Author Description

Armchair Fiction features the best in classic science fiction short story collections. "Masters of Science Fiction, Vol. 18” spotlights one of pulpdom’s favorite science fiction authors, Don Wilcox. He was sometimes known as Raymond A. Palmer’s right-hand man. We can’t help but think that Don Wilcox was a huge fan of old horror films and science fiction movie serials. His stories just reek of it. They’re filled with madmen, space opera thrills, crazed scientists, monstrous creatures, and a large variety of other imaginative gimmicks. Wilcox worked almost exclusively for Ziff-Davis Publications from 1939 to 1952, filling the pages of Amazing Stories and Fantastic Adventures with a plethora of wild, incredible tales. Whenever editor Raymond A. Palmer needed pages to be filled, Wilcox was there, pounding out story after story on his old-fashioned typewriter. He dabbles in the wild problems of teleportation gone wrong in his wonderful “Wives in Duplicate.” His first published story, “The Pit of Death,” is a good old-fashioned mad scientist tale, with a great twist ending. “When the Moon Died” is a white-knuckle ride as mankind rushes to save itself as the Moon hurtles toward a collision with Earth. Then there’s the light-hearted “Great Gods and Little Termites,” which teaches you to never step on an ant. Invisible espionage is at play in “Invisible Raiders from Venus.” One of his most unusual tales is “Invasion Dust,” which shows a soldier’s relentless drive to complete his mission, even as his body slowly turns to stone. One thing about Don Wilcox’s stories, they’re NEVER boring. They move. In this collection are a dozen of his most terrific tales.