''From Unknown Worlds'' is an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
of
fantasy fiction
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
short stories edited by
John W. Campbell, Jr. and illustrated by
Edd Cartier
Edward Daniel Cartier (August 1, 1914 – December 25, 2008), known professionally as Edd Cartier, was an American pulp magazine illustrator who specialized in science fiction and fantasy art.
Born in North Bergen, New Jersey, Cartier studied at ...
, the first of a number of anthologies drawing their contents from the classic magazine ''
Unknown
Unknown or The Unknown may refer to:
Film and television Film
* The Unknown (1915 comedy film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), Australian silent film
* The Unknown (1915 drama film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film), American silent drama ...
'' of the 1930s-40s. It was first published in magazine format by American company
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc., was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp magazine, pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting year ...
in 1948;
the publication was an attempt to determine if there was a market for a revived ''Unknown''.
["Unknown Worlds", in Tuck, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vol. 3'', pp. 582–583.][del Rey, ''World of Science Fiction'', p. 299.] Street & Smith printed 300,000 copies, against the advice of John Campbell, but although it sold better than the original, too many copies were returned for the publisher to be willing to revive the magazine.
[ The first British edition was issued by Atlas Publishing in 1952;][Thomas D. Clareson, "Unknown", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp. 694–699.][Currey, ''Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors'', pp. 99–100.] This edition omitted the story "One Man's Harp.".
Contents
* "Foreword" (The Editor
''The Editor'' is a 2014 Canadian giallo-horror film by Astron-6 and starring Paz de la Huerta, Adam Brooks, Laurence R. Harvey, and Udo Kier. The film is an homage to and parody of ''giallo'', a cinematic and literary subgenre originating in I ...
)
* "The Enchanted Weekend" (John MacCormac) (''Unknown'', Oct. 1939)
* "The Refugee" (Jane Rice
Jane Rice (April 30, 1913 – March 2, 2003) was an American science fiction and horror writer.
Her fiction debut was with "The Dream" in the July 1940 issue of ''Unknown'', edited by the legendary sf editor John W. Campbell. During the war she ...
) (''Unknown Worlds'', Oct. 1943)
* "Nothing in the Rules
"Nothing in the Rules" is a contemporary fantasy story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp.
Publication history
It was first published in the magazine ''Unknown'' for July, 1939.Laughlin, Charlotte, and Levack, Daniel J. H. ''De Camp: An L. Spr ...
" (L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...
) (''Unknown'', July 1939)
* "The Cloak" (Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime fiction, crime, psychological horror fiction, horror and Fantasy Fiction, fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and ...
) (''Unknown'', May 1939)
* "Yesterday Was Monday" (Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...
) (''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'', June 1941)
* "Lurani" (poem) ( Paul Dennis Lavond) (''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'', Feb. 1940)
* "Trouble with Water" (H. L. Gold
Horace Leonard Gold (April 26, 1914 – February 21, 1996) was an American science fiction writer and editor. Born in Canada, Gold moved to the United States at the age of two. He was most noted for bringing an innovative and fresh approach to s ...
) (''Unknown'', Mar. 1939)
* "Black Cats" (poem) ( Cristel Hastings) (''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'', Dec. 1940)
* "Anything" ( Philip St. John) (''Unknown'', Oct. 1939)
* "The Compleat Werewolf
"The Compleat Werewolf" is a 1942 fantasy short story by Anthony Boucher. It was first published in '' Unknown Worlds''.
Synopsis
When philology professor Wolfe Wolf learns a magic word that can transform him into a wolf, the consequences are no ...
" (Anthony Boucher
William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...
) (''Unknown Worlds'', Apr. 1942)
* "The Dawn of Reason" (poem) ( James H. Beard) (''Unknown'', Oct. 1939)
* "One Man's Harp" (Babette Rosmond
Babette Rosmond (November 4, 1917 – October 23, 1997) was an American author.
Biography Career
Rosmond sold her first short story to ''The New Yorker'' at age seventeen. She published short fiction of her own and with Leonard M. Lake. She w ...
) (''Unknown Worlds'', Aug. 1943)
* "The Devil We Know" (Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy fiction, fantasy and horror fiction, horror.
Early life
Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and ...
) (''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'', Aug. 1941)
* "The Psychomorph" ( E. A. Grosser) (''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'', Feb. 1940)
* "The Hexer" ( H. W. Guernsey) (''Unknown'', June 1939)
* "The Summons" (Don Evans) (''Unknown'', June 1939)
* "Disbelief" (article) (uncredited)
* "Jesus Shoes" ( Allan R. Bosworth) (''Unknown Worlds'', Apr. 1942)
* "Fiction" (poem) (Alan Grant) (''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'', Feb. 1941)
Notes
1948 anthologies
Fantasy anthologies
Works originally published in Unknown (magazine)
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