First published 1987
This anthology collects fiction from Amazing Stories magazine's inaugural decade, spanning 1926 to 1935. The stories transport readers through scenarios involving mysterious meteors that crash to Earth with unknown consequences. Time travelers arrive from future eras, bringing warnings or revelations about what lies ahead for humanity. Authors explore apocalyptic scenarios where civilization faces its final days. Mechanical beings and artificial intelligences emerge as both servants and potential threats to their human creators. Alien visitors make contact with Earth, sometimes as explorers, sometimes as invaders. Each tale reflects the early science fiction community's fascination with technology's promise and peril. The collection captures the period when writers first imagined rockets to other worlds, machines that could think, and scientific discoveries that might reshape human existence. These stories established many themes that would define science fiction for generations to come.
Genres: science-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, aliens, apocalyptic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: apocalyptic, first-contact, time-travel
Setting: Earth
Period: 1926-1935
331 pages · Paperback · Random House