The Vanguard of Venus — Amazing Stories Promotional Booklet

About this issue

"The Vanguard of Venus" by Landell Bartlett is a science-fiction narrative presented as a rediscovered manuscript. The story is framed as a letter from Oliver Robertson, a Calcutta banker, forwarding the posthumous account of Stanley Murdock, a geologist who died in a 1927 railway accident. Murdock's sealed document, dated September 1923, recounts his extraordinary experience from January of that year while conducting geological surveys in New Mexico. After camping near Mescalero Ridge with field lieutenant Olin Gilfillan, Murdock discovers a mysterious boulder that wasn't present at camp setup. Upon investigation, he is abducted by silent, powerful captors and rendered unconscious. He awakens alone in absolute darkness within an enormous stone chamber, uncertain of his captors' identities or their intentions, and puzzled by his own survival. The narrative promises revelations of a world-altering catastrophe predicted for August 1931.