The magazine contained a lead novel and three short stories . The novel , The Master of Mars , by James Edison Northford ( or Northfield ; the name is spelled one way on the contents page and the other way at the head of the story ) , have been described by Bleiler as " moronic " . Bleiler also comment that of three short stories , one is dated and another third @-@ rate . Two of the stories was by R.R. Winterbotham ; one , " The Saga of the Smokepot " , was published under his own name ; the other , " The Last War " , was published under the pseudonym " R.R. Botham " . The other story , " The Man Without a Brain " , is a collaboration between R.C. Vance ( or R.C. Vane ; as with Northford , the magazine is inconsistent in spelling the name ) and F.K. Young .