Fantastics, as Argosy called science fiction or fantasy stories, didn't often get the cover of the venerable weekly. There probably were more sports-story covers in a given year, though Argosy published fantastics more often than the covers would suggest. This fantastic 1940 cover spotlights a departure in genre for Frederick C. Painton, who typically wrote about contemporary international intrigue. "The World That Drowned" launched a short-lived "Time Detectives" series consisting of another novelette in October 1940 and a serial the following year. I read this issue approximately one year ago, but I regret to say that I remember nothing about Painton's cover story, nor anything about the other stories except for Charles Marquis Warren's outstanding and brutal western serial Bugles Are For Soldiers. As this is the period of Argosy's precipitous decline, I don't entirely blame my erratic memory. The most I can say for the rest is that I remember liking Roy de S. Horn's Robin the Bombardier series set in late medieval England, which continues here with the conclusion of the two-parter Bowman's Banner. Overall, however, it's probably safe to say that most of the contents fail to live up to Rudolph Belarski's dramatic cover.
I was getting like that about reading, especially short fiction. I wrote myself an app that I could write a synopsis and give stories ratings. Now when I look back it's easier for me to recall a story and more importantly, search out other stories by authors I liked. The most surprising thing is that when I started to sort authors by rating I discovered there were some writers that I liked a lot more than I thought I did.
ReplyDeleteEye-opening.
Sounds like a good idea, especially when you might want to blog about what you read later.
ReplyDeleteI have a system of writing my comments, grade, and date read on a slip of paper and putting it in the book or magazine. I've been doing this since the 1950's and not only does it remind me of what I thought of a book or story, but it prevents me from rereading a mediocre or poor story.
ReplyDeleteAfter writing the above I looked up my issues containing Warren's BUGLES ARE FOR SOLDIERS. I read it over 40 years ago in 1973. My notes give it an outstanding rating and I also noticed that it was tough and violent.
ReplyDelete