Pioneering science fiction author Harl Vincent, born 1893 in Buffalo, New York, was a man of his time. It was the age of engineering wonders, where automobiles first appeared on roads and the airplane was still akin to magic. Harl enjoyed being immersed in the technology, and grew up working for Westinghouse as a mechanical engineer. Watching how the world responded to new scientific discoveries, he turned his thoughts to the stars. "What if..." became his driving motivation to see where technology would take mankind.
The first science fiction story that Harl published was The Golden Girl from Munan, appearing in the June 1928 issue of the Amazing Stories, an early science fiction pulp magazine edited by Hugo Gernsback. His story was popular, and it led to over seventy stories in the following twenty years. Hugo convinced Harl to write a follow-up to Munan, which Hugo published in 1929. The War of the Planets turned out to be just as popular, and Harl became a regular in Hugo’s early stable of science fiction writers.
As science fiction turned into science fact, many of the early stories did not "age well". The populace became better educated, and thoughts of little green men or mutant dwarves living on the far side of the moon became silly to most. But back in the 1920’s, when we hadn't conquered the microscopic nor the atmospheric boundaries, anything was possible. The public was easily swayed by the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, starting a panic back then, but today it wouldn't get much attention in the media.
Another issue that cropped up were the rampant misogynistic stories, almost always by male writers. Again, during the early years of the 20th century, that's how folks acted -- including, most likely, your forefathers. Women were delegated to making sandwiches while the men slaved away on the science.
When one reads Harl's earlier sci-fi stories, one should first get into the correct state of mind -- almost a childlike fugue where everything is a wonder. Try to picture the shock at seeing an automobile or an experimental airplane for the first time, defying gravity and moving slowly across the sky. When you can, that's when you're ready to enjoy the early pulps.
Some of his early work is available through the Astounding Stories scans over at Project Gutenberg.
Bibliography
The Golden Girl of Munan
The War of the Planets
Venus Liberated
Faster Than Light
The Menace from Below
The Return to Subterrania
The Explorers of Callisto
Callisto at War
Vagabonds of Space
Creatures of Vibration
Gray Denim
Power
Master Control
Water-Bound World
When the Comet Returned
Lost City of Mars
Prowler of the Wastelands
Return of the Prowler
The Ambassador from Mars
The Seventh Generation
Barton's Island
The Yellow Air-Peril
Through the Air Tunnel
Microcosmic Buccaneers
The Colloidal Menace
Old Crompton's Secret
Before the Asteroids
The Terror of Air-Level Six
Silver Dome
Free Energy
Tanks Under the Sea
Terrors Unseen
Invisible Ships
Too Many Boards
Beyond the Dark Nebula
The Moon Weed
The Copper-Clad World
Red Twilight
A Matter of Ethics
Sky Cops
Once in a Blue Moon
Vulcan's Workshop
Thia of the Drylands
Roadways of Mars
Wanderer of Infinity
Cavern of Thunders
Whisper of Death
Telegraph Plateau
Master of Dreams
Cat's Eye
Rex
Synthetic
The Barrier
Cosmic Rhythm
Energy
Valley of the Rukh
The Plane Compass
Parasite
The Challenge from Beyond
Prince Deru Returns
Newscast
The Devil Flower
The Morons
Mystery of the Collapsing Skyscrapers
Lightning Strikes Once
Power Plant
Neutral Vessel
High-Frequency War
Undersea Prisoner
Gravity Island
Deputy Correspondent
Life Inside a Wall
Trouble Shooter
Other World
Grave of the Achilles
Lunar Station
Crime by Chart
Voice from the Void
Invader
The Lethal Planetoid
Space Storm
(Novel) The Doomsday Planet
Note that Villainous Press is publishing several books from Harl's early works. I am writing the introductions. The first book due for release is The Adventures of the Golden Girl of Munan, and it collects Golden Girl and War of the Planets in an illustrated trade paperback.