Nebula Science Fiction #19

About this issue

Nebula Science-Fiction, Issue No. 19, December 1956, edited by Peter Hamilton and published in Glasgow. This issue contains seven stories across four categories. The featured novel, John Brunner's "The Number of My Days," concerns a planetary expedition equipped with a "death count" system predicting casualty rates. Kenneth Bulmer's novelette "The Great Armadas" depicts galactic governance and the deliberation over deploying an "Ultimate Weapon"—dormant for millennia on the prison system Thread—against suddenly hostile extragalactic invaders who destroy contact ships and planets. Additional shorter works include Brian W. Aldiss's "Dumb Show" exploring sonics; Len Shaw's "The Evidence," a rivalry tale on a distant planet; William F. Temple's "Whispering Gallery," a science-fictional ghost story; and further contributions by Philip E. High, Robert Presslie, and others. Special features include editorial commentary, regular columns on science film and fandom, and reader correspondence.