chuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (07/23/86)
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Issue #7
August, 1986
Table of Contents
Part 1
Stalking the Wild Secondhand Book
Carl Hommel
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners
Steven Bellovin
Women in Fantastic Armies
Courtenay Footman
Voyagers II: The Alien Within
Chuq Von Rospach
Blood Music and Eon
Jim Brunet
Part 2
Pico Reviews
Part 3
Editorial: The Past Through Tomorrow
Chuq Von Rospach
Letters
OtherRealms Notes
Chuq Von Rospach
Stalking the Wild Secondhand Book
Carl Hommel
With paperback cover prices soaring above the $5.00 mark, and trade
paperbacks more expensive than the hardcovers of even 10 years ago, the
secondhand bookstore is a good place to shop. Why buy the latest Baen
Books cheap ink and ratty paper knockoff for $3.00 when you can find
the original for under $1.00? Since leaving college 4 years ago, I
have tripled my SF collection to over 6,000 books. Less than 100 were
bought for the cover price.
Patience is everything in secondhand browsing. It also demands a
phenomenal memory for titles, or a list that you carry with you.
There are three kinds of secondhand shops: those who know the worth of
SF and make you pay for it; those who know SF is different from
everything else on their shelves; and those who are being robbed blind
by the likes of me.
The first kind are the sort you find at SF Cons in the huckster room
with old first editions in mylar bags and high price tags. Specialty
stores like The Other Change of Hobbit in Berkeley or the Victor Hugo
Book Store in Boston are aware of the demand for the older, pre-1960
paperbacks. While these stores are the most expensive, they are more
likely to have a specific title. I just had to have the 1970 Ace
edition of _Servants of the Wankh_ - the third book in the _Tschai: Planet
of Adventure_ series by Jack Vance to complete my set. Although the
cover price was $.50, and I would have paid from $.25 to $.50 cents at
most store, I was not willing to wait years until I found it. So, I
coughed up the $5.00.
The second kind of bookstore has realized that SF is a hot item. Most
genres, like westerns, mysteries, and especially romance novels,
circulate in and out of the store. The same book may be sold back to
the store several times before it finally wears out. Not SF! We are
collectors and hold on to a title until death do us part. Stores will
get an entire collection and see it vanish within a week, never to
return. To combat this, most stores in the Boston area have a policy
that credit for non-SF books you sell the store cannot be carried over
to SF titles.
With spring cleaning comes yard sales and library sales. They
generally have books published recently, with cover prices ranging from
$1.95 to $4.25 and selling them from $.05 to $.50 apiece. Buy anything
you find interesting for yourself and then buy anything else with the
highest cover price you can. The third kind of bookstore goes solely by
cover price and the higher the price on the books you trade in, the
more credit you get to buy SF.
How can you tell a good shop? Here are some questions to ask
yourself. You will have to decide how the answers fit into your buying
patterns:
1. Did you find it easily? If so, chances are good that other SF
lovers will, too.
2. Do they have thirty copies of _Star Wars_?
3. Are the books in alphabetical order?
4. Are they all on display, or are some of them in boxes or behind
others on the shelves?
5. Are old records, magazines, and other oddities also sold?
6. Do they discount for bulk purchases? (I once bought 40 'Doc
Savage' books for $12.50 by pointing out that they had been
sitting there for 3 months.)
7. Do the store owners read SF themselves?
-----
E-mail address: carlton@masscomp.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Carlton B. Hommel
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners
Robert A. Heinlein
Reviewed by
Steven Bellovin
[slight spoilers]
Heinlein is about to drop off my "buy on sight" list. _Cat_ is, in my
opinion, his fourth turkey in a row, following _The Number of the Beast_,
_Friday_, and _JOB: A Comedy of Justice_. They're all pervaded by an
atmosphere of paranoia -- the characters are struggling against an
unknown force to, ultimately, no particular purpose. The books thus
have no global plot rather, they turn on local escapades, theme and
style. The two latter points are certainly enough to justify a book if
well-executed; unfortunately, they are not in this case. In fact, the
style tends to interfere with the theme.
The problem is that Heinlein's style has become too predictable, and
too wearyingly familiar. His characters all love sex, but they seem to
spend most of the time giggling and leering over it, explaining at
great length why it's so good and why their partner(s) have the right
attitudes. Killings, escapes, etc., are all handled oh-so-competently
-- there's no chance of (to cite an earlier Heinlein work) a Professor
Bernardo de la Paz dying.
It's not that his themes are trivial, either. As its subtitle
indicates, _Cat_ turns on manners -- or, more precisely, what constitutes
civilized behavior under difficult circumstances. But the constant
adventure and sexual encounters distract too much. Contrast this with
earlier Heinlein works: how many battles are described, rather than
merely alluded to, in _Starship Troopers_? Remarkably few, given the
theme of the book. And generally, each one had a point to make about
Rico's development. Not only that, Heinlein committed a mortal sin --
spending a lot of time lecturing his audience -- and got away with it.
And in _Time Enough for Love_, he tied together a set of mood pieces and
managed to produce a work that was utterly fascinating -- despite the
fact that many of the individual components were not really science
fiction internally.
There are good points to _Cat_. The plots are locally interesting, at
least until they become too predictable. We get a new look at some old
characters and old scenarios (Heinlein, like Asimov, is starting to
indulge in literary grand unification theories); their behavior is
different, but so is the narrator's viewpoint. Ultimately, it fails to
satisfy.
-----
E-mail: smb@ulysses.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Steven Bellovin
Women in Fantastic Armies
Courtenay Footman
Many recent fantasies, such as Diane Duane's _Tales of the Five_, most of
Barbara Hambly's books, and the _The Sharpest Edge_ by Stirling and
Meier, have non-technological armies with women on a more or less equal
footing with men. These books are all good, but this assumption is
unrealistic and detracts from the work.
There are unarguable differences between men and women. Beyond the
obvious, the average man is taller than the average woman, has greater
upper body strength and a faster sprinting speed. In a technological
society none of this makes much difference. With hand-to-hand weapons,
though, it means that given equal training a man will best a woman.
If a story has humans, if the primary weapons are hand to hand weapons,
if military training is not universal, if the society is compelled to
maximize its military efficiency, and if the story is rational, the
military use of women ought to be an exceptional event.
The requirement that the story be rational is necessary because if the
story is parody, satire or farce there is no requirement that the
author be required to make sense.
I am not saying that one should not write a book where women are
routinely used in combat; just violate one of my assumptions. The
first one can easily be altered, although it usually isn't. I have no
objections to female soldiers if technology or sorcery makes physical
strength unimportant in combat.
True universal training is rare because it so expensive; generally,
only a technological society can afford it. Hodgell's _Dark of the Moon_
is an example of when universal training does make sense.
The fourth assumption can only be violated if the society does not have
to face strong external threats, or the society will not be long for
the world. Phyllis Ann Karr's novels _Frostflower_ and _Thorn, Windborne_
violate that assumption; in her society, the only combat is ritualized
raiding in which only combatants get hurt, there is minimal damage to
property and no distance weapons are allowed. There are no external
enemies. For religious reasons, all warriors are women.
I am also not saying that there can be no women soldiers - one of the
best medieval combat leaders was a woman. It was not uncommon to leave
the command of medieval castles to the wife of the lord when he was
away, but commanding is not the same as fighting.
A story about an exceptional woman can be exceptionally good, e.g.
Robin McKinley's _Hero and the Crown_ and _The Blue Sword_, and Tamora
Pierce's Alanna stories. Women will not necessarily be in an inferior
position in a non-technological society, they just will not be the
first line combat troops. Andre Norton's _Estcarp_ is a matriarchy because
only women can use magic. Even there the combat troops are male.
-----
E-mail address: cpf@lnsvax.tn.cornell.edu
Copyright 1986 by Courtenay Footman
Voyagers II: The Alien Within
Ben Bova
[***+]
Tor Books, 1986, 344 pages,
$15.95 Hardback
Reviewed by
Chuq Von Rospach
_Voyagers II: The Alien Within_ is the latest from Ben Bova, a journeyman
SF writer and editor. _Voyagers II_ is a near future political intrigue
with a strong leaning towards hard SF.
Keith Stoner has been asleep for 18 years in cryogenic suspension. He
froze himself in deep space in an alien space craft to force the Earth
to rescue it. When medical advances allow his revival, the acquired
technology has reshaped society by making nuclear war impossible and
bringing many new ideas into the world. The rapid changes have also
brought the world to the brink of ruin, and Stoner awakes to growing
unease and escalating violence in Africa.
The company that revives Stoner is interested in using him and his
knowledge. Stoner has changed, though. The alien has merged with him
and the book is about the coming of age of these combined as they
discover and flex their powers.
The political aspects of this book are superb. There is a plot line
involving the political intrigue within the large multi-national
corporation attempting to control the alien knowledge and Stoner.
Everyone is spying on each other, sleeping with each other and hating
each other. There is also the global scale, as the worlds social and
political structure falls apart. The realities of a world where things
are changing too fast are very realistically portrayed.
The book is not without its flaws. Bova, in general, is a little rough
with expository dialog. You can tell when he switches gears and pulls
out the blackboard to explain something. Many authors get away with a
lot worse, though, and this is a minor nit.
A bigger problem was Stoner himself. Halfway through the book, the
Stoner develops a Messiah Complex. He walks from France to Africa and
singlehandedly stops a war. The action evolves well, but it was hard
to swallow; almost pulpish, it reminded me more of Doc Savage than
serious SF.
Despite this I really enjoyed this book. It is a good read. The
problems are minor. If you like Analog-style fiction, this one is
definitely for you.
-----
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
BLOOD MUSIC,
Arbor House, 1985
SFBC edition, 215 pages
EON
Bluejay Books, 1985
$16.95, 436 pages
Greg Bear
reviewed by
Jim Brunet
Buy both of these books and read them. I have a lot to say about both
books and much of it, especially about _Blood Music_, may seem to dwell
on the negative. How can I be negative and recommend the books at the
same time? Perhaps it's because an exciting near-miss can be so more
exasperating than the shot that falls wide of the mark.
Both are are very good books, far above the average. _Blood Music_ is on
the Hugo Ballot and I think that _Eon_ should be. Greg Bear is one of
the better, most consistent SF writers around today and both works are
to his credit.
_Blood Music_ is the expansion of a novelette of the same name that won a
Hugo award last year The story line is fascinating, revolving around
the development of microscopic intelligence as the inadvertent
outgrowth of research on biochips -- viruses incorporating computer
elements programmed to achieve tailored, biological functions, e.g.,
cleansing plaque from arterial walls.
One unauthorized experiment leads to viruses that, instead of following
designated programs form intelligent viral colonies that multiply
inside the human body, mutating rapidly and re-designing themselves
until they evolve the capability to literally remake their human
hosts. The viruses are, of course, highly contagious. The novelette
was chilling, terrifying even, arousing a sense of horror far
transcending the trivial tales of Stephen King-derived beasties. The
novel is less successful despite the added detail.
The novelette focused on the character of Vergil Ulam, a bio-technical
genius who has problems with authority and a predilection for
performing unauthorized experiments. Vergil is a well-sculpted tragic
character in the highest sense of the word. He is a nerd without being
a cliche; he has obstinate faith in his own abilities versus those
short-sighted, mediocre managers and directors who obstruct his genius;
he is socially and politically clumsy, yet not without insight into his
faults; finally, he has a sense of recognition of what he has done and
how he has overreached himself. He would be perfectly at home on a
Greek stage, waiting for the just retribution of the gods.
Near the end of the novelette and about a third of the way through the
novel, Vergil meets a more mundane, if artful, demise than any Greek
god would have devised. In the novelette, this is the penultimate
climax; in the novel, it marks the air slowly hissing out of the
balloon, the tension dissipating, a long slow spiral of declining
drama.
The second two-thirds of the book concern the lives of Dr. Michael
Bernard, another bioscientist, who has caught the plague from Vergil,
and Suzy McKenzie, a mildly retarded girl living with her family in
Brooklyn Heights. Suzy is an anomaly, one of a bare handful of people
in North America who do not catch the plague.
The struggles of Dr. Bernard to understand the plague and the
intelligent invaders and transformers of his body, and of Suzy, who
copes with the literal dissolution of her family and an empty New York
City, do not have the same sharp focus and interest as the torment of
Vergil Ulam. Indeed, the originator of the plague is the central figure
of a triptych, where the other two panels are pale shadows, offering
little additional illumination of the central theme. As a result the
second two-thirds of the novel do not maintain the high interest and
tension of the initial third.
Finally, the novel ends not with a bang, not even with a whimper, but
drifts away softly as if it were a boojum that wasn't even there. There
is the suggestion of new hope, new beginnings, mankind transformed and
uplifted. However, suggestion it remains. Instead, the metaphysical
images are murky, the final realizations wait vainly in the wings for
their cues, and the general sensation is not unlike waking up from a
dream that doesn't quite make sense. It's a pity, because the book has
more going for it than 90% of the random selections off the shelves.
Bear's style is accessible without being glib or shallow, the technical
ideas are interesting but worked in for the sake of the story, not
themselves, and both characters and images are very well rendered.
If _Blood Music_ is a triptych, _Eon_ is a large canvas with a truly cosmic
scope. Central to _Eon_ is the mystery of the Stone, an asteroid that
arrives into Earth orbit from interstellar space. The Stone is hollow,
its inside carved into seven chambers. The Stone's external
measurements are roughly 300 kilometers long by 100 kilometers thick at
its widest point; inside it ultimately measures millions of kilometers
long. The story begins in the year 2000; in the Stone is found a copy
of Mark Twain with a copyright date of 2110. Mystery after mystery is
piled on and they're all engrossing.
If the mysteries are piled high, so are the plot elements. Spies,
total nuclear war, space assaults, multi-dimensional mathematics,
alternate universes, alien cultures, intra-Soviet intrigues, the legacy
of Ralph Nader, sex... So many events and ideas are woven into the
tapestry of the story that the East-West nuclear war is almost a
footnote.
_Eon_ is a terrific novel, making its few flaws stand out in sharp
relief. It has a slow beginning. Part of this is due to the large
number of characters located in many different locales that must
necessarily be introduced and established, making for a "...was
happening in Washington; meanwhile, back at the Russian airfield..."
sort of feeling. Unlike _Footfall_, another novel that uses the
large-cast-of-characters-and-locales beginning, _Eon_'s characters are
believable and fully fleshed.
I have a couple of minor nits with the body of the book. One scene
detailing informal negotiations between Americans and Soviets, knowing
that they are on the brink of nuclear war, is flat and unrealistic.
And then there is the matter of sex. I think that the insertion of sex
into science fiction when it began in the Sixties was a good thing; sex
is a part of the world and characters that science fiction embraces.
To leave sexuality out results in as distorted a world or character
view as that of works which have sexual scenes for the sake of
titillating the audience.
Greg Bear seems to be of a similar view; his characters have sexual
feeling and upon occasion even have sex. However, the rendering of the
feelings and encounters is so flat, so devoid of energy, so
unconvincing, I wish that either they had been left out or that Bear
had spent a couple of weeks practicing writing sex scenes. Sex and
humor are two of the most difficult topics to write well, and Bear is
too talented a writer to stumble over this barrier.
One of the prime motivating forces for the actions of a major group of
characters is an alien race called the Jarts. The Jarts remain
off-stage for the entire novel, their threat remaining abstract and
unfelt by the reader, and serving as a force-ex-machina to press
certain plot levers at the author's convenience. This type of plot
device is encountered in a lot of SF writing; _Eon_ is so fine a work
that it sticks out like tennis shoes with a tuxedo.
Then there is the ending itself, or should I say endings, for there are
separate endings for each major group of characters. There is a
letdown feeling, an oh-is-that-all-that-happened sense. Like _Blood
Music_, the ending is anticlimactic and low key. Perhaps this is a
matter of taste, but I did not experience the ending as either the
resolution of an adventure or as an Epiphany of any sort.
Nonetheless, _Eon_ is a very fine book. In my judgment, it belonged on
this year's Hugo ballot and, given the relatively weak field this year,
might have won. If you want a good hard SF book, I strongly recommend _Eon_.
-----
E-mail: jimb@ism780b.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Jim Brunet
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
--
Chuq Von Rospach chuq%plaid@sun.COM CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!sun!plaid!chuq
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
Of Brahamana and recluse the honoured name!
For, quarrelling, each to his view they claim,
Such folk see only one side of a thing.
-- Buddha -- The Elephant and the Blind Menchuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (07/23/86)
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Part 2
Pico Reviews
by
Our Readers
Ratings:
[*****] A classic, must read book
[****] Well above average, don't miss
[***] A good book, probably worth reading
[**] Book has its moments, but is flawed
[*] Not recommended, flawed
[] A book to avoid
ARTHUR'S BRITAIN by Leslie Alcock [*****]
Pelican Books L4.50UK
A wonderful reference book, this is a scholarly study into the post
Roman times of Britain in an attempt to discover whether Arthur really
existed. This work offers a wonderful view into how historians and
archaeologists work and a lot of information about the period of time
that was critical to the formation of the English as well know them
today. An English book, probably hard to find in America, but critical
for anyone thinking of writing Arthurian Fantasy or interested in
studying that time period.
-- chuq von rospach
THE BANE OF LORD CALADON by Craig Mills [*]
Del Ray Fantasy, $2.40, 1982, 218 pages.
Ho hum. Another go-on-a-quest-to-get-something-to-kill-the-dragon, and
meet-interesting-people-and change-their-lives book. No surprises.
_The Curse of the Witch Queen_, by Paula Volsky, was better, if you like
this sort of thing.
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
BARD III: THE WILD SEA by Keith Taylor [***]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95
Continuing the saga of Felimid mac Fal, bard and lover of the pirate
Gudrun Blackhair, this book is a conservative extension of the previous
two books. Lots of fighting, lots of adventures, lots of love, but the
characters don't grow and nothing really changes. Solid but unexciting
fantasy.
-- chuq von rospach
A BAROQUE FABLE by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro [****+]
Berkley Fantasy, 214 pages, $3.50
In the mood for something funny? Yarbro's latest book is a master
stroke of a parody of the Fantasy genre, much better than _A Malady of
Magick_. If you can imagine Gilbert and Sullivan doing King Arthur,
you've got a good idea of what this book is like. Follow the frantic
frolics of our fearlous friends: the bored princess, the gallant
knight, the absent-minded wizard, the nasty witch, the crumpet maker
and a cast of dozens singing and tripping their way though a complex
set of maneuvers and mistakes. If it is obvious, they'll never think
about it. Never fear, all live happily ever after in the last four
pages, just as it should be.
-- chuq von rospach
BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard [**+]
Bridge, $4.95, 1984, 1066-count-em-1066 pages
Hey, I liked it. So he was Mr. Dianetics, he could still write good
stuff. The first 50 pages dragged, but the last 1000 had me up three
nights in a row. The ultimate genre writer explores the western,
detective, spy, adventure, romance, alien invasion, and high finance
themes. The last two sections rival _Startide Rising_, by David Brin,
for its us giving the aliens their comeuppance.
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
BUS 9 TO PARADISE by Leo Buscaglia [**]
Slack, $16.95 hardcover
A collection of Buscaglia's newspaper columns, this volume lacks the
focus and the punch of his other works, coming across as confused and
unsure of itself.
-- chuq von rospach
CALLAHAN'S SECRET by Spider Robinson [****-]
Berkley Science Fiction, $2.95
The third and final book in the Callahan's Bar series, this book
contains the last four stories to be published in Analog about Jake and
his friends. Two of the stories (_The Blacksmith's Tale_ and my
favorite, _Pyotr's Story_) are superb, but the finale (_The Mick of Time_)
takes great pains to ruin the wonders that Robinson has built over the
years (See 'Callahan's Barred' in 'OtherRealms V1.4' for my comments on
that story). Buy the book, but skip the last story.
-- chuq von rospach
THE COLOUR OF MAGIC by Terry Pratchett [*****]
St. Martins Press [SFBC]
There has been a lot of funny Fantasy around, and this is one of the
best. Pratchett sets out to make fun of every Fantasy novel ever
written, and comes close to succeeding. No matter what you like, from
Conan to Pern, from Lovecraft to Leiber, it is in here, and will keep
you giggling long after the last page. I picked it up for a change of
pace, and was up until the wee hours with it.
-- chuq von rospach
A DARKNESS AT SETHANON by Raymond E. Feist [****]
Doubleday Books [SFBC] Hardcover
The finale of the Riftwar Saga. The Enemy, brought back to Midkemia by
the Rift that created the problems in _Magician_, strives for ultimate
control of the planet. The first half of the book is another classic
quest, the last half of the book is an epic battle the likes of which I
haven't read since Tolkien. Parts of the book are a little uneven, but
nothing detracts for the splendor of this volume or the series in its
entirety. I've read a lot of good Fantasy recently, but Feist's work
is the best of the best.
-- chuq von rospach
DEALING IN FUTURES by Joe Haldeman [****]
Viking Press [SFBC]
A collection of Haldeman's short works, including an alternative story
from _The Forever War_ that hasn't previously been published. Some
really strong stories, including _A !Tangled Web_, _Blood Sisters_ and _More
Than the Sum of His Parts_.
-- chuq von rospach
DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS by Ray Bradbury[****]
ISBN 0-395-54702-0, 1985
This is an excellent mystery. It combines the basic plot of a pulp
mystery with strong character development and powerful imagery. It can
be read at many levels. The simplest is as a basic mystery story where
the author and a detective solve a series of bizarre killings. It is
also a psychological novel about the growth of the two main
characters. It is imagery and symbolism evoking a place and time.
Often novels that attempt such variety, and particularly those with
such intense use of imagery and symbolism, fail to work at all of these
levels. This novel is a striking success at whichever level you choose
to read it. The author attracted my attention to this non-SF book and
it was well worth it.
-- Rob Horn
wanginst!infinet!rhorn
DRAGON TALES edited by Isaac Asimov, M.H. Greenberg [***]
and Charles G Waugh. Fawcett Crest, $2.95
Yet Another Anthology of Dragon Stories. Not nearly as good as the two
book set _Dragons of Light_ and _Dragons of Darkness_ by Orson Scott Card,
but about on a par with _Dragons!_ Some of the stories (specifically
McCaffrey's _Weyr Search_ and Dickson's _The Dragon and the George_) are
overly familiar, but in general it is a good solid set of works.
Whether you buy it depends on how much you like to read anthologies
about dragons. I think it is getting to be too much of a good thing.
-- chuq von rospach
DRAGON'S EGG, by Robert L. Forward [****]
Del Rey, $2.25, 308 pages
Life in 67 billion G's can be pretty interesting. Forward takes us
along on a scientific mission to a neutron star, and what do they
find? Life on the surface! The story is well-paced and fascinating,
although Forward isn't exactly a master writer. He sometimes gets
bogged down in needless technical trivia, but this is still a must for
hard-SF fans.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
THE DUELING MACHINE by Ben Bova [*****]
Berkley Science Fiction, $2.50
The 1969 classic by Ben Bova, the dueling machine is the story of
technology's affect on society. Dr. Leoh has invented a machine that
allows two people to fight a duel in their minds, revolutionizing
societies way of dealing with interpersonal conflict. It is, of
course, only a matter of time before the ambitious and the insane find
ways to use this technology for their own gains, as a rival planetary
government attempts to take over its neighbors. The book is a race
against the clock between the forces of good an evil as they attempt to
get the technology under control before the galaxy explodes in
turmoil. Wonderful, simply wonderful.
-- chuq von rospach
ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card [*****-]
Tor books, $3.50, 357 pages
Card's story of children trained for stellar war is tense and gripping,
but portrays the title character as a mixture of ruthless warrior and
confused child. I read this book in one sitting, finishing at 2 AM,
which I have not done in years. Only an anticlimactic ending (with
obvious hooks for a sequel) keeps me from giving it a full five stars.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
ENGINE SUMMER by John Crowley [****]
Crowley shows us a wondrous post-holocaust world through the eyes of
Rush that Speaks, a young boy on the brink of manhood. The plot lines
were a bit thin in spots, but Crowley's writing and characterizations
were so great I didn't mind!
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
EYES OF AMBER by Joan D. Vinge [****]
Signet. $2.50
Six stories from Joan Vinge, all classic wonders. The title piece is
superb, but _The Tin Soldier_ will stay with you forever. Vinge is one
of the few authors that I'll read anything they publish.
-- chuq von rospach
FLIGHT OF THE DRAGONFLY by Robert L. Forward [***+]
Baen, $3.50, 376 pages (including 43 pages of appendix)
An exploration team to Barnard's Star discovers a fascinating (but, it
seems to me, highly unlikely) binary planet. In the course of
examining it, they get into trouble and discover an unusual lifeform.
Not world-class writing, but an interesting story. Some ideas, like
the Christmas Bush and imps, are particularly clever. Good hard-SF.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE
by H. Beam Piper [*] for writing, [***] for historical interest
Ace, $2.95, 1984, 216 pages.
The manuscript was literally lost in a trunk for 20 years, and there it
should have stayed. The sequel to _Little Fuzzy_ and _Fuzzy Sapiens_, it
cries out for an editor's firm hand. Ewok cuteness, contrived
difficulties, and a lack of characterization that made the first two
novels interesting plod this turkey into the ground. _Fuzzy Bones_, by
William Tuning was much better. Buy only if you are a completist.
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
GREATHEART SILVER by Philip Jose Farmer [***+]
Tor Books (Jim Baen Presents) $2.75
A compilation of Farmer's action adventure parody series about
Greatheart Silver, Blimp pilot and adventure hero. The stories were
originally published in _Weird Heroes_, an anthology series during the
mid-70's. It is funny stuff, but if you don't have a good background
in classic pulp and comics, a lot of the jokes will go over your head.
-- chuq von rospach
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Anne Rice [****]
Ballantine Books, #3.95
The story should be dry and dull, but it isn't. The reader is a silent
partner in a monolog interview between the vampire and a boy and his
tape recorder. Anne Rice makes the premise live as she tells the story
of the seamer side of the undead. These aren't the haughty aristocracy
of Stoker or Yarbro, these are the blue collar vampires, working the
wrong side of the tracks from day to day through eternity. A very
depressing book, but a well written and fascinating one as well.
Highly recommended.
-- chuq von rospach
JOB, A COMEDY OF JUSTICE by Robert A. Heinlein [**+]
Ballantine, $4.50, 439 pages
Heinlein is up to his old preaching tricks again, though not nearly as
badly as in _Number of the Beast_. Our Hero is jerked around in a series
of strange and annoying adventures (with the requisite beautiful and
sexy female companion) but never gives up his strong fundamentalist
beliefs. Heinlein makes some very pointed remarks about organized
religion along the way. RAH fans will enjoy it, but others can
probably save the effort.
-- Gary Fritz
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz
THE JOHN W. CAMPBELL LETTERS, VOLUME 1 [*****]
by Perry A. Chapdelaine, Sr. et al
AC Projects, Inc., 610 pages, ISBN 0-931150-16-7, $5.95
A self published labor of love, this book will be hard for most people
to find. Anyone interested in the history of SF should make the
effort, though, as it gives an insight into the single man responsible
for bringing SF out of the Pulp ghetto. Using very tiny type, this
book contains thousands of letters written by Campbell on every subject
imaginable. The best work published about the master, by the master.
A must read, my only gripe being the artwork, very uneven in quality
and out of place.
-- chuq von rospach
MIDAS WORLD by Frederik Pohl [****+]
St. Martins Press, hardcover, $12.95
An anti-Utopian novel with a twist -- humanity suffers with a surfeit
of everything, and wealth is shown by the lack of goods. An
interesting premise, well developed and a good read.
-- chuq von rospach
MERLIN'S MIRROR by Andre Norton [**]
DAW Books, $2.95
A fascinating twist on the Arthurian Fantasy genre, unfortunately
flawed. Norton attempts to tell the traditional Fantasy as Science
Fiction, with the Old Gods being star beings and the Crystal Cave full
of the technology they use to teach Merlin. She unfortunately glosses
over the justifications for Merlin's prophecies, and in the end, only
went half way towards telling a SF story. It has its moments, but not
enough.
-- chuq von rospach
MYTHAGO WOOD by Robert Holdstock [*****]
Berkley books, $2.95
A fascinating work, more a study of the precepts of Fantasy than a
Fantasy work itself. The Mythago is a race memory, brought to reality
by warping the magic of the old wood by a susceptible mind. It is a
wonderful exploration of what Fantasy really means, as well as a
wonderful story. Highly recommended!
-- chuq von rospach
REBELS IN HELL created by Janet Morris [**]
Baen Books, $3.50
The second volume in the _Thieves' World_ clone set in Hell, it is an
improvement over _Heroes in Hell_ but not by much. The standard is set:
each volume has one good work by a name author (Benford in the first
volume, Silverberg here) and a lot of Journeyman to Pedestrian quality
words around it. Silverberg's _Gilgamesh in the Outback_ stands alone as
a pearl among oysters, although There are _No Fighter Pilots Down in
Hell_ by Martin Caidin is also worth reading. The rest is forgettable
at best, and _Hell's Gate_ by Bill Kerby is simply bad. If you're
fascinated by the premise, pick it up. A better bet is the _Liavek_
series by Shetterly.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, VOLUME IV [****]
edited by Terry Carr, Avon Books, $4.95
The Nebula Winners for the years 1970-1974 in all categories except
novels, you won't find a bad story in the bunch. A great way to keep
the great works together, well worth adding to your library.
-- chuq von rospach
SHERLOCK HOLMES THROUGH TIME AND SPACE [***]
Edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg and
Charles G. Waugh, Bluejay Books, Trade Paperback, $8.95
Heaven for Holmes' fans, this collection of the best of works using the
Great Detective within the SF genre.
-- chuq von rospach
SILVERTHORN by Raymond E. Feist [****]
Doubleday Books [SFBC] Hardcover
The second volume of the Riftwar Saga Trilogy. A change of pace from
_Magician_, we follow Arutha into the very clutches of his mortal enemy in
search of the cure of his beloved Anita. A classic quest novel, and
one of the best.
-- chuq von rospach
SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT by J.R.R. Tolkien [****]
Ballantine Books, $2.95
Of interest primarily to English scholars, this book contains three
previously unpublished translations of traditional English epic poems.
Very well done, if a bit obscure for the average reader.
-- chuq von rospach
SONGMASTER by Orson Scott Card [**]
Dial Press [SFBC]
An interesting premise that just didn't click. The Songhouse is an
institution that teaches people to sing. Occasionally, a singer
appears that becomes a Songbird, someone who is to sing the song of
their master. This is the story of Ansset, Songbird of Mikal, emperor
of the Galaxy. It is well written, but I just couldn't buy into the
premise.
-- chuq von rospach
THE SORCERY WITHIN by Dave Smeds [****, a first novel]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95
Not just a good first novel, _The Sorcery Within_ is a great novel. Feist
works a number of seemingly unrelated subplots together with great
skill. It is not until he is ready that you realize how everything
ties in together. The author shows a maturity of style well beyond his
years. The story ends with an opening for a sequel, for once I'm
looking forward to it.
-- chuq von rospach
SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD by Orson Scott Card [*****]
(Part of SFBC title _Enders War_)
Much better and much different than its prequel _Ender's Game_ (a good
book in its own right). Ender has become a Speaker For the Dead, his
Xenocide and his identity 3000 years in the past. He, through time
dilation, has aged little, and travels from planet to planet speaking
the final eulogy of those who die. He travels to Lusitania, a planet
where the first intelligent species since the Buggers has been found,
and Ender, looking for a new beginning for the Bugger Queen in his
luggage, must deal with the fears of humanity about any being that
could be a threat to it, the fears of the others about humanity, and
humanities fear about itself. Stunning. Both _Speaker_ and _Ender's Game_
stand alone, neither is complete without the other.
-- chuq von rospach
TALES FROM THE "WHITE HART" by Arthur C. Clarke [**]
Del Rey Books [SFBC]
Before Callahan's Bar, Arthur Clarke did a series of stories in a bar
called the "White Hart." These are cute stories, but time has dated
them and they aren't as interesting as they might once have been,
except as a curiousity from the past.
-- chuq von rospach
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON by R. A. MacAvoy [*****]
Bantam Books
Tea with the Black Dragon is a true classic. It evoked clean and pure
emotions like an opening flower or a zen koan. This is an unusual
reaction for me.
-- David Sher
sher@rochester
seismo!rochester!sher
TELEMPATH by Spider Robinson [****]
Orbit books (UK), 95p
Spider Robinson's first book, of the post-apocalyptic sub-genre.
Civilization has fallen, for a strange reason -- the sense of smell has
been magnified until the stench of humanity is no longer tolerable.
Very well written, a fascinating plot, well carried out. This is the
British edition of the book.
-- chuq von rospach
TIK-TOK by John Sladek [*****]
DAW Books, $2.95
Isaac Asimov on acid. Sladek has taken the Robot societies that Asimov
made famous and turned it on its edge. Sladek has a razor sharp satire
of the Grand Master at his finest; he also has a book that works
wonderfully on its own. Wonderful stuff!
-- chuq von rospach
ULLER UPRISING by H. Beam Piper [***]
Ace, $2.75, 1983, 187 pages.
Another "lost" work, but much more satisfying. I had read the earlier
novella, but the extra 50 pages now printed made the work come alive.
Evil and good aliens, forthright military generals, and nukes. Want to
see the major influence on Pournelle?
-- Carl Hommel
masscomp!carlton
VOYAGERS II: THE ALIEN WITHIN by Ben Bova [***]
Tor Books, $15.95 hardcover
Keith Stoner has been awakened after being frozen in an alien space
ship 18 years ago. He, and something that has melded with him, go on a
one man quest to solve all of the worlds problems. Set in an unstable
time of hunger, war, and political and corporate intrigue, he has his
hands full. The book has its problems and the second half runs into a
Messiah Complex, but Bova skillfully moves things forward and writes a
pretty good yarn. If you haven't read Bova recently, you've overlooked
a skilled veteran of the genre.
-- chuq von rospach
THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS: A MEMOIR by Frederik Pohl [****]
Del Rey books, hardcover
The memoirs of Fred Pohl, one of the original Futurians, a SF group
that included members such as Isaac Asimov and Donald Wollheim. This
group was the foundation of SF Fandom and many of its members went on
to help build the Golden Age of SF in the Forties and Fifties.
Interesting to those who want a taste of the way it was. Not as good
as the Campbell book, but still an interesting read.
-- chuq von rospach
THE WORLD INSIDE by Robert Silverberg [***]
Doubleday [SFBC]
Originally published in 1971, this book appears to be a Utopia novel
using a background of Free Sex, Free Drugs, and no birth control. Like
Del Rey's _The 11th Commandment_ and Saberhagen's _Love Conquers All_ this
book turns into an anti-Utopia that attempts to show the problems
inherent with the breakdown of morality that occurred in the 60's. It
turns into a rhetoric against the 60's, and isn't as good a work as it
could have been.
-- chuq von rospach
WRITING THE NOVEL: FROM PLOT TO PRINT by Lawrence Block [****]
Writers Digest Books, $8.95
A down to earth discussion of the mechanics and philosophy of writing a
novel. The book assumes you want to be a writer -- if you aren't sure,
nothing will help. Anyone interested in writing longer works should
read this book -- his techniques may not work for you, but he will help
you find the ones that will.
-- chuq von rospach
Books marked with [SFBC] are available from Doubleday's Science Fiction
Book Club. Books are assumed to be paperback unless otherwise
specified.
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
--
Chuq Von Rospach chuq%plaid@sun.COM CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!sun!plaid!chuq
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
Of Brahamana and recluse the honoured name!
For, quarrelling, each to his view they claim,
Such folk see only one side of a thing.
-- Buddha -- The Elephant and the Blind Menchuq@sun.uucp (Chuq Von Rospach) (07/23/86)
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Part 3
Editorial:
The Past Through Tomorrow
Chuq Von Rospach
Editor of OtherRealms
One of the things I feel very strongly about is that OtherRealms should
be a showcase for new authors, the names that will be famous tomorrow.
Asimov and Clarke certainly don't need any more publicity, and I would
much rather see the magazine look towards the stars of tomorrow rather
than fan the flames of yesterday.
The only problem with this is that getting information about new
authors is difficult to do -- first books rarely get advertising; if
they did, I wouldn't be pushing them as hard as I do. I finally went
to the publishers for help, and the early responses have been
encouraging, to say the least. Because of this, I'm rather proud to
spotlight an author most of us have probably not read, Ben Bova.
This, of course, needs some explaining. Few people will let me get
away with claiming that Bova is a new author -- his first published
story was in 1959, replaced John Campbell as editor in 1971, and has
been writing and publishing ever since. Bova has recently agreed to
edit a new line of books, Ben Bova's Discoveries, for Beth Meacham at
Tor, and since this line is aimed at the newer authors, I wrote him a
letter.
Bova, being a writer as well as an editor, wrote back asking about
reviews of HIS works. Since OtherRealms is still relatively new, there
aren't any, so I went to my library to see what books of his I had.
None, which really surprised me.
It is obvious that we have an image problem here. He was a great
editor at Analog, but his life didn't end when he went back to
writing. I went out and grabbed some of his books. I've been reading
a lot of Fantasy recently and Bova's work was a breath of fresh air.
It is solid SF, the kind that has always been the Analog trademark.
His latest, Voyagers II: The Alien Within, is a good, solid political
intrigue written in the near future. It isn't perfect, but it's a LOT
better than most of the stuff I've been reading recently.
So OtherRealms is still looking for the stars of tomorrow, but there is
a lesson here for all of us. Some of these stars are new, burning
fiercely over the horizon and just out of sight. Others have been left
behind, peeking out through the mists of time and waiting to be
re-discovered. There is definitely a place here for both the new
authors and the old authors that deserve to be read more. There is a
lot of good OLD SF out there, too, and I'm going to try to not forget
that in the future. You should, too.
-----
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
OtherRealms Letters
Dear Mister Chuq Von Rospach:
In your otherwise excellent article about conventions, you omitted any
mention of "filksinging". For this lapse, I shall commission Mrs.
Juanita Coulson to sneak up behind you to give you a forte-fortissimo
"SHRIEK!" as only she can do, which shall either (a) induce permanent
impairment in your hearing, (b) stop your heart, or (c) both. Herewith
my attempt to define this category of activity, in case your sudden,
tragic demise should prevent you from doing so yourself:
Filksinging: the origin of the term is somewhat obscure. The best
explanation so far presented is that it originated as a typogarphical
error in an mid-1960s convention program book. The best definition of
"filksing" is "a haphazard aggregation of filksingers and audience
which gathers to perform and listen to filksongs". As the best
definition of "filksinger" is "one who performs filksongs at
filksings", and the best definition of "filksong" is "a song performed
at filksings by filksingers", we may observe a nicely
mutually-recursive set of definitions, but we are lead into something
of a quandary, and must perforce use less-than-optimal definitions.
It is usually perilous to offer generalizations about any topic, so I
shall attempt to eschew them. Filksings usually begin at approximately
eight PM local time, and usually continue until "dawn" (n., "the time
when men of reason go to bed"); thus, filksingers are usually the only
convention attendees who observe the rising of the solar luminary. At
a filksing, there are usually five to fifteen filksingers, usually in a
"bardic circle" or "bardic semicircle", who usually take sequential
turns at singing filksongs. Each filksinger is usually armed with a
guitar; she usually sings the verses solo, although she may, at her
discretion, invite the accompaniment of the audience on choruses. The
aforementioned audience is usually grouped in the general proximity of
the filksinger aggregrate. Filksongs may be: (a) published texts set
to music ("The Queen of Air and Darkness", "Danny Deaver"); (b) songs
based on published SF or fantasy works (the Dorsai cycle is perhaps the
most popular for such purposes; e.g. "I Am the Destroyer", from
"Soldier, Ask Not"); (c) original songs with an SF or fantastic flavor
(by far the most common category); (d) none of the above; (e) parodies
of categories (a) through (d) (greatly popular; e.g. "I Am the Cheap
Lawyer"). Filksongs are usually classified into two categories:
non-ose and ose (adj., der. fr. cry "ose, ose, and more ose!").
Your correspondent is, most unfortunately, resident in the Midwest, and
is, therefore, limited in his knowledge of filksingers. However, the
following may be recommended: Leslie Fish, Frank Hayes, Bill "of Many
Instruments" Maraschiello, Juanita Coulson, et cetera. (Mrs. Coulson,
in addition to an excellent singing voice, has the ability to project
her voice throughout an -- alas! too often -- noisy filk room, whether
it be an average room or Grand Central Station at rush hour. One
person, intending to record a filksing, was informed by Mrs. Coulson
that it would be prudent if he would, during her turn, reduce the
recording intensity of his device. The miscreant neglected to do so;
reportedly, the microphone emitted a puff of smoke at the beginning of
Mrs. Coulson's first song, the said microphone having been irreparably
damaged by the said singer. It is suggested that acquaintances of Mr.
von Rospach say their farewells to him now; in any event, he will be
unable to hear them hereafter.)
Much more could be written about filksinging, of heresies, of Frank
Hayes Disease, and of many other topics, but many would now say that
this letter (guided missal?) has continued altogether too long already.
I shall close by inviting those whom this letter has interested to
examine filksinging more closely at their next con;
I Remain
Y'r Humble and Obedient Serpent
Timothy A. McDaniel, Esq.
Arpa: mcdaniel@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu
Csnet: mcdaniel%uicsrd@uiuc.csnet
Usenet: ...{pur-ee|ihnp4|convex}!uiucdcs!uicsrd!mcdaniel
Dear Chuq,
I enjoyed your article on the attractions at conventions, but note that
you left out one of my favorite things: Gaming. Most SF cons I've seen
will have a small area set aside for gamers (usually for roleplaying
games, e.g. Dungeons & Dragons, Champions, Call of Cthulhu), some go
so far as to organize tournaments. The best thing about gaming at
conventions is getting to see how others do it, and try different
"styles." The best game I've ever played in was at a convention; so was
the worst.
I realize you were primarily pointing out the convention features a SF
reader would be interested in, but since most rolegamers are SF/fantasy
readers, I thought I'd point this out.
--Carl Rigney
USENET: {ihnp4,allegra!cbosgd}!okstate!uokvax!cdrigney
-----
Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of TSR, Inc.
Champions is a trademark of Hero Games.
Call of Cthulhu is a trademark of Chaosium.
Chuq;
I enjoyed reading your 'Introduction to Cons' very much. It gives a
very good intro to the 'feel' of being at a Con. The bigger cons are
generally just bigger and things run later.
I think that some fen would disagree with your relative ranking of
panels and parties. The parties come first for most, and many never
attend more than one or two panels.
Some advice for first-time con-goers:
- Read people's name badges. You might be sitting next to someone you've
always wanted to meet, but you don't know what they look like.
- Don't be afraid to talk to someone famous. Larry Niven and Isaac
Asimov have to go the supermarket for their groceries just like
everyone else. It's usually safe to corner someone at a party.
- On the other hand, don't be obnoxious. Try to insert yourself
gracefully into a conversation.
- If there is a party and the door is open, it is an open party. Join
in! If the door is closed, it is a closed party. Don't go in
unless you have an invitation (or are with someone who does).
- Don't be intimidated just because everyone seems to know everyone
else (except for you). Many of them have just met. Also,
everyone had a first Con.
- Go to the meet the guests reception (every Con has one) and try and
meet as many people as you can. Then you can act like you know
them all the next year 8-).
Other Matters:
I thought that Spider Robinson was a very good choice for BayCon's
Writer Guest of Honor. He was much more accessible than most (he
talked for quite a while after the Meet the Guests Reception).
We are currently deep in the process of selecting/approaching the GoHs
for 1987. We will have flyers at Westercon with the names of any
confirmed guests.
John R Blaker
Logistics and Transportation
BayCon '87
UUCP: ...!sun!wdl1!jrb (jrb@wdl1.uucp)
ARPA: jrb@FORD-WDL1.ARPA
blaker@FORD-WDL2.ARPA
Chuq,
Finally, I find myself with time to write a loc to OtherRealms. Since
I have a lot to cover, I left a few things by the wayside, but here are
some things that demand comment.
I must confess that I'm a tad perplexed by Richard Loken's "pico
review" of _Pet Sematary_ in OR #3. When he says, "King has some real
writing skills which he uses to write schlock, I couldn't stand the
subject and never finished the book. Classic Stephen King," one can
infer that Loken doesn't like horror fiction in general and/or King in
particular. Which makes me wonder why he read _Pet Sematary_ at all, even
to relieve boredom.
Regardless, while I hesitate to do so, I venture to say that Mr. Loken
didn't understand what King was trying to say in the book. The story
was about the inability to let go of loved ones who've died; how even
the most rational of people have a hard time accepting the finality of
death. Despite a corny ending that I didn't think resolved the story
very well, King did a very good job of bringing this point across. The
book wasn't scary or gross; what it was was *disturbing* and *uneasy*,
as it should have been.
I could empathize with Lou Creed's actions. I read the book on a
weekend trip to Maine (coincidentally, very close to the setting of the
book). The day after I got back home, I went over to my parents' house
and learned that one of my mother's cats had died just before the
weekend. Pasha (who, again coincidentally --- I'm serious! --- looked
very much like the cat on the cover painting of the book) was my
favorite of all the cats I'd known before or since, and I was quite
depressed about his death. My mind immediately started asking the
obvious question: If I had access to a Pet Sematary as existed in
King's novel, would I use it to bring Pasha back, knowing the
consequences? The disturbing answer was that if I decided against it,
it would only be after long consideration. And to add to the feeling of
despair, my father passed away two weeks later.
I can't say that my experiences didn't color my perception of the book,
even though they happened *after* I read the book (except that I did
know for a long time beforehand that my father was dying ). Still, King
knew exactly what nerves to strike and I think he did so with unerring
skill.
re: "Callahan's Barred"
I haven't read _Callahan's Secret_ yet, nor, I confess, the magazine
appearances of the stories therein. Yet still, I understand your
feelings about the matter, because I felt similarly at the end of the
first Callahan's collection. I'd been a faithful reader of Robinson's
stories as they appeared in ANALOG, and I welcomed the chance to read
them again, all together, when the collection came out (not to mention
the couple of new stories). The last story in that book, _The Wonderful
Conspiracy_ left a bad taste in my mouth.
Part of the whole positive feeling of the Callahan's series was the
*humanity* in it, that it was, at the heart, people helping people.
That we find out, as did Jake, in _Wonderful_ that there was far more
to Callahan than we'd known previously, I felt a small betrayal. While
it wasn't really a *deux ex machina*, it seemed to me to be damned
close. It changed the whole complexion of the series.
I read the next one or two stories in the series when they appeared in
ANALOG, but they just didn't seem the same to me. It was like running
into and old friend after some time has passed and realizing that your
friend has changed somehow, in a direction that makes you feel
distinctly uncomfortable.
re: Horror as an offshoot of Fantasy
It was an interesting point you made in your April Survey Report about
the dearth of Horror in the survey results. I suspect that a majority
of fans just *don't* consider Horror as a part of Fantasy, perhaps due
to an attitude of "I like Fantasy, but I don't like Horror". In fact,
the impression I got from a couple of the folks behind the Fourth
Street Fantasy Convention in Minneapolis was that one of the ostensible
reasons behind that convention's existence was because the World
Fantasy Convention seemed to be oriented to Horror rather than
Fantasy.
On one hand, I tend to agree with them. I, personally, like Science
Fiction and Horror, but very little Fantasy, and I tend to separate
them into distinct categories. On the other hand, in practice, I tend
not to distinguish any of the three. I usually think of the three being
a single entity that I call Fantastic Literature and let it go at that.
One other person here at DEC has come up with a rather elegant system
in which he considers Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror as different
species in the genus Fantastic Literature.
Part of the problem in trying to distinguish one species from another
is that there is, as you point out, a lot of interbreeding. Is _Alien_
science fiction or horror? How about Whitley Strieber's novels (_The
Wolfen_, _The Hunger_, _The Night Church_)? He takes the standard concepts
of horror --- werewolves, vampires, and demons --- and treats them as
science fiction. As does George Martin in _Fevre Dream_. And the list
goes on and on.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror are useful labels for dealing with
the material, but they cannot be hard and fast. While I would be fairly
comfortable about shelving my SF/F/H separately from my mysteries or
historical novels or whatever (even though I don't do so), I'd never
consider trying to separate the SF from the F from the H. It's like
trying to decide if I should file my Jeff Beck albums under Rock'n'Roll
or Jazz/Blues.
re: Articles/reviews of "non-sf" material in OR
Again, I'm somewhat divided. I feel that some "non-sf" material has a
place here. Something that fosters an understanding of science or
writing or similar bases for the discussion of SF belongs, as long as
its connection with SF is clearly established and is the point of the
article. Reviewing such just for its own sake doesn't really tell us
anything with respect to our common interest. If there was a problem
with Barb Jernigan's review of Golden Bough, it was that it read as no
more nor less than a review of a folk music group. Until Barb's reply
to Matt's letter, I had no idea that the group did any fantasy songs
because she didn't specify this. While I like folk music (and, thanks
to Barb, I will probably look this group up), unless its connection to
The Field is clearly established, it's just as well to leave it out.
And by the way, as long as we're on the subject of fantasy folk music,
I want to recommend another Kicking Mule record called BORDERLANDS, by
a duo Chris Caswell and Danny Carnahan (under the collaborative by-line
Caswell Carnahan). The title song was written by them and is very
definitely fantasy, and one of the other songs is a traditional tune
called "The Farmer's Cursed Wife".
Jerry Boyajian
UUCP: ...!{decwrl|decuac}!akov68.dec.com!boyajian
or ...!decvax!akov68::boyajian
ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM
OtherRealms -- The Movie
Well, not really, but now that I have your attention I thought I'd take
this time to announce the latest offshoot of OtherRealms. OtherRealms
is now available on a subscription basis in hardcopy.
Why, you might ask, is an electronic Fanzine being printed out and
mailed? Primarily because I realized I was doing it anyway. Every
month, OtherRealms goes to editors, publishers, authors, and other
random interested parties -- anywhere from 5 to 15 copies a month
through the mails to people who don't have E-mail access.
Since I'm sending them out, I might as well do it right. Thanks to the
wonders of the Macintosh, it is possible to put together a good looking
printed product rather quickly; without, in fact, much extra work than
it takes to get OtherRealms out to the networks. I'm also starting to
strain my morality at the company copy machine, so this is the first
issue to go to a copy shop instead, and will also be printed up double
sided to help save on postage.
The electronic OtherRealms is about as good as it is going to get with
current technology. I think it is a big step forward from where we
were at the beginning of the year, but taking a critical look at it on
paper makes me feel that the best electronic look doesn't do very well
on paper, so it makes sense to split them and deal with them as
separate entities. As long as I'm going to do it anyway, I might as
well make the magazine generally available. It will (I hope) make the
material more accessible to the rest of the world as well as bring
outside material. To date, all of the material published has come from
my prime network, the USENET|ARPA|BITNET|CSNET interconnect. We've
been exporting our words to other places, but haven't been nearly as
successful in getting it back in. Hopefully these new options will
change this.
For now, charter subscriptions are set for $15/year. The idea of this
is simply cover postage and copying costs. I'm going to monitor things
for a few months, and if I'm too high, I'll add a couple of issues to
the subscription to make it up. If I'm too low, I'll eat it (sounds
fair?).
Why subscribe to the hard copy? For someone reading it online, not a
lot of reason since the same words will be in both places. I'm going
to start using some art (as it gets submitted) in the hardcopy version,
and I think the print will be much more pleasant to read. I don't plan
to print material that won't also go to the networks, so there is no
pressure to pay any money -- the point is to put the best face on the
words in whatever format they are seen -- besides, typography and
layout are fascinating and I expect I'll have just as much fun learning
how to do it in print as I did online.
Who knows? It could be the start of a whole new career...
Masthead
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author.
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
USENET: {major_node}!sun!chuq
ARPA: chuq@sun.COM
CompuServe: 73317,635
Submission Policy
OtherRealms publishes material on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
literature with an emphasis on reviews. Please, no media articles. I
am very interested in the newer and lesser known authors -- all those
hard working and under paid people we haven't heard about yet. You can
read an Asimov review anywhere -- OtherRealms wants to review the next
Asimov. Articles about authors, series, and anything of interest to the
serious reader of the genre is welcome.
My preferred submission format is electronic. If you can E-mail it to
me, or put it in a format my Macintosh can read, it saves me a lot of
work. If not, I'm a fast typer.
Pico reviews are welcome from everyone. Duplicate the format used in
this issue and limit your comments to one paragraph. Please include
enough information to allow someone to buy the book, such as Publisher
and price. If it is not a paperback, or is from the Science Fiction
Book Club, please note that as well.
Submissions of publishable art for the hardcopy version of OtherRealms
is solicited. No Vulcans or other media, please.
A writers guide is available. If you want to write for OtherRealms,
please ask for a copy, including SASE as appropriate. Submissions
should include both an E-mail address (where applicable) and a U.S.Mail
address. Your address is for your contributor copy -- it will not be
published unless you request it.
Letters should be mailed to the above address. All letters will be
considered for publication unless requested otherwise.
Subscriptions
OtherRealms is available in two forms: electronic and paper. The
electronic OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this
group, a mailing list subscription is available. Send mail to the
appropriate address above to be placed on the mailing list.
OtherRealms can be found as part of Online Visions (GO SCI-4) on
CompuServe. OtherRealms is also available through the following
bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
Dim_Sum Fido, Fidonet number 146/5, (503) 644-6129
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
The paper OtherRealms is available from the above address for $15 for
12 issues, sent first class in a wrapper. Fanzine trading rules also
apply: if your article is printed in OtherRealms or you send me a Fanzine
you get a free copy. Please make checks payable to "Chuq Von Rospach."
--
Chuq Von Rospach chuq%plaid@sun.COM CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!sun!plaid!chuq
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
Of Brahamana and recluse the honoured name!
For, quarrelling, each to his view they claim,
Such folk see only one side of a thing.
-- Buddha -- The Elephant and the Blind Men