John W. Campbell, Jr.

This is a classic about an Antarctic research camp that discovers and thaws the ancient, frozen body of a crash-landed alien. The creature revives with terrifying results, shape-shifting to assume the exact form of animal and man, alike. Paranoia ensues as a band of frightened men work to discern friend from foe, and destroy the menace before it challenges all of humanity The story, hailed as one of the finest science fiction novellas ever written by the SF Writers of America, is best known to fans as THE THING, as it was the basis of Howard Hawks' The Thing From Another World in 1951, and John Carpenter's The Thing in 1982.

The Novella that Formed the Basis of "The Thing"

Who Goes There?

John W. Campbell Jr.

FROZEN HELL is an alternate version of John W. Campbell's classic novella, Who Goes There? (filmed as The Thing). Recently discovered among Campbell's papers, this version adds another 45 pages to the story. Includes a Preface by Alec Nevala-Lee and an Introduction by Robert Silverberg. Also included is a preview of the forthcoming sequel, The Things from Another World, by John Gregory Betancourt.

The Book That Inspired the Thing

Frozen Hell

Aladra Septama

Armchair Fiction presents extra large editions of classic science fiction double novels with original illustrations. One of the true grandmasters of sci-fi wrote the first novel, "When the Atoms Failed." John W. Campbell, Jr. was only about twenty years old when he wrote both "When the Atoms Failed" and its immediate follow-up, "The Metal Horde." These tales appeared in the January and April issues of Amazing Stories all the way back in 1930. Campbell was attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the time, and his knowledge and love of science is very apparent in both of these stories, which are rousing good space opera tales about invasions from outer space by seemingly unstoppable alien hordes. Since they are so closely linked, we present both of these works together as essentially one work, broken into two parts with chapter breaks throughout. The second novel is veteran sci-fi author Aladra Septama's "Dragons of Space." It all started so quietly--an incident here, an incident there: two men riding on horseback vanished in the middle of the night--no trace could be found; an aerocar with nine people aboard disappeared, literally, into thin air; even more remarkable, the bathers of an entire swimming pool seemingly vanished from the waters in which they swam. Then the incidents spread to livestock and other animals. Before long fantastic creatures of an ethereal nature began to appear in the skies, floating menacingly above Earth. No one knew what they were or where they came from, but one thing was clear: they had come to annihilate the life forms of not only Earth, but all the planets of the Solar System. With a grim task in front of them, the greatest brains of the civilized planets gathered in desperation. Their goal: to prevent their worlds from becoming a feeding ground for an unearthly menace from beyond the void...

When the Atoms Failed and Dragons of Space

Lester del Rey

Hope Mirrlees

Nisi Shawl

Otis Adelbert Kline

Laird Long

John M. Floyd

Hal Charles

W.C. Tuttle

Michael Ehart

Saul Golubcow

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #38. This issue, we have some real gems—starting with our featured story, Hope Mirrlees’s Lud-in-the-Mist. It’s a true classic of fantasy, acclaimed by critics for generations. Plus we have a Hashknife Hartley historical adventure novel (okay, you can call it a Western!) from W.C. Tuttle. Our acquiring editors have been busy, too. Michael Bracken snagged an original private eye tale from Laird Long, Barb Goffman found a terrific John M. Floyd story, and Cynthia Ward picked up a great science fiction story by Nisi Shawl and Michael Ehart. And I’ve been busy picking out stories, too—just so you don’t think I’m resting on the magazine’s laurels. This issue has a classic-style detective yarn from new author Saul Golubcow (the first of of three stories we’ll be running in this series), plus classic science fiction from Lester del Rey, John W. Campbell Jr., and Otis Adelbert Kline. Here’s the lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Toy Ploy” by Laird Long [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “A Robber’s Craft” by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery] “The Cost of Living”by Saul Golubcow [novelet] “The Barlow Boys” by John M. Floyd [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Buckaroo of Blue Wells, by W. C. Tuttle [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “In Blood and Song” by Nisi Shawl and Michael Ehart [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Shadows of Empire” by Lester del Rey [short story] “The Immortality Seekers” by John W. Campbell, Jr. [novelet] “Meteor Men of Mars” by Harry Cord and Otis Adelbert Kline [short story] Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees [novel]

Black Cat Weekly #38

John W. Campbell, Jr.

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