Wells, Basil
Entry updated 3 March 2025. Tagged: Author.

(1912-2003) US author in various genres, including detective stories and Westerns, who began publishing sf with "Rebirth of Man" as Basil E Wells in Super Science Stories for September 1940, and became a frequent contributor to Planet Stories. His generally workmanlike short fiction is assembled in Planets of Adventure (coll 1949) and Doorways to Space (coll 1951), as well as in the privately published Little Monsters (coll 1956 chap) and Silver Skin and Other Little Monsters (coll 1956 chap). A novel, Sons of Thrane (1952), was also published privately by sf fan Lynn A Hickman (1926-1996) (see Fandom). Wells's work was traditional in that it focused on Inventions and War in Space Opera venues; it is also traditional in its frequent and whole-hearted evocation of the Sense of Wonder. He also wrote five tales as by Gene Ellerman in the latter half of the 1940s, beginning with "Raiders of the Second Moon" (Summer 1945 Planet Stories). He became comparatively inactive after about 1957, though occasional short work appeared from the 1960s to the late 1990s. [JC/DRL]
Basil Eugene Wells
born Springboro, Pennsylvania: 11 June 1912
died Keystone Heights, Clay, Florida: 23 December 2003
works
- Sons of Thrane (Conneautville, Pennsylvania: privately, 1952) [pb/]
collections and stories
- Planets of Adventure (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1949) [coll: hb/Jack Gaughan]
- Doorways to Space (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1951) [coll: hb/Wm Benulis]
- Little Monsters (Conneautville, Pennsylvania: privately, 1956) [coll: pb/]
- Silver Skin and Other Little Monsters (Conneautville, Pennsylvania: privately, 1956) [coll: pb/]
- Moment of Truth (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2009) [story: ebook: first appeared December 1957 Fantastic Universe: na/]
- Second Sight (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2009) [story: ebook: first appeared September 1957 Fantastic Universe: na/]
- Stalemate (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2010) [story: ebook: first appeared November 1954 If: na/]
- Final Voyage and Other Science Fiction Stories (Horley, Surrey: Richard Simms Publications, 2016) [coll: pb/]
- Pioneers (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2019) [story: ebook: first appeared June 1955 If: na/]
- Queen of the Blue World (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Winter 1941 Planet Stories: na/]
- Quest of Thig (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Fall 1942 Planet Stories: na/]
- Quest's End (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Spring 1944 Planet Stories: na/]
- The Hairy Ones (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Winter 1944 Planet Stories: na/]
- Raiders of the Second Moon (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) as by Gene Ellerman [story: ebook: first appeared Summer 1945 Planet Stories: na/]
- Survival (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Spring 1946 Planet Stories: na/]
- Fog of the Forgotten (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Winter 1946 Planet Stories: na/]
- Scrambled World (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2020) [story: ebook: first appeared Spring 1947 Planet Stories: na/]
- Among the Scented Ones (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2021) [story: ebook: first appeared Winter 1947 Planet Stories: na/]
- Animat (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2021) [story: ebook: first appeared Spring 1949 Planet Stories: na/]
- Valkyrie from the Void (place not given: Project Gutenberg, 2021) [story: ebook: first appeared Fall 1948 Planet Stories: na/]
links
previous versions of this entry