Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930

In Short

This volume is a November 1930 issue of a classic American science fiction pulp magazine, collecting short stories, serial installments, a complete novelette, and a lively reader correspondence section. Within its pages, heroes battle Antarctic gelatinous abominations, mysterious planetary assault rays from Venus, hypnotic villains who manipulate artistic output and human behavior, deadly interplanetary plagues, low-ground ransom plots, and tyrannical rulers on alien worlds. It endures as a vivid historical snapshot of early genre fiction, illustrating how pulp authors addressed contemporary cultural anxieties through colorful speculative adventure.

The Story

The anthology opens with an administrative statement of publishing standards before launching into six diverse works of speculative fiction. The volume begins in the future with a tale of terror creeping from the South Pole. When a creeping, grey wall of half-human protoplasm threatens to absorb all terrestrial life, humanity faces absolute annihilation. Conventional weaponry and advanced ray technology fail to halt the advance. It is only when the hero's ally activates a giant, fast-spinning machine projecting psenium emanations that the monstrous jelly disintegrates, carving a massive canyon into the earth and sparing the terrified masses.

The narrative scope then widens into interplanetary warfare. An aviator and a skeptical astronomer observe alarming flashes on the surface of Venus. Shortly thereafter, devastating meteor-ships strike the earth's oceans, triggering colossal tidal waves that obliterate entire coastal nations, including Great Britain. As regular strikes methodically lay waste to the globe, humanity realizes it is under systematic planetary assault, setting the stage for a desperate global resistance.

Shifting to an intimate, psychological scale, another narrative follows a troubled artist whose creative agency and physical motor control are surreptitiously hijacked. Upon seeking counsel from a mysterious neighborhood doctor with an altered house and peculiar purple windows, the protagonist discovers that the scientist is using low-frequency thought vibrations to force submission. The doctor seeks to drive the artist mad and claim his wife, demonstrating how absolute mental mastery can turn human intimacy and creative drive into tools of extortion.

Global catastrophe returns in a story of a horrific, disfiguring plague brought to Earth via an alien meteor craft. A captured international bacteriologist is subjected to endless cruel experiments by alien captors on their vessel, leaving his body deformed and scarred. Yet, using his medical expertise and sheer resilience, he discovers a counter-agent. Returning to Earth as a twisted cripple, he distributes the protective bacterial cultures to surviving human authorities, halting the plague and enabling humanity to rebuild.

The next adventure drops into the Mid-Atlantic Lowlands, where a brave protagonist is captured by bandits operating an invisible flyer within a dried ocean floor. bound and stuffed into a porous black sack, he faces execution or ransom on a narrow wing platform, all while struggling to protect his beloved.

Finally, a rogue space voyage takes two allies aboard a marvelously efficient, cosmic-ray-driven vessel named the Nomad to the moon Europa. There, after warning the local ruler of a devouring space entity, they are betrayed by an ambitious usurper who seeks both political power and the hand of a local woman. Forced to navigate under the threat of death, the protagonists must rely on their technical ingenuity and courage to outwit their captors. The issue concludes with letters from enthusiastic readers debating cover colors, story choices, and paper quality.

How It Unfolds

A monstrous wall advances An unstoppable grey mass of viscid jelly emerges from the Antarctic, devouring everything in its path as fleeing citizens panic in automated future cities.

Victory through psenium rays Using a high-speed whirling machine, scientists discharge experimental rays that cause the earth to rupture and completely dissolve the protoplasmic threat.

Signs across the night sky A military aviator consults a stoic astronomer about peculiar light flashes emanating from Venus, suspecting an impending interplanetary crisis.

Devastation from the sea Massive alien meteor projectiles plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, creating catastrophic tidal waves that submerge coastlines and wipe out major European civilizations.

A mind held captive An artist finds his hands and brain controlled by an sinister scientist who uses thought-vibrations and red-purple laboratory rays to steal his work and wife.

Horrors aboard the meteor-craft A trapped bacteriologist endures agonizing viral experiments by alien tormentors, leaving his physical form broken and scarred.

Salvation for a dying planet Equipped with a curative bacterial culture, the deformed scientist escapes to Earth, providing humanity with the key to eradicate the gray death.

Confinement in the lowlands Bound inside a dark fabric sack on an invisible flying ship, a captive hero awaits a perilous exchange over the dried sea bed.

Voyage of the Nomad Two brave adventurers harness cosmic rays to propel their starship at extreme speeds toward Europa, seeking answers to a space-borne warning.

Betrayal on an alien world After arriving on Europa, the travelers are captured by a power-hungry villain who forces them to pilot the ship under threat of execution.

Voices from the readership Devoted fans write to the editor to voice their opinions on paper quality, author preferences, magazine dimensions, and artistic cover designs.

The People

• Kay Bevan seeks to save his lover Ruth from an automated civic lottery, rushing through futuristic streets and facing dangerous electrified checkpoints to locate her.
• Cliff operates the experimental, top-like psenium device, risking his own life at the edge of the jelly mass to turn the tide against the creature.
• Lieutenant McGuire is a perceptive air service officer whose sharp intuition leads him to investigate cosmic flashes that senior authorities initially dismiss.
• Professor Sykes is a stocky, stern astronomer who insists on rigid scientific evidence, refusing to publish unverified theories about alien signals.
• Allen Parker is a dedicated artist who finds his hands, brain, and marriage targeted by an insidious, mind-altering antagonist.
• Dr. Friedrich von Stein is an arrogant, multi-degreed scientist operating from a retrofitted house, using low-frequency thought transmission to control others.
• Phillip Parkinson is a world-renowned bacteriologist whose physical body is horribly mutilated during alien medical trials, yet who uses his intellect to save Earth.
• Grant is a resourceful prisoner forced into a black sack aboard an invisible flyer in the Mid-Atlantic Lowlands, determined to protect Jetta.
• De Boer is a ruthless bandit leader operating out of a dark cave, using ransom schemes and gags to secure wealth.
• Carr Parker is an ambitious spacefarer who leaps at the opportunity to explore outer space alongside his alien companion aboard the Nomad.
• Mado is a skilled Martian pilot who purchases and repairs a discredited scientist's mystery ship to travel the ether at unprecedented velocities.
• Rapaju is a scheming, power-hungry villain on Europa who threatens Carr and Mado while attempting to claim the woman Ora for himself.

In Its Own Voice

Terrified citizens scramble as futuristic security measures enforce obedience at public terminals. "We are now electrified. Last warning!"

Aerial observers look down upon humanity from elevated perspectives, pondering our small place in the cosmos. "Earthbound!" he said in contempt of his own human kind, and he looked again at the map spread below.

Interplanetary invaders brutally inform their captive that his specialized medical knowledge will be turned against his own kind. "All Venerian germs that are duplicated on Earth will be left out of our calculations."

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume grapples with humanity's profound vulnerability in the face of rapid technological acceleration and the vast, unknown cosmos. The stories repeatedly center on themes of helplessness: citizens controlled by automated city infrastructure, populations powerless against ocean-churning interplanetary weapons, and individuals stripped of mental autonomy by rogue science. By portraying human beings as tiny "mites" on a fragile globe, the text questions whether human morality and ingenuity can survive when pitted against cold, hyper-advanced forces. It suggests that survival depends not on military might or rigid institutional arrogance, but on individual resilience, scientific adaptability, and unwavering loyalty under pressure.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an authentic, unvarnished window into the golden age of American pulp science fiction. Readers who appreciate historical genre fiction will find immense charm in its inventive technology, from cosmic-ray-fueled starships to invisible flyers navigating dried ocean basins. The prose delivers a fast-paced, theatrical reading experience full of dramatic cliffhangers, high-stakes melodrama, and colorful conceptual flourishes.

It is equally fascinating for its period flaws and stylistic quirks. Modern readers will easily spot the era's tropes: sensationalized dialogue, overly convenient scientific solutions, and traditional melodramatic character motivations. The included "Readers' Corner" adds an extra layer of enjoyment, revealing the passionate community of 1930s fans arguing over cover art, paper quality, and favorite authors. It stands as a lively historical artifact that shows how early science fiction shaped the tropes of modern adventure storytelling.