Golden Age Fiction
Episodes
Woman's Touch, by Evelyn E Smith
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Their orders were to leave the natives of the new planet strictly alone. But those surveyors' wives were women, and women don't obey orders—or leave...
Storm Cloud on Deka, by Edward E 'Doc' Smith
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Civilization is established. Lensmen safeguard every world. But the threat of the Atomic Vortices still lingers. Neal 'Storm' Cloud, atomic physicist ...
Box Garden & I, Gardener, by Allen K Lang
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Box Garden The stranger had big ears, was terribly fearful of, and yet pitied, TV commercials, and kept going on about 'bansai,' with an 's.' "Box-gar...
His to Fly, by Richard Howells Watkins
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One Parachute and Two Men—and the Ship Couldn't Land. What Happened? "His to Fly" appeared in "The Popular Magazine", August 7th 1929, pages 106 to ...
A Time to Die, by Harold Calin
17 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Captain Kingsford, the only survivor of the Essex's ill-fated mission to Aldebaran IX, was recruiting another crew to revisit Aldebaran IX, mine the h...
The Stainless Steel Rat (Short Story,) by Harry Harrison
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"We are the rats in the wainscoting of society—we operate outside of their barriers and outside of their rules. Society had more rats when the rules...
The Cottage, by Frank Belknap Long
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There was a savage cruelty in Durkin's hatred of his children. Little did he know that on other worlds—cruelty boomeranged. Today's story is "The Co...
Prize of the Air, by Ben Conlon
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Barlow, a former war ace, now took passengers for rides in his plane. One loop-the-loop too many however, and the airfield superintendant was for...
Thy Rocks and Rills, by Robert E Gilbert
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
They were out of place in the Manly Age--Stonecypher, a man who loved animals; Moe, a bull who hated men. Together, they marched to inevitably similar...
The Missionary, by Jesse F Bone
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
He had been sent to kill the Father of Evil, to purge his corruption from this world. But Wolverton had shot him down, captured him, and now, injured,...
The Vortex Blaster, by E E Smith, PhD
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Neal "Storm" Cloud, atomic physicist, through personal tragedy, is destined to become the most noted figure in the galaxy. "The Vortex Blaster" appear...
The Monster Maker, by Ray Bradbury
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Get the pirate Gunther," were their orders. But Click and Irish were marooned on the pirate's asteroid—their only weapons a single gun and a news-r...
Trajectory to Taurus, by Les Cole
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why were Fred Kirr's shipmates calling the planet Gamma Tauri II, which they were surveying for evidence of intelligent life, a paradise, when it was ...
The Terrors of the Upper Air, by Frank Orndorff
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kidwell and Dexter, the daredevil aviators, were attempting to break the world altitude record at the State Fair. But, they were also muderers and thi...
Quinquepedalian, by Piers Anthony
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What kind of creature could make a nine-foot diameter, two-inch deep footprint in the soil of a forest? Charles Tinnerman and his companions were abou...
The Trap, by Murray Leinster
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Colby's murder plan was perfect—except at one point... "The Trap" appeared in "Munsey's Magazine", August 1929, pages 467 to 477. Murray Leinster...
Manners and Customs of the Thrid, by Murray Leinster
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Thrid were the most intelligent creatures in the universe—they said so themselves. So intelligent that they had the perfect government that coul...
The Marching Morons, by C M Kornbluth
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man, of course, is king. But how about a live wire, a smart businessman, in a civilization of 100% pure chum...
For Service Rendered, by J F Bone
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Enid Twilley's life was lived vicariously through shows on the TV. So, when a malfunction caused her television to stop working, she thought her life ...
Morgue Ship & Lazarus Come Forth, by Ray Bradbury
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Morgue Ship This was going to be Sam Burnett's last trip collecting bodies from the debris of space battles in this war. Once all one hundred shelves ...
The Minstrel's Curse, by Mrs Alex McVeigh Miller
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Minstrel's Curse had plagued the Chilton women for almost two centuries, and Edith Chilton, namesake of the one who had been the cause of the curs...
Rivals of the Clouds, by Raoul Whitfield
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Flying through a clinging, blinding fog, Lieutenant Adams flew straight into a death trap of flashing enemy planes and flaming, stuttering machine gun...
Peter Merton's Private Mint, by Harlan Ellison
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Your name is Merton and you find that all you have to do is reach into your safe to get money. The more you take, the more you find. And just when Qui...
The New Accelerator, by H G Wells
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gibberne's nerve stimulant, The New Accelerator, which could speed a man up to two or three times normal, was going to revolutionise human life. "The ...
Flood Waters, by Leland S Jamieson
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A week of rain had undermined the tracks, causing the train to derail. But the nearest place to land was twelve miles away! How was Nick Wentworth, ch...
The Square Pegs & Defense Mech, by Ray Bradbury
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Square Pegs Lisabeth was not insane, not according to her, and not according to Asteroid Thirty-Six, where she was being taken by her brother and ...
Title Fight & The Woman Obsession, by William C Gault
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Title Fight There would be blood on the streets tonight when Alix 1340, a robot, beat the current middleweight champion of the world, Nick Nolan, a hu...
Arm of the Law, by Harry Harrison
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What would happen when a police robot was posted to a law enforcement outpost on Mars? How could a robot—a machine, after all—be involved in somet...
The Ice Goes Out & Raw Men, by Frank Richardson Pierce
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Ice Goes Out This is a story of Alaska, in which honest men and crooks propose, but inscrutable Nature disposes. "The Ice Goes Out" appeared in "A...
Classified Object, by John Victor Peterson
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There was a comic book in the alien space ship—of a sort. But it wasn't meant for children. "Classified Object" appeared in "Fantastic Universe", Ju...
A Long Way Back & The Next Logical Step, by Ben Bova
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A Long Way Back After the war that ravaged the world, he held the future of civilization in his numbed hands. The satellite was ready to beam power ba...
Travelogue & The Minster had to Wait, by Roger D Aycock
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Travelogue Adventure called late in the diffident, gentle, dreaming life of Wesley Filburn, mediocre writer of science fiction stories. But when it di...
Lancelot Biggs, Master Navigator, by Nelson S Bond
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trust Lancelot Biggs to get the Saturn into a mess just when speed and good navigation meant the prize contract of the year...! "Lancelot Biggs, Maste...
Referent & The Irritated People, by Ray Bradbury
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Referent Roby Morrison was special, a genius, but he didn't want to be. He wanted to escape the island where every waking moment was supervised. He wa...
The Madness of Lancelot Biggs, by Nelson S Bond
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There was more at stake than just a football game for Lancelot Biggs; two hundred and fifty credits, his claims on three future planetary discoveries,...
The Man from Time & Mr Caxton Draws a Martian Bird, by Frank Belknap Long
16 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Man from Time Being the first Time Traveller, he couldn't have known about Time Fear; every date he observed terrified him. Lost in the vastness o...
Lancelot Biggs Cooks a Pirate, by Nelson S Bond
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Cooking," explained Biggs, "is simply a matter of chemistry." But little did he know he'd have to prove that statement in order to save the crew of t...
F O B Venus, by Nelson S Bond
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lancelot Biggs was perhaps the worst second mate Captain Hanson had ever shipped, and he was convinced of it when he ruined their cargo. But how dumb ...
Rastignac the Devil, by Philip José Farmer
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A man who refused to wear a Skin was labeled a "devil." Rastignac was such a man. He was a meat eater, adhered to the Philosophy of Violence, and was ...
The Man Who Wouldn't Sign Up, by Thomas E Purdom
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
People had been telling Henry Westing, who just wanted to live his own life in his own manner, that he should belong to something, that he should join...
The Repairman, Navy Day & Toy Shop, by Harry Harrison
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Repairman A Mark III beacon, one of the earliest beacons deployed, possibly even the first, had broken down, and he had to go and fix it. Trouble ...
Beyond our Control, by Randall Garrett
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Satellite Number Four had been knocked out of its orbit, disrupting communications around the world. James Fitzpatrick MacIlheny, "Mac" to his colleag...
The Hunter's Lodge Case & The Plymouth Express Affair, by Agatha Christie
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Hunter's Lodge Case Even from his sick-bed, Hercule Poirot's famous "little gray cells" solve an apparently unsolvable murder mystery. "The Hunter...
Mr Lonliness, A Kiss for the Conqueror, & My Robot, by Henry Slesar
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mr Lonliness It is lonely out there in space. Very, very lonely! A man needs to see a human face, hear a human voice. So visitors have to be sent out ...
Blind Play & The Statistomat Pitch, by Chandler Davis
25 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Blind Play Nick Pappas, hired-killer from Callisto, was strictly out for Pappas--out for Number One, as they used to say. And now those fools in the v...
The Man Who Could Work Miracles, by H G Wells
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mr. Fotheringay was a sceptic. He didn't believe in miracles, and he was going to prove it to Mr. Beamish, only... "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" a...
How Deep the Grooves & The Wounded, by Philip José Farmer
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How Deep the Grooves Dr. James Carroad was prepared to experiment on his own unborn son to demonstrate that he could condition unquestioning loyalty i...
The Untouchable Adolescents, by Harlan Ellison
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The aliens wouldn't accept help, though their world was about to explode. They were adolescents. Adolescence is the time when you aren't smart enough ...
Stopover Planet & The Space Between, by Robert E Gilbert
18 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Early morning deliveries were part of the Honeychile Bakery Service. But on this particular morning the bakery was collecting, not delivering! "Stopov...
The Diamond Lens, by Fitz-James O'Brien
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What was he prepared to do to pursue his life's ambition become the foremost microscopist? It turned out, almost anything. But what he discovered was ...
Infiltration, by Algis Budrys & And Miles To Go Before I Sleep, by William F Nolan
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Infiltration Werewolves don't necessarily conform to all the superstitions people have. They may even know fear... "Infiltration" appeared in "Infinit...
All Cats are Gray, by Andre Norton
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Steena was background stuff, never out of her baggy shapeless gray space-alls, with the gray personality of the machines she minded. Her only companio...
The Missing Will, by Agatha Christie
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Violet Marsh's uncle had written two wills—one public, one hidden—and challenged his niece, and his sole heir, to pit her educated wits against hi...
The Boomerang Circuit, by Murray Leinster
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ades has vanished! And kings, emperors and despots are annexing the planets Kim Rendell, matter-transmitter technician, inter-galactic criminal, and s...
The Manless Worlds, by Murray Leinster
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The planet Sinab II has altered the fighting-beams to kill only men, and they're spreading across the First Galaxy by wiping out all the men on a plan...
The Disciplinary Circuit, by Murray Leinster
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Kim Rendell, matter-transmitter technician, has defied the government of Alphin III by nullifying the Disciplinary Circuit, the system used to keep th...
The Eyes Have It & Beyond the Door, by Philip K Dick
04 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A little whimsy, now and then, makes for good balance. You could find this type of humor anywhere, but only a topflight science-fictionist could have ...
A Little Journey & Zero Hour, by Ray Bradbury
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mrs. Bellowes, along with a lot of other older women, had paid good money to stay at Mr. Thirkell's Restorium and eventually on to the greatest advent...
The Hanging Stranger, by Philip K Dick
29 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ed Loyce was a practical man. He liked to fix things himself. And if he couldn't fix it himself, he'd call someone. When he saw what was hanging in th...
The Way Out, by Richard Rein Smith
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you kill a man without killing him? This was the problem Colonel Donovan had to solve if Earth was to win the war against Antares. Suicide wa...
Tony and the Beetles, by Philip K Dick
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Pas-udeti war-fleet had turned the flank of the human war-fleet, and, for the first time in a century, the humans were retreating. But this planet...
West o' Mars, by Charles L Fontenay
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dinner with Samlaan Britt at West o' Mars was the pinnacle of Peache's career, but he was determined to get to the truth of the rumors that surrounded...
Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night, by Algis Budrys
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rufus Sollenar, creator of EmpaVid, a revolutionary entertainment system, had everything. However, the Special Public Relations Office of the Internat...
Nobody Saw the Ship, by Murray Leinster
14 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It was only a tiny scout ship from somewhere beyond the stars; only one alien creature occupied it. But the ship's mission spelled life to its fellow ...
The Crystal Egg, by H G Wells
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a small grimy shop selling bric-a-brac and antiquities in Seven Dials, London, was a large crystal egg. The shop's proprietor, a Mr. C Cave, was re...
Earth Transit, by Charles L Fontenay
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When Captain Makki is found dead on a routine hop from Earth to Mars, there are only three suspects; Lefler, the astrogator, Taat, the ship's doctor, ...
Prize Ship, by Philip K Dick
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The war with the Ganymedeans has been going on for two months, and Terra has been unable to use the launch cradles at Ganymede to send space ships to ...
In the Year 2889, by Jules Verne & Michel Verne
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An account of a day in the busy life of Mr. Fritz Napoleon Smith, proprietor of the Earth Chronicle, specifically, September 25th, 2889, in the city o...
Skit-tree Planet, by Murray Leinster
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The skit-trees grew in neat rows as far as the eye could see. There were dams and irrigation systems, graded and terraced ground, and large clearings ...
The Star, by H G Wells
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Something had caused Neptune to act erratically as it orbited far out in the solar system. And that something was coming nearer. Would it collide with...
Introducing Golden Age Fiction
23 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Golden Age Fiction. My name is Paul and in this podcast, I will be introducing you to, and narrating, stories from the golden age of pulp f...