| Years in science fiction |
|---|
| History of science fiction Timeline of science fiction |
The year 1938 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.
| Title | Director | Release | Primary cast | Production country | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars | Ford Beebe , Robert F. Hill | 31 March 1938 | Larry "Buster" Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles B. Middleton | United States | Film serial with 15 chapters | [2] [3] |
| Flight to Fame | C. C. Coleman Jr. | 12 October 1938 | Charles Farrell, Jacqueline Wells, Hugh Sothern | United States | [4] [5] [6] [7] | |
The main science-fiction awards known at the present time did not exist at this time.
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of non-fiction, including biographies of other fantasy authors. He was a major figure in science fiction in the 1930s and 1940s.
Sword and sorcery (S&S) or heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. Sword and sorcery commonly overlaps with heroic fantasy. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. The term "sword and sorcery" was coined by Fritz Leiber in the May 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Amra, to describe Howard and the stories that were influenced by his works. In parallel with "sword and sorcery", the term "heroic fantasy" is used, although it is a more loosely defined genre.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1972.
Stanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction writer. His first story, "A Martian Odyssey", was published to great acclaim in July 1934; the alien Tweel was arguably the first character to satisfy John W. Campbell's challenge: "Write me a creature who thinks as well as a man, or better than a man, but not like a man." Weinbaum wrote more short stories and a few novels, but died from lung cancer less than a year and a half later.
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp.
Startling Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories, Standard's other science fiction title. Startling ran a lead novel in every issue; the first was The Black Flame by Stanley G. Weinbaum. When Standard Magazines acquired Thrilling Wonder in 1936, it also gained the rights to stories published in that magazine's predecessor, Wonder Stories, and selections from this early material were reprinted in Startling as "Hall of Fame" stories. Under Weisinger the magazine focused on younger readers and, when Weisinger was replaced by Oscar J. Friend in 1941, the magazine became even more juvenile in focus, with clichéd cover art and letters answered by a "Sergeant Saturn". Friend was replaced by Sam Merwin Jr. in 1945, and Merwin was able to improve the quality of the fiction substantially, publishing Arthur C. Clarke's Against the Fall of Night, and several other well-received stories.
John Drury Clark, Ph.D. was an American rocket fuel developer, chemist, and science fiction writer. He was instrumental in the revival of interest in Robert E. Howard's Conan stories and influenced the writing careers of L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, and other authors.
The Undesired Princess is a 51,000 word fantasy novella by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown Worlds for February 1942. It was published in book form by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in 1951. The book version also includes the 10,000 word fantasy short story "Mr. Arson", first published in Unknown for December 1941. The book was bound together with Stanley G. Weinbaum's The Dark Other in the omnibus collection Fantasy Twin by the same publisher in 1953. The title story was also published in paperback by Baen Books in 1990 together with David Drake's story The Enchanted Bunny, under the combined title The Undesired Princess & the Enchanted Bunny.
3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction is an anthology of fantasy and science fiction short stories, edited by American writers L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp. It was first published in both hardcover and paperback by Lothrop Lee & Shepard in 1972. It was the first such anthology assembled by the de Camps, preceding their later Tales Beyond Time (1973).
Bibliography of science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction writer L. Sprague de Camp:
Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc., or FPCI, was an American science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing company established in 1946. It was the fourth small press company founded by William L. Crawford.
Fantasy Twin is a collection of fantasy novels by L. Sprague de Camp and Stanley G. Weinbaum. It was published in 1951 by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in an edition of 300 copies. The book is an omnibus of de Camps's The Undesired Princess and Weinbaum's The Dark Other, created by combining unbound sheets from the publisher's previous editions of the two volumes.
"The Isolinguals" is a science fiction story, addressing the concept of ancestral memory, by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was his first published story. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Stories for September, 1937, and first appeared in book form in the anthology First Flight: Maiden Voyages in Space and Time (Lancer Books, Aug. 1963; reprinted Nov. 1966 and Nov. 1969. It later appeared in the anthologies First Voyages, Tales in Time, and Wondrous Beginnings, as well as the de Camp collection Years in the Making: the Time-Travel Stories of L. Sprague de Camp.
"Hyperpilosity" is a science fiction story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Stories for April, 1938, and first appeared in book form in the de Camp collection The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction (Shasta, 1949; It later appeared in the anthologies Omnibus of Science Fiction, Science Fiction of the Thirties, The Edward De Bono Science Fiction Collection, and The Road to Science Fiction #2: From Wells to Heinlein, as well as the magazine Fantastic Story Magazine and the de Camp collection The Best of L. Sprague de Camp. In 2014 the story was shortlisted for the Retro Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
"The Merman" is a science fiction story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, based on the concept of human biological engineering. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction for December, 1938. It first appeared in book form in the collection The Wheels of If and Other Science Fiction ; it later appeared in the anthology Science Fiction of the Thirties and the collection The Best of L. Sprague de Camp. The story has been translated into German
Science Fiction of the Thirties is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Damon Knight. It was first published in hardcover by Bobbs-Merrill in January 1976; a book club edition was issued simultaneously by the same publisher together with the Science Fiction Book Club, and a trade paperback edition by Avon Books in March 1977.
The Science Fiction Bestiary is an anthology of science fiction novelettes and short stories edited by Robert Silverberg. It was first published in hardcover by Thomas Nelson in 1971; it was reprinted in March 1973. The first paperback edition was published by Dell Laurel in February 1974. It has also been translated into German.
Ballantine's Classic Library of Science Fiction is a series of speculative fiction collections originally published in the 1970s and 1980s purporting to gather together the career-best short works of a selection of authors then prominent in the field. The series was conceived and published in paperback by Ballantine Books, though most of the early volumes also had initial hardcover editions issued by Doubleday's Science Fiction Book Club preceding the Ballantine/Del Rey paperback editions.