ERNST, Paul (Frederick)

(1899-1985)

   US writer, mostly of short fiction for pulp markets, sometimes under his own name and sometimes (once in Weird Tales) under the pseudonym Paul Frederick Stern; he should not be confused with the Paul Ernst (1886-?) who wrote 1930s detective novels. His first published story may have been "The Temple of Serpents" for Weird Tales in 1928, and he remained extremely active throughout the 1930s, writing for sf, fantasy and hero magazines. In the last capacity, under the house name Kenneth ROBESON, he was responsible for much of the contents of The Avenger, writing all 23 novel-length stories for that magazine in 1939, each featuring The Avenger, a SUPERHERO who fought a wide range of villains; the Robeson house name had already been made popular by Lester DENT in DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE, and it was in an attempt to cash in on the success of the name that it was offered for PE's use.These tales all appeared in book form in the 1970s as Justice, Inc * (1972), The Yellow Hoard * (1972), The Sky Walker * (1972), The Devil's Horns * (1972), The Frosted Death * (1972), The Blood Ring * (1972), Stockholders in Death * (1972), The Glass Mountain * (1973), Tuned for Murder * (1973), The Smiling Dogs * (1973), River of Ice * (1973), The Flame Breathers * (1973), Murder on Wheels * (1973), Three Gold Crowns * (1973), House of Death * (1973), The Hate Master * (1973), Nevlo * (1973), Death in Slow Motion* (1973), Pictures of Death * (1973), The Green Killer * (1974), The Happy Killers * (1974), The Black Death * (1974), The Wilder Curse * (1974) and Midnight Murder * (1974), the last being from 1940. (Subsequent The Avenger novels in the 1970s series were originals written by Ron GOULART, also as Robeson.) PE's Doctor Satan series in Weird Tales is fantasy along conventional hero-villain lines; five of these stories were reprinted as Dr Satan (coll 1974 chap) ed Robert E. WEINBERG. His sf stories - the first of which were "The Black Monarch" (1930 Weird Tales) and "Marooned under the Sea" (1930 ASF)-include "The Microscopic Giants" (1936) and "Nothing Happens on the Moon" (1939). PE was less prolific after the 1930s.

   PN/JC

   See also: ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION.