Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Stories Collection

Boldly go to worlds where no one has gone before. Explore exotic new worlds and fantastic tales that appeared in the pages of the most popular pulp fiction magazines of the 1930's and 1940's. The Collection includes: The Great Secret, If I Were You, International Book Awards Finalists: The Crossroads & A Matter of Matter, When Shadows Fall, Danger in the Dark, Greed, The Tramp, Beyond All Weapons and The Professor Was a Thief

Is Greed good? The future of Earth and all of mankind may hang on that one question. And George Marquis Lorrilard-a space age ace-pilot, adventurer and fortune-hunter to rival Hans Solo of Star Wars-is just the man to answer it. The world is divided between Asia and the United Continents-two great super powers locked in eternal warfare. But the balance of power is about to shift in Asia's favor. They have developed a top-secret weapon-the cohesion projector–that could lead to annihilation on an unprecedented scale. . . . But as far as Lorrilard is concerned, the number one problem with the projector is that it stands in the way of his profits. Can he find a way to subvert the powerful weapon and resume his enterprising exploits? For millions of people on Earth survival may ultimately depend on the power of one man's Greed. Greed was the last L. Ron Hubbard story published in Astounding Science Fiction in April 1950, marking the end of an era. Over a decade before, he had been a key figure in the opening of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Now, as he turned his attention to other writings, the Golden Age drew to a close. But some three decades after this story appeared, Hubbard would make a triumphant return to the field with the publication of his bestselling novel Battlefield Earth and the extraordinary ten-volume series Mission Earth. Also includes the science fiction adventures, The Final Enemy, in which Earth discovers it faces a distant, yet devastating new foe, the identity of which is the most shocking blow of all, and The Automagic Horse, the story of a Hollywood special effects wizard who is about to apply his movie magic to a project that is out of this world."A wonderfully rich and textured experience, complete with realistic sound effects and moody atmospheric music." -Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award winner for 2008

Things are disappearing. Parts of buildings, parts of people, parts of the whole world-they're here today, gone tomorrow. Old Shellback-a character as crazy-smart as Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future-thinks he needs glasses. But all he really has to do is open his eyes . . . and see the light. Or so says George Smiley-otherwise known as the Messiah. George claims that the reason things are vanishing is because he wants them to go away. He has no more use for the world . . . and so it goes. Say goodbye. But Old Shellback has a different idea, and since he is the most stubborn man in the universe, you might want to hear him out. What's Shellback's idea? That two can play at this game. While George is making this world disappear, Old Shellback will make another one appear. Join him on an amazing odyssey-as he heads back to a future of his own making. By the spring of 1938, Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "master of the art of narrative." Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history. Also includes the Science Fiction adventures, A Can of Vacuum, in which a practical joke on a space station proves that a good sense of humor is timeless, and 240,000 Miles Straight Up, the thrilling story of a race to the moon . . . and the one man who may be able to save the earth from Armageddon.

Penniless, homeless and virtually lifeless, the vagrant "Doughface" Jack is about to discover that where medical marvels meet the mysteries of the human mind, amazing things happen. Like one of the comic book X-Men mutants, The Tramp acquires a capability beyond his imagination and without equal on Earth. Riding the rails, Jack runs afoul of a local sheriff and ends up with a crushed skull. He's as good as dead until a savvy country doctor performs a bit of medical magic. Jack wakes up to find that his brain has been drastically altered. He has the power to save lives-and destroy them-with a single glance. Will Jack use his astounding power for good . . . or for evil? His journey of discovery takes him to New York and into the arms of a woman, who has a plan of her own. Together they're bound for Washington, D.C., and a psychic adventure that could change the shape of history. The Tramp was originally serialized in 1938 in three issues of Astounding Science Fiction. Its respected editor, John W. Campbell, wrote: "Hubbard is a very highly experienced writer, an author with a tremendous background of writing in every field. He's one of the few professional writers I know of who gets a genuine kick out of the story he's writing. In The Tramp, the suspense is intensified step by step, because every step points the same way. There are no backward slips, no scattered accidents that tend in any direction other than the one toward which Hubbard is driving."

Family friendly Un-Adult-A-rated fun! Does size matter? Is bigger better? That's no small question to Tom Little-the circus midget with giant dreams. Tom may be king of the midgets, but he's got far grander ambitions-to become the muscleman at the top, the ringmaster. Now, drawing on some dark ancient secrets and mystic texts, he's about to get his wish. Imagine a pint-sized Mickey Rooney on steroids, trading up into a body like Burt Lancaster's. Then imagine paying the biggest price of all…. Assuming another man's identity, Tom discovers he must also take on his sins, debts, and enemies. He may be living large-but now there are those who want to make him pay for the big man's sins. Throughout his young life Hubbard was fascinated and intrigued by mysticism and magic. From an old Blackfoot Indian medicine man in Montana to the last living magician descendant of Kublai Khan in China, from the Chamorro natives of Guam to voodoo displays in Haiti, he absorbed information and insight wherever he could-putting it all to marvelous use in stories like this. Also includes The Last Drop, an astounding tale of a New York bartender who mixes some very magical drinks-to amazing effect.

Women. Liquor. Power. Women. Liquor. Power. That is Fanner Marston's mantra-his reason for being-and while he knows a little about the first and a lot about the second, he may well be on the verge of learning everything there is to know about the third. Power. He may, in fact, be about to uncover the key to gaining absolute control over the entire universe. The only problem is, Fanner is certifiably insane-a crazed Peter Lorre on a power trip….His starship has crash-landed, and he's the sole survivor, which doesn't matter to him. Driven by greed and lust for power, wracked by thirst, hunger and pain, all he cares about is reaching the ancient city of Parva and making himself at home. Because there lies The Great Secret to universal domination-and what's a little suffering on the road to becoming God? Does Fanner have a prayer? The writing's on the walls of Parva-and you won't believe what it says. . . .By the spring of 1938, Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "master of the art of narrative." Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to genres that were new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is SciFi history. Also includes the Science Fiction adventures, The Space Can, in which a decrepit space battleship is a civilian fleet's only defense; The Beast, the tale of a hunter in the jungles of Venus, chasing an immoral beast; and The Slaver, in which an alien race has enslaved the human race, but can't repress the power of human love.

Star Trek's Captain Kirk has a kindred soul in Lars the Ranger, a commander of his own star fleet. But whereas Kirk's mission is to boldly go where no man has gone before, Lars is boldly going where other men are-in a desperate attempt to save his home planet . . . Earth. He's not exploring the final frontier. He is our last hope. Earth is way past global warming. It's totally fried-an environmental disaster-and most of its inhabitants have cut out for greener pastures, colonizing distant worlds. Lars leads an expedition across the galaxy to visit those worlds in hopes that he return with the resources needed to bring Earth back from the brink of extinction. But Lars has apparently failed. A mammoth fleet of mysterious starships are descending on the third planet from the sun. Is Earth history? Yes . . . and that may just be its saving grace. By the spring of 1938, Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "master of the art of narrative." Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is SciFi history. Also includes the science fiction adventures, Battling Bolto, the story of a giant, con man who's running an interstellar scam, while the biggest trick of all lies right under his nose; and Tough Old Man, in which an aging constable's lack of feelings is not a matter of insensitivity, but of a secret-and surprising-side of his character.

Think you know what's going on in the world? Think again. Long before Rod Serling took us into The Twilight Zone, L. Ron Hubbard brought us to The Crossroads-a place where thought-provoking twists and turns are delivered with plenty of wit and wisdom. Farmer Eben Smith is fed up with big government telling him how to run his life and his business. They pay him to bury his crops while folks starve in the streets, and he's not going to take it anymore. He's declaring his independence, loading up his fruits and vegetables, and heading for the city to wheel and deal. . . . But before he can trade in his turnips, Eben'll have to deal with something bigger -a break in the space/time continuum. He's at The Crossroads, where reality is turned upside-down and inside out. And before it's over, he'll turn his turnips into liquor, and the liquor into guns and gold, as he plunges into strange new worlds . . . finding ways to wreak havoc in all of them.The Crossroads first appeared in the February 1941 issue of Unknown Fantasy Fiction. By then Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "master of the art of narrative." Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is history. Also includes the fantasy adventures, Borrowed Glory, the haunting story of two immortals who wager on two mortals given a single day of love . . . a wager that leads to heartbreak and tragedy; and The Devil's Rescue based on the legend of The Flying Dutchman, in which the sole survivor of a disaster at sea is "rescued" by the devil himself and finds that fate rests on a roll of the dice."Amusing . . . a nostalgic delight." -Publishers Weekly * An International Book Awards Finalists

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The Empire State Building has vanished into thin air! Gone, too, are Grant's Tomb and Grand Central Station, and all hell is breaking loose in New York City! What's the story? One grizzled old newspaper reporter known simply as Pop-a role made for Walter Matthau-is on top of it . . . and better stay there, because his livelihood is on the line. If Pop fails to get to the bottom of the vanishing landmarks, his job will disappear as well-and land in the hands of the newspaper publisher's son-in-law. Any cub reporter could find a someone breaking the laws of the city, but tracking down a suspect who's breaking the laws of physics is a different story altogether. But Pop's like a dog with a bone, and he won't let go until he gets at the truth . . . no matter how strange or astounding it is. In the end, he gets a lesson in larceny, proving that when you get down to business, size really does matter. By the spring of 1938, Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "master of the art of narrative." Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history. Also features the science fiction adventures Battle of the Wizards, in which an epic battle between science and magic unfolds with an entire planet hanging in the balance, and Hubbard's first published foray into science fiction and fantasy, The Dangerous Dimension, the story of a mathematics professor who discovers an equation that enables him to teleport anywhere he can imagine . . . even if he doesn't want to go.

When it comes to big dreams and schemes, young Chuck Lambert would give Walter Mitty a run for his money. In fact, Chuck's biggest dream of all is really out of this world. Because he's got his eyes on a prize in the sky. Chuck wants to buy a planet of his own. . . . Madman Murphy, the King of Planetary Realtors, is more than happy to oblige. He's got a whole galaxy of planets for sale. All Chuck needs is money . . . and a lot of it. Eleven years later, saving every penny he can scrape up, Chuck's dream comes true. He takes possession and takes off for Planet 19453X. . . . One problem: Madman Murphy has sold Chuck a world of trouble. Because on Planet 19453X the water is undrinkable, the air is unbreathable, and the laws of physics don't apply. Has Chuck's dream turned into a nightmare? Not quite. As he's about to discover, sometimes, to fulfill your true desire, it's simply a matter of digging a little deeper. . . .By the time A Matter of Matter appeared in 1949, L. Ron Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "master of the art of narrative." Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to the genre of science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history. Also includes the science fiction adventures, The Conroy Diary, in which the man who opens up the universe to mankind also opens himself to charges of fraud and tax evasion; The Obsolete Weapon, the story of an American GI involved in the 1943 invasion of Italy who slips back in time and finds himself fighting a different kind of battle-as a gladiator in ancient Rome; and The Planet Makers, in which a great deal is at stake for the engineers who make planets habitable, but one of them has a surprising plan all his own. An International Book Awards Finalist