Page:Amazing Stories Volume 15 Number 12.djvu/8

An editor's life is a paradoxical thing. Here we are, putting out the December issue, and it's really only sometime in September, and you'll be reading this in October, but anyway, Merry Christmas to you all! Maybe time travel has something to do with it . . .

AND after Christmas comes New Year, so Happy New Year too! But we have more to say than that, this time! We have great news, important news, news that will thrill you ail—we hope. Get ready, get set, hang on!

We're going to have another big issue, like our 15th Anniversary issue!

YES, it's true. The January issue will be another gigantic 244 page book, chock-full of the best science fiction stories we've been able to get—and have we been able to get 'em! All of you have heard of Harry Bates? No? Where've you been? Well, anyway, he's writing his first story for Amazing Stories, and it's one of the finest pieces we've read in twelve months and two days and six minutes! We mean, it's good.

He's just one of the boys who will appear in the big issue to make it the biggest surprise we've ever handed out.

For instance, there's another newcomer, a guy named Patton, and to be Frank (that's his first name) we had to practically threaten him with various dire fates to make him turn from his usual field, which is writing weighty scientific tomes for the California Institute of Technology, to turn out some fiction for us. But he did it (after we sent him a photostat of a cover by still another new man—artist Malcolm Smith) and he did it well!

INCIDENTALLY, Henry Gade was supposed to write a yarn for that same cover, and he up and disappointed us. Got married, or something. Heck of a note, letting honeymoons interfere with the progress of Amazing Stories. The no good son of a gun! Best wishes, Hank!

DON WILCOX graces the issue with the best Ben Gleed story he's turned out yet. It's called "The Fiend of New London," but don't let the title fool you. It's quite an unexpected, and scientific, fiend!

WE'VE got three or four rattling good space stories by those up-and-coming boys, Costello, Farnsworth, and Cabot. A few of the titles are "Q-Ship of Space," "Rehearsal for Danger" and "Mystery on Base Ten."

And there's Alfred Bester with a story about a fellow who has something to sell we all think we ought to get for nothing—life. Intriguing, eh?

PAL PAUL is painting the finest "City on Another World" he's done yet, just to make this big issue an event for Paul fans too. And we've got artists Finlay, Magarian, Fuqua, Ruth, Krupa, Jackson, and many others working on some of the finest work any of them have done. We just hinted that this had to be special, because—well, just because. And now you all know why!

NATURALLY, all our usual features will be there, plus a few new ones. In fact, there won't be a page that won't be just another part of the best book, without any preening on our part, we've put out yet. We think we're going to have a perfect right to be proud of it, and for our reason for giving it to you. The reason is simple—you asked for another big issue, and we couldn't think of a better time than the issue that starts off 1942—January. Was our reason good enough? Um, let's see, what would our reason be for still another big issue . . . aw heck, your editor is dreaming again. But we can dream, can't we? (time out for dreaming).

NOW for a few solid things about this issue, and a few interesting items we dug up while "observing" during the past thirty days.

Take our cover story this month, for a starter. It's Ed Earl Repp's first novel for us in so long we can't remember the date. But if it doesn't strike you as the best space story you've read from his niche in science fiction's hall of fame, you need more batting practice. It's a juicy bit of interplanetary stuff, typical of his facile pen, full of

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