Born on April 4, 1902, the late Stanley G. Weinbaum, produced some of the finest science fiction of the 1930s. In a brief 18 month period (7/34-12/35), 13 acclaimed stories appeared primarily in the legendary publications ASTOUNDING and  WONDER. After his untimely death from lung cancer in December, 1935, Weinbaum became arguably the first cult science fiction writer with many other works published posthumously.

Before his death, Weinbaum wrote the mash up novel THE BLACK FLAME, incorporating the previously unpublished short stories “Dawn of Flame” and “The Black Flame” along with new material. While the short stories individually appeared in 1936 (DAWN OF FLAME: THE STANLEY G. WEINBAUM MEMORIAL VOLUME) and 1939 (STARTLING), the novel wasn’t published until 1948 (Fantasy Press).

Following the discovery of Weinbaum’s papers in the basement of his grandson’s house which contained a carbon copy of a substantially longer THE BLACK FLAME manuscript, Tachyon published the restored THE BLACK FLAME in 1995.

For more information on THE BLACK FLAME, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Michael Dashow