12:00am March 3rd, 2009... Planetary Style Tuesday, March 3, 2009I'm going to talk a little bit...

Planetary Style

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

I'm going to talk a little bit about writing style today—not only because it's something that all of us should think about when reading in general, but in particular since it's something I think we should mull over when reading classics from the Planet Stories library. Writing styles change over time, some of them seemingly eternal, others appearing one moment only to flitter into oblivion in the next as the winds of fashion shift. A thousand cultural variables account for such changes, and its my view that no single stylistic element is by itself better or worse than another. It all depends on how that element adds to the story being told.

I have a graduate background in writing fiction, but I was lucky enough to be in one of the few programs out there that didn't turn up its nose at genre. And while I was in school, we talked a lot about what it took to make a classic. Why was one book considered a classic, and another not? The best answer I heard was Time. Because Dickens and Twain certainly weren't thinking of writing literary masterpieces, at least no more than any author takes pride in the crafting of words. No, they wrote for a popular audience, their works by-and-large considered entertainment fiction by their contemporaries.

Now the classic science fiction and fantasy adventures we gleefully resurrect at Planet Stories aren't written in today's styles. But there's a life in them, a sheer exuberance of derring-do, that I often find missing in contemporary fiction. Not that there isn't amazing stuff being written today—there will be as many classics written this year as there were in 1939. But I think as we go through these turbulent times of ours, we can benefit from the experience of another time of troubles, a time when rocket ships roared out of spaceports of the imagination, or when a rapier, quick wit, and a smile might win freedom for an entire planet. So try out some Brackett, some Kline, or some Moore and join us on our adventure. After all, adventure is part of the human spirit—it never goes out of style.

Christopher Carey
Planet Stories Editor

12:00am February 17th, 2009... The Road to the Pulps Tuesday, January 17, 2009The paths to our most...

The Road to the Pulps

Tuesday, January 17, 2009

The paths to our most cherished obsessions take on many varied forms. For me, one such passion is reading science fiction and fantasy from an older, often more spirit-soaring, freewheeling era. My Yellow Brick Road to the type of pulps we publish at Planet Stories began at an early age with an uncle bequeathing to me a longstanding love of Edgar Rice Burroughs's works. Probably the foundation for my fascination with the pulps was laid much earlier, reading H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, although at the time I didn't really realize their novels were serialized in magazines like Burroughs's. And even after I'd read a healthy dose of Burroughs, it wasn't until I found Irwin Porges's mammoth biography, Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan, that I first saw reproductions of those splendid All-Story Weekly, Blue Book, Argosy, Amazing Stories, and Fantastic Adventures covers and made the connection between ERB and the pulps.

Then, of course, there was Philip José Farmer. Farmer was for me, as for thousands of SF/F readers growing up in the 1970s and '80s, the mega-gateway to the pulps. And like many, I stumbled across his writings through Burroughs, picking up Farmer's post-modern metafictional masterpiece Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke, and later his "biography" of the 1930s scientific genius and crime-fighter Doc Savage. In these books Farmer proposed his intricate Wold Newton faux genealogy, linking together into one giant family an array of pulp era heroes and villains ranging from Allan Quatermain to Solomon Kane, Captain Nemo to Fu Manchu, and everything in between—and in many cases beyond. A virtual reading list of the "hero pulps," for which I will forever be grateful to Farmer for having amalgamated. If I would have been told back then that one day I would meet the man and edit three collections of his fiction, I would have lit up with such joy that my glowing manifestations would probably have been visible on far-off Poloda (for the as-yet ERB-uninitiated, I refer to a planet in the strangely shaped solar system from Burroughs's Beyond the Farthest Star).

I radiate a similar joy working with Erik and Pierce and James bringing back into print fantastic lost classics of the pulp era for Planet Stories. I think I speak for all of us when I say the task is more than a job, more even than a privilege, although it is unquestionably the latter. Planet Stories is about tradition, about carrying on the flame of the spirit of adventure and excitement and wonder of the type of science fiction that first soared free in the pulps.

But enough said about my road to the pulps. I encourage you to stop by the Planet Stories messageboards and let us know of your own unique journeys to the world of science fiction and fantasy literature. Like the out-of-this-world genre they lead to, they are always tales of wonder.

Christopher Carey
Planet Stories Editor

12:00am February 10th, 2009... Illustration by Brandon Kitkouski ... That's Racist! Tuesday,...

Illustration by Brandon Kitkouski

That's Racist!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

At Planet Stories, we're all about recovering cherished pieces of SF's past; treasures that have fallen between the cracks and been forgotten by modern readers, despite their merit and importance to the genre. But one of the problems with history is that it happened in the past... and the past is rarely clean. In order to unearth the gems, you have to dig up some serious dirt. So let's get messy.

Let's talk about racism.

One of the issues we've run up against time and again with Planet Stories, especially with stories from back in the 1930s, is the use of racist language and ideas. Even beyond the standard prejudicial themes and cliches of the day—the fact that the "advanced" races were always white, and all the dark-skinned characters were described by their bright white teeth (seriously, try finding one where that isn't mentioned)—pulp writers were fascinated by the issue of race. Remember, this is decades before the Civil Rights Movement, a time when the oldest readers might still remember legalized slavery.

Otis Adelbert Kline was no different. Both of his novels published by Planet Stories, The Swordsman of Mars and the newly available Outlaws of Mars, deal extensively with the issue of race, and for Outlaws, the entire plot depends on it: a planetary race riot between the white-skinned rulers, their dark servitors, and the menacing yellow men from another world. The patois of Dr. Morgan's faithful African-American servant, Plato, is also likely to make the unsuspecting modern reader cringe—for in this blatant (if sympathetic) caricature, Kline paints a picture of a past most Americans would like to forget.

Yet, as Joe Lansdale points out in his introduction, you can't hold these stories to modern standards of political correctness—and in fact to do so would be a disservice to the author. In his words:

Kline's work is of its time. Non-white races suffer under his hand, though Plato, the black servant of Dr. Morgan, is treated kindly enough, if in an unintentionally condescending way. Still, Kline, like Burroughs, would have probably been considered liberal in their times. They could at least appreciate the fact that someone of a different color could be brave and loyal and worthy of the mantle of humanity. Even Jack London had problems with that, and no doubt he is a more celebrated author.

"Worthy of the mantle of humanity." A phrase so obvious to most of us today that it seems offensive, yet Joe is absolutely right. At the time, belief in racial equality was a bold position in the States.

Which is why at Planet Stories, we feel that it's important to give you the whole manuscripts, unabridged and unabashed. In the past, publishers uncomfortable with content sometimes cut drastically from older books (especially Kline) in order to sanitize for their new era. We say: let the works stand on their own and speak for themselves. H. P. Lovecraft used the N-word. Robert E. Howard had some (today) scandalously negative portrayals of non-white races. Yet this is history, and to redact history is to lose a vital part of how we got to where we are.

In 2009, with the United States' first black president in office, I can read these books and separate the prejudices of the time from the stories themselves, and I have faith that Planet Stories readers will do the same. If anything, I think these books are all the more significant for their transgressions—a glimpse, not just of science fiction's history, but America's past as a whole.

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor

12:00am February 3rd, 2009... Illustration by Brandon Kitkouski ... Lansdale on Kline ... Tuesday,...

Illustration by Brandon Kitkouski

Lansdale on Kline

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

One of the greatest strengths of the Planet Stories book line is that, in addition to republishing SF classics by some brilliant and historically significant authors, we have the chance to get other amazing authors to introduce them. People like F. Paul Wilson, George Lucas, C. J. Cherryh, Ben Bova, Samuel R. Delany—it never fails to blow my mind every time I see their names in my email inbox. Through their introductions, these authors get to contextualize the forgotten literary heroes that influenced them most and help usher their teachers back into print, the better to educate the next generation of science fiction and fantasy authors.

Which, really, makes me wonder why I'm saying anything at all about these books, when I could get out of the way and let them do it for me. So without further ado, here's an excerpt from Bubba Ho-Tep creator Joe R. Lansdale on why Otis Adelbert Kline's The Outlaws of Mars deserves to be in your shopping cart as we speak:

The Outlaws of Mars was written in the thirties and appeared in Argosy Weekly. It is very much in the Burroughs interplanetary format. A young American, Jerry Morgan, already skilled in the ways of combat due to his time in the army, goes to the home of his uncle, Dr. Morgan, and is after a little too much explanation about telepathy and machinery, transported, via machine, to Mars. The reason for Jerry's departure is embarrassment of a sort, having to do with a woman. Though the event is never fully explained, it appears Jerry has allowed a lie about himself to exist to keep from compromising the aforementioned young lady. So, our noble, romantic, and very Victorian hero flees our world for one of adventure on Mars. Upon his arrival, there is enough action for three novels: some court intrigue, treachery, weird inhabitants, sword fighting, and one hot mama named Junia.

Frankly, the plot is of little consequence, and is not dissimilar from those of the Burroughs novels, or of any sword and planet adventure written by Kline himself. Movement is the name of the game, and Kline provides that in the proverbial spades. There is hardly a moment to breathe, and the only time the novel bogs down is when Kline tries to justify his plot with too much explanation. When Kline is moving the story forward, bringing on the action, keeping us tightly wrapped up in his warm and bloody dream, we are with him all the way. It is only when he pauses to explain that the cocoon we were so tightly wrapped in breaks open and we fall out.

These moments are few, and Kline is more than willing to rewrap us, and we are more than willing to let him. There is plenty of color and beauty and a sweeping approach to story that reminds me of the cinema. In fact, with the popularity of such films as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, I would have thought by now, considering special effects have improved to the point of being almost as incredible as our most astounding dreams, that Burroughs and possibly Kline's characters would have been updated and filmed. Certainly, it's this color and sweep and majesty of background that make these stories so damned appealing; they are like movies in the head.

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor

9:57am January 27th, 2009... O.A.K. for the win! Tuesday, January 27, 2009It's teaser time! Otis...

O.A.K. for the win!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

It's teaser time! Otis Adelbert Kline, the man who brought you so much sword-swinging, dalf-fighting, empire-overthrowing Martian action in The Swordsman of Mars, is back again with all that and more in The Outlaws of Mars! Scroll down to take a peek at the action that's in store:

She screamed and shrank back from him, evidently rooted to the spot with terror.

Scarcely had he regained his balance, when Jerry's attention was attracted by a new sound—a terrific roar which came from a huge beast that was bounding toward them along the path. With a yawning, tooth-filled mouth as large as that of an alligator, a furry black body fully as big as that of a lion, short legs, and a hairless, leathery tail, paddle-shaped and edged with sharp spines, the oncoming monster certainly looked formidable.

Jerry thought and acted swiftly. He realized that to attempt to stop such a creature with one shot would be futile. If his first bullet should not be instantly fatal, it would be upon them, a wounded and enraged instrument of death and destruction, before he could bring it down with a second. His first duty was to get the girl out of the path of the charging monster.

Gripping his rifle in his left hand, he bent and encircled her slender waist with his right arm. Then he leaped to one side, just in time to avoid those gaping jaws. But the spring he made surprised him fully as much as it did the baffled beast, for it carried him clear over the hedge, and into a carefully tended bed of tiny flowering plants upon the other side.

For the first time since he had landed on Mars, he realized the tremendous advantage of his Earth-trained muscles. Nor was he slow to make use of it. The short-legged beast, unable to leap over the hedge, was crashing through it. So he turned, and still carrying the girl beneath his arm, bounded away with the tremendous leaps which it would have been difficult for a terrestrial kangaroo to equal in its native habitat.

The slender form of the girl was feather-light, and impeded him scarcely at all. On Earth she would have weighed about ninety pounds; on Mars she weighed but thirty-four.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw that although he had a good start on the beast, it was following him with a speed that was amazing in a creature with such short legs. Instinctively, he had started toward the wall. Soon the stairway loomed before him, and he bounded up it, five steps at a time. As soon as he reached the top of the wall he put the girl down and turned to face their pursuer, which had meantime reached the steps.

Snapping his gun to his shoulder, he took careful aim between the blazing green eyes, and fired...

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor

12:00am January 23rd, 2009... Planet Stories on StarWars.com Friday, January 23, 2009If you’ve...

Planet Stories on StarWars.com

Friday, January 23, 2009

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog, you already know how excited we were to have a legend like George Lucas pen an introduction to Leigh Brackett’s The Reavers of Skaith, the latest Eric John Stark adventure out from Planet Stories. So you might imagine how thrilled we were to see StarWars.com feature Reavers on both the front page and the Book Vault section of their Web site.

Check out the feature here.

The Reavers of Skaith is now in stock and shipping from our warehouse. If you haven’t had a chance yet to read George Lucas’s introduction, "From Stark to Star Wars, about how the worlds of Leigh Brackett influenced his own creations, order your copy now and dive into a strangely familiar world, in a galaxy far, far away...

Christopher Carey
Planet Stories Editor

12:00am January 20th, 2009Please Be Our Friend! Tuesday, January 20, 2009In our latest effort to...

Please Be Our Friend!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

In our latest effort to reach out across the vast distances of the intergalactic community and spread the word about Planet Stories' heart-pounding tales of interplanetary adventure and romance, we've set up both a Planet Stories Facebook fan page and Planet Stories MySpace. While we already have an active Planet Stories Messageboard (where we invite you to come on over and give us your feedback about the stories we're printing and what you'd like to see from us in the future), these are just two more ways to stay on top of what we're doing. It's tough out there, navigating the measureless abyss of space (uh... publishing), and as we continue to look for new ways to get the word out about Planet Stories, one thing has become certain—our most powerful ally is YOU, loyal reader! So if you're on Facebook or MySpace and the sound of "swordfights and exploding robots"—as Erik is fond of describing the Planet Stories line—gets your pulse racing, please add us as a fan or friend, or drop us a comment to let us know what you think or just to say, "Greetings, fellow adventurer!"

Let's explore the cosmos together!

Christopher Carey
Editor, Planet Stories

12:00am January 13th, 2009... Kline is Back! Tuesday, January 13, 2009One of Erik's first pulp...

Kline is Back!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

One of Erik's first pulp discoveries when he started researching books for Planet Stories was a man named Otis Adelbert Kline, a former giant of the sword-and-planet genre who is remembered today primarily as the literary agent for Conan-creator Robert E. Howard. From the very beginning, Kline symbolized everything Erik wanted in a Planet Stories book—sword-swinging adventure on other worlds with strange creatures, bizarre cultures, scantily-clad princesses, and two-fisted plot advancement on every page.

It took us over a year, but in the end we did it, and resurrected Otis Adelbert Kline's The Swordsman of Mars from the literary graveyard, bringing it back for modern audiences to enjoy. And they did—which is why we're now privileged to bring you its standalone sequel, The Outlaws of Mars.

It's all here—the swords, the action, the double-crosses and intrigue—but this time we've changed it up and tried a different cover style with veteran fantasy artist Brandon Kitkouski. While I'm a huge fan of Daryl Madryk's Swordsman cover, I have to tip my hat to Brandon for his take on the rampaging dalf.But I'm just one person. What do you think? What about a cover makes you pick it up, and which artists would you like to see more of from Planet Stories? Head on over to the Planet Stories messageboards and make your opinions heard!

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor