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.