Our 99th issue is another great one, with stellar contributions from some of the best in modern and classic mysteries, science fiction, and fantasy. 8 short stories and 2 novelets round on this issue--dig in! ​​​​ Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Plan,” by Chuck Brownman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Humbling Homecoming,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Hot Sugar Blues,” by Steve Liskow [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Swan Song,” by donalee Moulton [short story] “Finish the Job,” by Frank Kane [short story, Johnny Liddell series] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Door Into Envy,” by Adrian Cole [short story] “The Vampire Bat,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story] “The Marrying Monster,” by Claus Stamm [short story] “Survival of the Fittest,” by Gene L. Henderson [novelet] “Wind Between the Worlds,” by Lester del Rey [novelet]

This issue has one of the best original stories we’ve published: Janet Law’s brilliant “Wrong Door,” a tale very much in the classic Twilight Zone tradition. Don’t skip it! Though Janice is best known for her mystery stories, this one proves she can write masterfully in any genre. But great stories don’t stop there. Our Acquiring Editors, Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman, have both found original stories this time—from William Burton McCormick and Steve Janko. Plus I’m pleased to present another new mystery story from the late Henry T. Parry. Parry was very much a hobbyist writer for Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. His work started appearing there in the 1960s, and if the editor didn’t buy a story, he set it aside and moved on to another one. He didn’t send them to other markets, like any pro writer would have done. His daughter has entrusted his unpublished stories to me, and I am going through them and seeing which ones still work. (His last story appeared here in BCW #105.) I date “The Marina Case” to the early 1970s, and it’s a solid mystery that surely would have found a home had he submitted it to more than one editor. Our mystery novel this time is William Le Queux’s The Crystal Claw, a Golden Age page-turner. And, as always, we have a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. Turning back to the science fiction end of things, in addition to Janice Law’s tale, we have classics by Hannes Bok (miners on Venus!), William W. Stuart (a man wakes in a futuristic jail with no memory of how he got there!), and Charles L. Fontenay (envy leads to discovering an Earthman’s secrets!). Our SF novelet is an early space adventure from fantastist Manly Wade Wellman. Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Letter From a Lone Prospector to His Mother,” by William Burton McCormick [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Wild West Whodunit,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Confessions of an Invisible Hit Man,” by Steve Janko [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Grass Is Not Always Green,” by Henry T. Parry [short story] The Crystal Claw, by William Le Queux [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Wrong Door,” by Janice Law [short story] “One Touch of Terra,” by Hannes Bok [short story] “A Prison Make,” by William W. Stuart [short story] “Beauty Interrupted” by Charles L. Fontenay [short story] The Invading Asteroid, by Manly Wade Wellman [short novel]

This issue features three original stories—a pair of mysteries (by Mindy Quigley and Mark Thielman, thanks to Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman), plus John Gregory Betancourt's “Sympathy for Invisible Men,” part of a series of meditations on classic monsters he has been writing for about 30 years now. Plus—if you’ve been following the lamentations of science fiction magazines about AI submissions—you will find Norman Spinrad’s essay on the subject fascinating. And of course there is plenty of great reading from old masters like Robert E. Howard and Marie Beloc Lowndes and (relatively) newer writers like Robert Abernathy, Stephen Marlowe, and Louis Carbonneau. Of course, no issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles, too! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Meeting,” by Mark Thielman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Case of the Patriotic Pilferage,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Worth the Wait,” by Mindy Quigley [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Terriford Mystery, by Marie Belloc Lowndes [novel] Essay: “Save the SF Magazines from AI, Amazon, And SFWA?” by Norman Spinrad Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Sympathy for Invisible Men,” by John Gregory Betancourt [short story] “Righteous Plague,” by Robert Abernathy [novella] “Fugue,” by Stephen Marlowe [novella] “Skulls in the Stars,” by Robert E. Howard [short story] The Sentinel Stars, by Louis Charbonneau [novel]

If you like some of the series we’ve been publishing, you’re in for a treat this time. We have a new Smith Sisters story by Veronica Leigh, a Sexton Blake story by Hal Meredith, a Johnny Liddell novel by Frank Kane, and a Jules de Grandin story by Seabury Quinn. I don’t want to slight our non-series contents—it’s quite an all-star lineup, with tales such modern masters as Aeryn Rudell and Vinnie Hansen (courtesy of Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman), plus classics by Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett, Lester del Rey, and Gore Vidal. And, of course, a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles. Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “A Slice of Life,” by Veronica Leigh [short story, the Smith Sisters series] “Every Trick in the Book,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” by Vinnie Hansen [short story] “The Clue of the Ash,” by Hal Meredith [short story, Sexton Blake series] Green Light for Death, by Frank Kane [novel, Johnny Liddell series] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Time On My Hands,” by Aeryn Rudel [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Girl from Bodies, Inc.,” by Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett [short story] “Whom the Gods Love,” by Lester del Rey [short story] “Body and Soul,” by Seabury Quinn [short story, Jules de Grandin series] Messiah, by Gore Vidal [novel] COVER: Ron Miller

Our 90th issue is another great one—3 original short stories, 8 modern and classic short story reprints, a novella, and a pair of novels. That’s a lot of reading! Where to start with the highlights? On the mystery side, Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman is back from her hiatus with another mystery selection (“Bad Chemistry” by John G. Wimer), as is Michael Bracken (“The Garden” by Jeffrey James Higgins). And proving Hal Charles isn’t the only one who can write Solve-It-Yourself myseries for Black Cat Weekly, this time we have Bradley Harper’s take on a puzzle story, with “Silent Partner.” Plus classics by Harvey J. O’Higgins and Arthur Stringer. On the fantasy & science fiction side, we have an original by Phyllis Ann Karr, “Sir Mordred and the Green Knight,” which features a new take on the classic legend. Our serial of Darrell Schweitzer’s Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer, continues with Part 2 (of 4), featuring three more stories of the immortal boy-sorcerer and his quest to keep his humanity. Plus classic science fiction by Murray Leinster and Louis Charbonneau. Here’s this issue’s complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Garden,” by Jeffrey James Higgins [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Silent Partner,” by Bradley Harper [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Bad Chemistry,” by John G. Wimer [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Stop Thief,” by Harvey J. O’Higgins [short story] The Shadow, by Arthur Stringer [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Sir Mordred and the Green Knight,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] “Be Young Again,” by Murray Leinster [novella] Sekenre: The Book of the Sorcerer (part 2), by Darrell Schweitzer [3 short stories] Corpus Earthling, by Louis Charbonneau [novel]

This issue, we have an original mystery by dbschlosser (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), a recent tale by Bruce Robert Coffin (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), and a slightly older tale by James Holding. Our mystery novel is As a Thief in the Night, by R. Austin Freeman—part of his Dr. Thorndyke series. And, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. On the science fiction side, we have an original story by Larry Tritten, plus classics by Walt Sheldon, Winston K. Marks, and Richard Banks. Our science fiction novel is The Sane Men of Satan, by Sam Merwin—renamed, I suspect, by a very pulp-fiction oriented editor. (I can’t see any rational science fiction author giving his time-travel book that title!) You may notice a similarity between the titles of James Holding’s and Winston K. Marks’s stories. I assure you, the similarities end at the title. I thought it would be fun to pair them in the same issue, though. Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Destroyer of Worlds,” by dbschlosser [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Unlocked Room Mystery,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Fool Proof,” by Bruce Robert Coffin [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Go to Sleep, Darling,” by James Holding [short story] As a Thief in the Night, by R. Austin Freeman [novel, Dr. Thorndyke series] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Down the Rabbit Hole,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “The Shrine,” by Walt Sheldon [short story] “Go to Sleep, My Darling,” by Winston K. Marks [short story] “The Last Class,” by Richard Banks [short story] The Sane Men of Satan, by Sam Merwin [short novel]