New Worlds Science Fiction No. 49

About this issue

This July 1956 issue of New Worlds (Volume 17, No. 49), a British science fiction monthly, contains five short stories, a serial conclusion, and articles on guided missiles and short-story anthologies. Leslie Perri's "The Untouchables" follows a news correspondent and photographer covering a disaster at a remote Martian mining colony that has lost power in extreme cold. The narrative explores the correspondent's reflections on covering the story and his complex feelings toward the insular Martian culture. Brian W. Aldiss contributes "Psyclops," while John R. Day, Arthur Sellings, and Sydney J. Bounds round out the fiction with stories titled "Birthright," "The Masters," and "First Lesson" respectively. Lan Wright's serial "Who Speaks of Conquest?" concludes in this issue. Editor John Carnell's editorial surveys recent American science-fiction anthologies, particularly praising Judith Merril's The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy, and noting the increased international representation of British authors in such collections.