More than 10,000 books and stories rated and reviewed! - About this site

Writers: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
reviews of books and stories by author names and pen names

SF&F Timeline! 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000-Now
retrospective look at sf&f year-by-year
Best SF&F Lists! Recommended Reading
by genre, topic and length category
The Ultimate Guide to New SF&F Writers (from 1990 till now)


->

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Year

Best!
















































->

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Year

Best!

Stanton A. Coblentz




(original unknown)

"The Day The World Stopped" (nv)
© 1936, Astounding Stories
novel: 1966, Avalon

"Enchantress of Lemuria" (nv)
© Amazing Stories, Sep 1941
--/ cool sf novella
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


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



"An Episode In Space"
© Astounding Stories, Sep 1935
--/ fourth place space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award
--/ rare find


Standard fare for the pulps of the Thirties, but in no way easy to find today. When did you last read a very straightforward story about landing on a forbidding planet, meeting creepy inhabitants in caves, being attacked by them, and shooting them all to hoobenajeebies, or smithereens, whichever you prefer. Kind of a computer game without a monitor or a joystick. As such, it is colorful, with good "resolution" graphics, logical and satisfying script. They DID stop writing such stories as early as the Forties, so this sub-genre is fast receding into literary oblivion, leaving behind crumbling pulp pages instead of red-shift.
review: 09-Aug-06 (read in 2005)



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

"Fire Gas"
© Famous Fantastic Mysteries, Apr 1940
--/ cool mad scientist sf story

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



"The Glowworm Flower"
© Astounding Stories, Jun 1936
--/ cool sf story: alien plant dreams
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find

An imaginative tale from legendary Stanton Coblentz. He had uneven writing standards: some of his stories soared into imaginative pantheons worthy of the greatest practitioners of the genre, but some lagged behind with very contrived plots. This story straddles the middle, as it describes in hallucinogenic detail the drugged dreams induced by an alien plant.
review: 02-Aug-06 (read in 2006)



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

"Lord of Tranerica" (nv)
© Dynamic Science Stories, Feb 1939
novel: 1966, Avalon

"Over the Space-Waves"
© Startling Stories, Mar 1941
--/ cool sf story
--/ rare find

"The Stygian Terror"
© Fantastic Adventures, Nov 1942
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find

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



Stanton A. Coblentz
"The Sunken World" (nv)

© Amazing Stories Quarterly, Summer 1928
--/ cool sf novel
--/ first story
--/ rare find

This is very, very predictable fiction, but mostly because it was the first of its kind! First published piece by Stanton Coblentz is a full-scale epic "lost world" Atlantis novel, that is so classic in its elements and concepts, so unremarkable in its adventures, - but says who? Says the guy who read countless, innumerable consequent variations on the same theme. However, for the audience in 1928 (published in the same issue with another wonder-classic R. F. Starzl's "Out of the Sub-Universe") it was no doubt a hit, a wide-screen epic to behold.
review: 20-Dec-07 (read in 2007)

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


Stanton A. Coblentz
"The Treasure of Red-Ash Desert"
© Weird Tales, Mar 1942
--/ cool sf story
--/ adventure award
--/ rare find


Another wildly uneven pulp writer. Some Stanton Coblentz stories are exciting, and some are so conventional that they seem to be written entirely from a bag of cliches with a very limited "action" tool set. This story is a competent and rare (but ultimately unfulfilling) adventure set among the lavender-tinted towers of future Southern California. The opening line is promising: "La-Glo stood on the third parapet of the Balcony of the Sun, and looked out over the Amethyst City", but it gets too colorful too soon. Too many mixed colors for my liking.

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


Click to go to "Dark Roasted Blend" site

COMMENTS:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

LATEST POSTS:

Collecting Pulp Magazines

Ephemera Interview with Avi Abrams

Enchanting Victorian Fairy Tale Art

"Then world behind and home ahead..."

Exceptional British Scifi Artwork from the 1950s

Space Pulp Art by Ron Turner and other British artists

Pulp Pleasures: Eando Binder

Great space adventure fiction from the 1930s
"Where Eternity Ends" and other rare gems

Also read recent posts:
Author's Pen Names - Most Complete List Ever
The Wonder Timeline: SF&F Restrospective
Space Adventure Article


SEE OUR MAIN PAGE FOR MORE!


EXPLANATION OF THE RATING SYSTEM:

"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews!

Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here.


All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE
("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only)

Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE:
--/ first place :
--/ second place :
--/ third place :

--/ fourth place :

--/ cool : (equal to fifth place)
ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE

These awards are given in the following categories:
- novel :
- series :
- novella :
- story :
- collection :

Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader:

--/ wonder award
sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness

--/ idea award
originality of idea / concept

--/ adventure award
exhilarating plot, excitement / action

--/ style award
outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style

--/ romance award
intense and beautiful love / relationships

--/ humour award
funny and cool

--/ emotion award
touching, lasting impression, sensitivity

--/ shock value
altogether wild

--/ awesome scale
mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder

--/ rare find
very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc.

Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comment under every writer's entry; also recommend us other stories you liked.