Edwin K. Sloat (1895-1986) began his writing career in Science Fiction. A resident of Fort Madison, Iowa, he worked as a newspaperman, for the U. S. Post Office and as a band leader. A graduate of the State Normal College in Oklahoma, he may have trained to be a teacher.
Sloat began publishing his work in 1928 and stayed with the fledgling Science Fiction genre for six years, writing for Hugo Gernsback, Harry Bates and T. O’Connor Sloane. Gernsback was notorious for low or no pay. At less than a penny a word, SF was not going to keep anyone in groceries. When Harry Bates brought Astounding into being, paying two cents a word, Sloat produced the bulk of his early and best work. Sadly, the Clayton chain went bust. Sloat never wrote for F. Orlin Tremaine, the man who took over Astounding in 1933.
The Gernsback Years
“Flight to Venus” (Amazing Stories, December 1928) has a newspaperman, Shepard, in collusion with the rocket scientist, Morteshang, to pull off a hoax. Morteshang plans to parachute from the rocket and hide out for a year. Unfortunately for him, he goes to Venus and returns with three green-skinned Venusians. People back on Earth get wind of the hoax and nobody believes the pair. Morteshang plans to return to Venus, having fallen in love with their princess.
“The World Without Name” (Wonder Stories, March 1931) uses a scenario that will become familiar years later in the Clayton Astounding. (Fellow Western writer, Tom Curry used it in “Hell’s Dimension”, April 1931. Jack Williamson in July 1931.) A scientist named Steinhilde invents a matter transfer machine and disappears. His friend is suspected for murdering the man. He steals a gun from the cops who are watching him and goes through the trans-mat to rescue the scientist and his assistant, Josef. The beam took them to Mars, where the Martians plan to invade earth through the trans-mat. Steinhilde destroys his machine.
Many Editors
“The Space Rover” (Astounding Stories of Super-Science, February 1932) is probably Sloat’s most popular tale. Space pilots are transferring convicts who turn out to be men wronged by the rich governor of Ganymede, Teutoberg. The men turn pirate and fight patrol ships to finally kill the overlord and get the iridium that is the prize. This story gave Science Fiction the idea of the space freighter that is common to all SF today.
“Master of Storms” (Wonder Stories, July 1932) has the scientist Allard invent weather control. The leaders of the city and the worker’s union fight out their power struggle while threatening the scientist. He uses the technology to help the workers take over.
“Beyond the Planetoids” (Amazing Stories, August 1932) has Tom Basil captured by the space pirate Corvus to be sold as a slave. Tom manages to sneak on board another pirate’s ship, Morto. Morto does not allow Tom to join, planning to feed him to his Martian death mice, vermin that swarm like land piranhas. Tom escapes that fate when a meteor hits the ship and Morto and his pirates get eaten by the mice. Corvus learns of Tom’s escape and comes for him. Tom blows up Morto’s ship, destroying Corvus too. In a space suit, Tom heads for Callisto.
“Loot of the Void” (Astounding Stories of Super-Science, September 1932) has more pirates. This time it is half a map and a treasure on Titan. Dick Penrun beats the competition to the cavern, which is guarded by trap-door spiders. The venom of these giant arachnids puts you to sleep for centuries until their young eat you. Dick finds a victim who is an Elizabethan with a spaceship made of wood.
“The Vibration” (Amazing Stories, December 1932) begins with the world racked by terrible earthquakes. George Darrell is charged with discovering what is causing them, Teaming up with Evelyn Tulner, daughter of the explosive scientist, George goes to Siberia where a mad Russian Communist, Moklov, is holding Tulner. Moklov has designs on Evelyn. Good thing he dies and the world is saved.
“The Three Suns of Ev” (Amazing Stories, May 1933) has Professor Humphrey’s assistant kidnap him, his daughter and other assistants because Neis is actually an agent of Ev. He works for the ruling aliens, the Thaks, giant crab-creatures. Taking them back to his world, requiring suspended animation for centuries, the professor proves a poor solution to the problem of the Evs. Their planet is falling apart. Neis gets fungus injected into him as his reward and the professor dies. The Thaks flee in spaceships, abandoning their human slaves. The Earthlings steal a ship along with Neis and go back to Earth (another four hundred years in hyb-sleep). When they wake, Neis is a pile of dust.
Writing on the Range
“Gift Guns” (Cowboy Stories, March 1936) was Edwin K. Sloat’s first Western. He would write about fifty of them along with one detective story, “Bury Me Not” (Detective Story, December 1944). Sloat did return to Science Fiction after a six year hiatus. Now he was selling SF war stories to Ray A. Palmer, Mort Weisinger and the great John W. Campbell. That experience wasn’t repeated as Sloat sold his last story to the minor league magazine, Astonishing Stories. He got his first and only cover with that last appearance. He returned to writing Westerns until the end of his career in 1951, with “No Water for the Cross-T Herd” (Double Action Western, November 1951).
The Return to Science Fiction
“When Time Stood Still” (Amazing Stories, July 1939) begins with Kent Rider working for the security of his country. Rider goes to the Devil Blue Mountains looking for Dr. Dalmetz, an inventor. He has a new defense for his country, a force field. When Mason, the Chief’s secretary shows up, Kent knows he’s been lied to…
“The World Without Name” reprinted in Startling Stories, July 1939. Mort Weisinger brought this story back, the only one to be reprinted while Sloat was still writing.
“The Nova” (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1939) has three men on an abandoned ship tackle a space pirate using ancient atomic weapons. The story doesn’t sound much like Sloat, more like John W Campbell with mini-lectures on atomics.
“The Deadly Swarm” (Astonishing Stories, August 1940) has Jim Cragg, a flyer against the invading Gans, evil foreigners from the Balkans, looking for Sheila Donn. Apparently she has been killed. Later Jim goes undercover disguised as a Gan to find out the secret of the Gan’s deadly swarm. What will happen when he finds Sheila again?
Conclusion
Writers like Edwin K. Sloat experimented with the new genre of magazine Science Fiction but the rewards for Pulpsters were few. Most early SF writers were hobbyists or fans. Being a professional, a Pulp writer like Sloat had to look for better and more regular paying magazines. For Sloat, this was the Westerns. Unlike writers like Ed Earl Repp, who wrote SF and Westerns at the same time, Sloat did not simply write Space Westerns. His two genres remain separate, more often using Caribbean pirate yarns or anti-Communistic war stories for inspiration.
