There was more at stake than just a football game for Lancelot Biggs; two hundred and fifty credits, his claims on three future planetary discoveries, the rights to his new uranium condenser, his rocket emblem...and his heart!

"The Madness of Lancelot Biggs" appeared in "Fantastic Adventures," April 1940 pages 70 - 77.

Nelson Slade Bond (November 23, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American writer. His works included books, magazine articles, and scripts used in radio, for television and on the stage.

The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

The Man from Time

Being the first Time Traveller, he couldn't have known about Time Fear; every date he observed terrified him. Lost in the vastness of Time, he didn't know how his colleagues would find him again.

"The Man from Time" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," March 1954, pages 74 - 85.

Mr Caxton Draws a Martian Bird

No animal the size of the 'huge bird' Peter supposedly saw could survive on Mars without oxygenating apparatus. So said mean, grumpy Mr Caxton who was tasked with looking after them while their parents were away. They must be lying...

"Mr. Caxton Draws a Martian Bird" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," July 1954, pages 91 - 101.

Frank Belknap Long Jr. (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos alongside his friend, H. P. Lovecraft. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

"Cooking," explained Biggs, "is simply a matter of chemistry." But little did he know he'd have to prove that statement in order to save the crew of the Saturn from pirates!

"Lancelot Biggs cooks a pirate" appeared in "Fantastic Adventures," February 1940, pages 40 - 46.

Nelson Slade Bond (November 23, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American writer. His works included books, magazine articles, and scripts used in radio, for television and on the stage.

The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction.

Links

Reaper: reaper.fm

LibSyn: libsyn.com

"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

Lancelot Biggs was perhaps the worst second mate Captain Hanson had ever shipped, and he was convinced of it when he ruined their cargo. But how dumb a man is, may sometimes be a matter of opinion.

"F O B Venus" appeared in "Fantastic Adventures," November, 1939, pages 34 to 40.

Nelson Slade Bond (November 23, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American writer. His works included books, magazine articles, and scripts used in radio, for television and on the stage.

The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction.

Links

Reaper: reaper.fm

LibSyn: libsyn.com

"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

A man who refused to wear a Skin was labeled a "devil." Rastignac was such a man. He was a meat eater, adhered to the Philosophy of Violence, and was the leader of the Legal Underground of the Kingdom of L'Bawpfey. He could also see the end of Homo Sapiens on their adopted planet. All he wanted to do was to get to the Six Flying Stars—the space-ships that had brought humanity to this planet—and fly away to the stars.

"Rastignac the Devil" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," May 1954, pages 2 - 44.

Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. He is best known for the World of Tiers (1965–93) and Riverworld (1971–83) series. He is noted for the reworking of the lore of celebrated pulp heroes. Farmer often mixed real and classic fictional characters and worlds. Such works as The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (1973) and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (1973) are early examples of literary mashup novels.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

People had been telling Henry Westing, who just wanted to live his own life in his own manner, that he should belong to something, that he should join. When The Organization started to pester him to join them, he knew they would evetually wear him down, unless...

"The Man Who Wouldn't Sign Up" appeared in "Infinity Science Fiction," October 1958, pages 68 - 77.

Thomas Edward Purdom (born 1936) is an American writer best known for science fiction and nonfiction. His story "Fossil Games" was a nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2000.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there is a particular story that you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

The Repairman

A Mark III beacon, one of the earliest beacons deployed, possibly even the first, had broken down, and he had to go and fix it. Trouble was, there was a religious war going on around it. Time to get creative with the rules surrounding interactions with native species...

"The Repairman" appeared in "Galaxy Science Fiction" February 1958, pages 60 - 73.

Navy Day

The U.S. Army was calling for the abolition of the anachronistic U.S. Navy, and they had a strong case to make. The U.S. Navy, however, would not go without a fight...

"Navy Day" appeared in "Worlds of If Science Fiction," January 1954, pages 63 - 67.

Toy Shop

Colonel "Biff" Hawton knew it was a trick when the salesman opened the 'toy,' revealing the cheap components inside. He bought one anyway. His engineer buddies would get a kick out of his little magic show at their next poker night...

"Toy Shop" appeared in "Analog Science Fact & Fiction" April 1962.

Harry Max Harrison (March 12, 1925 – August 15, 2012) was an American science fiction author, known mostly for his character The Stainless Steel Rat and for his novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973). Long resident in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, Harrison was involved in the foundation of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and was, with Brian Aldiss, co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there is a particular story that you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

Satellite Number Four had been knocked out of its orbit, disrupting communications around the world. James Fitzpatrick MacIlheny, "Mac" to his colleagues and "Fitz" to his friends, the Operational Vice-President of Circum-Global Communications had to get Number Four back into its correct orbit, and fast! However, what they found when they sent up the repair drone was beyond what anyone could have imagined...

"Beyond Our Control" appeared in "Infinity Science Fiction," January 1958, pages 68 - 85.

Gordon Randall Phillip David Garrett (December 16, 1927 – December 31, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was a contributor to Astounding and other science fiction magazines of the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for the Lord Darcy books set in an alternate world where a joint Anglo-French empire still led by a Plantagenet dynasty has survived into the twentieth century and where magic works and has been scientifically codified. The Darcy books are rich in jokes, puns, and references, particularly of detective and spy fiction; Lord Darcy is modeled on Sherlock Holmes.

Garrett wrote under a variety of pseudonyms including: David Gordon, John Gordon, Darrel T. Langart (an anagram of his name), Alexander Blade, Richard Greer, Ivar Jorgensen, Clyde Mitchell, Leonard G. Spencer, S. M. Tenneshaw, Gerald Vance. He was also a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, as "Randall of Hightower" (a pun on "garret.") The short novel Brain Twister, written by Garrett with author Laurence Janifer (using the joint pseudonym Mark Phillips), was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there is a particular story that you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.