FFB: War of the Giant Apes -- Alexander Blade

Yes, I know this is a magazine and not a book.  It's Fantastic Adventures (April 1949), and "War of the Giant Apes" is a novelette.  And this is all totally James Reasoner's fault.  

I've been eyeing this cover on eBay for a couple of years, ever since I was on the last "Apes" panel at ArmadilloCon, but I've resisted buying it.  Then James put the cover on his blog and reminded me in the comments that the only pulps you regret are the ones you don't buy.  

Then, to make matters worse, he e-mailed me and said he'd bought a copy of the pulp.  Well, that did it.  I had to have one, too, and soon enough, I did.  One commenter on James' blog says that this cover is about the worst of the year on Fantastic Adventures, and maybe it is.  I love it, though.  As for the story, . . .

. . . . it's terrible.  Alexander Blade is a house name, and as far as I know, nobody knows who used it for this story.  Whoever it was would probably prefer to remain anonymous, and I don't blame him.

Mars, see, is inhabited by giant apes.  They're 50 feet tall.  An Earth scientist has created a thought-control machine.  That's it on the back of the truck there in the cover illustration.  So naturally there's nothing for it but to go to Mars, grab an ape by controlling its thoughts, and bring it back to Earth for the grand tour.  The air on Mars is too thin for a man to breathe for very long, but for giant apes?  No problem.  Back on earth, does the giant ape have any trouble breathing the rich air or coping with the gravity?  Not in the least.  Of if so, it's never mentioned.  The mind-controlled tour begins, but Things Are Not As They Seem.  

[MANY SPOILERS AHEAD]  It's all a plot by the Martians, see?  They have no mechanical abilities to speak of, but they have superior mental powers.  The giant ape is actually in full control of the minds of everyone on Earth.  Well, except for the mind of Our Hero, Dan Moran, who, for some reason (the plot), the ape has allowed to be an independent operator.  During the year of the tour, the Powers That Be on Earth have been constructing a fleet of giant spaceships (they're much faster at building stuff than we are in the present, obviously) with which to attack and conquer Mars.  Of course this is all part of the Mogar's plan (Mogar is the ape, by the way).  When the ships reach Mars, the apes will take them and fly them back to Earth and take over.  Just how apes that are 50 feet tall are going to fly ships designed by men isn't covered in detail.  Mogar tells Moran all this before finally taking over his mind.  Earth is doomed!

But wait!  Maybe not!  "For [Dan] knew something. Something that even the  mighty brain of Mogar had failed to grasp.  And it was the only chance . . . ."

I can say no more.  But I'm sure you can guess that the Earth is saved.  I'd tell you how, but I don't want to ruin things for you.  Just keep Slim Whitman in mind.

And did I mention that there's a sappy romance?  Well, there is.

So, yes, it's terrible.  Still . . . a giant ape!  I'd have loved it when I was 8 years old, and it's hard to resist even now.  Times were indeed simpler then, and so was a lot of SF.  Not for long, though.  The Magazine of Fantasy came along in the fall of that year, and Galaxy showed up  in 1950.  Those two digests both published stories that were miles away from this one and had a huge impact on the SF field.  

Still . . . a giant ape!  You can't go wrong with a giant ape, no matter how bad the story is.  I'm sure my friends Mark Finn and Rick Klaw would agree.