Fri 1 Jan 2021
Diary Review: IMAGINATION September 1954.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Magazines , Science Fiction & Fantasy[9] Comments
IMAGINATION. September 1954. Overall rating: One star.
GEOFF ST. REYNARD “Vengeance from the Past.†Short novel. Neanderthals try to take over space station. Nonsense. (0)
Update: Geoff St. Reynard was the pen name of Robert W. Krepps, about whom I know nothing. The story itself has never been collected or reprinted.
JEROME BIXBY “The Battle of the Bells.†In which an angel praises the rustic outhouse and the devil is flushed away. (1)
Update: Collected in Space by the Tale (Ballantine, paperback original, 1964) and in “One Way Street” and Other Stories (Armchair Fiction Masters of Science Fiction #2, trade paperback, 2011). I’ll let you comment on the basic concept of this one, if you’d care to.
DANIEL F. GALOUYE. “Immortality, Inc.†Novelette. Two immortals try to cheat a non-Stockholder of his life. (2)
Update: Never collected or reprinted. Galouye wrote perhaps a half dozen novels, but was better known for his short fiction. Of note, however, is his first novel, Dark Universe (1961), which was nominated for a Hugo.
ALLYN DONNELSON “Welcome to Paradise.†A repairmen exposes a secret military project by writing the President. (1)
Update: The author’s only published story.
RUSS WINTERBOTHAM “Three Spacemen Left to Die!†The last Earthmen sacrifice their lives to save another civilization. (3)
Update: Never collected or reprinted. Winterbotham’s writing career was broken in two parts. Part one between 1935 to 1943, then between 1952 and 1958, but even though I rated this story as the best of the issue, nothing he produced seems worthy of attention now.
Overall thoughts: A footnote to this page in my diary is telling: NO LONGER IN COLLECTION.
January 1st, 2021 at 1:07 pm
I knew that Robert W. Krepps’ name was familiar. Under his own name he wrote many movie adaptations as paperback originals in the 1950s and 60s. This Wikipedia entry is in German, but the book titles are in English:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Krepps
Included are TARAS BULBA, BOYS NIGHT OUT, SEND ME NO FLOWERS, and HOUR OF THE GUN.
January 1st, 2021 at 1:27 pm
Krepps is also pretty highly regarded for his African adventure novels by those who remember them. Admittedly, not many these days. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by him except maybe a few of his Geoff St. Reynard stories, and I don’t recall anything about them. He’s one of those authors I mean to read more by, just never seem to get around to it.
January 1st, 2021 at 2:27 pm
And just like that, an author I couldn’t place at all has become one I know well. (Well, a whole lot better.) Aren’t blogs wonderful! Thanks, James.
January 1st, 2021 at 7:07 pm
I’ve never read Daniel Galouye.
But the German made-for-TV version of “Simulacron 3” is very good.
It’s called “World on a Wire”, and was an early look at virtual reality.
Borrowed the DVD from a local public library.
January 1st, 2021 at 7:51 pm
Imagination and Imaginative Tales were two of the worst SF magazines during the SF boom of the 1950’s. Even as a 13 year old I ranked them last far behind such excellent magazines as Galaxy, F&SF, Astounding, and even IF and Infinity.
I liked some of the sexy covers by Macauley however.
January 1st, 2021 at 8:16 pm
I don’t remember any of the stories in this issue, but after reading my notes about them, I kind of have to admire my younger self for reading every single one of them.
I also wonder if this was a “one and done” for the magazine on my part.
January 1st, 2021 at 9:57 pm
Krepps, aside from being one of the best of those who did novelizations wrote one of the great African adventure novels of his time, THE COURTS OF THE LION.
He was a rarity whose novlizations were sometimes better than the film, like the 1966 version of STAGECOACH.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:00 pm
IMAGINATION started as one of the more unusual digests with it’s early covers almost all promoting comedic sexy fantasy stories rather than SF themes or action.
January 2nd, 2021 at 11:08 am
Love these short story rundowns. I still remember opening a mystery or SF digest in my early teens and getting drawn into a world of mystery and adventure… of highly uneven quality.