Black Cat Weekly 31

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #31. This time, the lineup includes pretty much everything fans look for in fantasy and science fiction—time travel, pyramids, space adventure, alternate history, war, monkeys, and even Nazi spies. Does it get much better than that? Not to forget our mystery readers, for them we have time travel, a private detective, police, international adventure, war, a solve-it-yourself puzzler, and even Nazis. (Did I mention there’s some overlap between the fantastic and the mysterious in this issue? Surprise! There is.) I leave you to sort it out among yourselves. In case you need some help, here’s the breakdown: Non-Fiction: “Speaking with Joe Haldeman,” conducted by Darrell Schweitzer [interview] Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Dutiful Rookie,” by James Holding [short story] “A Wee Bit Of Dough,” by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery] “The Case of the Truculent Avocado,” by Mark Thielman [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Paying the Price, by Nicholas Carter [novel] “Van Goghing, Goghing, Gone,” by Alan Orloff [Michael Bracken Presents short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Van Goghing, Goghing, Gone,” by Alan Orloff [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “How High Your Gods Can Count,” by Tegan Moore [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “How We Came Back From Mars,” by Ian Watson [Darrell Schweitzer Presents short story] “Death by Proxy,” by Malcolm Jameson[short story] Bring the Jubilee, by Ward Moore [novel]

Edgar G. Ulmer: Detour on Poverty Row examines the full scope of the career of this often overlooked film auteur, with essays exploring individual films, groups of films (such as his important work in film noir), repetitive themes appearing across the spectrum of his work, and a case study of three essays analyzing The Black Cat (1934).

Black Cat Weekly continues to present a mix of original, modern, and classic science fiction, fantasy, and mystery fiction. #71 includes 6 short stories, 3 novels, and a solve-it-yourself mystery. Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Friday, February 30th,” by Mark Thielman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “X Marks the Spot” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Secrets in the Snow” by J. M. Taylor [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Ring-a-Ding-Ding, by Frank Kane [novel] The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle [collection] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Giftie Gien,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] “Space-Can,” by Murray Leinster [short story] “The Knowledge Machine,” by Edmond Hamilton [short story] “The Timeless Tomorrow,” by Manly Wade Wellman [novel] Secret of the Earth Star, by Henry Kuttner [novel]

Our mystery selections kick off with “A Matter of Trust,” N.M. Cedeño’s tale of a genetic genealogy detective trying to prove an illegitimate child’s claim to a family trust. Thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken for this one. And Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman has a Halloween-appropriate tale in “Grimalkin,” by Mark Thielman, in which a cat may be more than it seems. We also have fantasist Phyllis Ann Karr’s first sale—which turns out to be a mystery!—and a novel by British master J.S. Fletcher. And, of course, no issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. Continueing our seasonal celebration of all things Halloween, we have a pair of dark delights—tales by Adrian Cole and me. Have some ghoulish shivers on us! For lovers of science fiction, we have a terrific recent tale by Norman Spinrad, plus classics by Charles V. De Vet and Lester del Rey. Great stuff. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “A Matter of Trust,” by N.M. Cedeño [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Case of the Munificent Musketeer,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Grimalkin,” by Mark Thielman [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “An Economical Means of Murder,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] The Herapath Property, by J.S. Fletcher [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “In the Court of the Pumpkin King,” by Adrian Cole [short story, Nick Nightmare series] “Sand,” by John Gregory Betancourt [short story, SCP series] “Quarantine,” by Norman Spinrad [short story] “Survival Factor,” by Charles V. De Vet [short story] “The Band Played On,” by Lester del Rey [novelet]

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #15—enjoy our holiday cat cover! The magazine is coming more sharply into focus, as our acquiring editors spread out through the mystery and science fiction fields and bring new stories to our lineup. This issue, we officially welcome Cynthia M. Ward to the editorial staff. She comes bearing a gift—Nancy Kress’s excellent science fiction story, “The Art of War.” Darrell Schweitzer was supposed to be back with his second acquisition this week (a comical Esther Friesner tale) but there were problems with the text and I’ve made a last-minute executive decision to push it back an issue or two, while it’s being fixed. I’ll slip in a replacement from my own backlist, another entry in my “Slab’s Tavern” series of fantasy bar stories. Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken have acquired a pair of original tales for us. First, Barb presents “The Importance of Being Urnest,” by Eleanor Cawood Jones. Then Michael selects “Romeo and Isabella” by John M. Floyd. Great stories, both. Thanks, everyone! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Westerns “The Writing Workshop,” by Janice Law [short story] “Romeo and Isabelle,” by John M. Floyd [short story] “Secret Santa,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself mystery] West of Quarantine, by Todhunter Ballard [novel] “The Importance of Being Urnest,” by Eleanor Cawood Jones [short story] “Dr. Kreener’s Last Experiment,” by Sax Rohmer [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy “Serendipity,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “The Art of War,” by Nancy Kress [short story] “Well Bottled at Slab’s,” by John Gregory Betancourt [short story] Forever We Die! by Stephen Marlowe [short novel]

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #49. This is another strong issue, and we lead off with an original tale by celebrated mystery author Brendan Dubois (courtesy of acquiring editor Michael Bracken). We also have a powerful crime story by Y.S. Lee (courtsey of acquiring editor Barb Goffman), and a pair of novels by Edgar Wallace and Nicholas Carter. And, of course, no issue would be complete without a solve-it-yourself mystery from Hal Charles. On the science fiction side, acquiring editor Cynthia Ward has selected a great story by Linda D. Addison—plus we have more from George O. Smith, Poul Anderson, C. Shook, and Robert Moore Williams. Good stuff! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Obsession” by Brendan DuBois “Ghost of a Chance” by Hal Charles “In Plain Sight” by Y. S. Lee The Fellowship of the Frog, by Edgar Wallace Driven from Cover, by Nicholas Carter Science Fiction / Fantasy: “The Power” by Linda D. Addison “Rat Race,” by George O. Smith “The Temple of Earth, ” by Poul Anderson “The Band Played On,” by C. Shook “The Impossible Invention” by Robert Moore Williams

Black Cat Weekly #4 presents more tales of the mysterious and fantastic—4 mystery short stories (including a Derringer Award-winner), a mystery novel, 2 science fiction short stories, a fantasy story, plus a science fiction novel. Here are: THE HAMMERING MAN by Edwin Balmer and William MacHarg [mystery short] [Luther Trant series] FLOORED, by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery short] TWILIGHT LADIES, by Meg Opperman [mystery short] [Derringer Award Winner] WEST OF QUARANTINE, by Todhunter Ballard [western/mystery novel] THE BROTHERS OF THE LEFT HAND PATH, by Frank Lovell Nelson [mystery short] [Carlton Clarke series] THE HERPLE IS A HAPPY BEAST, by Paul Di Filippo [science fiction short] THE POWER OF WAKING, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman [fantasy short] THE KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE, by Lester del Rey [science fiction short] ANDROMEDA GUN, by John Boyd [science fiction novel]

In our 89th issue, Michael Bracken pulls double duty to bring a pair of original mysteires to readers: great tales by Steve Liskow and Welsh-Huggins. Plus we have a crime novel by Johnston McCulley (who also created Zorro—but he tried his hand at a bunch of other heroes and antiheroes, among them The Scarlet Scourge, The Avenging Twins, and a ton of others). There’s also a novel by Western author B.M. Bower. Plus a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles. On the science fiction & fantasy side, we have classic tales by Randall Garrett and Murray Leinster, two favorites. Robert E. Howard (much on my mind since returning from our trip to Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas) has a Solomon Kane adventure. And last (but far from least) we begin the serialization of Darrell Schweitzer’s amazing Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer, a series of linked short stories that come together to form a novel…though each tale also manages to stand on its own. The first 3 stories are in this issue. Here’s this issue’s complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Nose for News,” by Steve Liskow [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Case of the Burgled Bushels,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Supply Chains,” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins [Michael Bracken Presents short story] The Voice at Johnnywater, by B.M. Bower [novel] The Scarlet Scourge, by Johnston McCulley [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Needler,” by Randall Garrett [novella] “Rattle of Bones,” by Robert E. Howard [short story] “Ribbon in the Sky,” by Murray Leinster [novella] Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer, by Darrell Schwetizer [serial book, part 1 of 4]