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John Russel Fearn





Pen names: John Cotton, Vargo Statten, Thornton Ayre, Polton Cross

--------------------------

"After Doomsday"
(as John Cotton)
© Future Fiction, Mar 1940
--/ fourth place space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"The Arbiter"
© Startling Stories, May 1947
--/ cool sf story
--/ rare find

"Black-Wing of Mars" (nv)
(as Vargo Statten)
© 1953, Scion SF, UK

"Brain of Venus"
© Thrilling Wonder Stories, Feb 1937
--/ third place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"Chaos"
(as Polton Cross)
© Startling Stories, Nov 1947
--/ cool sf story
--/ rare find

--------------------------



"Earth's Mausoleum"
© Astounding Stories, May 1935
--/ fourth place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ awesome scale
--/ rare find


The Sun is destroyed and the Moon transformed into a miniature sun... Stupendous stuff. Every chapter leads to something larger and more exciting in a good old Doc Smith tradition. It does not shine in literary qualities, but for the pure "summer blockbuster" of pulp entertainment, this is a very good pick. This novelette also describes the process of terra-forming with wonderful detail for 1935. Some memorable scenes will stay with the reader: for example, the energy tower, depicted on the pulp cover, designed to turn our Moon into a small star. (let's not go into the science of it here)
review: 08-Aug-06 (read in 2005)



--------------------------

"The Golden Amazon Returns" (nv)
(as Thornton Ayre)
© 1949, Fantastic Adventures

"He Never Slept"
© Astounding Stories, Jun 1934
--/ cool sf story

"The Last Secret Weapon"
(as Polton Cross)
© Marvel Stories, Apr 1941
--/ fourth place apocalyptic sf novella
--/ wonder award: flood, Arcs
--/ adventure award
--/ awesome scale
--/ rare find

"Lords of 9016"
© Thrilling Wonder Stories, Apr 1938
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"Lunar Vengeance"
(as Thornton Ayre)
© Amazing Stories, Sep 1943
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


--------------------------



John Russell Fearn
"The Man Who Stopped Dust"
© Astounding Stories, Mar 1934
--/ cool sf story
--/ rare find

This is a typical pulp pot-boiler, but don't dismiss good old Fearn as a total hack yet. True, he's written more scrubby stuff than anybody can count, especially under Vargo Statten pen name, and produced some truly ugly & primitive fiction, but some of his more epic stories definitely deserve a closer look. This one however, falls pretty flat.

--------------------------

"Moon Heaven"
(as by Dom Passante)
© Science Fiction Stories, Apr 1939
--/ fourth place space sf novella
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award
--/ romance award
--/ humour award
--/ style award: P.G.Wodehouse
--/ rare find

"Mystery of the Martian Pendulum"
(as Thornton Ayre)
(with Raymond Palmer)
© Amazing Stories, Oct 1949
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award
--/ rare find


"Sweet Mystery of Life"
© New Worlds, Jul 1946
Thrilling Wonder Stories, Feb 1947

--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"Superhuman"
© Startling Stories, Mar 1941
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"The Wanderer of Time"
(as Polton Cross)
© Startling Stories, Sum 1944
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"Wings Across the Cosmos"
(as Polton Cross)
© Thrilling Wonder Stories, Jun 1938
--/ cool sf story
--/ rare find

"World Beneath Ice"
(as Polton Cross)
© 1941, Amazing Stories
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"World without women"
(as Thornton Ayre)
© Amazing Stories, Apr 1938

--------------------------

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