“Monsters of Mars” by Edmond Hamilton (1931)

Thanks to the blog Variety SF, I’ve been browsing the digitized issues of Astounding Stories magazine at the Internet Archive. One of the stories I found is Edmond Hamilton’s novelette “Monsters of Mars,” which was published in the April 1931 issue. Based on the science of the age of radio, the plot involves three Earthmen who visit the Red Planet and unexpectedly find hostile Martians who are eager to conquer Earth.

“Monsters of Mars” starts on Page 4 of the April 1931 issue of Astounding Stories and goes on to Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11, Page 12, Page 13, Page 14, Page 15, Page 16, Page 17, Page 18, Page 19, Page 20, Page 21, Page 22, Page 23, Page 24, and Page 25. For an alternative approach that is more maddening, start at the Internet Archive's index to the Astounding Stories issues for 1931 and try to find the correct images to read!

As you'll quickly discover, reading Hamilton’s “Monsters of Mars” online can be a scary experience because the Internet Archive presents raw digitized images of the magazine. It might be less frightening if you copy the images and dump them into your photo application, where you can manipulate them to a better size and clarity.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!