THE READERS' VIEWPOINT
once his writings have ceased. "The Weigher of Souls" lived up to Maurois' reputation. It was cleverly conceived and brilliantly written and, in my opinion, far outshone your lead novel.
As long as you can print stories by authors of Maurois' caliber, you can rest assured that F.F.M. will continue to lead the fantasy field.
Kent Shearer.
414 E. 2nd St.,
Russell, Kans.
LIKED CARTUR'S STORY
Just a few lines from a faithful follower. Of all the stf. and fant. mags on the market, and there are many, yours stands out among them as a king among beggars.
The lead novel for October was a superb piece of writing. I couldn't put the book down until I was through. I even missed two of my favorite programs on the radio!
The "Weigher of Souls" was a little too talky for me, although it wasn't bad reading.
The short "Nor Moon By Night" was the best short I think I have read. Usually I frown on fillers but this had what it takes. I did not care for the cover.
Well, I guess that's all for now, but you'll be hearing from me again soon. The stories I would like to see in prim are: "Maker of Shadows" by Jack Mann and anything by Rohmer as most of his work is hard to get.
So long for now,
Jan Romanoff.
26601 South Western,
Apt. 341,
Lomita, Calif.
COBLENTZ POEM PRAISED
Orchids to Stanton A. Coblentz for his wonderful poem featured in the April 1950 issue.
"After the Atom" is terrifying in all aspects. Gruesome isn't it?
A world blazing with unbearable heat through the day, and frigid with absolute zero at night.
I wondered, as I read, if this could really happen; then I read the daily papers. If we keep up the pace we are traveling it most definitely can happen.
Let's hope we will stop before it is too late, and use this tremendous, almost sacred power for beneficial reasons.
For the cure of sickness and for the betterment of future humanity.
J. Stamp.
28 Churchill Crescent,
Georgetown, Ontario,
Canada.
DUPLICATE MAGS AVAILABLE
I have a number of duplicate copies of F.F.M., including the first issue, and am interested in trading for copies of other magazines or will sell them at reasonable rates. I also have several hundred dupes of other science fiction and fantasy mags. Most of the dates are from 1939 to the present.
Gerry de la Ree.
277 Howland Ave.,
River Edge, N.J.
RARE BOOK OFFER
Congratulations on the care you are exercising in the selection of stories for F.F.M. As a British reader I am particularly proud to see that quite a percentage of the stories come from these shores. I like, too, the free and easy comradeship of the letter columns. Few editors allow their readers to advertise their spare books and magazines or let them argue their likes and dislikes as you do. My own criticisms are few. From a collector's point of view, however, one defect has been noticeable from the magazine's earliest days. Most folks have their favorite stories and, myself, like many another collector, 1 occasionally extract a story and bind it in a more permanent form. It is heartbreaking therefore to find sometimes that another favourite story starts immediately behind the last page of the extracted yarn. As, over here, F.F.M.s are at a premium, too often this means that the second story must be lost, as purchasing another F.F.M. is an impossibility. Some collectors might suggest binding the two stories together to save losing one. To the enthusiastic omnibus collector, putting another author in centre of the collected stories of (say) Kuttner, Merritt or Lovecraft would be sacrilege. My suggestion, therefore, is that in all of your magazines, the reverse of the final page of each story should have either "readers' letters" thereon, or something of minor importance such as a page of poetry, an advert, etc.
May I, in conclusion, mention that I have a large number of spare books for exchange or sale at reasonable prices, including quite a number of the stories you have printed in recent years (Haggard, S, Fowler Wright, E. F. Benson, Robt. W. Chambers, Jack Mann, etc.) and would welcome enquiries.
Fred C. Brown.
255 Burges Road,
East Ham,
London, E. 6,
England.
