If you missed the last one…
This post is brought to you by Ships of Steel edited by G. W. Thomas. This anthology of Space Opera and SF Adventure tales features four novellas, each with its own illustration by M. D. Jackson. If you enjoy your Science Fiction with more action this is the book for you. Manhunts across a giant spaceship, a quest for stolen space pirate treasure with killer androids, a lost child that is the key to a mystery and a planet with a deadly secret that will cause a galactic war. These are stories that move but will also move you. Be sure to check Whispers of Ice and Sand by G. W. Thomas as well, featuring four stories about Sudana and Zaar.
Upon his return from fighting overseas, Kornbluth did not fall back into the old SF markets. From 1946 to 1949, he worked in the Detective Pulps exclusively until “The Only Thing We Learned” (Startling Stories, July 1949). On these detective stories, Cyril used his real name. After 1949, he dropped most of the Mystery fiction for a new set of tales for Galaxy which include most of his classics like “The Little Black Bag” and “The Marching Morons”. Also in 1950, he began collaborating with old friends again, using familiar pseudonyms for the bylines. The only other time he used a nom de plum was when he had two stories in the same issue.
1946
“Beer Bottle Polka (Black Mask, September 1946)
“A Ghoul and His Money” (Dime Detective Magazine, September 1946)
“The Brooklyn Eye” (Black Mask, November 1946)
“.45 Motives for Murder” (Ten Detective Aces, December 1946)
“The Mirrors of Hell” (Ten Detective Aces, December 1946) as by Kenneth Falconer
1947
“X Marks the A-Bomb” (10-Story Detective Magazine, January 1947) reprinted in Cavalcade (Australia), January 1955
“The M-Job” (The Phantom Detective, March 1947)
“Tomb to Let” (10-Story Detective Magazine, May 1947)
“The Kill Department” (Ten Detective Aces, June 1947)
“Crime on His Hands” (Ten Detective Aces, September 1947)
1948
“Goldbrick Solitaire” (Ten Detective Aces, January 1948)
“Blood on the Campus” (Detective Story Magazine, June 1948)
“The Yogi Says Yes” (Private Detective Stories, November 1948)
1949
“Homicidal Hypo-Man” (All-Story Detective June 1949)
“The Only Thing We Learned” (Startling Stories, July 1949)
1950
“The Little Black Bag” (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1950) Kornbluth finally sold a story to John W. Campbell. Unfortunately 1950 marked the beginning of a decline for Campbell. Galaxy was the new king of SF magazines.
“Iteration” (Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, September/October 1950) This one was published by old al, Robert A. W. Lowndes.
“The Silly Season” (Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fall 1950)
“The Mask of Demeter” (Los Cuentos Fantasicos, November 1950) with Donald A. Wollheim as Cecil Corwin and Martin Pearson reprinted in Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1953
“The Mindworm” (Worlds Beyond, December 1950) reprinted in Science Fantasy #16, 1955 This one was published by fellow Futurian, Damon Knight.
1951
“The Finger Job” (Famous Detective Stories, February 1951)
“Friend to Man” (10 Story Fantasy, Spring 1951) This was was edited by Kornbluth’s old friend, Donald A. Wollheim.
“The Marching Morons” (Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1951)
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
“Mars Child” (Galaxy Science Fiction, May June July 1951) with Judith Merrill reprinted in 1961 as Sin In Space (when Galaxy used sleaze to re-sell old serials). Kornbluth was smart enough to know that a novel with strong female characters needed a woman’s touch. The two would write together again for Gunner Cade (1952) and “Sea Change” (1953).
“With These Hands” (Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1951)
Conclusion
With Outpost Mars/”Mars Child”, Kornbluth becomes an SF novelist. 1952-1954 will see more novels, more with Judith Merrill, but most famously The Space Merchants with Frederik Pohl. CMK will write more short stories but less often, selling his novels as serials to magazines like Galaxy. The detective stories are done. (It amazes me that no one has ever collected Kornbluth’s detective tales, there being enough for a good volume.) Unlike Fredric Brown, Robert Bloch or Henry Slesar, Kornbluth was not a dual genre guy. Instead of producing both, he simply went back to SF. This Kornbluth might be called “The Interregnum Kornbluth” for in 1952 he would begin his finest work.
Next time 1952-1954
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