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Armchair Fiction features the best in classic science fiction short story collections. "Masters of Science Fiction, Vol. One" features the works of Bryce Walton, who was one of the most prolific sci-fi authors of the 1950s. He is probably best remembered for his 1952 novel, "Sons of the Ocean Deep," which was part of the heralded John C. Winston sci-fi hardback series of the 1950s and 1960s. His work appeared in all the top science fiction magazines of the day, including "Galaxy," "Fantastic Universe," "If," "Planet Stories," and many others.

Walton was born in Blythedale, Missouri in 1918. He passed away in 1988. Here is a fine collection of fifteen of his most memorable stories. "HE TURNED QUICKLY... The shelter was still there, and behind it the row of spaceships—not like chalk marks on a tally board now, but like odd relics that didn’t belong there in the thick green grass... Five ships instead of four." —from "The Highest Mountain."

It might not have been so hard to sell Jon West on the Deeps - if he hadn't had his heart set on the stars. Bitter disappointment over washing out of space school prompted his rash decision to join the Deepsmen who struggled to conquer Earth's last frontier and the threats it held for the North American continent.

Based on the theory that man may someday inhabit the vast ocean floors, this tale is a speculative journey into that fantastic realm. Scenes in fabulous undersea cities, tense battles between men and colossal sea monsters, a running feud between Jon and a belligerent civilian youth - all combine to make this an exciting drama in the best science fiction tradition.

Not until rumors begin about the Mindanao Trench and the mysterious Project called "X" - a project to save a continent - does Jon snap out of his reluctant attidude toward the Deeps and realize the full magnitude of a mission more dangerous than any on Earth or in space. Tidal waves, the descent to perpetual blackness seven miles under the sea, disasters that struck with lightning speed breed action that drives Jon and his fellow Deepsmen toward a powerful climax.

Contents:

• 5 - Dark of the Moon - (1957) - shortstory
• 19 - The Highest Mountain - (1952) - shortstory
• 35 - The Last Laugh - (1951) - shortstory
• 54 - Back to Nature - (1956) - shortstory
• 65 - The Last Quarry - (1956) - shortstory
• 77 - Star Bright - (1951) - shortstory
• 92 - Jack the Giant Killer - (1955) - shortstory
• 109 - The Barrier - (1951) - shortstory
• 118 - Earth Needs a Killer - (1950) - novelette
• 151 - Dreadful Therapy - (1953) - novelette
• 189 - Last Call - (1952) - shortstory
• 204 - The Last Hero - (1954) - shortstory
• 214 - Doomsday 257 A.G.! - (1952) - novelette
• 244 - To Each His Star - (1952) - shortstory
• 256 - They Will Destroy - (1952) - novelette
• 299 - The Passion of Orpheus - (1954) - novelette