Protecting Project Pulp » Podcast

Main Fiction: "Devil's Asteroid" by Manly Wade Wellman, first published in Comet, July, 1941. Narrator: Jacob Sanderson. Parr strode out upon dark, rich soil. He sensed behind him the silent quiver of Martian laughter, and felt a new ecstasy of hate for his late guards, their race, and the red planet that spawned them. Not until he heard the rumble and swish of the ship's departure did he take note of the little world that was now his prison home.

Main Fiction: "Whispering Death" by Lawrence Donovan, first published in Action Novels, August, 1929. Narrator: Robert Crandall. Slap that rim of machine-gun fire down on a hard road and it would sound like men walking. But there in the grass tops it only swished and whispered like. Talkin' to us and hissing, "Come up! Come up! Come up!"

Main Fiction: "Agent Andy" by Russell A. Boggs, first published in Adventure Magazine, August 3, 1919. Narrator: Tim Maroney. "You remember what I told you last Spring. You've been absent from your office for at least forty-five minutes this afternoon. I know, becuase I was at the station waiting. You're done—fired."

Main Fiction: "Hell On Dirt Oval" by Philip St. John, first published in All Sports, August, 1949. Philip St. John was a pseudonym for author Lester Del Rey. Narrator: Pete Fallico. There wasn't a damned thing wrong with Joe Baylor's driving--as long as he had the track to himself. But when the glory-grabbers started to crowd in, Joe remembered the scarlet agony of his last crash...

Main Fiction: "The Tree of Life" by C. L. Moore, first published in Weird Tales, October 1936. Today's podcast presents the second, concluding part of "The Tree of Life". Narrator: Jeff Lane. A queer, penetrating light shining upon his closed eyes roused Smith by degrees into wakefulness again. He lifted heavy lids and stared upward into the unwinking eye of Mars' racing nearer moon. He lay there blinking dazedly for a while before enough of memory returned to rouse him. Then he sat up painfully, for every fiber of him ached, and stared round on a scene of the wildest destruction.

Main Fiction: "The Tree of Life" by C. L. Moore, first published in Weird Tales, October 1936. Today's podcast presents part one of "The Tree of Life"; next week will bring the conclusion. Narrator: Jeff Lane. There was neither food nor water in these ancient Martian ruins, and Northwest Smith knew that it could be only a matter of time before the urgencies of his own body would drive him out to signal those wheeling Patrol ships and trade his hard-won liberty for food and drink. He crouched lower under the shadow of the temple arch and cursed the accuracy of the Patrol gunner whose flame-blast had caught his dodging ship just at the edge of Illar's ruins.

Main Fiction: "The X-Gas" by Cyril Plunkett, first published in Air Wonder Stories, March, 1930. Narrator: Joe Sammarco. The ship drifted lower and lower. Two ladders were lowered and they swarmed upward: hard, evil-looking creatures. All were heavily armed. The lives of the entire crew were at stake.

Main Fiction: "Fane of the Black Pharaoh" by Robert Bloch, first published in Weird Tales, December 1937. Narrator: Nick Camm. Captain Carteret bent forward and peered at the queer, metallic thing. His thin, usually pale face now glowed with unconcealed excitement. He grasped the black object with twitching fingers. "The Seal of Nephren-Ka!" he whispered.

Main Fiction: "Ten Dollars--No Sense" by Tom Thursday, first published in Top-Notch Magazine, December 15, 1922. Narrator: Robert Smales (check out Rob's blog at lifeis-whathappens.blogspot.com/). Judging from this newspaper, Doc, you’d think that everybody in New York was either a pickpocket, blackjack bammer, or a member of the burglars' union. Looks to me as if the chief duty of a newspaper in this here town of N.Y.C. is to toss its customers assorted murders for breakfast, holdups for lunch, and divorces for dinner.

Main Fiction: "Hide-Away" by H. A. DeRosso, first published in Triple Detective, Summer, 1954. Narrator: Jeff Lewis. Our narrator was incorrectly identified in the podcast. Jeff Lewis is his correct name. The details of the narrator's biography were correct. Our appologies go to Jeff for the mix-up. Donna was that kind of gal. Only killing would cure her.

Main Fiction: "The Golgotha Dancers" by Manly Wade Wellman, first published in Weird Tales, October 1937. Narrator: Kevin Hayden. Hung over my own fireplace, it looked as large and living as a scene glimpsed through a window or, perhaps, on a stage in a theater. The capering pink bodies caught new lights from my lamp, lights that glossed and intensified their shape and color but did not reveal any new details. I pored once more over the cryptic legend: I sold my soul that I might paint a living picture.

Main Fiction: "Raiders of the Spaceways" by Henry Kuttner, first published in Weird Tales, July, 1937. Narrator: Simon Hildebrandt. A warning throb came from the televisor. Kenworth sprang to the door, flung it open. Against the gray clouds, dim in the rain, a black oval grew larger—the collection ship, swiftly descending. And within it—Thona Trenton and the Raider!

Main Fiction: "Kali" by Eric Taylor, first published in All Star Detective Stories, November, 1929. Narrator: Jeff Lane. Thick mahogany doors, long stone passages, walls of concealed steel—what was the criminal secret of the Hindoo’s American house?

Main Fiction: "The Way Down the Hill" by Tim Powers, first published in the December 1982 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, volume 63, no. 6 and later reprinted in Strange Itineraries. The author has generously granted us a one-time permission to reproduce this story in audio form. Narrator: Fred Himebaugh. Interview: Host Dave Robison and editor Fred Himebaugh interview Tim Powers, author of this episode's story. The rich, leathery smell of Latakia tobacco told me that old Bill was there, and I soon identified him by the long, blackened meerschaum pipe he somehow found again every time. The little girl puffing at it gave me a raised eyebrow. "Saul, Laddie!" piped the little girl's voice. "Excuse the nonrecognition. You were a gawky youth when I saw you last. Been doing anything worthwhile? I didn't even bother to give the standard negative reply. "I'll talk to you later," I said. "Got to find something for this beer to chase." Bill chuckled merrily. "They laid in a dozen bottles of Laphroaig Scotch in case you came." He waved his pipe toward the dining room that traditionally served as the bar. "You know your way down the hill."

Main Fiction: "Conjuror of the Clouds" by Muriel A. Pollexfen, first published in Adventure, August 1911. Narrator: Tim Ward. He recalled the cry he strove in vain to stifle as he rushed like a reckless boy to the window, ran, ruthless of the consequences, on to the iron balcony where, hovering above, a dim shape swayed and balanced—Gray Ghost! He remembered the two words passing his terrified lips, “Gray Ghost!” and then a hand that seemed to materialize from the darkness of the balcony corner, a grip of iron fingers on his throat choking his cry for help, a sponge saturated with chloroform pressed over his mouth and nose, and then nothing—nothing—nothing till this moment!