Not everyone gets why Jack Williamson is so revered by the other greats in Science Fiction. This can be explained in small part by the scarcity of his work in print nowadays. But much of it has to do with Williamson’s connection to the pulps. He was one of the very few to bridge the gap between the early days of Science Fiction, those days of wonder when anything could be imagined, to the more realistic Science Fiction ushered in later. Yet as a writer, Williamson never lost that sense of wonder, nor did he forget how important movement was within a narrative. He retained those elements of pulp even in much of his later work. Williamson was still writing into his nineties, and he was still good.

These beautifully put together hardback books by Haffner Press are a tribute to that wonder so evident in the early days of Science Fiction, and especially Williamson. Some of these stories have never been available since their first appearance in the pulp magazines. The inside boards have colorful photos, a collage of the magazine covers in which these stories appeared. The forward by Science Fiction and Horror writer Edward Bryant is great fun, the premise being that a film about the life of Jack Williamson is being made. You can hear in Bryant’s voice as he talks about discovering Jack Williamson in his youth, after his family had moved to isolated Wyoming, his affection for Williamson and the great writer's stories. This loving tribute at the beginning is complimented by the voice of the elderly Jack Williamson himself in the afterward, as he talks about the early days of Science Fiction and these particular stories. Now that he has passed, there is melancholy attached to his thoughts and rumination on those early days of wonder.

Complain some may about the great movement within his stories which made them so entertaining — I’m trying not to bang my head on the desk, and shake my fist at your two-star review as I write this — and whine about the entertaining pulpiness and the romance — okay, it’s too late, I think I just hurt my head on the desk — but you’ll never change Williamson’s contributions to Science Fiction. It’s too late to change the high opinion Sir Arthur C. Clarke or Asimov had of Williamson, and for anyone living who reads Williamson and embraces his genius, his vision, his incredibly entertaining way of telling a story, your words of derision will fall on deaf ears, as we look at you sadly; your lack of appreciation for Williamson means you have none of the child left in you, and none of the wonder…

The longest story in this collection, Legion of Time, is justly famous, and I will refer you to the reviews under that title by others. There are some brief but telling comments from readers who enjoyed it, and at least one comprehensive review of this classic. I’ll instead cherry-pick, and attempt to give you an idea of how awesome this collection is. So, on to an overview of the content, the stories!

THE BLUE SPOT was first published in Astounding Stories of Jan-Feb 1937. Absorbing and sometimes breathtaking, this one is pure Science Fiction at its absolute best. The narrative has great movement, the science is enthralling, the storytelling littered with beauty that would stop you in your tracks if it weren’t so fast flowing. Consider this little gem:

“Flitting out of the gardens, the two darted between colossal scarlet pillars, and through a pointed ebon arch into a long, colossal hall of darkness. Silently, upon swift wings of apprehension, they flashed through that tremendous dark corridor, and upward through a maze of gem-glittering passages and of lofty empty spaces, cold with dead and austere splendor.”

Did I mention this is a Science Fiction PULP story from 1937?

The premise is that a nebula will pass through our solar system and absorb all the sun’s radiation, causing a new Ice Age. Ivec Andrel’s father has found a similar occurrence in the far reaches of space, but there is no way to reach it in time and return to save all life by technological means. There is a way, but in order for Ivec to succeed, he will have to die. This is only the beginning of a wondrous journey through space, another world and its dark history, a tremendous battle, and possibly the most beautiful cosmic romance in pulp history.

In the afterward, Jack Williamson confessed he didn’t remember this one, and was surprised, because it contained all the elements for a good Science Fiction story. Wow, is that an understatement. Because so much of Williamson’s work is not easily accessible, his reputation among the elite writers of Science Fiction as a legend is often not understood. Reading this story from 1937 should clear that right up for them. Brilliant.


DEATH’S COLD DAUGHTER was first published in the September, 1936 issue of Thrilling Mystery Magazine, and certainly lives up to the magazine’s name. Death’s Cold Daughter works both as a science fiction story and a mystery, being one of the finest pulp stories by Williamson that I’ve ever read.

This crackerjack tale begins when twenty-three year old newsman Dennison Trevor, eager to see the world beyond Philadelphia, is sent to New Mexico on assignment by his paper. He is sent there on the strength of a telegram from well known scientist Dr. Logan Ferrier. The Stratosphere Exploration Society, using rockets designed by pilot Jimmy Adcock, has made a thrilling discovery. But young Trevor and those invested in the society are perplexed when Jimmy touches down in the New Mexico Mesa, telling of a cold world above the Earth which is solid, and less than friendly. He claims to have proof in the form of a beautiful, snow-white goddess of a girl he has brought back, risking his life to rescue her from the cold green things in the temple above the Earth.

To say more might ruin what follows, which is wonderfully atmospheric and exciting. Williamson’s trademark movement within the narrative is on grand display, his storytelling masterful. The atmosphere he creates as Jimmy tells his story, trying to warm his chilled body by the fire, and during the ensuing search for the ice girl who uses crystal songs to lure men into the hands of a cold death, is marvelous. You’re so swept away in the fabulous pulp story that you barely notice — nor are you disappointed — when a much more earthly explanation for events presents itself to our hero. And of course, as there is so often in any Jack Williamson pulp story, a romance looms on the horizon for the hero by the time it wraps up. In a Williamson story, we can count on the hero getting the girl. Splendid!


SPIDER ISLAND was first published in the April 7, 1937 edition of Thrilling Mystery Magazine. Once again, this is a terrific read, exciting and well-written. Reading this one is very much like watching one of those old great horror films from the 1950s, like THEM, but rather than the lonely New Mexico desert it takes place on the mysterious island in the Caribbean named Fuego. A film crew and its actors have been stranded there when their schooner, Cathay sprung a leak and ran ashore. Charlie Scoville from Hollywood seeks out Weldon Grail, who has just returned from the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. The reason he thinks adventurer Grail will fly him there to bring out the crew is star Crystal Verily. Scoville knows she and Weldon grew up together, and if that isn’t enough enticement for Weldon, there is a desperate telegram from the crew in regard to some great danger.

Well, we know Weldon’s going, but it’s what happens when he arrives that makes this so much fun to read. An odd assortment remain, including the suave-looking but perhaps disreputable Lorin, the man Crystal is set to marry, and Hugo Letz, an actor who resembles a gorilla and stars in all of Lorin’s hideous horror film offerings. But where has the film crew gone? Their host, Dr. Hacklyn is none to accommodating, spending most of his time in his lab. But it’s what lurks in the jungle surrounding them that is the worry, because it appears that spiders the size of men have been carrying off the crew for food.

Williamson creates marvelous atmosphere in this swift-moving tale which we almost forget is a pulp story from 1937 as we get lost in the thrilling adventure. Only near the end do we remember this is pulp, but it’s fantastic pulp. As was Williamson’s hallmark, there’s a romance brewing and it has its moment at the very end to this satisfying story. I would place this among Williamson’s best work in the pulp magazines — which is saying a lot. I can’t say this is better than Death’s Cold Daughter from seven months earlier, but it’s definitely on that high level. Just an awesome story from the legendary — and under-appreciated — Jack Williamson. * On a side note, this is where Williamson talks about genetic engineering, though he uses a term other than engineering. Most still give him credit for it, since that is exactly what he was taking about, long before it became a reality.

THE DEVIL IN STEEL was first published in Thrilling Mystery Magazine in July, 1937. In a lonely lab on McTee Island, Dr. Runyon Daker has created an Electrical Man he’s named Roxar, who can think and reason. Jimmy Beckland is there to witness the event, along with Melanie Doyle and Andrew Delcrain. It’s a fantastic development which could change the world, but when something goes wrong, and those trying to correct the problem don’t return, a less scientific explanation emerges. And of course, there’s a romance. This one shows its pulp origins a bit more, but is still a fun read in that context.

THE ICE ENTITY first appeared in the February 1937 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories, and it’s terrific! Mason Blake is working on a disruptor which will allow a controlled disintegration of Gold’s atoms. He is motivated by his father’s suicide, seeking to clear his name, and return to his love, Jane Maddon. But his efforts come too late for his friend Jean Adare, who seeks to escape the terrible, strange green fingers emanating from a violet sky which no longer lets in daylight. When Jane finds him in this lonely and darkened area, they realize the green fingers can enter people. Who will it enter next? Will daylight return, and will they be rescued? To say more would ruin the fun, but this one is awesome, and has a particularly romantic ending — even for a Jack Williamson story. Great stuff!

THE INFINITE ENEMY first appeared in the April, 1937 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories, and certainly lives up to the magazine’s title. This one is pure Science Fiction, and indeed is filled with wonder. It is both thrilling and romantic, and one of the finest pulp stories of Science Fiction I’ve ever read.

Reporter Kerry Lundon is sent by his editor to find out what is going on at the thousand-acre Kallent Memorial Foundation in New Jersey. Some years earlier, in 1948 (the story is written in 1937, so it is also a near-term future story), an atomic explosion killed Dr. Cedric Kallent and his lovely daughter Venice, and the grounds have been shrouded in mystery ever since. But when Kerry arrives to interview Dr. Winship, he is nearly killed, then finds himself aboard the Phantom Queen with Kinship, bound for an inverse universe. It seems Dr. Winship was in love with Venice, and has finally found a way to traverse the barrier between universes. What they discover, and the ensuing descriptions of it, the excitement and danger once they arrive, including some deletion, make for a romantic escapade and some of this most thrilling pulp Science Fiction you’ll ever read. Williamson is masterful and building a strange world with its own conflicts, never forgetting that the narrative must also have movement, and be fun for the reader. Yes, it’s pulp, and yes, it dates back to 1937, but the writing is sublime, the use of atomic energy interesting, the world Williamson creates unique and not at all expected. And in the end, the reader gets everything they’d hoped for. Williamson penned greater, more important works, but you’ll likely never read a more enjoyable pulp story from the Science Fiction magazines. It is stories such as this one, in addition to Williamson’s seminal works, like The Humanoids, which prompted Sir Arthur C. Clarke to place Jack Williamson on a level with Asimov and Heinlein. Just a fun, fantastic read!

THE MARK OF THE MONSTER was accepted by Weird Tales of May, 1937 after being rejected by the magazine Jack Williamson first intended it to be published. Coupled with the lukewarm response it received from readers at the time, Williamson has regrets about this one. He shouldn’t. Reading the story before discovering his comments in the afterward, I can tell you this is an amazingly atmospheric story bordering on horror. Yes, there’s a lot of talk of horror when in the end, to tailor the story for the pulp magazine he wrote for, there proves to be a more earthly and less horrific explanation than expected, but that’s nitpicking. This is a fabulous read, with incredible atmosphere, written and described as only someone of Williamson’s caliber could manage, and there is excellent movement in the story. It is, in fact, engrossing, a real page turner.

Williamson sucks the reader in immediately with his foreboding descriptions of Creston, a tomb of a town where the presence of evil seems to lurk. Clay Coe is returning to Creston after becoming wealthy in order to fetch Valyne Kirk, the love of his life. He wants to take her away from Creston, so they can forge a life together away from the town and the shadow it casts over their lives. But there is a Circle of Stones, and Clay’s blind anger when aroused, hinting that something is right. There is also a letter he’s received with a grave warning that he should never return for Valyne, because he would only harm her.

Once he arrives, he meets with hostility, and fear that he’s returned. What is he, and why is everyone afraid of him? Once he discovers the truth, will it change his mind? Even once the reader is told why Clay is feared, Williamson is holding an ace up his sleeve he doesn’t show until things look darkest. Leaning much more toward horror than Science Fiction, the twist at the end only makes for a romantic ending rather than a tragic one — this is a pulp story, after all. I suspect that The Mark of the Monster wasn’t that well received because it’s a bit different. It’s also enthralling, and incredibly entertaining horror pulp story with a twist. I loved it!

I’d love to own every volume in this collection, but they’re out of print and pricey. I recently picked this as the one I had to have because it not only covered the mid-to-late 1930s period when Williamson really began hitting his stride, but also was a bit more accessible — i/e. Amazon still had — and as of this moment still has — a few copies at a hefty but not unreasonable price. Any one of the stories above would have made the purchase worth it for me.

If I have a caveat to anything here, it is a minor one. Were it not for the acknowledgements, in which it is stated that other than typographical corrections, these stories were taken directly from the source material as they appeared, I wouldn’t even comment. But in just about every story, there were a few minor issues which showed an inattention to detail. In Spider Island, for example, a few periods were missing at an obvious end to the sentence. “One” would become “on” in another story. It wasn’t constant, nor was it distracting, but I don’t recall any of the stories being entirely without one minor typo or two. It sort of led me to believe that it wasn’t in the original source at all, but might have occurred when someone retyped from that source, and then missed it in the check. As I stated, it was minor, and never distracting. I only mention it because this is a tribute to Jack Williamson, not a single short story or novel, but an overall view in volume of the man’s legacy. He deserved for someone to be a bit more meticulous.

Overall, if you have even a passing interest in the early days of Science Fiction, you have to own this. If you love that sense of wonder from the early days of Science Fiction, when nothing had been written yet, when everything was possible, then you’ll love this, and you’ll fall in love with Jack Williamson. He too, had that sense of wonder, and he never lost it. A fitting tribute to a great writer, and a giant in Science Fiction. ( )