a space opera by E.E. “Doc” Smith, and science fiction from Arthur Leo Zagat and Stephen Marlowe! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “House of Tigers,” by William Burton McCormick [Michael Bracken Presents, Novella] “Mailed It,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “It’s Not Tennis,” by Shannon Taft [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Cassidy’s Girl, by David Goodis [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Whiter Teeth, Fresher Breath,” by Tom Marcinko [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Picnic,” by Stephen Marlowe [short story] “The Cavern of the Shining Pool,” by Arthur Leo Zagat [novella] Galactic Patrol, by E.E. “Doc” Smith [novel]

Black Cat Weekly #52

E.E. “Doc” Smith

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