Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 67

About this issue

This issue contains fiction and nonfiction typical of mid-1950s pulp science fiction. The editorial by E.C. Tubb discusses craft principles for aspiring writers—emphasizing logical consistency, character depth, and scientific accuracy within fictional frameworks. Featured stories include "The Man in Between" by Carl Moulton, which opens in a Belt settlement (an asteroid or orbital mining community). The protagonist, Jim Blake, is a prospector who claims to have been defrauded by Consolidated—a corporate entity controlling claim registration through apparent graft. He encounters Harry Fendyke, an older prospector who approaches him in a bar, questions his motivations, and leads him to an opium den to discuss Blake's grievances. Fendyke proposes that Blake's dissatisfaction stems not from money-hunger but from pioneer restlessness, attempting to redirect Blake's destructive hatred toward constructive action. The narrative uses pulp conventions—the hardboiled setting, moral ambiguity, frontier resentment toward corporate monopoly—to explore character motivation. Additional story titles are listed but not excerpted.