Leigh Brackett (1915-1978)

Leigh Brackett was one quarter of Space Opera's Big Four (Edmond Hamilton, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore. These four were actually two married couples who produced so many of the classics of the 1930-1950s. Brackett and Moore became Tv and Film writers. Kuttner died tragically in 1958 of heart failure. Hamilton went onto pen Superman comics in the 1960s.)

Brackett may be best remembered for writing The Big Sleep (1946 )screenplay with William Faulkner or the Rio Bravo (1959) movies for Howard Hawks, but Iwill always remember her as the one who wrote The Empire Strikes Back (1980) with Lawreence Kasden. This film is the most perfect example of great Space Opera ever done. Many Star Wars fans do not like it because of it being the middle piece of three but so what? You have all the great Space Opera elements (romance,a ction, aliens, chases, etc.) and a better budget than the first Star Wars film.

 

 

Leigh Brackett, Queen of Space

1. "Martian Quest" Astounding Science Fiction, February 1940


2. "The Stellar Legion" Planet Stories, Winter 1940


3. "The Treasure of Ptakuth" Astounding Science Fiction, April 1940

4. "The Tapestry Gate" (Strange Stories, August 1940)


5. "The Demons of Darkside" Startling Stories, January 1941

6. "Water Pirate" Super Science Stories, January 1941


7. "The Dragon-Queen of Jupiter" Planet Stories, Summer 1941


8. "Interplanetary Reporter" Startling Stories, May 1941


9. "No Man's Land in Space" Amazing Stories, July 1941

10. "A World Is Born (Comet Stories, July 1941)


11. "Retreat to the Stars" Astonishing Science Fiction, November 1941


12. "Child of the Green Light" Super Science Stories, February 1942

13. "Child of the Sun" Planet Stories, Spring 1942

14. "Out of the Sea" Astonishing Stories, June 1942

15. "Lord of the Earthquake" Science Fiction, June 1942

16. "Cube from Space" Super Science Stories, August 1942


17. "The Halfling" (Astonishing Stories, February 1943)


18. "Outpost on Io" Planet Stories, Winter 1942


19. "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon" Astounding Science Fiction, February 1942


20. "Citadel of Lost Ships" Planet Stories, March 1943

21. "The Blue Behemoth" Planet Stories, May 1943)


22. "Thralls of the Endless Night" Planet Stories, Fall 1943


23. "The Jewel of Bas" Planet Stories, Spring 1944


24. "The Veil of Astellar" Thrilling Wonder Stories, Spring 1944


25. "Terror Out of Space" Planet Stories, Summer 1944


26. "Shadow Over Mars" Startling Storie, Fall 1944

27. "The Vanishing Venusians" Planet Stories, Spring 1945


28. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" (with Ray Bradbury ) Planet Stories, Summer 1946


29. "The Beast-Jewel of Mars" Planet Stories, Winter 1948


30. "The Moon That Vanished" Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1948


31. "Quest of the Starhope" Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1949


32. "Sea-Kings of Mars" Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1949


33. "Queen of the Martian Catacombs" Planet Stories, Summer 1949


34. "Enchantress of Venus" (aka "City of the Lost Ones") Planet Stories, Fall 1949


35. "The Lake of the Gone Forever" Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1949

36. "The Sword of Rhiannon" (Ace Double, 1949)


37. "The Dancing Girl of Ganymede" Thrilling Wonder Stories, February 1950


38. "The Truants" Startling Stories, July 1950


39. "The Citadel of Lost Ages" Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1950


40. "Black Amazon of Mars" Planet Stories, March 1951 (expanded as "People of the Talisman")


41. "The Starmen of Llyrdis" Startling Stories, March 1951


42. "The Woman from Altair" Startling Stories, July 1951


43. Shadow Over Mars (a: The Nemesis from Terra ) (1951)


44. "The Shadows" Startling Stories, February 1952


45. "The Last Days of Shandakor" Startling Stories, April 1952


46. "Shannach - The Last" Planet Stories November 1952


47. "The Ark of Mars" Planet Stories, September 1953

48. The Sword of Rhiannon (1953)


49. "The Big Jump" (Ace Double, 1953)


50. "Mars Minus Bisha" Planet Stories, January 1954


51. "Runaway" Startling Stories, Spring 1954


52. "Teleportress of Alpha C" Planet Stories, Winter 1955


53. "The Tweener" Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1955


54. "Last Call from Sector 9G" Planet Stories, Summer 1955


55. The Starmen (a: The Galactic Breed and The Starmen of Llyrdis) (1955)

56. The Big Jump (1955)


57. The Long Tomorrow (1955)


58. "All the Colors of the Rainbow" (Venture Science Fiction, Magazine November 1957)


59. "The Queer Ones" (aka "The Other People") Venture Science Fiction, March 1957


60. "The Road to Sinharat" (a: "The Secret of Sinharat") Amazing Stories, May 1963


61. Alpha Centauri - or Die! (1963)


62. John Eric Stark: Outlaw of Mars (1964)


63. "Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon" Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1964


64. The Coming of the Terrans (1967)


65. "Come Sing the Moons of Moravenn" (The Other Side of Tomorrow, 1973)


66. "How Bright the Stars" (Flame Tree Planet: An Anthology of Religious Science-Fantasy, 1973)


67. The Halfling and Other Stories (1973)


68. "Mommies and Daddies" (Crisis, 1974)


69. "The Ginger Star" Worlds of If, January-April 1974


70. The Ginger Star (1974)


71. The Hounds of Skaith (1974)


72. The Best of Planet Stories No 1 (1974)


73. The Reavers of Skaith (1976)


74. The Best of Leigh Brackett (1977)

75. "Thieves' Carnival" by Karen Haber/"The Jewel of Bas" (1990)

76. Martian Quest: The Early Brackett (2000)

77. "Stark and the Star Kings" (with Edmond Hamilton) (2005)