New Worlds Science Fiction No. 85

About this issue

This issue features Kenneth Bulmer's three-part serial "The Patient Dark," depicting an underground resistance operative named Rupert fleeing pursuit after witnessing a murder during a covert assignment. The narrative opens with a psychological breakdown during a nighttime car chase, climaxing in a crash. The story then shifts to a hospital scene where Doctor Eddington defends her comatose patient against two officials attempting to remove him. The issue also contains four short stories: John Brunner's "Round Trip," Lan Wright's "Joker's Trick" (novelette), Robert Silverberg's "Malnutrition," and E.R. James's "Sprinkler System." Kenneth Johns contributes an article titled "Moon Bright." An editorial by John Carnell presents 1958 survey demographics of female science fiction readers, showing increasing female readership and higher educational attainment among the audience. The cover illustration by Lewis accompanies "The Patient Dark."