Sun 2 Feb 2025
SF Diary Review: WORLDS OF FANTASY #1, 1968.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Magazines , Science Fiction & Fantasy[6] Comments
WORLDS OF FANTASY #1, 1968. Editor: Lester del Rey, Cover art by Jack Gaughan. Overall rating: ***½.
JOHN JAKES “Mirror of Wizardry.” Brak the Barbarian. Novelette. Brak the Barbarian is of course based on Conan, but that doesn’t make his adventures any less enjoyable. This time Brak’s escape through the mountains is hindered by a wizard hunting the girl he has befriended. (4)
BILL WARREN “Death in a Lonely Place.” A vampire who preys on prostitutes shows that he has a heart. (4)
ROBERT SILVERBERG “As Is.” Novelette. A computer salesman buys a car with a mysteriously sealed trunk. Easy to read, but not believable, with a miserable ending. (3)
MACK REYNOLDS “What the Vintners Buy.” Trust Reynolds to put a lecture on hallucinations into a fantasy. (2)
LIN CARTER & L. SPRAGUE de CAMP “Conan and the Cenotaph.” Novelette. According to [Webster], a cenotaph is a monument for someone whose body is buried elsewhere. The one Conan is lured to is magnetic, and the home of a slime-monster. (4)
PARIS FLAMMONDE “After Armageddon.” Suppose the last man in the world had happened to have found the Fountain of Youth. (3)
ROBERT HOSKINS “The Man Who Liked.” Before the bombs fell, Death was a happy person. (1)
ROBERT E. HOWARD “Delenda Est…” Hannibal’s ghost comes to life to help a barbarian’s attack on Rome. Obsessed with historical background. (2)
ROBERT LORY “However.” Novelette. Hamper the However’s trip from Balik to Overnon by way of [grath (?)] is hampered by his lack of magical powers, However, if people believe that one has these powers, what difference can it make? (3)