New Worlds Science Fiction No. 68, Volume 23

About this issue

New Worlds Science Fiction magazine, issue 68, Volume 23. Editor John Corneli announces a new companion publication, Science Fiction Adventures, launching February 14, 1958, featuring action-adventure science fiction by American authors including Kornbluth, Silverberg, and Budrys. The editorial discusses the magazine's role in bridging literary gaps for new readers. E. C. Tubb, returning after a two-year absence, emphasizes that strong science fiction requires human drama—that spaceships must be integral to character conflict, not mere backdrop. His story "Requiem for a Harvey" follows spaceman Judd Wetzlar, who smuggles unauthorized seeds aboard a Mars run to supplement gambling losses, facing career ruin when caught. Desperate and drinking before departure, Judd encounters Gus Easton, an aging "Harvey"—a stranded off-worlder unable to afford passage home—who tempts him with an implied proposition involving further rule-breaking (text cuts off).