Black Cat Weekly 43

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #43. If this isn’t the best issue we had to date, it’s pretty darn close. Lots of great tales are packed into this one—including not one, but two mystery novels (by Edwin Balmer and Nicholas Carter), three shorter mysteries (including a major new novelet by Robert Lopresti, a great reprint by Victoria Weisfeld, and a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles). On the science fiction side, we have an amazing set of stories by Daniel Marcus, Isaac Asimov, George O. Smith, Murray Leinster, and Robert Silverberg. It’s hard to get better than that. Oh, wait—we also have an interview with Robert Varley, courtesy of Darrell Schweitzer. This is another one of his “paleo-interviews,” going back to 1976, the time when Varley burst onto the scene and became one of this hottest writers in the field. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Suicide Club,” by Robert Lopresti [Michael Bracken Presents short story] A Wee Bit of Dough,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] Evidence, by Victoria Weisfeld [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Ruth of the U.S.A., by Edwin Balmer [novel] An Uncanny Revenge, by Nicholas Carter [novel] Non-Fiction: "Speaking with John Varley” [Interview with Darrell Schweitzer] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Jesus Christ Superstore,” by Daniel Marcus [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Let’s Get Together,” by Isaac Asimov [short story] “The Undamned, by George O. Smith [short story] “Planet of Sand,” by Murray Leinster [short story] “The Guest Rites,” by Robert Silverberg [short story]

This issue, we have 17 short stories and 2 novel serials for you—one of our largest lineups ever! (Of course, quite a few of the stories are short, and hopefully you like awful-pun stories…) On the mystery front, we have original tales from Dave Zeltserman (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Justin M. Kiska (a Christmas fantasy-mystery), plus another fantasy-mystery from C. C. Guthrie (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman). Our serial of Jack Guthrie’s Tiger Island concludes. And, of course, there’s a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. For the science fiction and fantasy lineup—we have the above-mentioned Kiska and Guthrie tales, plus the complete series of 8 Benedict Breadfruit stories by Randall Garrett (written under the pseudonym “Grandall Barretton”) plus 3 more pun-stories from the series Garrett was parodying, The Adventures of Ferdinand Feghoot Through Time and Space, by Reginald Bretnor (written under the pseudonym “Grendel Briarton”) and a Feghoot by Your Editor, John Betancourt (written under the pseudonym “Grendel Briarton, Jr.”). See my intro to this very punny section for more info. On top of all that, we have a delightful fantasy from Anna Tambour, a classic SF piece from Ben Bova, and part 3 of Francis Jarman’s historical fantasy novel, The Eagle’s Wing. Whew, that’s a lot! And just a reminder: if you’d like to contribute to Black Cat Weekly, please see our submission portal at blackcatweekly.com for guidelines. We are always looking for original mystery and science fiction/fantasy stories. Here’s this issue’s complete lineup (in order of appearance): Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Ice Lady,” by Dave Zeltserman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Coveted Coin Caper,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “The December Candle Caper Con,” by C. C. Guthrie [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “North Pole Noir,” by Justin M. Kiska [short story] Tiger Island, by Jack Ritchie [serial novel, part 3 of 3] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The December Candle Caper Con,” by C. C. Guthrie [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “North Pole Noir,” by Justin M. Kiska [short story] “The Godchildren,” by Anna Tambour [short story] “Through Time and Space With Benedict Breadfruit: I to VIII,” by Grandall Barretton [8 short stories] “Through Time and Space With Ferdinand Feghoot: VIII, XIX, and XXXVII,” by Grendel Briarton [3 short stories] “Through Time and Space With Ferdinand Feghoot: Alpha,” by Grendel Briarton, Jr. [short story] “Answer, Please Answer,” by Ben Bova [short story] The Eagle’s Wing, by Francis Jarman [serial novel, part 3 of 4]

This issue, we have an original mystery from Mike Adamson, plus a recent tale by Neil S. Plakcy (courtesy of our Acquiring Editors). Classic mystery reprints come from Dale Clark and Edgar Wallace. Plus, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler by Hal Charles. I broke out the Adventure category for Vera Shamarin, by William Murray Graydon. It’s an exciting tale of escape from Russia. Not really mystery, but perhaps more suspense, I thought it belonged in its own category. See if you agree. It’s an all-classic lineup from our science fiction writers: Ted White & Marion Zimmer Bradley lead off, followed by Frank Belknap Long, Ivar Jorgenson, and Edmond Hamilton. Jack Sharkey’s short novel, “The Programmed People,” caps things off.

Our 69th issue is being put together in the chaos of the holiday season. It’s hard, but the team always manages to pull things together at the last minute! So I’ll just say best wishes from everyone at Wildside and Black Cat Weekly…Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, Sam Hogan, Darrell Schweitzer, Cynthia Ward, Karl Wurf, and me. And I will note that we have two original stories this issue, by Phyllis Ann Karr and James A. Hearn, along with our usual mix of classics and modern tales. And some manage to fit neatly into both mystery and the fantastic categories (see the contents list below.) Here’s this issue’s lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Third Wish,” by James A. Hearn [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Where There’s Fire,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Bertie and the Christmas Tree,” by Peter Lovesey [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The 1961 Twelve,” by James Holding [short story] “For Safe Deposit,” by Hal Meredith [short story] The Rider of the Mohave, by James Fellom [novel] “The Hammering Man,” by Edwin Balmer and William B. MacHarg [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Third Wish,” by James A. Hearn [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Hammering Man,” by Edwin Balmer and William B. MacHarg [short story] “Not-Quite-Living Treasure,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] “Come Home from Earth,” by Edmond Hamilton [short story] “Piety,” by Margaret St. Clair [short story] Planet Explorer, by Murray Leinster [novel]

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. Our 107th issue has everything you could possibly want: police detectives, spacemen, cats, boy detectives, a man (literally) fighting cancer, an abandonned mill chimney, murder in space…. I could go on and on, but that would take all the fun out of it for you! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Up In Smoke,” by Gregory Meece [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Point Taken” by Hal Charles [short story] “Method for Murder,” by Michael Mallory [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Blue Line,” by Hal Meredith [short story] The Mystery Hunters at the Haunted Lodge, by Capwell Wyckoff [novel] “Earth Transit,” by Charles L. Fontenay [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Carcinoma Angels,” by Norman Spinrad [short story] “No Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be…,” by A.R. Morlan [short story] “Earth Transit,” by Charles L. Fontenay [short story] “Deadline,” by Walter L. Kleine [short story] “Rockabye, Grady,” by David Mason [short story]

Harvey Horrors launched Black Cat Mystery in the 1950's. It later evolved into The Black Cat, The Black Cat Western and The Black Cat Mystic.You can enjoy again - or for the first time -Black Cat Mystery #43 with this public domain reprint from UP History and Hobby. Check out the full line - new titles every week! The comic reprints from Golden Age Reprints and UP History and Hobby are reproduced from actual classic comics, and sometimes reflect the imperfection of books that are decades old. These books are constantly updated with the best version available - if you are EVER unhappy with the experience or quality of a book, return the book to us to exchange for another title or the upgrade as new files become available. HO1296720143868

On behalf of the staff, the contributors, and myself, I’d like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. (You may all burst into traditional Thanksgiving carols, should you wish.) Here’s our holiday lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Restavek,” by Neil S. Plakcy [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Case of the Tipsy Turkey,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “he Final Course,” by Stacy Woodson [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Tiger Island,” by Carl Jacobi [short story] Tiger Island, by Jack Ritchie [serial novel, part 1 of 3] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Baad-hin’jan and the Chickpea,” by Anna Tambour [short story] “The Music of the Sphere” by Norman Spinrad [short story] “Go To Sleep, My Darling,” by Winston K. Marks [short story] “The Statistomat Pitch,” by Chan Davis [short story] The Eagle’s Wing, by Francis Jarman [serial novel, part 1 of 4]