Twelve-year-old Biddy, a spirited girl braving the Arizona heat with her trusty burro Buck, spends her days exploring the desert. Despite her polio and leg brace, Biddy and Buck embark on imaginary adventures until they stumble upon a mysterious cave. Inside, she discovers a peculiar machine and meets Joe, a man claiming to be from the "sky bloc." Joe's miraculous healing powers restore Biddy's leg, igniting wonder and fear in the small town of Sage Bend. As tensions rise, the town's suspicion and prejudice lead to a dramatic confrontation, testing Biddy's courage and the power of hope.

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 great story by British master Philip E. High, as well as tales by Harlan Ellison, Henry Slesar, and Stephen Marlowe. Our novel is an early classic by Jack Williamson. Here’s the complete lineup— Cover Art: Ron Miller Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Lasker Circle,” by Janice Law [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “One Common Denominator,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Maggie McGrady’s Murder Mystery Cruise,” by Gina Nelson [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “I, Golem,”by Ron Miller [short story] No Clue! by James Hay, Jr. [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Infection,” by Philip E. High [short story] “Beauty Contest?” by Henry Slesar [short story] “The Passionate Pitchman,” by Stephen Marlowe [short story] “Biddy and the Silver Man,” by Harlan Ellison [novelet] The Alien Intelligence, by Jack Williamson [novel]

Presents the life of a California ex-slave, nurse, and midwife, who started many philanthropic projects.

Since the appearance of the first science fiction magazine in 1926, thousands of short stories have been published in periodicals devoted to the genre. These stories cover a wide range of subjects, from spacecraft to the human condition, and feature little-known authors as well as masters like Ellison and Asimov. In the past, finding which issue of what magazine ran a certain story was nearly impossible. This much-needed reference tool provides valuable assistance in the daunting task of locating short stories published in science fiction magazines, providing exhaustive indexes to magazines, authors, and titles, allowing a variety of options for research on 34,000 stories appearing in nearly 5,000 issues of 133 genre magazines. Stories from all major American publications, as well as from several minor periodicals, are indexed. Also included is an appendix of the best known and most prolific contributors, giving the titles of all their stories in this work (necessary because the huge author index does not show titles). A guide to how to use this book clarifies its features for the researcher.