SEQUELS—BY POPULAR DEMAND
by Walt Z. Russjuchi
Sequels to stories are few and far between, and the reasons for writing sequels are still fewer. Briefly there are two. The first, because it is a time-saving device. An author wishes to write a story, and it is simpler for him to continue the adventures of a character he has already created and who is familiar to the magazine world than to create a plot with a new locale and new characterizations. The second, because the readers demand a sequel. Perhaps they have liked a character in a story and would like to read more about him. Perhaps the story ends unsatisfactorily or even disastrously, whereupon the reader wants a sequel with the hero coming out on top and the ending to be all for the best. In this article we are concerned with the latter reason. Should we consider the stories that had sequels because of popular demand we will have a list of some of the best stories that have been written (in the fantastic field).
The first noteworthy fantasyarn to have a sequel was George Allan England's famous "Darkness and Dawn," which appeared in the 1912 Cavalier. For more than a year after the publication of this serial the editor was constantly deluged with requests for a sequel. Finally, in 1913, it appeared, "Beyond the Great Oblivion," and then again because of further petitions for another sequel Mr. England penned "The After Glow," the last of the trilogy, which are so popular even to this day.
In 1918 A. Merritt wrote a novelette for All-Story that was destined to make science fiction history. It was the famous "The Moon Pool." Those who read the story created a great demand for further adventures in the strange domain of the "moon pool." Thus in 1919 Mr. Merritt obliged with "The Conquest of the Moon Pool."
In the same magazine appeared an occult interplanetary serial by J. U. Giesy, "Palos of the Dog-Star Pack." Readers acclaimed it one of the best of the interplanetary stories, and two sequels, "The Mouthpiece of Zitu" and "Jason Son of Jason" appeared to satisfy the public's thirsting for more adventures on the Dog-Star.
(Do not miss part two of this series, which will appear next month.)
PRINTS HIS "YARNS"
Westfield Man Writes Novelette of Scientific Type
(Special to the Journal)