EDITOR'S NOTE: -- This article is the first of a series in which Larry Farsaci will review some great science-fiction story of the past each month. The story to be reviewed next month will be The Mightiest Machine by John W. Campbell, Jr., and in future issues many other great stories of the past will be summarized and discussed. Also, future articles in this series will be longer than this first one. Some of those which will be reviewed in the near future will be Brood of Helios; The Stone from the Green Star, The Human Termites, and The Metal Doom.)
This story of future war is one of the best ever written as far as its purpose and the achieving of its purpose with the reader is concerned: "to show so completely the suicide of another war that nations will simply refuse to fight."
Men had made great strides in scientific development and life in his now far-flung cities has become a pleasure. The world has apparently entered its rosy future when for no reason at all, except --- "blind accident and the blundering, crooked ways of the men who have been entrusted with the fate of countries and who have built up a preposterous 'balance of power' only to have an excuse for their guns and soldiers" --- war comes. Remorselessly it advances, backed by the creations of man's war - perverted science, and slowly destroys civilization. The whole world totters into chaos as man comes near to annihilating himself completely.
The war ends at last, inevitably, for the dead cannot fight; and all that remain are a few groups of people, here and there, who have miraculously escaped death, trying to preserve the remnants of civilization. There are no cities. Countries do not exist. Only the few people who group together and build for themselves almost primitive dwellings, trying to "uphold the peace and ethic principles that were the true greatness of mankind before the war."
In this department we intend to preview the material for coming issues --- and what a line-up of features and articles we have for you in our second issue! Of course, there will be the second and concluding part of Amelia Reynolds Long's extremely interested serial, The Dimension Drug. And besides this we will also have, in the line of fiction, a yarn by James V. Taurasi, The Flight That Failed, and a fantastic short-short by Bob Tucker, The Dead Sleep in Secrecy. And if there's any particular kind of fiction that you would especially like to see, let us know, won't you? We'll do our best to get it for you.
Just what we'll have in the way of articles hasn't been definitely decided as yet. However, Sam Moskowitz has promised us something, which may be one of his famous articles --- at least we hope so, and of course there will also be the second in the Looking Backward series by Larry Farsaci, much longer next time. Other possibilities for next issue include The Death Knell of Heroes by James Avery; something by Robert A. Madle; which is at yet only promised; and Dale Hart has also promised to contribute to our second issue (that can be taken as a hint, Dale). Besides these there will of course be the regular editorial, fan mag review, and, if space and time permit, reviews of the professional mags, and forecasts and news about them.
Data entry by Judy Bemis
Updated June 23, 2015. If you have a comment about these web pages please send a note to the Fanac Webmaster. Thank you.