Astonishing Stories: Complete Fiction by Various Authors (.ePUB)
File Size: 8.2 MB
Astonishing Stories: The Complete Fiction (Jerry eBooks, 2021) by Various Authors
Requirements: .ePUB reader, 8.2mb
Overview: Astonishing Stories was a pulp science fiction magazine, published by Popular Publications between 1940 and 1943. It was founded under Popular’s “Fictioneers” imprint, which paid lower rates than Popular’s other magazines. It was pulp-sized throughout its run, with 112 pages and a cover price of 10 cents. The volume numbering was regular, with four volumes of four numbers. It was bimonthly for the first eight issues; the next four were on an irregular schedule, and the last four, from October 1942, were bimonthly again.
The magazine’s first editor was Frederik Pohl, who also edited a companion publication, Super Science Stories. After nine issues Pohl was replaced by Alden H. Norton, who subsequently rehired Pohl as an assistant. The budget for Astonishing Stories was very low, which made it difficult to acquire good fiction, but through his membership in the Futurians, a group of young science fiction fans and aspiring writers, Pohl was able to find material to fill the early issues. The magazine was successful, and Pohl was able to increase his pay rates slightly within a year. He managed to obtain stories by writers who subsequently became very well known, such as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. After Pohl entered the army in early 1943, wartime paper shortages led Popular to cease publication of Astonishing. The final issue was dated April of that year.
The magazine was never regarded as one of the leading titles of the genre, but despite the low budget it published some well-received material.
A Canadian edition appeared for three issues, dated January, March, and May 1942, published by Popular Publications’ Toronto branch. It was priced at 10 cents and ran to 96 pages; it was also in pulp format, but fractionally larger than the US version. The first and third issues reprinted the November 1941 and March 1942 US issues of Astonishing, but the March 1942 Canadian issue was a reprint of the November 1941 Super Science Stories, omitting one story. The covers in all three issues were replaced by new paintings, and the interior artwork was also different. The artists responsible for the new illustrations and covers were not credited.
Genre: Fiction > Sci-Fi/Fantasy
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