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Secrets of the Mask, part 8: February 1927, Hammett’s back

Last week, we read how Joe Shaw joined Black Mask and changed it; this week, I’m reviewing the February 1927 issue, from the first year of Joe Shaw’s editorial reign. At this point the magazine hadn’t developed into the 100% pure hard-boiled version it became later. Westerns, detective and adventure stories were promised by the… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 8: February 1927, Hammett’s back

“Reckless Ralph” Cummings: Newspaper profile of a dime novel collector

Taken from the Kansas City Star, December 4, 1931 A Farm Hand and His Dime Novel Collection The Hobby of Ralph Cummings Has Resulted in one of the largest “Paper Back” Libraries in AmericaMany Follow Same Pursuit. Ralph Cummings, farm hand, believes that he owns the largest collection of dime and half-dime novels in New… Continue reading “Reckless Ralph” Cummings: Newspaper profile of a dime novel collector

Welcome to the new blog

Welcome. This is the continuation of my blog, started in 2012 at Blogger. I started it to share my love of stories and authors from the golden age of fiction magazines. It’s been nearly a decade now, with nearly 400 posts in that time. It’s mostly been posts about authors and magazines, with a few… Continue reading Welcome to the new blog

Ernest Bramah’s Max Carrados

Here we are the end of this series of posts about blind detectives. I’ve already written about Bramah, so this article focuses on Max Carrados. And there is no better way to appreciate Carrados than to sample his stories. I’ve read all three collections of the Carrados stories: Max Carrados, The Eyes of Max Carrados… Continue reading Ernest Bramah’s Max Carrados

It’s Great to Be Back – new Robert A. Heinlein book to be published this year

Phoenix Pick recently announced that, working with the Heinlein Prize Trust, they have been able to reconstruct the complete text of an unpublished novel written by Robert A. Heinlein. Heinlein wrote this as an alternate text for THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST. This text of approximately 185,000 words largely mirrors the first third of the published… Continue reading It’s Great to Be Back – new Robert A. Heinlein book to be published this year

Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair 2018 – trip report

Visited the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend. Dave Smith of Fantasy Illustrated sent me a pass for it, and having been there last year, I went again this year. Enjoyed it thoroughly, and for those who weren’t there, a few photos. Dave Smith (Fantasy Illustrated) had his usual wall of high grade pulps Dave Smith… Continue reading Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair 2018 – trip report