Status Updates From War over Lemuria: Richard S...

24. Artful Obsession. Shaver pursues “rock books.” Big federal obscenity trial against Hamling in Houston in 1966. Shaver is called to testify for the prosecution.

25. Martian Diary. Rap can’t finish his autobiography. Publishes Shaver’s rock book in The Secret World but doesn’t give him credit on the cover. Shaver dies due to complications of pancreatic cancer

22. The Stigmata of Raymond A. Palmer. Shaver moves to a farm in Wisconsin and convinces Rap to move to Amherst, WI. Rap starts Mystic magazine. Later, it becomes Search magazine. Shaver tries and fails at farming but discovers “rock books.”

23. Big Trouble in Little Amherst. Rap and Shaver get in trouble since they were listed as directors and president of Hamling’s porn companies. Shaver moves to Arkansas.

19. Armistice of 1948. Rap offers a truce to fandom and appears to wrap up the Shaver Mystery to placate Ziff.

20. Reconstructing Ray Palmer. Still publishing FATE, but Rap also started Other Worlds Science Stories.

21. The Unexpected Gafiation of William L. Hamling. Hamling’s connection to Hugh Hefner and the start of his competition to Playboy Magazine, Rogue.

17. Science of the Damned. Debate about the Shaver “Hoax.”

18. Fanfeud From Hell. The beginning of the end of Rap’s editorship at *Amazing*. The new obsession: flying saucers. The debut of FATE magazine to focus on flying saucers and Fortean phenomena.

15. Conflict. The Shaver Mystery takes off. Letters to *Amazing* flood in.

16. Line in the Sand. Despite the popularity of the Shaver Mystery, active SF fandom mostly rises against Rap and Shaver.

Part III: The Rise and Fall of the Shaver Mystery, 1945-1948

13. Howard Browne. Browne becomes editor of *Mammoth Detective* based on two stories he submitted to Bernard G. Davis. But because *Mammoth Detective* is quarterly, Davis makes Browne assistant editor of *Amazing* and *Fantastic*.

14. Lemuria, My Lemuria. The start of the Shaver Mystery in *Amazing* and Shaver and Palmer become friends.

Ionia, 1938-1943. Shaver is committed to the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Based on the voices he hears, Shaver developed his knowledge of the Inner Earth. After 5 years, he was released and moved back in with his parents. Also since his release, Dick submitted stories to pulp mags eventually getting his letter about the Mantong alphabet published in *Amazing Stories*.

9. The Wicker School of Fine Art. Shaver takes art classes, does nude modeling, and meets Sophie Gurvitch.

10. Through the Looking Glass. Shaver’s brother, Taylor, dies unexpectedly. Shaver starts hearing voices. Shaver is committed to Ypsilanti State Hospital. His daughter Evelyn Ann Shaver is born. Sophie is electrocuted.

11. Period of Abandonment. Shaver flees to Canada, but is eventually caught.

Part II: Richard Sharpe Shaver

7. Shavertown - Richard Shaver’s ancestors. Both industrious and victims of circumstance, including mental health problems.

8. The Early Years. Dick Shaver’s childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Lots of moving around, both from place to place and job to job.

5. Politics - East Coast SF leftists vs. Midwest “Mom & Apple Pie”. Campbell vs. Palmer or high-brow SF vs. Everyman SF.

6. The Inner Circle - Rap’s inner circle included William L. Hamling, Howard Browne, and Chester Geier. Leroy Yerxa becomes an important writer for Palmer and introduces him to Marjorie Wilson, who Rap marries. Shaver’s letter about Mantong arrives.

4. Spilling the Atoms - Rap from editor of fanzine *SFD* to its changed name, *Fantasy Magazine*. Friends with Forry Ackerman. Writer. Death of Stanley Weinbaum. Editor of *Amazing Stories* and *Fantastic Adventures*. Getting Bloch to write his first sci-fi story for *Amazing Stories*.

3. Trauma - The effects of Rap’s medical issues on his psychology. Plus, Rap starts the first Sci-Fi fanzine: *The Comet*, later titled *Cosmology*. Also, his stint with the Milwaukee Fictioneers with the likes of Robert Bloch and Stanley G. Weinbaum. Later he joins the editorial staff of *Science Fiction Digest*.

2. Education - Rap’s education is mostly the lack of formal education coupled with the school of hard knocks.

Part I: The Life and Times of Raymond Alfred Palmer

1. The Memory Comet - Rap’s early experiences including his claims of superhuman abilities like an infallible memory (which is shown to be false) and his harrowing childhood injury and convalescence.

Preface & Introduction - Toronto explains how he got involved in this topic and gives a little background on Shaver and Palmer’s life trajectory.