New Worlds Science Fiction No. 45

About this issue

New Worlds (March 1956, Vol. 15, No. 45) features two novelettes, multiple short stories, and articles on science fiction criticism. The lead novelette, "Hyperant" by Francis G. Rayer, follows Captain Geoff Walney and Flight Marshal Rosyth commanding a refugee fleet orbiting the destroyed star system Alpha Cleopa. Astrogation officer Unity Austin discovers photographic evidence that an artificial projectile deliberately triggered the star's nova, destroying humanity's colony planet and forcing evacuation. The discovery suggests first contact with a hostile, technologically superior intelligence. Kenneth Bulmer's novelette "The Smallest Ally" concludes the fiction section. Additional stories by Duncan Lamont, Alan Guthrie, Frank Bryning, and Keith Woodcott are included. John Cornell's editorial critiques a BBC television discussion between J.B. Priestley and Edmund Crispin dismissing science fiction's literary merit, arguing they misjudged the genre based on limited reading.