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- Herausgeber: Wildside Press
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
When the spaceship Saturn embarks from Long Island Spaceport, radio operator Sparks Donovan is startled by a secretive visit from the ship's captain, Cap Hanson. Hanson reveals that their First Officer, the quirky yet brilliant Lancelot Biggs, is being secretly examined by an undercover inspector from the Space Safety Control Board, posing as a quarantine officer. The test aims to see if Biggs is fit to command his own ship.
Sparks must subtly warn Biggs to avoid any experimental antics during the voyage, but chaos ensues when Biggs unwittingly causes a ship-wide malfunction. With the inspector enraged and Biggs' promotion in jeopardy, can Sparks to unravel the mayhem and help his friend prove his worth?
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Seitenzahl: 34
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
INTRODUCTION, by John Betancourt
THE DOWNFALL OF LANCELOT BIGGS by Nelson S. Bond
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 2024 by Wildside Press LLC.
Introduction copyright © 2024 by John Betancourt.
Originally published in Weird Tales, March 1941.
Published by Wildside Press, LLC.
wildsidepress.com
INTRODUCTION,by John Betancourt
The Lancelot Biggs series is a collection of 13 humorous science fiction stories that chronicle the adventures of the clever and resourceful engineer, Lancelot Biggs. These stories were published in various pulp magazines from 1939 to 1943, including Fantastic Adventures and Weird Tales. Bond’s witty storytelling and imaginative plots make Biggs’ exploits in space both entertaining and memorable.
Author Nelson S. Bond (1908-2006) was a prolific writer who transitioned successfully into mainstream fiction. He contributed to major magazines such as Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post and published collections like Mr. Mergenthwirker’s Lobblies and Nightmares and Daydreams through Arkham House. Beyond writing, Bond was also a notable philatelist, renowned for his contributions to the world of stamp collecting.
The Lancelot Biggs series was collected in hardcover by Doubleday in 1950, as The Remarkable Exploits of Lancelot Biggs: Spaceman. (Wildside Press reprinted it some years ago, with Nelson Bond’s able assistance. He also appeared as the featured author is one of our issues of Adventure Tales.) The Doubleday volume collected all the stories except one—“The Downfall of Lancelot Biggs” was omitted.
Here it is for completists!
These stories showcase Bond’s knack for blending humor with science fiction, creating a timeless and delightful series.
THE DOWNFALLOF LANCELOT BIGGSby Nelson S. Bond
We were about three hours out of Long Island Spaceport, and I had just finished swapping farewell insults with Joe Marlowe, head bug-pounder at Lunar III, when the door of my radio turret slid open and in slithered—if round things can slither—Cap Hanson, skipper of our gallant space-going scow, the Saturn.
The Old Man’s eyes were as wide as a lady bowler’s beam, and his face, which boasts a pale mauve hue even under normal circumstances, was now a ripe, explosive fuchsia. He jammed a pudgy forefinger against his lips.
“Shh!” he shhed.
He squeezed in and closed the door behind him, shot a nervous glance about the room, then wheezed throatily, “Is there anybody here, Sparks?”
“Nobody,” I told him, “but us amperes. Why all the Desperate Desmond stuff, Skipper? Got an old corpus delicti you want hid? You might try the air-lock—”
He snapped back to normal with a profane bang.
“Don’t be a damned fool, Donovan! I ain’t murdered any members of my crew yet. Though if I ever do, I’ve got a good notion who to start with. I got reason to be cautions. I just learned something—Listen!” He hunched forward and shoved his lips so close to my ear that I could almost hear his whiskers sprouting. “You know that Captain Cooper which come aboard at Long Island?”
“The Quarantine officer, you mean?”
“Quarantine officer your eye!” The skipper’s voice was triumphant. “He ain’t no more a Q.O. than I’m the Queen of Sheba! He’s an inspector from the S.S.C.B.”
“An inspector!” I gasped. “From the Space Safety Control Board! Why—why, that means—”
“Exactly!” Hanson rubbed his hands gleefully. “It means that Lanse is being examined for a commander’s brevet. Well, what do you think of that? My son-in-law. Captain of his own ship. And him with only one year’s active service!”
I said, “That’s swell!” and meant it. The Old Man exaggerated a trifle when he called Lancelot Biggs his “son-in-law”; Biggs’ marriage to Diane Hanson was not scheduled to take place, yet, for a couple of months. But with Hanson I could enthuse over the prospect of seeing Biggs win his four stripes and his own command. Lieutenant Lancelot Biggs was not only my superior officer, he was my friend, as well. He had once been my bunkmate. I had watched him rise from a gangling, awkward, derided Third Mate to First Officer; had been present when he earned his Master Navigator’s papers; had seen him overcome seemingly insurmountable handicaps of appearance and personality to win a place in the affections of crew and command alike.
