{"product_id":"9781912740338","title":"Rayguns and Rocketships","description":"Author: Rian Hughes\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781912740338\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Korero Press\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 Jun 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 120\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eRayguns and rockets! Spacesuited heroes caught in the tentacles of evil insectoid aliens! Who could resist such wonders? Science fiction paperbacks exploded over the 1940s and '50s literary landscape with the force of an alien gamma bomb.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTitles such as\u003ci\u003e Rodent Mutation, The Human Bat vs The Robot Gangster, Dawn of the Mutants \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMushroom Men from Mars \u003c\/i\u003eappeared from fly-by-night publishers making the most of the end of post-war paper rationing. They were brash and seductive  for around a shilling the future was yours. The stories were often conceived around a pre-commissioned cover and a title suggested by the publisher, and the writers were paid by the word, and sometimes not paid at all. Titles were knocked out at a key-pounding pace, sometimes over a weekend, by authors now lost to literary history (plus a few professionals who could spot an opportunity) who were forced to write under pseudonyms like Ray Cosmic, Steve Future, Vector Magroon or Vargo Statten.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the tight deadlines and poor pay, the books' cover artists still managed to produce works of multi-hued, brain-bending brilliance, and collected here is an overview of their output during an unparalleled period of brash optimism and experimentation in publishing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46861465813150,"sku":"ADS-9781912740338","price":79.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781912740338.jpg?v=1779252210","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781912740338","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}