Roman Frederick Starzl

Roman Frederick Starzl (1899–1976) was an American writer. He, and earlier, his father (John V. Starzl), owned the Le Mars Globe-Post newspaper of Le Mars, Iowa. Roman Frederick was also the father of physician Thomas E. Starzl. His writing is largely forgotten now, but he was called a "master" by the pioneer of space opera E. E. Smith. Starzl's Interplanetary Flying Patrol, in The Hornets of Space, may have influenced Smith's Galactic Patrol. There is an extensive interview with Thomas Starzl about his father in Eric Leif Davin's Pioneers of Wonder.

Biography Born Roman Frederick Starzl, he was the son of John (born Johann) V. Starzl and Margaret Theisen. John V. Starzl was born April 9, 1865, in Bischofteinitz (later known as Věvrov) in the Austrian Empire, the son of Josef Starzl and Magdalena Ruba. Josef Starzl immigrated with his wife and 5 children (including John) in 1878 to the USA. John V. Starzl sold his pharmacy in Chicago around the time of his marriage and moved back to Le Mars, Iowa, near where his Bohemian immigrant parents had settled after immigration. There, he purchased the German-language newspaper, Der Herold, which later became Le Mars Globe Post, and raised Starzl and two other surviving children. He reportedly started writing for pulp magazines as part of his efforts to raise enough money for a specific goal. Said goal was to acquire ownership of the newspaper and printing establishment associated with his family. Starzl eventually achieved this goal and retired from writing. Or so the story goes. His writing career indeed lasted only six years (1929–1934), during which he published about 24 stories. But it is possible that his writing career ended as his duties in the newspaper increased. A decision of necessity rather than choice. He became a partner in the Globe-Post in 1934, and sole owner and publisher in 1940. He continued in this role until 1968, when his printing plant fell victim to a fire.

His first story Out of the Sub-Universe (Summer, 1928), was featured in an issue of Amazing Stories Quarterly and inspired its cover. It depicted a young couple shrinking in size. The story built on an idea previously used in The Man from the Atom (1923) by Green Peyton Wertenbaker, but it also served as a parody of the Golden Atom tales by Ray Cummings.

Partial list of works Short stories Out of the Sub-Universe (Summer, 1928), first published in Amazing Stories Quarterly. Professor Halley (the protagonist) has conducted experiments with cosmic rays, discovering a method of resizing (both shrinking and enlarging) items and living beings. He has also discovered the existence of sub-universes within the structure of the atom. He has managed to send items to an atomic world, and then successfully retrieve them. The story begins when Halley attempts to send two human volunteers to this atomic world, using the same method of shrinking them. The volunteers are his daughter Shirley and her prospective fiancé Hale. They are supposed to stay in sub-atomic size for a mere half-an-hour. When Halley attempts to retrieve them, he is surprised to see a population of about 200 individuals emerge from the sub-atomic world. He learns that time within the sub-universe passes at an accelerated pace. While only half-an-hour passed for him, untold millennia passed within the atom. Shirley and Hale are long dead, and the newcomers consider them founding figures of their culture. Gary Westfahl calls attention to another element of the story. Accidentally or not, humanity colonizes a subatomic world. Making this an early use of the frontier theme in science-fiction. The theme is represented by tales where humans seek new homes in space (notably used by Robert A. Heinlein and Ray Bradbury), underneath the sea (Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement), on the upper atmosphere (Hugo Gernsback, Edmond Hamilton), underground (Daniel F. Galouye, Harlan Ellison), in alternative realities (Clifford D. Simak, Philip K. Dick), through time-traveling to the distant past (Robert Silverberg, Clifford D. Simak), or entering cyberspace (William Gibson, Greg Egan). Westfahl considers this to be a major theme of the entire genre. Robert A. W. Lowndes praised the story's "surprise" ending as "not only logical but necessary". Madness of the Dust (May 1930), first published in Amazing Stories. Set in the early 21st century, "not too long" after the year 2025. The main action takes place on planet Mars, with a description of its surface deriving from the theories of Giovanni Schiaparelli. There is also mention of planet Venus as a vacation center. A tale set in the 10,002nd century, in the year 1,000,144, in the vicinity of planet Jupiter. The background of the story has it that long ago humanity managed to expand beyond the inner planets. But in the 800th century, a massive meteor swarm ended interplanetary travel and communications. The fate of several colonies remains unknown. The story proper chronicles the first attempt in thousands of years to travel beyond Mars. Book I of the science fiction trilogy The Nova Project 70 written by Gregory R. Miller and Fabion O. Reeves mentions Starzyl in the acknowledgements.