The first issue of the classic pulp magazine Astounding Stories of Super-Science (later renamed Astounding Science Fiction, and currently being published as Analog Science Fiction) presents a mix of science fiction adventure stories by top writers of the day. Included are "Phantoms of Reality," by Ray Cummings; "The Beetle Horde," by Victor Rousseau; "Tank," by Murray Leinster; "The Cave of Horror," by Captain S.P. Meek; and many others.

The new planet caem out of the infinite deeps of insterstellar space, moved in towards the sunlike a comet, and stayed -- a new member of the Solar System, between Earth and Venus. Xenephrene it was named and it made a pretty vision in the evening sky . . . until other things began to appear in the heavens. flying things, strange visitants, myterious lights -- and people knew then that they were no longer alone. Xenephrene was inhabited, and its inhabitants were discovering the Earth. But were they coming as friends or as invaders? For trade or for conquest?

Ray Cummings (1887-1957) was an American science fiction writer and one of the "founding fathers of the science fiction pulp genre."

Barbarian hordes from Mercury's Cold Country descend to launch their conquest of Earth!

A startling novel of the conflict with Mercury -- the smallest world of the solar system -- which harbored a terrifying secret!

A startling novel of the conflict with Mercury -- the smallest world of the solar system -- which harbored a terrifying secret!

Racing through the vast depths of space in a vehicle larger than the universe itself -- a fantastic concept, and one that only the mind of a master pioneering science fiction talent could conceive and then translate into a classic tale of exciting trans-cosmic adventure!

When George Randolph first caught sight of Orena, he was astounded by its gleaming perfection. Here were hills and valleys, lakes and streams, glowing with the light of the most precious of metals. And, more astonishing than that, it was a world of miniature perfection -- an infinitely tiny universe within a golden atom! But for Randolph it was also a world aglow with danger. Somewhere in its tiny vastness were the friends he had to rescue. Captives of a madman, they had been reduced to native Orena size; to return to Earth they needed the growth capsules Randolph was bringing them. It was up to Randolph to find them -- and quickly -- for the longer they stayed tiny, the closer they came to passing BEYOND THE VANISHING POINT!

"He is a Verne returned and a Wells going forward," remarked "Bob" Davis, dean of American magazine editors. "He is the American H.G. Wells," say other critics. Cummings has an unusual flair for things scientific as evidenced by the fact that while at Princeton University he accomplished the remarkable feat of absorbing three years of physics in that many months. His five years' association with Thomas Edison as the latter's personal assistant also added to Cummings's scientific knowledge. His bizarre early life, living on orange plantations in Puerto Rico, striking oil in Wyoming, gold seeking in British Columbia, timber cruising in the North, before he was twenty, also left its imprint.

"Leaving Mr. Edison's employ, Cummings began writing scientific fiction for many magazines. His stories gripped the popular imagination and they "clicked." Mr. Cummings's success as a writer has been meteoric, for in a few years he has become one of the world's most popular authors of scientific fiction.... --Argosy-Allstory Weekly, Feb. 8, 1930

Ray Cummings -- one of the earliest pulp science fiction writers -- crafted this early masterpiece in 1922. The tale of a scientist who sees a beautiful woman in the atoms of his mother's wedding ring (and his adventures when he shrinks himself down to join her microscopic world), The Girl in the Golden Atom is a classic of science fiction. Originally published in 1922.

When a girl who said she had been kidnapped from the year 1777 appeared in modern New York, she was either deluded or the victim of an incredible time-spanning plot. And when it turned out the strange man with a mechanical servant who had kidnapped her had been seen in other centuries, it became clear that a super-scientific plot was afoot that must reach far into the unknown cities of the future. THE EXILE OF TIME is a novel of adventure and wonder such as only the hand of a classic master of science-fiction could have written.

Don's shotgun went up. "Bob, we'll hold our ground. Is it--is he armed, can you see?"

"No Can't tell."

Armed What nonsense How could this wraith, this apparition, do us physical injury

"If--if he gets too close, Bob, by God, I'll shoot. But if he's human, I wouldn't want to kill him."

The shape had stopped again. It was fifty feet from us now, and we could clearly see that it was a man, taller than normal. He stood now with folded arms--a man strangely garbed in what seemed a white, tight-fitting jacket and short trunks. On his head was a black skull cap surmounted by a helmet of strange design.

Don's voice suddenly echoed across the rocks.

"Who are you?"

The white figure gave no answer. It did not move.

"We see you. What do you want?" Don repeated.

Then it moved again. Partly toward us and partly sidewise, away from the sea. The swing of the legs was obvious. It was walking. But not upon the path, nor upon the solid surface of these Bermuda rocks A surge of horror went through me at the realization. This was nothing human It was walking on some other surface, invisible to us, but something solid beneath its own tread.