The Scienceers is now taking a vote among all its members to find out their favorite stories of 1930. That is, in Science Fiction. We want to find the five best serials, and the ten best short stories of the year. First returns indicate that Astounding Stories captured most of the honors. "Murder Madness," "Brigands of the Moon" and "Earth, the Marauder"

having places among the serials. About six of the ten short stories were also published in Astounding Stories.

I close with best wishes from all Scienceers for a bigger and better year for Astounding Stories. Happy birthday!--Nathan Greenfeld, President, Scienceers, 873 Whitlock Avenue, New York, New York.

_Words Are Weak_

Dear Editor:

It was a terrible storm!

The thunder roared; the lightning flashed; the wind howled; the tempest beat through the night, bearing on its fleet winds of darkness a torrent of driving, splattering rain.

Splintering darts of lightning crackled through the raging storm, their crystalline reflection caught in the driving sheets of watery spray; their swift illumination lighting but dimly a rocky sh.o.r.e beaten and tossed by black lashing waves of the angry ocean. And, upon that ragged, element-swept sh.o.r.e, cowered the Searcher.

He crouched there in the darkness, his m.u.f.fled figure swaying to the fierce tug of the wind and the impact of the driving rain. Water ran in streams from his drenched clothing. The icy breath of the wind pierced through to his soul like so many needles of death. Placing a gaunt, weary hand above his brow he strained his vision to pierce out into the darkness.

And suddenly the storm ceased. The rain disappeared with a last futile spray, and the dark clouds overhead parted sullenly to reveal a cold frozen moon of silver. The thousands of tiny aberrations in the tossing wavelets on the ocean's bottom sent steely reflection of the moon's luminescence in sparkling sheens to the Searcher's eyes. For long he hung there motionless, a gaunt shadow peering into the distant darkness of the horizon. But abruptly--

He started. He has sighted an object floating inward upon the tide. Running swiftly along the sh.o.r.e, he seized it eagerly as it fell to the sh.o.r.e at his feet. With a wild cry of exuberant delight he threw himself down upon the sands to scan its pages. It was a copy of Astounding Stories! Yes!

Out of the great ocean of magazine fiction it had come to the Searcher's eyes, the magazine supreme--Astounding Stories! A magazine which was new, a magazine which expressed something new in an entirely different way! A thing super-ordinary, it was--a boon to the tired fiction reader.

Yessirree! Something new and in a different way! You bet that's what I like, and that's why I halted, hearkened, and hastened to the newsstands to buy that new magazine, Astounding Stories. New authors!--a breath of delicious novelty!--the magazine of to-morrow's romance and the super-science thereof! Why, it's almost too good to be true, and here am I, ready to take that new mag to hand and make it our own.

Yes, I think we can call it "our" own, for with the installation of Astounding Stories comes the new epic of the magazine, a magazine which is made by the reader. Sure nuff--our wants and whims rule the magazine; so it's surely "ours," and I mean possessively!

So, Readers all, I'm going to take my part of the magazine this day and operate on it, no matter what Mr. Bates thinks or cares about it. Yes, sir.

First, I'm creating a new department of a page which prints the picture of the most popular author (as voted for by the reader) and which gives a brief synopsis of his life. Once his picture has been printed, that's enough. Next time a new author.

And then I'm filling that magazine with new "different"

stories, daring in aspect beyond ordinary Science Fiction, more glorious by far than any predecessors.

And now, the rest of you Readers, what are you going to do with your share? As I have said, I am going to do what I want with my part even if we have to split up the magazine and pa.s.s a page all around. There's just a lot of you Readers who look at a magazine, and, because it isn't your ideal, pa.s.s it up and go down the line pa.s.sing up all the magazines. Take it from me, you'll never find your ideal.

Savvy? The only way to get that ideal is to step in and take a hand. Make your ideal! A magazine must be fashioned to the reader's wants! The fact is our weapon, and believe me I'm beaning Mr. Bates a smacking good one with it. As I said, the magazine is ours, and my part in it surely is going to be more daring in tone, thought and structure than any paltry nowaday Science Fiction! Reach out into the imagination, stretch your faintest and most super-ordinary scientific hypothesis to its vaguest straining point, and produce--

A real, honest-to-goodness, glorious he-man action magazine of Science Fiction!

I mean it! And that's how my page is gonna be, and I'll bet that I have made my page of that future idealistic magazine, merely by writing this letter! How about it, Mr. Bates?

Aren't we all signed up as a.s.sociate editors for the future "ideal magazine?"--Tom Olog, 940--5th St., San Bernardino, Calif.

_Right! One on Us_

Dear Editor:

I have been following with great interest Ray c.u.mmings'

latest piece, "Jetta of the Lowlands," which is rather unique in its ideas. In a recent issue Mr. c.u.mmings explained to his readers that the flyer was made invisible by bending the light rays around it. This in itself is quite plausible, but when he tells us he could see the land below them, and the other flyer, we have to draw a line. It is quite plain that if the light is bent away from the hull of the flyer that no light will come to the eyes within, and that the invisibility will be more of a hindrance than an advantage. However, it was a good story and we know that authors cannot be perfect any more than ordinary humans can.

I am wishing you the best of luck for your second year, which you will soon enter!--W. Johnston, New York City.

_A Riddle_

Dear Editor:

I have only read two issues of Astounding Stories. These two have determined me to continue reading A. S. until I grow broke or give up my ghost.

The only brickbats that you are going to get are: Use a better grade of paper and bind the magazines more securely.

Your stories are O. K. In fact there is only one story in the two issues (October and November), that I did not give a darn about, and that was "The Extra Man," by Jackson Gee.

As I have been a reader of Science Fiction for the past four years I think that I know a little about a good story when I read one.

And last but not least, I have a riddle to ask you.

Question: What is the difference between an egg and a copy of Astounding Stories?

Answer: When an egg falls it busts. But when a copy of Astounding Stories falls only the cover comes off.

A steady reader from now on.--Edward Anderson, 929 S.

Westlake Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.

"_High Literary Quality_"

Dear Editor:

Just a few words to express my appreciation of the consistently high standard of stories which have so far appeared in Astounding Stories. I was mainly inspired to write to you by those two fine stories, "Brigands of the Moon," by Ray c.u.mmings and "Murder Madness," by Murray Leinster. The former was one of the year's best interplanetary stories, and the latter a very fine adventure yarn. As well as being of scientific interest, these stories held my interest to the end by reason of their high literary quality and the fact that they did not lack excitement. I am afraid that these two qualities are lacking in a large number of Science Fiction stories. I would suggest that you accept these stories as a standard for the magazine.--A. M.

D. Pender, 201, Red Lion Road, Tolworth, Surbiton, Surrey, England.

_Expert Testimony_

Dear Editor:

We had quite a little discussion at a recent meeting of The Scienceers as to why all of us consider Astounding Stories the best Science Fiction magazine printed to-day. One reason to which all of us agreed was your endless variety of good continued stories. They always have a new twist about them.

I read a number of Science Fiction magazines each month.

None of them comes anywhere near Astounding Stories as to the quality of the stories printed. On both long and short stories they rank way below the Astounding standard.

Your best writer is Ray c.u.mmings, with Harl Vincent and R.

F. Starzl close behind. I consider "Vagabonds of s.p.a.ce," by Harl Vincent, as the best story I have read so far. Ask Mr.

Vincent to give us a sequel.--Herbert Smith, Sec., Scienceers, 2791 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York City.

"_Heads My List_"