Golden Age Fiction

Paul Lawley-Jones
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Fiction
  • Updated Weekly

Stories from the "Golden Age of Pulp Fiction." The "Golden Age of Pulp Fiction" is generally considered to be from the last decade of the 1800s to the mid-1900s, when magazines published on cheap pulp paper filled (mostly American) news-stands. Notable examples of these pulp fiction magazines include Argosy, Blue Book Magazine, Adventure, Detective Story Magazine, Weird Tales, and Astounding Stories. Please note that performance of a story is not a condoning, endorsement, or promotion of attitudes, prejudices, biases or opinions therein—particularly of gender and gender roles, ethnicity, disability, and sexuality—that an inhabitant of modern times would find distasteful. If you have a story that you'd like me to perform, let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me.

  1. 24m ago

    Public Enemy, by Kendell Foster Crossen

    At long last, Public Police Officer Brad Raynor was going to see some action--perhaps he’d have some of the excitement that policemen in the past experienced every day! This short story appeared in the December 1952 issue of Dynamic Science Fiction. ----- Kendell Foster Crossen (July 25, 1910 – November 29, 1981) was an American pulp fiction and science fiction writer. He was the creator and writer of stories about the Green Lama (a crime-fighting Buddhist superhero whose powers emerged upon the recitation of the Tibetan mantra "Om mani padme hum") and the Milo March detective and spy novels. His pen names included Richard Foster, Bennett Barlay, Kent Richards and Clay Richards, Christopher Monig (the name of the ghost of the town of Crossen on the Oder), and M.E. Chaber (from the Hebrew word ‘mechaber’, meaning author). He wrote hundreds of radio scripts for The Green Lama, Suspense, The Saint, Mystery Theater, and others. His later television credits include 77 Sunset Strip, The Man from Blackhawk, Man and the Challenge, and Perry Mason.  Crossen was one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America and the uncredited editor of its first anthology, Murder Cavalcade (1946). ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    Public Enemy, by Kendell Foster Crossen

  2. Sep 6

    Youth, by Isaac Asimov

    Red and Slim found the two strange little animals the morning after they heard the thunder sounds. They knew that they could never show their new pets to their parents. This novelette appeared in the May 1952 issue of "Space Science Fiction". ----- Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction. Asimov's most famous work is the "Foundation" series, the first three books of which won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. His other major series are the "Galactic Empire" series and the "Robot" series. He also wrote more than 380 short stories, including the social science fiction novelette "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted the best short science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    Youth, by Isaac Asimov

  3. Sep 4

    The Voices, by Edward Wellen

    Nicholas Kane was sitting at his desk when he heard the voices. This was a departure from the usual, and he heard them only once—but that one time turned out to be once too often for Kane. This short story appeared in the March 1954 issue of Universe Science Fiction. ----- Edward Wellen (born Edward Paul Levy, October 2, 1919 – January 15, 2011 was an American mystery and science fiction writer. As of 1993, it was estimated that, in addition to two novels, Wellen had published 250 mysteries in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and assorted anthologies. In his 1995 collection, Tales of the Batman, Wellen's novella was optioned by Tri-Star Pictures as a vehicle for Robin Williams. That project never came to fruition, but an audiobook featuring actor René Auberjonois was released in the same year. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    The Voices, by Edward Wellen

  4. Aug 31

    The Graveyard Rats, by Henry Kuttner

    A gruesome fate befell the old caretaker of the cemetery in the horrible burrows beneath the graves. This short story appeared in the March 1936 issue of Weird Tales. ----- Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915, Los Angeles, California – February 3, 1958, Los Angeles, California) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. He contributed several stories to Lovecraft’s Cthulu Mythos, adding a few lesser-known deities to the Mythos pantheon. Kuttner wrote under a plethora of pseudonyms which many believe prevented him from garnering the fame that he should have had. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    The Graveyard Rats, by Henry Kuttner

  5. Aug 27

    Song in a Minor Key, by C L Moore

    He had been promising himself this moment for how many lonely months and years on alien worlds? Today's story is "Song in a Minor Key" by C L Moore. It appeared in the January 1957 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 79 to 81. ----- Catherine Lucille Moore (January 24, 1911, Indianapolis, Indiana, US – April 4, 1987, Hollywood, California, US) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She was among the first women to write in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Moore's work paved the way for many other female speculative fiction writers. Her early work included two significant series in Weird Tales. One features the rogue and adventurer Northwest Smith wandering through the Solar System; the other features the swordswoman/warrior Jirel of Joiry, one of the first female protagonists in sword-and-sorcery fiction. Moore married her first husband Henry Kuttner in 1940, and most of her work from 1940 to 1958 (Kuttner's death) was written by the couple collaboratively. They were prolific co-authors under their own names, although more often under any one of several pseudonyms. As "Catherine Kuttner", she had a brief career as a television scriptwriter from 1958 to 1962. She retired from writing in 1963. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    Song in a Minor Key, by C L Moore

  6. Aug 23

    Idol's Eye, by Carol Emshwiller

    Who’d have dreamed the destiny awaiting Philippa? This short story appeared in the February 1958 issue of Future Science Fiction. ----- Carol Emshwiller (born Agnes Carolyn Fries in Ann Arbor, Michigan, April 12, 1921 – February 2, 2019) was an American writer of avant-garde short stories and science fiction who won prizes for her work including the Nebula Award to the Philip K. Dick Award.  Ursula K. Le Guin has called her "a major fabulist, a marvelous magical realist, one of the strongest, most complex, most consistently feminist voices in fiction." Among her novels are Carmen Dog and The Mount. Her last novel, The Secret City, was published in April 2007. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    Idol's Eye, by Carol Emshwiller

  7. Aug 16

    Farewell to the Master, by Harry Bates

    The robot was harmless, in fact couldn't be moved in any way whatever—till a newsman stuck his nose in where it didn't belong! This novelette appeared in the October 1940 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction". ----- Hiram Gilmore "Harry" Bates III (October 9, 1900 – September 1981) was an American science fiction editor and writer.  His short story "Farewell to the Master" (1940) was the basis of the science fiction movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951). In 1983, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” was inducted into the Science Fiction Film Hall of Fame as part of the Balrog Awards, which were given from 1979 to 1985. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    Farewell to the Master, by Harry Bates

  8. Aug 9

    The Nothing, by Frank Herbert

    The Nothings stemmed from the future’s tragic lack of courage. But one man and woman dared to shape a more audacious tomorrow. This short story appeared in the January 1956 issue of "Fantastic Universe." ----- Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and five sequels, with Dune winning the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965 and sharing the Hugo Award in 1966 with ...And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer. In 1942, he served in the U.S. Navy's Seabees for six months as a photographer, but suffered a head injury and was given a medical discharge. He subsequently moved to Portland, Oregon where he reported for The Oregon Journal. Herbert was the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's education writer from 1969 to 1972 and lecturer in general studies and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Washington (1970–1972). He worked in Vietnam and Pakistan as a social and ecological consultant in 1972, and in 1973 he was director-photographer of the television show The Tillers. Herbert had retired from newspaper writing by the end of 1972, becoming a full-time fiction writer, and enjoying considerable commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1979, Herbert met anthropologist Jim Funaro with whom he conceived the Contact Conference. In June 1981, Herbert was a guest of honour at Advention '81 in Adelaide, South Australia. ----- If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, please let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me. ----- Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

    The Nothing, by Frank Herbert
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Stories from the "Golden Age of Pulp Fiction." The "Golden Age of Pulp Fiction" is generally considered to be from the last decade of the 1800s to the mid-1900s, when magazines published on cheap pulp paper filled (mostly American) news-stands. Notable examples of these pulp fiction magazines include Argosy, Blue Book Magazine, Adventure, Detective Story Magazine, Weird Tales, and Astounding Stories. Please note that performance of a story is not a condoning, endorsement, or promotion of attitudes, prejudices, biases or opinions therein—particularly of gender and gender roles, ethnicity, disability, and sexuality—that an inhabitant of modern times would find distasteful. If you have a story that you'd like me to perform, let me know at goldenagefiction@proton.me.

Information

  • Creator
    Paul Lawley-Jones
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    194
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024-2026
  • Show Website
    Golden Age Fiction

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