Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 139: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION Peace, a kind of vigilante organisation, has forbidden atomic research and thereby, in effect, cut England’s throat. Two heterodox scientists don’t like this. They set to work in secret and start up atomic research. Unfortunately, their work releases upon the world a threat even greater than starvation—and with little connection with radiation bomb destruction. Orthodox science has to pit its wits against this devastating threat, and the story moves forward powerfully, reaching deep images of human fear, ambi- tion and sacrifice. The usual Tubb dryness is there, and the slick, crisp pace of the book makes for rapid reading. * THE ECHOING WoRLDs has been written before, as far as plot is concerned, but rarely quite as effectively and inter- estingly as this. The basic idea is parallel worlds, both in the present. What we know as our world is in an even worse state than it is now, though war has been abol- ished. There is something stultifying about perpetual peace, apparently. And young men of Earth who are not fit enough for space travel find life most dull. They get themselves transferred to the parallel world and there they find war in plenty, together with romance, adventure and a certain amount of soul- searching. The critical point, of course, comes when inter- course between the two worlds is attempted. Then all heil is threatened to be a-poppin’. In places and at times, THE ECHOING WORLDs becomes a little space-operaish, yet even then the drama is played out with remarkably restrained technique. It is not a first class novel, but it indicates that Burke will one day write one of that calibre. We are waiting for that. Meantime, THE ECHOING WORLDS is one of his best. * THE INDESTRUCTIBLE ap- pears under the name of Rolf Garner, which is a pen-name of Bryan Berry. Thus, know- ing this, it should be obvious to all what kind of story this is. Some people can’t stand Berry’s stuff, others dote on it. All we can say is that here is typical Berry quality, though not in quite his usual style. It is the last in a kind of trilogy; the other two titles were RESURGENT Dust and THE ImMMORTALS—both still available in limited numbers. 138 comicloooks.conmn