Description
Strand Magazine: Unpublished Rod Serling Short Story PLUS Rod Serling at 100: One Writer’s Acknowledgment
(Strand Magazine: Featuring an unpublished Rod Serling short story, fiction by Adam Hamdy, John Floyd, and Vasa Clarke, and exclusive interviews with Robert Littell and Laurie R. King)
Rod Serling’s unpublished short story “First Squad, First Platoon” headlines The Strand Magazine’s latest issue. Written after his return from World War II, Serling drew from his experiences with the 511th Airborne in the Philippines. Here he witnessed some of the most intense combat and the horrific deaths of many of his fellow soldiers.
Serling wrote this story in his early twenties, yet it carries a maturity beyond his years. Through terse prose, Serling delivers the immediacy, sense of place, and cutting dialogue expected from Hemingway, Crane, or Dos Passos. It’s a powerful, unvarnished look at war in all its brutality. Moreover, this story is an unforgettable study of ordinary people in extraordinarily hellish situations. This unique issue also includes forewords to the story by Rod Serling’s daughters, Jodi and Anne. They provide context to the story and deeper insight into the man behind the words.
Also, in this issue, the inimitable John Floyd offers us “Pushing Joe Carter,” a Twilight Zone-esque tale of man’s inhumanity to man with—you guessed it—a twist at the end. Furthermore, Adam Hamdy and Emily Fox show us the psychological toll a life in law enforcement can take on the psyches of those sworn to serve and protect in “The Fear in Their Eyes.” And Vasa Clarke has turned Holmes and Watson’s attention to an unlikely case involving veterinary medicine and national security in “The Adventure of the Ayrshire
What’s more, we have an exclusive interview with espionage novelist Robert Littell. In a career spanning over half a century, Littell has elevated the genre into the realm of serious literature. His novels have earned comparisons to the works of John le Carré, Graham Greene, Len Deighton, and Eric Ambler. He is indisputably the modern-day master of the literary spy novel.
Throughout his writing career, Littell has used the genre of espionage fiction to explore the human condition. Notably, one of the hallmarks of his novels is his character-driven plots. He has a keen understanding of the men and women who live in the shadows where moral ambiguity reigns. His complex characters often find themselves struggling to hold onto the last vestiges of their humanity amid the deception required by their work as they fight for or against the inexorable, heartless tide of realpolitik.
Next, we also have an exclusive with Laurie R. King, known for her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. Throughout a prolific three-decade career, King has leveraged her extensive knowledge of history and literature to produce some of the most authentic historical novels of our time. Moreover, King has also written several bestsellers set in the modern day, winning over legions of readers worldwide.
Lastly, as the weather warms and beaches beckon, you’ll no doubt need the best new books. Storm Watch by C. J. Box, Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith, and The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen are but a few of the many gems in our reviews section.
If you’re looking for more previously unpublished short stories by other legends like Rod Serling, be sure to check out these issues with stories by Shirley Jackson, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Raymond Chandler, H.G. Wells, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Tennessee Williams, Louisa May Alcott, John Steinbeck, and Ray Bradbury.
Rod Serling at 100: One Writer’s Acknowledgment
Emmy-winning writer and lifelong Rod Serling fan Joseph Dougherty (thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars) takes a deep dive into the writing of the Twilight Zone creator on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
The year 2024 marks the centenary of Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. Emmy-winning writer Joseph Dougherty ( thirtysomething, Pretty Little Liars) picked this special anniversary to reflect on Serling and his contributions to television drama. An appreciation and exploration of the six-time Emmy-winning writer’s catalogue, Rod Serling at 100: One Writer’s Acknowledgment looks at some of Serling’s best known work and also some of his least acknowledged, inviting a new perspective on a master storyteller.
In the process, Dougherty takes a personal look at the time he spent in The Twilight Zone that led to his own award-winning writing career
