Paul Ernst (American writer)

Paul Frederick Ernst (November 7, 1899 – September 21, 1985)[1] was an American pulp fiction writer. He is best known as the writer of the original 24 "Avenger" novels, published by Street & Smith under the house name Kenneth Robeson.

Ernst's novella "The Raid on the Termites" was the cover story in the June 1932 Astounding Stories
Ernst's novella "The Duel of the Sorcerers" took the cover of the March 1932 issue of Strange Tales

Biography

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Paul Ernst was born in Akron, Ohio.[2][3]: 2  He "[took] up fiction writing in his early twenties".[3] "A prolific manufacturer of potboilers-made-to-order," his stories appeared in a number of early Science fiction and fantasy magazines.[3] His writing appeared in Astounding Stories, Strange Tales and Amazing, and he was the author of the Doctor Satan series (8 stories in all) which ran in Weird Tales from 1935 to 1936.[3] His most famous work was in writing the original 24 The Avenger stories in the eponymous pulp magazine between 1939 and 1942.

When pulp magazine work began to dry up, Ernst "was able to make a painless transition into the more prestigious "slick" magazines, where his word skill earned him higher financial rewards."[3] As of 1971, he was "still active as a writer," including penning "Blackout" for the July 1971 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. He died in Pinellas County, Florida in September 1985, at age 85.[3]

Bibliography

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  • Ernst, Paul (2013). The Complete Tales of Doctor Satan. Altus Press.
  • Twelve Who Were Damned and Other Stories, Ramble House, 2016
  • The Complete Tales of Seekay, Steeger Books, 2018
  • Rulers of the Future, Armchair Fiction, 2019
  • Red Hell of Jupiter, Armchair Fiction, 2012


Critical studies and reviews

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  • Lupoff, Richard A. (Dec 2013). "Locus Looks at Books : Divers Hands". Locus (635): 23, 53–54. Reviews The complete tales of Doctor Satan.

References

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  1. ^ Terence E. Hanley, Tellers of Weird Tales blog
  2. ^ G.W. Thomas, Of Men and Monsters: "Copies in Bronze" Archived 2009-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed August 6, 2008
  3. ^ a b c d e f Hutchison, Don The Great Pulp Heroes - 3: The Avenger in Peter Harris (ed.) The New Captain George's Whizzbang #12 (1971)
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