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H. P. Lovecraft

Kenneth Sterling

In The Walls of Eryx by H. P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Sterling

Scott Miller

Lost Sci-Fi

In The Walls of Eryx

Hugh B. Cave

Spawn of Inferno by Hugh B. Cave - An unusual story, about the darkness that settled like a black cloud, and the horror that came with it. 

Hugh B. Cave was one of the most prolific authors during the pulp fiction era. Some say he wrote more than 1,200 stories, others say it was only 1,000. He says he wrote more than 800 stories in the 1930s.

He was born in Chester, England, in 1910 and relocated during his childhood with his family to Boston, Massachusetts, shortly after the beginning of World War I. After World War II he moved to Jamaica where he rebuilt and managed a successful coffee plantation. He returned to the United States in the early 1970s after the Jamaican government confiscated his plantation.

Cave is celebrated for his mastery in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, although his work also included westerns, romance, crime and non-fiction. With an impressive body of work that spans over seven decades, Cave penned hundreds of short stories, more than 20 novels, and screenplays that captivated audiences with their gripping narratives as you are about to discover.

Spawn of Inferno

Murray Leinster

The Seven Temporary Moons by Murray Leinster - When enemy space-ships ride aloft in menacing array, Dr. Murfree again calls on the amazing hillbilly genius, Bud Gregory, for help!

The Seven Temporary Moons

Theodore Sturgeon

Yesterday Was Monday by Theodore Sturgeon - Slight error somewhere! He got behind the scenes, and woke up Wednesday morning although Yesterday was Monday. The builders hadn't finished making Wednesday yet–

Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) began his writing career in the 1940s and quickly gained recognition for his short stories and novels, many of which challenged traditional sci-fi tropes by focusing on characterization and psychological depth. His notable works include "More Than Human," and the influential short story "Baby Is Three."

Yesterday Was Monday

Arthur C. Clarke

At the End of the Orbit by Arthur C. Clarke - A man with a vendetta, Szabo Tibor, finds himself tasked with recovering a Russian space capsule near New Guinea—but his grudge against the Russians turns the operation into a slow and sinister act of revenge. When the capsule’s hidden occupant, a desperate astronaut with only hours of oxygen left, begins a haunting, tapped-out dialogue, Tibor’s dark intentions lead to a chilling and unforeseen reckoning.

At the End of the Orbit

Nobody Saw the Ship by Murray Leinster - It was only a tiny scout ship from somewhere beyond the stars; only one alien creature occupied it. But the ship's mission spelled life to its fellow creatures and death to all living creatures on Earth. And against the super-science of the raider stood one terrified old man and his dog....

The landing of the Qul-En ship, a tiny craft no more than fifteen feet in diameter, went completely unnoticed, as its operator intended. It was armed, of course, but its purpose was not destruction. If this ship, whose entire crew consisted of one individual, were successful in its mission then a great ship would come, wiping out the entire population of cities before anyone suspected the danger.

But this lone Qul-En was seeking a complex hormone substance which Qul-En medical science said theoretically must exist, but the molecule of which even the Qul-En could not synthesize directly. Yet it had to be found, in great quantity; once discovered, the problem of obtaining it would be taken up, with the resources of the whole race behind it. But first it had to be found.

Nobody Saw the Ship

Herbert D. Kastle

The Outer Quiet by Herbert D. Kastle - Fear is often Man's greatest enemy. But when there is nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain.... And with everything to gain, where is the enemy?

If the name Herbert D. Kastle rings a bell, it’s likely not because of his science fiction work. Kastle, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1924, was primarily known as a thriller novelist, with an impressive seventeen titles to his name. Though his contributions to science fiction were modest—three short stories in the 1950s and another three in the 1960s—he gained some recognition for his 1964 sci-fi novel The Reassembled Man.

In addition to his literary work, Kastle’s 1975 novel Cross-Country was adapted into a feature film in 1983. He also ventured into television, co-writing an episode of Bonanza that aired in 1967.

The Outer Quiet is a tale of woe in a post-apocalyptic world, it appeared in the May 1955 publication of If Worlds of Science Fiction.

The Outer Quiet

Robert Sheckley

Potential by Robert Sheckley - He was one man, horribly confused, escaping from a destroyed planet, carrying some sort of message which he couldn't recall. But he had tremendous potential for achievement! Potential by Robert Sheckley.

Potential

Charles E. Fritch

Office Call by Charles E. Fritch - When brilliant mathematician Charles T. Moore steps into Dr. Rawlings’ office, he carries a groundbreaking revelation that could redefine the very fabric of reality. But as he grapples with the terrifying implications of his discovery—mind control and the potential to traverse alternate universes—will he find the help he needs or push the boundaries of sanity even further?﻿

Office Call by Charles E. Fritch

Jack London

A Thousand Deaths by Jack London - Trapped in a horrifying cycle of death and resurrection, a man becomes the unwilling subject of a mad-mans twisted experiments. A tantalizing tale of science, survival, and the fight for freedom.

John Griffith Chaney, famously known as Jack London, was born in 1876. He was among the first American writers to achieve international fame and financial success through his work. At the age of 21, in 1897, London embarked on a journey to the Klondike during the Gold Rush, an experience that inspired some of his earliest and most successful stories.

In 1899, Jack London was living in poverty, desperately submitting stories in the hope of earning one cent per word, the standard rate for fiction he had read about. When he finally sold a 4,000-word story, he was dismayed to receive only $5.00 for it. Reflecting on this moment, London later wrote, “I was finished—finished as only a very young, very sick, and very hungry young man could be … I would never write again.”

However, that same day, he received a letter from the publisher of The Black Cat, responding to his submission of A Thousand Deaths. The publisher requested permission to cut the story in half and offered $40 if London agreed. London recalled, “It was the equivalent to twenty dollars per thousand, or double the minimum rate. And that is just precisely how and why I stayed by the writing game. Literally, and literarily, I was saved by The Black Cat short story.”

A Thousand Deaths

Harry Harrison

The Robots Strike by Harry Harrison - They’d long known that they were more than mere machines. They could reason, remember, and teach. And also plan!

Author Harry Harrison is best known for his character The Stainless Steel Rat. But he also wrote a plethora of lesser known short stories beginning in the 1950s.

The Robots Strike

Ray Bradbury

The One Who Waits by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) was a renowned American author and screenwriter, celebrated for his profound impact on the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Born in Waukegan, Illinois, he began writing at a young age, publishing his first short story at 18 and dedicating his life to storytelling. Best known for his novel "Fahrenheit 451," a dystopian tale highlighting censorship and the loss of individualism, Bradbury's work often explored the intersection of technology and humanity.

His vivid imagination brought to life a multitude of short stories, notably in “The Martian Chronicles,” which depicted human colonization on Mars, and "Something Wicked This Way Comes," a dark exploration of fear and morality. Bradbury's lyrical prose and philosophical depth earned him numerous accolades. An ardent advocate for libraries and reading, he emphasized the importance of literature in shaping society. Bradbury’s legacy continues to inspire writers and readers around the globe, solidifying his status as a literary giant.

The One Who Waits

Dorothy Quick

The Artist and the Door by Dorothy Quick - I bought the door–even though the auctioneer warned of evil.

Dorothy Gertrude Quick was born in Brooklyn on September 1st 1896. She was a prolific writer of horror, detective fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Dorothy was a girl of 11 when she met Mark Twain, actually Samuel L. Clemens, on an Atlantic crossing from England. She was returning to Plainfield, N.J., from Europe with her parents. Recognizing Twain by his wavy hair and white suit, she walked around and around the deck, passing very slowly by his chair each time, until he finally came over and introduced himself.

It was the beginning of a friendship that was to last until the very day of his death. After the voyage she received a telegram from Twain asking whether she would prefer as a birthday present "one elephant or 10,000 monkeys." She replied that she would prefer his books - which he sent her, along with a tiny white elephant. If you’ve seen the 1991 TV movie “Mark Twain and Me” well, now you know who wrote it.

The Artist and the Door was published in Weird Tales magazine in November 1952.

The Artist and the Door

Dick Purcell

Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell - All his life he had been searching for the big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had come to Mars—his last chance. This had to be—Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell.

Author Dick Purcell wrote six published stories in 1955 and 1956. His name might ring a bell, Dick Purcell appeared in more than 70 TV shows and movies in the 1930s and 1940s, but that was a different Dick Purcell. The author was born in 1908, the actor in 1905. As is frequently the case with early sci-fi authors we don’t know anything else about him. Peruse the pages of Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy in June 1956 and you will discover Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell.

Gunnison's Bonanza

Welcoming Committee by Harry Harrison - There were four of them. Four lovely girls with pale green skins, friendly, laughing, chattering away in clear voices.

Author Harry Harrison is best known for his character The Stainless Steel Rat. But he also wrote a plethora of lesser known short stories beginning in the 1950s.

If you didn’t know better you would swear that Harrison didn’t write Welcoming Committee because in the October 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe magazine it is credited to Felix Boyd. Harrison used the pen name Felix Boyd three times. The Magazine, Fantastic Universe, the date October 1957, the page where it begins 92, the story, Welcoming Committee by Harry Harrison…

Welcoming Committee

Mel Hunter

Or Darwin, If You Prefer by Mel Hunter - Mr. Harbinger could not quite believe in the Mouth. But poor Mr. Harbinger—or Darwin, if you prefer—are gone to other times.

Here’s what Fantastic Universe had to say about Mel Hunter, “Mr. Hunter's superb art work has appeared on a baker's dozen science fiction magazine covers during the past year, but incredible as it may seem with this story we introduce him to the reading public for the first time as a science fiction writer. We say incredible, because this is not a beginner's story. It is sparkling, sophisticated, erudite—the work of a craftsman.”

This is the first time we have come across an illustrator turned author. And here’s the amazing thing, he wasn’t any old illustrator, Mel Hunter was a very accomplished illustrator producing illustrations for famous science fiction authors Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, as well as a technical and scientific illustrator for The Pentagon, Hayden Planetarium in Boston, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

Hunter was born in 1927 in Oak Park, Illinois and he taught himself book and magazine illustration. He was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist in 1960, 1961 and 1962. He became a technical illustrator at Northrop Aircraft where he painted illustrations of advanced aircraft and simulated combat scenarios.

His love of air and space took him from California's desert runways to Florida's seacoast launchpads to illustrate every variety of jet-age aircraft and space-age rocket imaginable—from the X-15 to Saturn V. He died in 2004 and according to his final wish, his cremated remains were launched into space on May 22, 2012.

Savor this story, immerse yourself in it, and listen to it as many times as your heart desires—for it stands alone, as the singular science fiction story ever penned by Mel Hunter.

Or Darwin, If You Prefer

Gerda Rhoads

My Past is Mine by Gerda Rhoads - Take one tiny memory out of a man's life–and the entire universe may turn topsy turvy.

Gerda Rhoads is credited with one published story which appeared in Fantastic Universe in October 1954. The magazine had this to say about this "new" author...

"Gerda Rhoads was born in Vienna and came to the United States with her parents by way of London and Rio. She was educated at Hunter College, became a ballet dancer, took up painting and has done some very charming canvases. Then she married a painter and they went to Paris and she turned to writing. Sounds glamorous, doesn't it? With the publication of this her first story Gerda Rhoads proves her pen is glamor-tipped too!"

My Past is Mine

Don Mark Lemon

The Spider and the Fly by Don Mark Lemon

Don Mark Lemon was born in Arizona in September 1877, he wrote 15 short stories and 1 novel, The Scarlet Planet, which was published in 1930.

His first published short story, Doctor Goldman, can be found in the December 1900 issue of The Black Cat which launched in 1895. The Black Cat sold for five cents and encouraged amateur writers to submit stories. As the story goes the Jack London novel The Call of the Wild might never have been written if not for The Black Cat. London wasn’t having success as a writer and was about to give up but then he sold a story, A Thousand Deaths, to The Black Cat in 1899 and The Call of the Wild was published four years later! Never give up, Never Surrender!!

The Spider and the Fly was published in The Thrill Book, a short lived publication which began and ceased publication in 1919. From the August 1st issue of The Thrill Book let’s turn to page 109 for The Spider and the Fly by Don Mark Lemon.

The Spider and the Fly

The Beast in the Cave by H. P. Lovecraft - Lost in the pitch-black depths of a cave, a man faces the terror of the unknown—until he discovers he’s not alone. A chilling tale of primal fear.

﻿The Beast in the Cave began its journey in the spring of 1904, with the final draft completed in April 1905—when H. P. Lovecraft was just 14 years old. The knack for crafting compelling tales at such a young age seems to be a hallmark of truly brilliant authors. The Beast in the Cave was first published in the June 1918 issue of the amateur journalism publication The Vagrant.

The Beast in the Cave

The Man Who Did Things Twice by Don Mark Lemon - The story won a $100 prize, which would be worth about $3,500 today, and appeared in the June 1905 issue of The Black Cat on page 39.

Don Mark Lemon was born in Arizona in September 1877, he wrote 15 short stories and 1 novel, The Scarlet Planet, which was published in 1930.

His first published short story, Doctor Goldman, can be found in the December 1900 issue of The Black Cat which launched in 1895. The Black Cat sold for five cents and encouraged amateur writers to submit stories. As the story goes the Jack London novel The Call of the Wild might never have been written if not for The Black Cat. London wasn’t having success as a writer and was about to give up but then he sold a story, A Thousand Deaths, to The Black Cat in 1899 and The Call of the Wild was published four years later! Never give up, Never Surrender!!

Lost Sci-Fi - La serie di libri

Lost Sci-Fi - La serie di libri

Lost Sci-Fi libri in ordine cronologico

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