Author: jmstine

World Fantasy Award Winner's Pulp Masterpiece of Earth Versus the Martians at West Point!

The dirty Marties were infiltrating Earth and had penetrated its military defenses and secrets. Yes, it was a sorry day indeed for Earth when she admitted Martian Cadets to West Point for training.

And only two cadets stood between Earth and the deadly peril of alien conquest, Garr Devlin, the son of a criminal, and Nola Rakkam, scion of an aristocratic family that had served with distinction in the planet’s military for generations. Garr Devlin was a denizen of the Underways, New York’s underground slums for the lower caste workers who never saw the sun and labored from night to day tending the great machines that supplied the metropolis’ light and water. His appointment to West Point violated both tradition and social convention. But to the Cadets from Mars, his entrance into West Point was the signal for war on Earth.

They began by inciting the workers of the Underways to revolt. But what would be the outcome of the great Martian-inspired revolution? Would the woman Garth loves kill him, believing him a traitor? Would she herself be shot in turn? If the Martian conspirator Bexlann played his cards right, could he not aspire to personal overlordship of all Earth, as a reward for a job well done?

As the editors wrote at the time of its original publication in Amazing Stories for Oct. 1940, "Trapped in the Underways as Martian revolt flames, could Garr Devlin discover the real meaning of West Point honor and of a thousand years of tradition before it was too late for the Earth and the entire solar system? This dramatic story of espionage and counter-espionage, with the destiny of the Earth itself at stake, will attain a climax so exciting and so surprising that West Point, 3000 A.D. will undoubtedly go down in the annals of science fiction as one of the greatest stories ever written."

HE DECLARED A ONE-MAN WAR AGAINST THE SUPERNATURAL!

"Chilling!" —Cedar Rapids Gazette

"Spooky!" —Muncie Evening Press

Thrill to the adventures of John Thunstone, straight from the pages of the world's greatest horror magazine—the legendary Weird Tales.

You've never meant a ghost hunter or demon slayer like John Thunstone. Defying the naysayers' vision of a pale, basement-dwelling hobbyist, Thunstone is tall, broad shouldered, athletic, and handsome. He likes to spend his evenings in nightclubs, holding court and charming women. But does he lack focus? No! Thunstone is also a serious scholar, deeply studied in the occult and dark arts, and carries a blade of silver inscribed with the motto, "Sic pereant omnes inimici tui" ("thus perish all your enemies"), forged by Saint Dunstan, patron saint of silversmiths, and one of the few men the Devil himself feared. Thunstone's battles with the darkest forces haunting our world are the greatest creation of Edgar-, World Fantasy-, and British Fantasy Award-winner Manly Wade Wellman (also the only dark fantasy author nominated for the Pulitzer Prize).

You'll accompany our imposing hero on four of his most chilling adventures in this, the first volume of this series, reprinting all 15 of his original, classic adventures from the pages of the 1940s Weird Tales. In "The Third Cry to Legba," a voodoo chant sung in a New York nightclub opens the way for dark gods that even Thunstone knows not how to stop—until he reads a book by the great Guggenheim fellow and anthropologist, Zora Neale Hurston. "The Golden Goblins" seek revenge when a racist professor desecrates a sacred relic; and the only man who can prevent it is Thunstone's friend, a university honors recipient and Phi Beta Kappa member John Long Spear. In "Hoofs" Thunstone encounters Rowley Thorne, a black magician and lord of evil, and fights to save the Countess Monteseco from a fiendish plot to switch one soul into the body of another and win a fortune. Finally, in the title story, Rowley Thorn unearths the most powerful tome in the history of the black arts and directs it fury on Thunstone himself, as the two men match wits in sorcerous fight to a fiery finish.

"A journey to realms beyond understanding…" —Express (Vernal, Utah)

The Recently Discovered Climactic Star Man Novel & the Author's Correspondence about the Writing of the Starman Series!

The long revolution of twenty years has come to a crisis point at the Summit Meeting, and the final cards are on the table, but Viceroy Cardwell is also playing a card under the table as his secret agent on Thulone prepares to strike a blow at the Alphid. In this connection, Danny Duncan has located his long lost woman, Angela, only to run into a deadly crisis of their own—which will also provide a yea or a nay to Germaine's success at the conference. With the enemy holding the upper hand, and the arrival of the mighty Imperial Fleet imminent, at the last moment Edward Jayne has brought a "silver bullet" to destroy the Empire.

In Part Two of the Second Empire episode, crisis is stacked upon crisis as the Summit Meeting breaks down and the entire Alpha front threatens to explode in total conflict. In the midst of it, Jayne delivers a message to Germaine that almost causes the battle to be lost. With the sudden advent of the great Imperial Fleet, the Emperor becomes a "Dark Star" that he's not equipped to handle, causing a short historical clash between Magnus I and Karmax, himself.

Plus The Star Man Papers. The story of the series in the author's own words, and some of his notes on the Star Man universe itself. Ships. Planets. Anti-matter worlds. Languages. And more!

A Woman At Once Blessed And Cursed With The Power Of Second Sight Follows Her Visions And Becomes The First Human To Cross The Perilous Bridge Of Ice To A New World Of Warmth, Plenty - And Undreamed Of Danger!

"My favorite book of all time. I never tire of it because it speaks to a very deep part of me." Amazon 5-star review

"The best book I've read in a really long time – the characters endearing and real." Goodreads

15,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, young Laena and her sister survive a tragedy that marks their lives forever. In a world where mammoths roam, where nature's most fearful forces rage, and where fellow humans can pose a deadly threat, Laena relies on her incredible courage, strength, and intelligence to endure. This is Laena's story...the story of her seer-like visions of a world beyond that shapes her into a tribal leader in a society of arrogant men...the story of Laena's triumph as the Chosen One, only to be cast out into the wilderness with her husband and child. This epic saga of adventure, passion, and suspense follows the extraordinary Laena and her family on a great journey that take them from the vast Siberian tundra and the freezing darkness of the prehistoric past to the fiery dawn of breathtaking discovery – a new world, a new age, and a new dream.

"Wonderful story, a real page turner" Amazon 5-star review "I absolutely devoured this book wondering if I had been in the story would I have made it to that utopia. Did I possess the same kind of strength as Laena? One of my favorites." —Amazon 5-star review

"Beautiful and surprisingly comforting. I am looking forward to the next book." —Goodreads

"I would give this book six stars if I could. A heroine who after a horrific tragedy develops an iron will and a vision given to her by the White Panther of a new and wonderful land that she will not let go for anyone or anything. It is this struggle that moves the story along at a fast clip, will anyone believe in her vision, will she find her parents in the new land, will anyone come with her, was it all just a childish dream...? A must." —Amazon 5-star review

Charlotte Prentiss is the celebrated author of Laena's Children, a five volume saga focusing on five key generations of women through 15,000 years of history, from their tribe's journey from the land bridge between Asia and Alaska through their slow spread south to what is now California.

Love and Conflict in a Powerful Novel of American Prehistory
ONE WOMAN’S RELENTLESS STRUGGLE TO PROTECT HER TRIBE!

“Entertaining and thought-provoking.” —Publishers Weekly

The last Ice Age in North America is ending. The glaciers are retreating, and the Great Plains are teeming with wildlife.

However, the plains are filled with marauding gangs of brutal men who are as dangerous to other human life as they are to the beasts they slaughter.

Against them stands Mara, a chieftain with a unique vision. She pursues peace and justice, giving females in her tribe equal footing with males. But now her people are threatened with destruction, not only by vicious enemies but by catastrophic changes in climate.

This is the epic story of Mara, who will let no man break her spirit, despite the frailty of her flesh. She resists the treachery and terror that threaten her people. She alone has the courage to lead them against the evil giant, Barem, and his tribe of thugs.

Here is the enthralling saga of an unforgettable woman and a momentous struggle in a time when humanity is reaching perilous crossroads—and history is waiting to be made.

This is what Amazon readers have to say about the Children of the Mesa:

“I love these kind of books .This one reads fast and smooth. Lots of Big surprises in this story.”

“She does a great job...keeps you turning the pages. I'll read all of her books.”

“Charlotte Prentiss is a wonderful writer and her books are hard to quit reading until you have finished the whole book.”

“I couldn't put the book down and read it in less than a day. I recommend it to anyone.”

Charlotte Prentiss is the celebrated author of Laena's Children, a five volume saga focusing on five key generations of women through 15,000 years of history, from their tribe's journey from the land bridge between Asia and Alaska through their slow spread south to what is now California.

[Originally published as People of the Mesa.]

The hilariously imaginative tale of Judd Morrow, who woke up one morning to find himself truly a giant among men … a modern day Gulliver with a giant-size hangover!

“Enjoyable … Definitely check it out.” —Goodreads

This is the story of Judd Morrow, a rather ordinary young man with a job in advertising, a girlfriend in Manhattan, and a six-foot bed that had always been plenty big enough for him—a commonplace young man who woke up one morning to find that he had turned into a giant overnight!.

It was in his line of duty as an account executive that Judd had the misfortune to tangle with one Dr. Leon Grist, who might have been the original mad scientist, but for one thing: Grist lusted after money as other men did for women, and it was Grist's consuming passion that put Judd in this awkward predicament.

At first Judd was amused by the situation; he merely had to sneeze and he could level New York.

The Mayor was helpless, and so was the Governor. For that matter, so was the Beloved President of These United States. Then the Military came up with a solution: destroy the enemy!—and they stood at the ready to do so.

Suddenly Judd no longer found it funny. But love, money, and politics (an unbeatable combination) finally saved the day, and how they did is one of the most hilarious flights of fantasy you will ever read.

"A modern-day classic still as tasty and relevant as ever. We watch as society coalesces around Judd, turning the appearance of the giant into an opportunity for big business, political maneuverings and party after party after party. It's a clever story and spares no opportunity to skewer all ideologies/political persuasions and viewpoints. I found it pretty amazing how similar the political posturings of yesterday mimic the practices of today. The way the Russians, English, Chinese and US were portrayed didn't bring to mind antiquated diplomacy of the mid-20th century but any ongoing political negotiations you'd find being debated today.” —Goodreads

"In the dawn's early light of an ordinary morning, a handful of early risers discovered a three-hundred-and-fifty foot giant lying stark naked on the pavement along Madison Avenue..."

These are the opening words of one of the most Rabelaisian and irreverent satires ever to point a finger at the absurdities of life. Set in the not-so-distant future, it takes a gentle swipe at the passing scene while it tells the off-center story of a handful of people who have to be seen to be believed—and such is the craftsmanship of the author that you will indeed SEE each of the characters he has so realistically drawn.

John Aylesworth was an Emmy finalist writer and producer of many successful television programs, including Hee-Haw, The Sonny and Cher Show and The Julie Andrews Hour.

A horrifying story from Weird Tales, the supreme shudder pulp, about a mysterious personality who claimed he was a descendant of Lord Byron—and the hideous doom that threatened all those around him!

Gilbert Connatt, former film star, now dead broke, would give his life for a good role—and he may yet get his wish, now that he's signed to be the lead in a newly-discovered play by George Gordon, Lord Byron. As an added inducement, Gilbert finds he will be playing opposite his former flame, Sigrid Holgar, who has become a megastar since they broke off their headline-making Hollywood romance.

The play is to be premiered at a summer theater, deep in the Berkshires, far from the madding crowd. Not long after the cast's arrival there, Sigrid and her manager are attacked by menacing, half-shaped entities in the dark, and barely escape with their lives and sanity. Then, Gilbert accidentally stabs Varduk with a sword—but no blood is drawn and the producer is apparently unharmed.

Things become stranger still when Judge Keith Pursuivant, an eminent authority on the occult, who has been invited by Varduk to authenticate the handwritten manuscript of the play, is stumped when he realizes it's the great poet's work—even though the paper is less than ten years old. As Judge Pursuivant and Gilbert are discussing these unearthly events, Varduk's valet warns them not to challenge his master who, he says, is a man of tremendous and uncanny powers.

Later that night, things become more terrifying Gilbert and Sigrid, finding the flame of their former love has not been entirely extinguished, discover everyone's life is threatened by terrifying forces from beyond…

Another dark masterpiece from Manly Wade Wellman, World Fantasy Award Lifetime Achievement and Hugo Award winner.

A spellbinding dark fantasy classic from Weird Tales!

Here are the final two adventures of multi-award-winning author of dark fantasy Manly Wade Wellman's Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant in his battles against occult forces of darkness. The penultimate story describes the terrifying consequences when someone violates the terms of a treaty his township signed with the local Native people, a clause that was intended to protect the settlers from their own heedlessness. In the second eldritch tale, Judge Pursuivant comes to the aid of a man who asks him, “How would you feel if something followed you all around your new home—something cold and sneaky, that wasn't even there when you turned your head?”

These are followed by a pair of very important Wellman stories. “Sin’s Doorway,” according to the fantasy historian G. W. Thomas whose work has appeared in The Armchair Detective, Mystery Review, and Dark Worlds Quarterly, was said by Wellman to feature “a younger, guitarless Silver John, although he is not named.” Its nameless protagonist moves into a remote cabin he has inherited, only to discover to his horror it is not truly a house, but something far different. The second of these reader-treats is, in a way, a sequel to the first Judge Pursuivant adventure The Hairy Ones Shall Dance, where he fought a desperate battle against darkest evil in a pine forest called “The Devil's Croft” by locals. In the “Pineys,” The Devil's Croft is revealed as the legendary land of the Shonokins. Among Wellman's most popular creations, the Shonokins appear frequently in his John Thunstone stories and the Silver John tales. The Shonokins (or pine-people) are a race of humanoid-like creatures who inhabited the U.S. before the first homo sapiens crossed the land bridge into the Americas—and they are still enraged by the intrusion. In this story a group of people find themselves at the end of a road deep in the Devil's Croft and have a deadly confrontation with the Shonokins and the King of the Pine People—in a denouement clearly inspired by a world-famous story fantasy story of the era.

We are sure fans of dark fantasy, or of Wellman's work, will find these four eerie stories display this winner of the World Fantasy Convention's Award for Lifetime Achievement at the height of his creative and literary powers.

From the pages of Weird Tales—the world's greatest shudder pulp!

"Manly Wade Wellman is a treasure that should not be missed … should be in the collection of everyone who loves pulp fiction in the “Weird Tales” style." —Goodreads review

The first spellbinding novel in multi-fantasy award winner Manley Wade Wellman's classic horror trilogy about Judge Hilary Pursuivant, the jurist so deeply seeped in the lore of deviltry and supernatural evil—that no one or thing, not even the most powerful of dark forces, can stand against him.

"Mr. Wellman's Occult investigators are at the top of the genre. All of them would have felt right at home working side by side with either Karl Kolchak or Mulder-Scully. One has even worked with a certain Mr. Jules de Grandin." —Amazon review

Talbot Wills, a skeptic, gave up his career as a stage magician to study psychic phenomena—and once and for all prove or disprove its existence to himself. Learning this, his friend Doctor Otto Zoberg, an expert in occult subjects, brings him to an isolated hamlet to attend a séance at the home of a spirit medium whose powers are legendary. There Talbot meets Susan Gird, an intelligent and likable young woman, and after an afternoon together finds himself attracted to her. The séance is held that night—and though everyone is handcuffed to someone else, a strange wolf-like shape moves in the dark. When Susan Gird's father cries out some sort of accusation, the shape leaps upon him and slaughters him.

The town constable investigates and, since Wills is a magician and escape artist, arrests him for the crime. Later, while Talbot is locked in jail, an angry mob gathers to lynch him. With his knowledge of locks, Talbot breaks out his cell and in eluding his pursuers finds himself in the Devil's Croft, a mysterious grove which most locals are afraid to approach. As he enters it, Wills falls, exhausted. What happens next shatters his skepticism for good.

Fleeing, Talbot meets Judge Pursuivant, a giant of a man both physically and mentally, and a man with an almost uncanny knowledge of the occult who promises to help him and Susan.

Thus begins this classic novel of hideous, stark horror from Weird Tales, the magazine that gave birth to the works of H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos. Soon Susan and Talbot find their only hope of saving themselves from sudden and frightful death is to battle side-by-side with Judge Pursuivant against the frightful thing that lives in the Devil's Croft.

"These stories are very well written, highly readable and immensely entertaining! A reader can't ask for more." —Amazon Review

"Heroic, horrifying, dark fantasy. Pursuivant is Rambo with the powers of Dr. Strange. For those who like/love/get a kick out of pulp, these stories are for you." —Goodreads Review

Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant lives in a small New England town and is sufficiently wealthy to travel the world and befriend those threatened by dark arts and beings. A man of great height and girth, with a drooping blonde moustache, he is keenly intelligent and well-read in the occult, the psychic, and the magical. Born in 1891, he took degrees at Yale and Oxford, and worked for U.S. intelligence during the First World War.

Judge Pursuivant's battles against the darkness are recounted in three volumes (The Harry Ones Shall Dance, The Black Drama, and The Half-Haunted) penned by the World Fantasy, Phoenix, and British Fantasy Award winning author Manley Wade Wellman, famed for his Silver John series and his eerie stories of dark fantasy for Weird Tales.