The Diamond from the Sky
by Roy L. McCardell
Both A. W. Strickland in "Science Fiction Films Volume I" and Douglas Menville in "Things to Come - An Illustrated History of the Science Fiction Film" note this as being a popular serial. They both also mention that it has weak s.f. elements.
I was undecided when I saw this photoplay available for online purchase. I then noticed that Sam Moskowitz in his anthology "Science Fiction by Gaslight" (apologies for all of the name dropping!!) had a story by McCardell. It wasn't terrible; so, I decided to take the plunge and buy "The Diamond from the Sky".
I can't account for the popularity or quality of the 1915 serial (since it is lost). But the novel read like a very bad soap opera.
(BTW, the * only * s.f. element at all is, of course, that a meteorite has fallen with a diamond in it.)
It seems that there is an inter-family feud between the Stanleys over among other things the "The Diamond from the Sky" a.k.a. "The Charm against harm". As the story unfolds, there is almost no character development (even for this type of book). Motivations are sometimes described briefly just before something happens. But that's it.
Along the way, the The Diamond from the Sky is lost, found, stolen, recovered, pawned, gambled away, dropped in the ocean and oh-my-gawd found "...in an inland marsh in a frog puddle, dropped by the pelican who shook it from the fish that brought it from the depths"!!!
There may be more. But to be honest, I had to skim quickly over pages of this book just to finish it.
"The Diamond from the Sky" - this book, to my mind, is definitely no gem!!
written: 1/11/2002