In the far future, the world has fallen to chaos with the criminal elements controlling the cities and vast police forces ruling the unknown wilderness beyond.Only one man, unknowingly, holds the key to the state in which society finds itself - a man named Craig.Craig, however, is an outcast, a pariah, feared by organised crime and despised by the police who, despite themselves, are compelled to use him.This is the tale of how Craig fights back - against forces unkn...

Aggression is out of date.After one war scare too many the human has suppressed it aggressive instincts by genetic manipulation.Make love, not war.Now mankind is faced with an enemy so superior, so ruthless, that it is fight or be wiped out - and humans can no longer fight; they cannot even order their robots to fight.Violence is decadent.Only a museum exhibit from a thousand years ago - a Royal Navy submarine complete with commander and crew, their ...

The conquest of a galaxy is relatively easy providing the aggressor has the necessary technology and, more important, a safe method of overcoming possible opposition without bleeding to death in the process. The Asdrake employed mutated micro-organisms which directly attacked the brain of the planet's intelligent life - they liked this method. They could fight if they had to but were inherently lazy. This method had worked successfully on twenty-two occasions - why should it fail on planet...

A science fiction classic by British master Philip E. High!Harcourt smiled his professional smile. “Now, you came to me because you felt something was wrong, some probably frightening aberration which we will deal with later. Were you under pressure at the time.”“A policeman is always under pressure.” Nevinson sighed. “Unfortunately this happened three weeks ago while on a holiday in Europe. Before I left everyone told me I should visit the Spatza, you’ve heard of it no dou...

In some parts of the world, self-confessed murderer Leonard Graham would have been executed, or even given life imprisonment for his monstrous crime. At his trial, he had confirmed to the court that he'd only met the man he'd shot a few hours before. Prior to that one meeting, he'd never seen him before in his life. The accused had offered no reason for his apparently unprovoked and savage attack, shooting his victim repeatedly at point-blank range. He was sentenced to five years in a psyc...

They were technically superior to mankind—they made humans look like savages. So what could possibly go right when the two empires bumped up against each other?

The Best of Philip E. HighWelcome to the Bizarre Imagination of Philip E. High.-A world without laws where the basest criminal activity flourishes unchecked in a dog-eat-dog society;-When the crew of a submarine find themselves flung millions of years into the past the consequences are devastating;-The minds of the entire population of a city are infected by the thoughts of a madman, and become insane themselves - and the contagion is spreading;-Mankind...

Look down into the streets, the buildings, the parks.There is your battleground. Down there is the enemy - an enemy who wears no uniform.He walks behind you in the street, sits with you when you eat, and perhaps swims beside you in a public pool. He may ask you for a light, bow you into a hotel, sell you a flyer, or in another form, leave the smell of perfume on your pillow.The enemy is young and old, male and female, and he is everywhere. Could such a situation ari...

Power-Greedy.Men wished to rule the world, but one man stood in their way. Peter Duncan came from the planet Mattrain - but who was he? Was he human? If so, whence came his vastly superior intellect and technical knowledge? These were mysteries the Administration feared - because they could not find the answer to them. Too late they saw danger. For, by then, Peter Duncan had escaped and taken refuge in the Devastated Areas, from which he continued his fight to save the human race f...

When an elite submarine crew surfaces in a world they can't recognize, they're thrust into a deadly struggle for survival. Faced with incomprehensible alien technology, Captain Harvey must make impossible decisions to save his crew. Will their actions in the past change the future—or are they fighting for a lost cause?

This issue, we have a pair of Irish-themed stories (one dark, one light) by Christina Hoag and David Dean to welcome St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, there’s plenty more original fiction, too: tales by Ron Miller, Grant Tracey, Susan Shwartz, and CJ Erick, plus a new solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. And, as always, we have some classics, too: science fiction shorts...

This issue, we have original mysteries from Janice Law (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and our BCW’s very own Ron Miller (who moonlights as our Art Director), plus a modern masterpiece by Gina Nelson (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman). Add a rare Golden Age mystery novel by James Hay, Jr. and we have quite a winning mix.But wait, there’s more! No issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.On the science fiction side, we have a...