Milton Lesser

(art by John Berkey) (Click on thumbnails to enlarge cover images) Pen-names: Lee Francis, Darius John Granger, Adam Chase, Ralph Burke, Alexander Blade, C. H. Thames, Stephen Marlowe, S.M.Tenneshaw ------------------------------ "All Flesh is Brass" © Fantastic Adventures, Aug 1952 --/ cool sf novella --/ wonder award --/ rare find "All Heroes Are Hated !" (nv) © Amazing Stories, Nov 1950 Thrilling Science Fiction, Fall 1971 --/ fourth place space sf novella --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ idea award --/ rare find "Between Two Worlds" © Fantastic, Dec 1955 Fantastic, Oct 1968 --/ cool sf story "Chance of a Lifetime" © Super-Science Fiction, Dec 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Coffin Of Hope" (as Lee Francis) © Amazing Stories, Nov 1949 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Do It Yourself" © Science Fiction Quarterly, Nov 1957 --/ cool sf story "The Enemy Within" (as Darius John Granger) © Imagination, Dec 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ idea award --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "Field Trip" (as Darius John Granger) © Imaginative Tales, Apr 1956 ---------------------------------------------- "Final Quarry" (as Adam Chase) © Imaginative Tales, May 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find "Forty Days Has September" (nv) © Amazing Stories, Oct 1951 --/ fourth place sf novella --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ rare find "From Hidden Worlds" © Amazing Stories, Aug 1951 --/ cool space sf story --/ adventure award --/ rare find "Gateway To Infinity" (nv) (as Darius John Granger) © Imaginative Tales, May 1956 "The Graveyard of Space" © Imagination, Apr 1956 --/ third place space sf story --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ style award --/ emotion award --/ rare find "He Fell Among Thieves" (nv) © Fantastic Adventures, Mar 1952 --/ cool sf novella --/ humour award --/ rare find "The Hero" © Fantastic, Apr 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find "The Impossible Weapon" © Amazing Stories, Jan 1952 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Intruder From a Void" © Imaginative Tales, May 1955 "It Fell From A Sky" (as by S. M. Tenneshaw) © Imaginative Tales, May 1955 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "Juggernaut from Space" (as S. M. Tenneshaw) © Imaginative Tales, Sep 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "Jungle In The Sky" (nv) © IF, May 1952 --/ fourth place sf novel --/ adventure award --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Last Call To Doomsday" (nv) (as S. M. Tenneshaw) © Imagination, Dec 1956 --/ cool apocalyptic sf novel --/ wonder award --/ rare find "The Last Revolution" (as by Stephen Marlowe) © Amazing, Jan 1952 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ rare find "Let Space Be Your Coffin!" (as S. M. Tenneshaw) © Imagination, Nov 1954 "Lunar Point Of View" (as S. M. Tenneshaw) © Fantastic Adventures, Apr 1950 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "The Man Without a Planet" (as Adam Chase) © Imaginative Tales, Apr 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "Microscopic Nightmare" (as C.H.Thames) © Imaginative Tales, Oct 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "The Music of the Spheres" © Imaginative Tales, Sep 1956 --/ fourth place space sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ rare find Here is an example of a very entertaining story published in a pretty much "literary schlock" magazine. Milton Lesser (being a "prince", not a "king" mind you, of space opera) came up with a wondrous tale of planetary exploration and aliens made of audio-waves. Nobody has ever heard of this story, I doubt that anybody even read it in thirty years, except me and a handful of hard-core collectors. Well, it's too bad, as it is prime anthology material (editors take note). Someday Lesser will be counted among the "greater" ones again (if the world is in any degree just) - pun intended. review: 19-Sep-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- "No Trap for Keth" (as Ralph Burke) © Imaginative Tales, Jun 1956 ---------------------------------------------- "Operation Disaster" (nv) (as Darius John Granger) © Imaginative Tales, Sep 1956 Speaking of Lesser, we can not discount the complete"shushera" (russian for "schlock") that he sometimes wrote. This example is so horrid, that "Operation Disaster" proves to be a very appropriate title. (at least, he chose a pseudonym - mind you, it is not a certain fact that Lesser hides behind it: sometimes it served as a "house-name" for others as well) review: 19-Sep-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- "The Outcast" (as by S. M. Tenneshaw) © Amazing Stories, Jun 1949 --/ cool sf story "Pariah" © Imagination, Feb 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find "Prison of a Billion Years" (as C. H. Thames) © Imagination, Apr 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find "Queen Of The Ice Men" (as S. M. Tenneshaw) © Fantastic Adventures, Apr 1949 "Recruit To Andromeda" (nv) (also as "Voyage To Eternity") © Imagination, Jun 1954 book: Dent, 1959 --/ cool sf novel --/ rare find "Resurrection Seven" (as Stephen Marlowe) © IF, Jun 1952 --/ cool space sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ rare find "Revolt of the Brains" (as C.H.Thames) © Imagination, May 1956 --/ fourth place apocalyptic sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Revolt of the Outworlds" © Imagination, Dec 1954 --/ cool sf novella --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Ride the Crepe Ring" © Imagination, Mar 1952 --/ third place space sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ adventure award --/ style award --/ rare find "Secret Of The Black Planet" (nv) (Black Chalice series) © Amazing, Oct 1951 book: Belmont Books, 1962 --/ cool sf novel "Slaves to the Metal Horde" (nv) © Imagination, Jun 1954 --/ cool sf novel --/ adventure award --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Somewhere I'll Find You!" (nv) (as by Stephen Marlowe) © Amazing Stories, Dec 1951 --/ cool sf novel --/ wonder award --/ rare find "Son Of The Black Chalice" (nv) (Black Chalice series) © Amazing Stories, Jul 1952 Secret Of The Black Planet, 1962 --/ cool sf novel --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale "Terror On The Telephone" (as Lee Francis) © Amazing Stories, Sep 1947 --/ cool sf story --/ rare find "Terrorists" (as Stephen Marlowe) © Accused, Jan 1956 russ. as "Lovushka" "The Thing in a Truck" (as Darius John Granger) © Imagination, Feb 1956 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find "A Town For Mr Sntzl" (as by Stephen Wilder) © Imaginative Tales, May 1956 "Tyrants of Time" (nv) © Imagination, Jan 1954 --/ fourth place time sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ rare find "The Ultimate Weapon" (nv) (as S. M. Tenneshaw) © Imaginative Tales, Mar 1954 --/ cool sf novel --/ rare find "Voyage To Eternity" (nv) (also as "Recruit To Andromeda") © Imagination, Jun 1954 book: Dent, 1959 --/ cool sf novel --/ rare find "What's On Your Mind?" © Fantastic Adventures, Feb 1952 "World Beyond Pluto" (as C. H. Thames) (Johnny Mayhem) © Amazing Stories, Nov 1958 --/ cool space sf story --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "A World Called Crimson" (as Darius John Granger) © Amazing Stories, Sep 1956 --/ cool sf novel --/ idea award --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ awesome scale --/ rare find Hm... Milton Lesser writing as Darius John Granger, which does not promise a masterpiece. Right? Wrong. This wonderful space adventure was completely overlooked by publishers, but contains a very cool idea: an imaginary environment, created by a child. In fact the whole planet is a hilarious puzzle to human colonists until they realize that there is no logic, other than the playful fantasy of a child. A very capable alien child, of course, but still playing with his toys...which happen to be humans and all kinds of imaginary creatures, some of which are very deadly indeed. review: 19-Sep-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- "World Without Glamour" © Imagination, Oct 1953 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "You'll Go Mad on Mars!" (as C. H. Thames) © Imaginative Tales, Sep 1956 ----------------------------------------------

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