Issue 9, October 1986 (part 1)

OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life

Issue #9
October, 1986

Table of Contents

Part 1
The Dream Years
by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes

Reviewing the Reviewers
by Chuq Von Rospach

Schismatrix
by Michael C. Berch

Books Received

Part 2

Pico Reviews

1986 Hugo Awards

OtherRealms Notes

Part 3

Words of Wizdom
Reviews by Chuq Von Rospach

Insufficient Transmission
Fiction by Jim Brunet

End Papers
by Chuq Von Rospach

The Dream Years
by
Lisa Goldstein
Bantam Books, $2.95, 195 pages
[****+]

Reviewed by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
djo@ptsfd.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Dan'l Danehy Oakes

This is not the easiest book in the world to read. It isn't "difficult," in the sense of DHALGREN, but it keeps yanking the rug out from under its readers -- the reader builds up a set of assumptions about "what kind of novel this is," and then the damned thing goes and violates those assumptions.

The first thing to notice about it is that nowhere on the cover is THE DREAM YEARS marked with the term SF, Fantasy, or indeed any genre label whatsoever. This is good, for reasons I'll come back to later. Things become rather more problematic if one reads the blurb, which is both misleading and egregious: it will tend to encourage the reader to think they are in possession of a sf novel, which is not true.

We are introduced to our protagonist immediately; he is Robert St. Onge, a novelist in the Surrealist movement in Paris, 1924. The reader may thus begin to organize the data as if this were an historical novel about that place and time.

By the end of Chapter 1, however, Robert has moved, with neither intention nor explanation, to the Paris of 1968, and returned. The reader who (whether because of the blurb, or because the book was found in that section of the bookshop) was expecting science fiction now believes that they have confirmed that expectation.

But, in the same sequence, the antagonist is introduced: a horned human figure constructed mostly of fur and metal, with a droning, hypnotic voice; in short, a mythic figure. The mythic nature of this creature becomes more pronounced in subsequent appearances, jarring with the science fictional elements until the reader may be forced to reorganize his/her reception of the novel as fantasy.

THE DREAM YEARS is not, however, fantasy, any more than it is sf or historical. Ms. Goldstein has succeeded in producing a true surrealist novel, a novel whose images, actions, and characters derive from the subconscious, not of the individual writer or reader, but of the culture, and which, finally, transcend that culture.

You may have gathered by now that I liked this book. I did, very much. It is NOT a perfect book. There are a few lines of dialogue (particularly when the principal female character, Solange, talks about "a love more powerful than time," or words to that effect) which struck me as nothing more than heavy-handed cliche, and the one thing that a book of this sort can not afford is cliche.

Nonetheless, THE DREAM YEARS overcomes what is, finally, a very light dose of cliche.

THE DREAM YEARS is a very, very impressive book, a major achievement from a writer whose first book (THE RED MAGICIAN) seemed to leave her nowhere to go but down. (THE RED MAGICIAN, because of its "type," because of its extremely personal nature, and especially because of its unusual (for a first novel) success, seemed to me to threaten a career of endless repetition; and at the same time, I had some concern on picking up TDY that, given her success at writing one type of novel, Ms Goldstein might prove unable to make the "leap" into another. She has skimmed very neatly indeed between this Scylla and that Charybdis.) I recommend this one with no reservations.

Reviewing the Reviewers
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach

There are upwards of 100 titles published in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres a month. Trying to keep up with this number of books is impossible, and no single person or publication, can hope to cover everything. With a limited amount of time and money to spend on books, everyone must set priorities on which books to buy and which to let pass.

Helping a consumer make those decisions is the primary purpose of a book review. Most magazines review books to some degree. In this article I'm going to take a look at the magazines and their reviewers to give you an idea of other places you might want to look for ideas on what to add to your reading list.

First, though, a quick sidetrip. A distinction has to be made between the job of a reviewer and that of a critic. A reviewer asks the questions "What?" and "Is it good?" They try to put themselves in the place of the reader and help the reader decide which books they want to read and which they want to enjoy.

The critic, on the other hand, asks the question "Why?" They look at the book as it relates to the genre and try to put it in some kind of perspective. Reviewing is a practical, down to earth evaluation. Criticism is an attempt to look at something from the point of view of Art, to look beyond the words into their underlying importance, and to spot the places that the field is going (or should be). Criticism requires a strong knowledge of writing, of the genre, and of the people in it.

Lets look at some of the people who look at the books for you. There are five major fiction magazines: Amazing Stories, Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF), Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (IASFM), and Omni. Of these, Omni does not have regular book reviews, and Amazing stories is in process of changing reviewers (prior to the November, 1986 issue reviews were split between Robert Coulson and John Betancourt. November has no review column, and I've heard that Charles Waugh will be taking over the position).

The book column in Analog is written by Tom Easton. As fits the strongly SF bent of the magazine, there is little Fantasy in his column. He tends to be analytical, taking whatever length necessary to put the book in perspective for the reader. He doesn't get overly wordy, though, and rarely emotionalizes or hypes a book. For me, Easton is the epitome of the reviewer. Art rarely rears its head in his column, and he rarely misses the point in a book. I consider this the best review column in the industry, and SF readers should have him on their list every month.

At the other end of the spectrum, Algis Budrys writes the book review column for F&SF. A.J. is a critic from the word go, and his columns wander far and wide over the genre and life in general, using the books he reviews as cornerstones for discussions of the wider ranging topics that revolve around SF and Fantasy. If you are interested in seeing those books put into perspective with the whole of SF, then A.J. is the only game in town. A.J. happens to be indirectly responsible for the existence of this magazine, since he was willing to sit and talk at length about reviewing at Baycon a couple of year ago, and was silly enough to suggest that a reviewzine might not be a bad idea. The results you hold in your hand. I've decided I want to be A.J. Budrys if I ever grow up; higher praise is not possible.

Baird Searles writes the column for IASFM. He is somewhere between Easton and Budrys, writing what are primarily reviews with an occasional sidetrack while putting things in perspective. He reviews a lot more Fantasy than Easton, but I don't think he does quite the same analytical work; he is more intuitive and emotional. I also don't feel that he has quite the critical grasp as Budrys, but he doesn't pretend to. His writing is quite accessible and he is fun to read. Being third in this race is nothing to be ashamed of, it is almost a photo finish for all.

All of the reviewers in the prozines do a fine job. You could read any one of them and find books you probably would have missed otherwise. For a serious reader, any of them would be a good reason to subscribe to the magazine if you aren't already. My only real problem with the prozines is that space is always at a premium, and the columns aren't given enough space to do a thorough job. The books they review they do fine, but they don't review enough of them. To some degree or another they also tend to review works that don't need further comment at the expense of the newer and lesser known works that deserve some publicity. My belief is that Asimov or Clarke don't NEED another review, especially when it means that Dave Smeds' or Katharine Kerr or Marty Asher don't get any notice at all. The reviewers should spend more time nurturing the next generation and new new trends in the field, not creating more publicity for the old masters.

The second place to find reviews is in the semiprozines. Of these, the two best known are Locus and Science Fiction Chronicle. Both are monthly newsmagazine for the SF field and keep their readers informed with what is happening in publishing and fandom. The magazine Fantasy Review is less well known, but is a Fantasy and review oriented monthly.

Locus runs three review columns, by Faren Miller, Debbie Notkin, and Dan Chow. Amy Thompson has also started reviewing short fiction, both magazine and anthology published. There is no duplication between the columns, so a large number of books get covered every month.

Of the three, Notkin is far and away the best reviewer. She tends to review fewer books than the Miller or Chow, spending more time with each one. She has a good mix of both SF and Fantasy, is strongly analytical and at the same time has a good feel for criticism. I consider her reviews, alone of the semipro group, to be on a par with the pro magazine columns. Notkin is just one of many good reasons for subscribing to Locus, but she is an important one.

Faren Miller reviews a lot more Fantasy than Debbie. She has a good sense for Fantasy, less so for SF. My only problem is that she seems to aim for criticism, but falls short, leaving some of her reviews muddled and unclear. There is potential here, sometimes unrealized. When she is good, she is good, but I find her inconsistent.

The third Locus reviewer, Dan Chow, is hard for me to comment on, simply because I stopped reading him months ago. Chow has a tendency to fall into two reviewer traps: reading the authors motivations into a book and using a book as an excuse to review or comment upon an author. In my eyes, the only thing that matters is the word, and the person behind it should be safe from attack. Chow has, on occasion, stepped beyond the realm of good taste and gone after an author, and I just won't tolerate that. I went back through recent issues for this article, and he seems to have gotten this tendency under control to a good degree, but I still don't think he has picked up a sense for evaluating books and turning them into reviews. His columns have little personality and little to recommend them.

Science Fiction Chronicle has one reviewer, Don D. Amassa. He seems to have taken as his task reviewing everything in the world -- a recent issue had 42 reviews in it, and he rarely reviews less than 20 a month. He gets the completeness award, but there is always a tradeoff between volume and quality, and he falls well short in the latter. Most of the reviews are little more than a typical Pico review in OtherRealms, and many of them are nothing more than plot summaries. In a number of cases, it is impossible to tell what he thinks about a work or whether it is worth reading from the review -- just what it is about. I wonder if he really reads all of those things, or whether he's cribbing from the cover notes. He would likely do everyone a favor, and enjoy the books a lot more, if he would read less and discuss them more completely. As it stands, though, his column is not recommended.

Fantasy Review(FR) takes an approach similar to our Pico reviews. It has a large section of reviews written by a number of different people. Because of this, the quality is erratic, but in general FR is a useful tool for finding a comment about most recent books. They try hard to cover the entire field -- Fantasy, SF, Horror and non-fiction entries. Overall, they do a very good job and, for me, do the best of the semi-pro magazines. They have just been bought by a new publisher, but the editor will remain with the magazine. All this is for the good, as it looks like the chronic financial shortages will finally end. On the negative side, the person running the review section, Carol McGuirk, is leaving the magazine for a number of reasons, not the least of which is getting stuck in the middle of an assinine political battle with the Science Fiction Research Association. The SFRA is being idiotic, and we're losing a serious genre resource because of it. She's left a strong reviewing system, though, and hopefully someone will step in and carry it forward. Fantasy Review is highly recommended.

Finally, an honorable mention. Science Fiction Review, a Fanzine published by Richard Geis, has been the premier review oriented fanzine for a number of years, and a number of different authors have been known to hang out there. There are quarterly review columns by Geis, by Paulette Minare, by Gene DeWeese and Elton Elliot. Other people also review works on an irregular basis, including Larry Niven, Dean Lambe and Charles de Lint. Orson Scott Card does the Herculean job of trying to review AND criticize the previous few months short fiction, and does a great job of it.

SFR is what a reviewzine ought to be, and it is a lot more beside. I would normally cajole all of you into subscribing, but Geis has decided to end the magazine. A lot of very good voices, especially Card and deWeese, will be stilled when this happens. I will miss my quarterly SFR fix.

If you only want to read one reviewer, read Easton, and anyone serious about SF should be reading Budry's column for the perspective it brings. I also highly recommend subscriptions to Fantasy Review and Locus, not just for reviews but for all of their material. The most important thing, though, is to find the reviewers that match your style of reading and stick with them.

Subscription Information

Here are the prices and addresses to subscribe to the semiprozines mentioned in this article. The prozines can be found at most large newstands.

Fantasy Review: $20/year (12 issues) 500 N.W. 20th Street Boca Raton, FL 33431

Locus: $24/year (12 issues) P.O. Box 13305 Oakland, CA 94661

SF Chronicle: $23.40.year (12 issues) P.O. Box 4175, New York, NY 10163-4175

Schismatrix
by
Bruce Sterling
Ace, 1986, 288 pages, $2.95
[****+]

Reviewed by
Michael C. Berch
mcb@lll-tis-b.ARPA
Copyright 1986 by Michael C. Berch

At a recent con panel on the Cyberpunk movement, John Shirley called this "the novel that should have won the Hugo" instead of William Gibson's NEUROMANCER. I'm not sure I agree, but SCHISMATRIX is nonetheless a very fine, absorbing, and complex book.

SCHISMATRIX is a novel painted on a very large canvas: the numerous orbiting worlds of the solar system after humanity has expanded beyond Earth. These worlds and their political and cultural movements dissolve and re-form and Sterling traces their fulminations through the eyes of Abelard Lindsay, a former diplomat and current revolutionary, entrepreneur, and politician. Life extension and mental/physical enhancement are available through various biotechnologies, but humans have split into two factions: the Mechanists, who use prosthetics, bioelectronics, and lots of drugs and the Shapers, who prefer genetic engineering and physical/mental conditioning.

The two factions are at war, but the fighting is on many fronts (military, commercial, technological), and the battle lines are blurred. Indeed, Lindsay is himself a hybrid of the two factions, and he is alternately drawn to one or the other, or as often as not to a new faction that is an offshoot of both. The Mechanist/Shaper universe will be familiar to readers of Sterling's other work, such as "Swarm" and "Spider Rose"; in SCHISMATRIX we get to see what's really going on underneath.

"Life moves in clades" is an aphorism that Lindsay repeats often, and it forms the central idea of the book. "Clade" does not appear in my Random House Unabridged, but "clado-" is a Graeco-Latin prefix meaning "branch" or "offshoot", and Sterling's meaning is clear: throughout SCHISMATRIX various cliques such as the Nephrine Black Medicals, the Neotenic Cultural Republic, and the Cataclysts appear, become centers of political and cultural attention, and either fade or become the bases for new "clades" on newer orbiting worlds.

Partway through the novel some aliens show up. They're known as the Investors, and some readers will remember them from the short story "Spider Rose" (1983). Investor culture and artifacts mix with the factions of humanity in flux; as one might expect, the result is murky and unclear, and Lindsay's diffident involvement with the aliens further obscures our view of his character and motivations. I grant that this is by Sterling's design; Abelard Lindsay is the antithesis of a Heinleinian or Asimovian protagonist: we do not really understand him, and we suspect that he does not understand himself.

The novel begins (as does Gibson's NEUROMANCER) with a distinct Japanese flavor -- an orbiting world that proclaims itself a Zaibatsu [corporate republic], characters named Ryumin and Kitsune, and a mysterious financial/sexual cartel called the Geisha Bank -- but by midbook the flavor has essentially disappeared; perhaps because the time span involved is longer than a normal human lifetime. The cyberpunk movement has always had a preoccupation with Japanese tech culture, and many of the the images from NEUROMANCER, SCHISMATRIX, and works like BLADERUNNER seem pulled from the pages of contemporary Japanese comics.

The political and cultural intrigues of SCHISMATRIX reminded me of two other novels that I greatly enjoyed: Kim Stanley Robinson's recent ICEHENGE, and TRITON by Samuel R. Delany, which appeared in the late 1970's. Robinson and Delany enthusiasts, as well as followers of the cyberpunk movement (the core of which is formed by Sterling along with William Gibson, John Shirley, and perhaps Michael Swanwick) will appreciate SCHISMATRIX. It is clearly a major SF novel of the 1980's, and is worth the time spent in exploring its complexities.

Books Received

Books Received lists copies of books sent to OtherRealms for review. Since review copies are sent out near the time of publication it is a notice that these books are now (or will soon be) on the shelves of your bookstore.

Arbor House

Asher, Marty. SHELTER, 1986, 136 pps, $12.95 hardback.
Gibson, William. COUNT ZERO, 1986, 278 pps, $15.95 hardback.
Roberts, Keith. KITEWORLD, 1985, 288 pps, $15.95 hardback. First U.S.
publication of an English work.
Slonczewski, Joan. A DOOR INTO OCEAN, 1986, 403 pps, $17.95 hardback.

Baen Books

Allen, Roger MacBride. ROGUE POWERS, 1986, 401 pps, $3.50. Sequel to THE
TORCH OF HONOR

Henry Holt and Company

Asimov, Isaac. FUTUREDAYS, A NINETEENTH CENTURY VISION OF THE YEAR 2000,
1986, 96 pages (many color plates), $12.95 trade paperback.

Tor Science Fiction

Anthony, Piers. STEPPE, 1986, 252 pps, $3.50. Bishop, Michael. ANCIENT OF DAYS, 1985, 408 pps, $3.95. Bova, Ben. PROMETHEANS, 1986, 278 pps, $2.95. Bova, Ben. VOYAGERS II: THE ALIEN WITHIN, 1986, 344 pps, $15.95 hardback Dickson, Gordon R. PRO, 1978, 183 pps, $2.95. First Tor printing. Modesitt, L. E. Jr. THE ECOLOGIC ENVOY, 1986, 287 pps, $2.95.

Tor Fantasy

Baker, Scott. FIREDANCE, 1986, 380 pps, $2.95.
Roberts, John Maddow. CONAN THE VALORIOUS, 1985, 280 pps, $2.95.
First mass market printing.

Tor Horror

Masterson, Graham. DEATH TRANCE, 409 pps, 3.95 Walters, R. R. LADIES IN WAITING, 1986, 411 pps, $3.95. Williamson, Chet. SOULSTORM, 1986, 307 pps, $3.95.

OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved

One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.

Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without permission.

Issue 9, October 1986 (part 2)

OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life

Issue #9
October, 1986

Part 2

Pico Reviews

ALL THE MYRIAD WAYS by Larry Niven [*****]
Del Rey, $2.25, 1971, 181 pages

Classic Larry Niven. Not only very good hard SF stories, but three
essays on interesting topics (Superman's sex life, time travel, and
teleportation). Overall excellence. A must own book.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

ANNALS OF THE BLACK COMPANY by Glen Cook [****+]
[Omnibus] The Black Company, Shadows Linger,
The White Rose Doubleday [SFBC], 1984, 1984, 1985

Impressive, realistic, gritty fantasy (if that isn't a contradiction in
terms). The Black Company is the last of the free companies of
Khatovar, and they have fallen on hard times. A bunch of tough
mercenaries in the service of the Lady, an ancient evil recently
returned. Here war is a tough, dirty business. Major characters die,
magic doesn't have all the answers. A good study of the possible forms
of evil, apocalyptic battles, and a satisfying final battle and
aftermath.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE COMING OF THE QUANTUM CATS by Frederik Pohl [***]
296 pages, Bantam Books

What if there were infinite parallel worlds? What if some of them
figured out a way to move among the parallels? What if they showed up
in OUR world with weird weapons and plans to use OUR world as a way to
surprise attack their world? What if yet ANOTHER parallel world showed
up to attack OUR world? This is the confusion that Pohl unravels in
this most engrossing story. Very interesting. A bit of a pat ending,
but worth checking out.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor

THE COPPER CROWN by Patricia Kennealy [***]
Signet, $3.50

An interesting book, where the Terrans find a space empire started by
pre-Christian Kelts who fled St. Patrick. After getting past the
mechanism that got them there (I won't spoil it), the book is an
enjoyable read about the extension of a classic culture into an SF
setting, and the culture shock of the Terrans on finding them,
especially the Asian captain of the search vessel. The first in a
series (labeled the 'Keltiad'), but completely readable on its own.
-- Bob Halloran
topaz!caip!unirot!halloran

DARK OF THE MOON by P. C. Hodgell [***+]
Atheneum [SFBC], 1985, 370 pages

Sequel to her excellent book "God Stalk". This is ultimately less
satisfying since it doesn't include the most interesting character of
"God Stalk": the city of Tai-tastigon. This goes more into the
background of the characters and the world, and deals with the battle
against 'The Perimal Darkling'. The major problem is structural, the
chapters alternate between the story of Jame (heroine of the last book)
and her twin brother Tori (who is 12 years older). While this
technique has been used to good effect elsewhere, it doesn't really
work here. A worthwhile book, but read "God Stalk" first.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE DREAM YEARS by Lisa Goldstein [***+]
Bantam Spectra, $2.95, 1985, 195 pages

I'm still not quite sure to make of this book. The basic story takes
place among the surrealists of Paris in 1924. But then there is the
elements of the Paris riots of 1968 and Paris of the 21st century.
This is more of a character oriented story than most of SF, and the
prose, characters, and dialogue are all first rate. The material
dealing with surrealism rings true, but I haven't the slightest idea if
it is accurate. This is worth reading, but I really couldn't say what
it's "about".
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE FOREVER MACHINE by Mark Clifton & Frank Riley [***]
(AKA THEY'D RATHER BE RIGHT)
GALAXY, 1954, 159 pages

Winner of the 1955 Hugo award.   This remains a readable story of a
supercomputer and its use as an rejuvenation machine.  The only trouble
is that to become rejuvenated, you must be willing to give up all
prejudices. And, of course, most people would rather be right and
dead.  Cardboard characters (naturally), but not bad for the period.
        -- John Wenn
        wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

GENE WOLFE'S BOOK OF DAYS by Gene Wolfe [***+]
Doubleday [Hardcover], $9.95, 1981, 182 pages

A short story collection with a theme (each story is connected with a
day of the year). This is a weak Gene Wolfe collection, but still has
several excellent stories. Some favorites are Lincoln's Birthday
(reinstatement of slavery), Valentine's Day (what if computer dating
**REALLY** worked?), and Mother's Day (a pregnant car). Even mediocre
Gene Wolfe is better than many other authors, so this is worth checking
out.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE GREY MANE OF MORNING by Joy Chant [****]
Bantam, $3.50, 1977, 332 pages

A refreshing fantasy story. Instead of young heros battling evil
wizards for the fate of the entire universe; this is a quiet, pastoral
(but by no means dull) tale of a tribe of plainsmen, and how they
learned to war against the villages. There is no earth shattering
battles, but a well told story of a proud people and their way of
life. Recommended.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

HALF PAST HUMAN by T. J. Bass [***]
Del Rey, $2.75, 1971, 279 pages

Interesting speculation on the far future. Trillions of four toed
near-humans live in computer controlled hives on an earth totally
converted to food production. And a few five toed genetic throwbacks
live on the surface, fighting for survival. The prose is nothing
special, but the plot and characters are adequate.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE HAMMER AND THE HORN by Michael Jan Friedman [*+]
Questar, $2.95, 1985, 297 pages

The story of Vidar (Odin's bastard son), who has been on earth since
Ragnarok, and his reinvolvement with current Asgardian affairs. The
description of what really happened in Norse mythology is kind of
interesting, but doesn't make up for the standard fantasy plot devices. Yawn.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

HARDWIRED by Walter Jon Williams [**]
Tor Books $15.95 343pp

This is basically a post holocaust shoot 'em up with lots of sex and
drugs and rock 'n roll. The Earth has lost The War with the Orbital
Corporate Blocs and is now being bled white by them. Sarah is a
dirtgirl whose dream is to get enough money to buy a ticket off-world
for herself and her brother. Cowboy is a smuggler who wants to bring
down the Orbitals. They meet, they fall in love, they triumph but then
you know all this by the seventh chapter. There is nothing original
about either the characters or the story. On the other hand, Williams
has written a sufficiently fast paced story that it is possible to
gloss over the cliches. Atmosphere is very important in a story of this
type and Williams has also done a good job of creating a suitable
electric punk rock feel. However, on the balance, this is not one
Williams' better works and one has to have a preference for this type
of story to like this book.
-- Danny Low
hplabs!dlow

HART'S HOPE by Orson Scott Card [****+]
Berkley, $2.75, 1983, 261 pages

What makes this book interesting is its prose style. Virtually every
book written today (at least nearly all SF&F) is written in a modern,
conversational style. "Hart's Hope", however, is written in the old,
allegorical style that brings to mind Arthurian legends and old myths.
The story itself is well suited to this approach, dealing with gods,
princesses, revenge, love and death. Also its refreshing to read a
fantasy novel that isn't part of an N-ology.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE HIDDEN LAND by Pamela Dean [****-]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 1986, 202 pages

Continuation of "The Secret Country", this is a well written,
interesting fantasy novel. A group of children are mysteriously
transported to their make-believe land. But things aren't quite as
they imagined them, the people are more complex and the events have a
life of their own. I kept wanting to shout at the characters "What are
you doing? Don't you know that could be dangerous?" The children act
like children, not adults in small bodies. The major trouble is that
their are LOTS of loose ends still hanging around. This is just
crying for another book to resolve everything.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE HUMANOIDS by Jack Williamson [****+]
Avon, $2.25, 1949, 259 pages

Forget Steven King, this is **SCARY**. A lone scientist creates (via a
newly discovered natural law) a race of robots (called humanoids)
instructed "To Serve and Obey, And Guard Men from Harm". The problem
is that the humanoids are TOO efficient and judge everything from
bicycles to unsupervised sex as potentially harmful. This is a classic
tale of technology gone wrong, close enough to possible that it scares
the daylights out of me. It has been taught at MIT as an example of
where technology can lead. My copy also includes the even better short
story "With Folded Hands".
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE INITIATE by Louise Cooper [**+]
Tor, $2.95, 1985, 278 pages

A perfectly average fantasy plot, better written than most. An
interesting premise that in the war between law and chaos, law won
completely ages ago. Now the protagonist is being manipulated into
helping the return of chaos. Of course, its the first book in an N-ology.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE KRAKEN WAKES by John Wyndham [*****]
240 pages, from Penguin

This is another wonderful Wyndham book. The storyline is that
mysterious asteroids show up in the sky (remember the beginning of "Day
of the Triffids"? smile) and crash into the sea. As time passes
strange things happen at sea, including ships mysteriously disappearing
without any warning... the really exceptional thing about the story is
the characterizations.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor

THE KUNDALINI EQUATION by Steven Barnes [***+]
Tor, $3.50, 1986, 348 pages

Another SF/Martial Arts book by Steven Barnes (the other being
"Streetlethal"). This time a man stumbles upon an ancient killing
discipline that makes Bruce Lee look like a paraplegic. Nice prose,
interesting characters, and nicely written gratuitous sex scenes.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

LORD OF LIGHT by Roger Zelazny [*****]
Doubleday Science Fiction, 1967, [SFBC]

A Hugo winning novel, would you believe Zelazny tells a Science Fiction story about the Buddhist Pantheon and gets away with it? A group of people land on a planet and turn themselves into Gods, literally, with technology. They rule their offspring with all the typical weaknesses that the Gods of humans would be expected to show, and do everything they can to hold back the progress of their minions. On the side of Good, however, is Mahasamatman, but you can call him Sam. As the Buddha, the Prophet, this unbeliever puts together the revolution that will overturn Heaven itself. A fascinating book with insights into a lesser known philosophy and about humanity itself.

-- chuq von rospach

LYTHANDE by Marion Zimmer Bradley [***-]
DAW, $3.50, 1986, 237 pages

A collection of short stories dealing with the Blue Star wizard of
Thieves World. Lythande was one of my favorite characters from the
first book. So it is really unfortunate that these stories don't fulfil
the promise of the character. While Lythande has several interesting
adventures, and we learn a bit more about her character, there is too
much of Fantasy Plot 217 (hero fights old adversary in unexpected
place) to be really satisfying.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE MISTS OF AVALON - Marion Zimmer Bradley [****+]

This is yet another retelling of the Arthurian legend, though this time
from the point of view of the women in the story. They include
Gwenhwyfar, Igraine, Viviane but the main (and definitely the most
interesting) character is Morgaine - priestess of Avalon, half-sister
to Arthur and mother of his child who will destroy him. While I found
the start of the story somewhat slow, Igraine (Arthurs's mother) not
being a terribly interesting character, it soon became quite
engrossing. The book has a marvelous feeling of a world where the old
magic and ways are being replaced by a new religion (the author's
sympathies lying with the old religion). Being the Arthurian legend
the story ends in tragedy, though not quite the same tragedy as is
usual. It is the best fantasy I have read since 'Thomas Covenant.
Toivo Pedaste
seismo!effigy.oz!toivo

THE MULLER-FOKKER EFFECT by John Sladek [****]
213 pages, from Pocket Books,

This is a very Kurt Vonnegut style story with lots of strange and
irreverent things. Muller Fokker is a technique by which one can
capture the personality of a person on computer tapes... there are some
hilarious comments on religion, government, etc.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor

ON A PALE HORSE by Piers Anthony []
303 pages, Del Rey

This book was quite good, indeed surprisingly good considering the
dreck Anthony has been foisting on (a willing) public as of late.
Until about half way... then we started seeing the 'superhero' syndrome
rear it's ugly head. But even then it was okay until I got to the
"Authors Note". Okay, so maybe he has something interesting to say...
but Nooooo... The Authors Note (21 pages worth!) ruined the book. Don't
buy it. yech.
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor

PARK: A FANTASTIC STORY by John Gray [****]
107 pages, Carcanet

Good luck finding this one.  If you do, though, buy it!  It's an
excellent philosophical story of a man who wakes up one  morning
hundreds of years in the future.  The comments on early 1900s' English
society are most interesting... and make for a good tale too!   With an
afterward by Philip Healy, this might be more appropriate for a
Literature or Philosophy class  in college.
        -- Dave Taylor
        hplabs!hpldat!taylor

THE RELUCTANT KING by L. Sprague de Camp [***]
[Omnibus] The Goblin Tower, The Clocks of Iraz, The Unbeheaded King
Doubleday [SFBC], 1968, 1971, 1983, 533 pages

On the whole, an average fantasy about Jorian, an former king trying to
keep out of the clutches of his subjects (you see, every 5 years they
behead their king and appoint a new one). What brings this up to 3
stars is the marvelous stories Jorian tells about the exploits of the
past kings of Kortoli (all of whose names begin with 'F'). The
exploits of Fusinian the Fox, Filoman the Well-Meaning, Forimar the
Esthete, and others are quite amusing (better than the main story in
most places). A readable light fantasy.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

SILVERTHORN by Raymond E. Feist [****]
Doubleday [SFBC], 1985, 309 pages

Middle book of the Magician trilogy. It suffers from the standard
middle book syndrome: you don't have the thrill of learning about the
setting, and you don't have a satisfying climax. This is why it only
gets four stars instead of five. A smaller scope than the previous
book, this only deals with the quest for a cure for the princess in
enemy territory. Excellent book.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE SPACE MERCHANTS by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth [*****]
170 pages, from Penguin

This is a great story!  Anything that pokes fun at Madison Avenue and
the games they play to manipulate us, the innocent public, into buying
things is good in MY book!  In this vision of the future, the ad
agencies run the world, have armed military  encounters with each other
to get new people, and have torture  experts to kidnap and find out the
success of the 'other side'.   Very funny.  Very good.  Buy it and read
it if you can!
        -- Dave Taylor
        hplabs!hpldat!taylor

THE STARMAKER by Olaf Stapleton [****] for imagination
[**-] as a novel
Berkley, $0.50, 1937, 222 pages

A travelogue on the history of intelligent life in the universe, and
its search for spiritual enlightenment. As a work of imagination, this
works very well, detailing all manner of strange and wonderful
creatures and civilizations. However, it has its problems as a novel.
Seeing so many different societies rush by doesn't give time to see any
but the most obvious features of any of them. There aren't really any
characters in the entire novel, just a vast panorama opening before
us. Still, it is an interesting an influential early SF book.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

STEPPE by Piers Anthony [****]
1.25 U.K. pounds, Granada, 1976, 191 Pages.

If you like anything the Piers Anthony writes and if you can find this
book (I don't think there is a U.S. version), then it is well worth
reading. It is a fun techno/primitive adventure that doesn't fall prey
to any of Anthony's problems. The book reminds me in many ways of
Split Infinity and I expect that Split Infinity grew out of Steppe.
-- David Muir Sharnoff
muir@ucbvax

THE SUMMER TREE by Guy Gavriel Kay [*****]
Arbor House [SFBC], 1984, 311 pages

One of the best fantasies I've read this year. What distinguishes this
from most other excellent fantasies, say "Magician", is that five of
the main characters are from Toronto, and are transported to Fionavar
by Silvercloak the wizard. The contemporary characters give an
accessible point of view, and their personalities are both fully
developed and change through the story. Great setting, great prose,
great characters. Read it.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

SUNFALL by C. J. Cherryh [**]
DAW, $2.50, 1981, 158 pages

The worst Cherryh book I've read. This is a collection of short
stories about the fate of cities in the far, far future. None of the
stories is terrible, but the entire collecting is unsatisfing. Both
Vance and Wolfe have done better with the same idea.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THIEVES' WORLD #9, BLOOD TIES [****]
edited by Robert Lynn Asprin and Lynn Abbey
Ace Fantasy, August 1986, $2.96, 238 pages

The latest collection in the THIEVES' WORLD series. After some mid-series doldrums, the last few books have snapped back, and this issue is as good as #1. The denizens of Sanctuary are learning a new trick -- subtlety -- as they live and die (well, mostly die) and fight for the survival of their city and themselves. This book injects something missing in all the previous volumes: Hope. Since the total despair of Sanctuary was my only real gripe about the series, this is now on my buy regardless list. It is beginning to look like this series will go on forever. I, personally, hope it will.

-- chuq von rospach

THE TRANSVECTION MACHINE BY Edward Hoch [*]
176 pages, from Pocket Books,

Perhaps the best review (he says tongue firmly in cheek) is to quote
the review on the back cover; "A beautifully plotted and clued
detective story that just happens to take place in the twentyfirst
century... hanky-panky in high places, sex, threats of torture, escape
attempts and a shoot-out at the end... perfect!" Uh huh...
-- Dave Taylor
hplabs!hpldat!taylor

VISIBLE LIGHT by C. J. Cherryh [****]
DAW, $3.50, 1986, 348 pages

A good short story collection. A good balance of fantasy and SF, old
and new stories. There isn't a bad story in here. Also entertaining
is the meta-story, which forms as the introduction to the individual
tales and as a platform for Cherryh to expound on all manner of ideas
on literature, art, history, and the universe. And a nice cover
picture that's a fairly good likeness of the author.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

VOYAGER IN NIGHT by C. J. Cherryh [***+]
DAW, $2.95, 1984, 221 pages

Interesting speculation on ALIEN aliens and how human beings could
relate. And I absolutely refuse to give away any of the plot, since
finding out what in the world is going on is much of the fun.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

WAVE WITHOUT A SHORE by C. J. Cherryh [***+]
DAW, $2.50, 1981, 176 pages

Could you build a society that REALLY believed in existentialism?
Something doesn't exist unless you believe it exists? The problems
this poses, as well as the struggle between art and politics is the
basis of some interesting speculations.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

THE WORTHINGTON CHRONICLE by Orson Scott Card [***]
Ace, $2.75, 1983, 264 pages

This is largely based on two previous books: "Hot Sleep" and "Capitol".
These three books deal with the earth empire built on controlled
suspended animation, telepathy, the fall of the empire, and its
aftermath. This book is how the entire history is told to a young boy
in a small village of an obscure planet. As with all Card, it is well
written and the story is nice hard SF.
-- John Wenn
wenn@g.cs.cmu.edu

OtherRealms Salutes the 1986 Hugo Winners!

Best Novel
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Best Novella
24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Roger Zelazny

Best Novellette
Paladin of the Lost Hour, by Harlan Ellison

Best Short Story
Fermi and Frost, by Frederik Pohl

Best Non-fiction book
Science Made Stupid, by Tom Weller

Best Dramatic Presentation
Back to the Future

Best Professional Editor
Judy-Lynn del Rey*

Best Professional Artist
Michael Whelan**

Best Semi-Prozine
Locus, Charles Brown, editor

Best Fan Writer
Mike Glyer

Best Fan Artist
joan hanke-woods

Best Fanzine
Lan's Lantern, George Laskowski, editor

John W. Campbell Award
Melissa Scott

* Lester del Rey refused the award on the grounds that if Judy-Lynn had not died, she would not have won, and that she would not have wanted it under these circumstances.

** Michael Whelan removed himself from Hugo contention next year

OtherRealms Notes

This issue is, by far, the most difficult one to put together yet. This issue introduces an entirely new format, thanks to the Macintosh and MacPublisher II, a desktop publishing program. The people reading the electronic version can't appreciate it, but with a new font and entirely redesigned format, I think OtherRealms is significantly more readable than in the past. It is a big improvement, and the time it took learning the new software and starting over with the display decisions is worth it.

Beyond the cosmetic, there are a lot of other changes to this issue. I've published the first OtherRealms cartoon, which is the first piece of art to go into the magazine. Again, I'm using advanced technology, digitizing the art into the Mac and laying it into the issue electronically. The results are not as impressive here, and if I can't get the quality up in the next issue or so, I'll go back to traditional paste-up. We'll see if it is the technology or the operator once I get some time to really work on it. Thanks to Alexis Gilliland for suggesting that OtherRealms use art and acting as initial guinea pig.

Jim Brunet is the author of the first piece of OtherRealms fiction, "Insufficient Transmission" and a good piece it is. Jim is a long time contributor to the zine, and this story is a good example of the quality of fiction I'm striving for.

One feature that is taking a rest this issue is the lettercol. Preliminary results of the Readers Survey last issue show that the space I was giving it was way out of proportion to the interest. Since I'm tight for space this issue anyway, I'm going to take some time to rethink how I want to handle letters. I feel strongly that a lettercol is important to help everyone get their views heard, but I need to be more selective in what and how much gets printed. I do read everything, and the letters I get affect the future directions of OtherRealms, so don't stop writing!

Another thing I've decided to do is consolidate is my writing. Looking back on previous issues, my writing was scattered all over the place. I'm consolidating everything into a single review column where I can tie things together a little better, do a little more commentary and practice my A. J. Budrys impersonation. I feel more comfortable in a column format and I think it will help me keep from dominating an issue by spraying lots of little things all over the place. "Words of Wizdum" premieres this issue.

"Books Received" is the last new feature. OtherRealms is getting a lot of support from many publishers in the form of publication schedules, press releases, and review copies. I'm going to start dedicating some space to getting this information out to you, and "Books Received" is the first part of this. It lists all the review copies that OtherRealms has gotten since the last issue. This serves two purposes. First, it will let you know to expect a book at the store even if it doesn't get reviewed, and it also lets you know which books that DO get reviewed came directly from the publishers. Getting a review copy doesn't guarantee a good review; it doesn't even guarantee a review, for that matter, but this is one way I can help you keep us honest by giving you a list of the freebies. I definitely give review copies priority on my reading list, but that is because these are the new books and the books that should be reviewed. In future issues, I'm going to start printing the lists of upcoming books as I get the information. There are a lot of good books coming out between now and Christmas, and I hope to start telling you about them next month.

The flow of review copies has gotten to the point where I can't even try to read all of them anymore, much as I'd like to. This gives you the opportunity to get "paid" for writing for OtherRealms. I want to set up a network of people that I can send books to and get a review from in a timely manner. In return, you get to keep the book. I'm looking for both a Pico Review and about a 500 word review on each book I send out, within 30 days after you get the book. I'll use one or the other depending on interest and space. If you're willing to make room in your reading list on short notice and want to write reviews, drop me a line and tell me your interests. (If you're in the Bay Area, so much the better, as I can save postage on the mailing!) Please don't sign up if you can't read the book quickly, that isn't fair to me, the readers of the magazine, or the publishers who sent us the book.

OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved

One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.

Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without permission.

Issue 9, October 1986 (part 3)

OtherRealms
A Reviewzine for the Non-Fan
Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life

Issue #9
October, 1986

Part 3

Words of Wizdom
Book Reviews by Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach

It isn't often that you run across a true gem. It is quite rare when that gem is shaped by a first-time author. RATHA'S CREATURE, by Clare Bell [Atheneum/Argo books, 1983, $12.95 hardback] is such a book. The real pity is that this book was published by a house not known for its fiction, and published an a juvenile. It is definitely not juvenile, but a powerful adult Fantasy set in prehistoric times.

Ratha is a precursor of the Saber-tooth tiger in a story set some 25 million years ago. She and her clan are intelligent cats, with language and learning and a structured society. They are also herders, keeping their meat animals and guarding them from the Un-Named, clanless cats without the spark of thought.

We meet Ratha as she learns the art of herding. We follow her development until disaster strikes -- lightning sets their forest afire. In the aftermath, Ratha discovers that she can control and manipulate fire. For this, she is kicked out of the clan. During this, she loses her fire and leaves clan territory an exile. She picks up with Bonechewer, another exile from the clan, who teaches her how to survive in the wilderness. She unwillingly participates in the winter raids that decimate her ex-clan, but finally returns to them, only to be rebuffed again. Another lightning strike returns the power of fire to her, and she challenges, and bests, the clan leader with it. Finally, the clan uses the power of fire to turn the tide against the Un-Named and win the critical battle against them to protect their flock.

This is a very powerful book. Obviously, someone at Atheneum was impressed enough to publish something that didn't really fit into their line very well. Unfortunately, this means that it hasn't been pushed towards the readers that could most appreciate it, and it is not well known and hard to find. Both are crying shames. This book could have been an award winner if it had been given some publicity. You will probably need to special order this book, but you won't be disappointed. Do it. Bell has succeeded at something many have tried and failed with in the genre -- a solid first person account from a truly alien viewpoint; that of an intelligent cat.

This is a stunning gem, hidden in the rough at the edge of the road. I hope this book makes it to paperback soon, with a publisher willing to give it a push. It would have been a serious award candidate, if we had only known about it.

There is a new Amber book out, and it is simply great. BLOOD OF AMBER, the latest by Roger Zelazny [Arbor House hardback, September 1986, $14.95]. I panned TRUMPS OF DOOM, mainly because Zelazny deliberately withheld known information from the reader. BLOOD is good enough, though, to make up for that and they both get a recommendation now. BLOOD takes up where DOOM left off, with Merlin stuck in a cave of blue crystal. He, of course, escapes, but not before a rather long-winded soliloquy that summarizes the plot to date. Once we get past that, however, the plot starts moving. For every question Zelazny answers in this volume, he creates dozens more to draw you into the final volume. The stopping (the book doesn't end, it just waits for the final third of the trilogy) is bizarre and unsuspected enough to make the blue cave seem like a Sunday outing. Very little is resolved, there is no real crisis, but the book builds to what promises to be a real blockbuster ending of the trilogy with an energy I haven't seen in Amber since SIGN OF THE UNICORN.

When an author gets paid a lot of money to write a sequel beyond the logical end of the story, I find that the quality of the story suffers. DOOM was disappointing enough to make me believe that the new Amber trilogy would follow the paths of such books as RINGWORLD ENGINEERS, but BLOOD OF AMBER is proof that Zelazny has found the inspiration to carry Amber forward. I enjoyed the trip thoroughly, and I can't wait for the final volume. Highly recommended. [****]

My find of the month is another Arbor House book, SHELTER by Marty Asher [Arbor House Hardback, 1986, $12.95]. This book has everything going against it. The book is small, 136 pages. Each page is only about half filled with text, usually only a paragraph or two. Marty Asher is Director of the Quality Paperback Book Club. The blurbs mention Brautigan and Vonnegut, definite warning signs of impending mediocrity. When you first see this book you'll think that somebody owed a favor, and that it has to be rotten.

You'd be wrong, too. Frankly, I'd never have looked at this book if Arbor House hadn't sent it to me, and I'm very glad they did. The book is as good as the best of Vonnegut. Asher has a strong sense of language and writing, and uses it with a strong sense of restraint.

Be aware that this is NOT SF or Fantasy, really. It is much closer to experimental fiction. This is primarily a story of the idealism of the 1960's running head on into the 1980's, as Billy, professional bumper sticker writer, tries to come to grips with the upcoming Armageddon. This book really isn't a novel, but a charming character study and exposition on our society. If you like Vonnegut or Ellison, you'll love Asher. Definitely not a book for everyone, but highly recommended. [*****]

KITEWORLD by Keith Roberts (Arbor House hardback, 1986, $15,95) is a Fantasy of a different flavor. Roberts is a British author, and this is the first U.S. publication of a 1985 British book. The book is written as a mainstream novel written in the world that Roberts creates. The upshot of this is that a lot of material is taken for granted, and few of the things that are normally explained away in a Fantasy are mentioned except peripherally.

Roberts builds a full and fascinating society where the kite plays a central role in life. It is a religious icon, man sized kites are used to patrol the borders of civilization as protection from the Demons beyond, and houses fly kites for safety from unnatural forces.

Very little of this is explained. You don't know where the kites came from, what the Demons are (except for sideways glances), and the only view you get of the society is that you would get from being in the society. In lesser hands, trying to write a story like this would collapse in upon itself. Roberts carries it off almost flawlessly, and even though it is a bit confusing at first, once you settle into the story you'll enjoy it. I found myself wondering when he was going to stop telling the story to explain what was going on -- once I figured out he wasn't planning to, everything fell in place. This book requires an active reader. It doesn't explain anything and you'll have to figure it out for yourself. Some people won't like this book, but I found it refreshing. [****]

WIZENBEAK (Bluejay Books, 1986, $8.95 trade paperback) is the latest from artist/author Alexis Gilliland. Slightly dotty wizards seem to be in these days and Wizenbeak, a water wizard, well qualifies. He is interested in settling the deserts by finding underground water and digging wells. Toss in an aged, dying King, a sorcerous (but not evil) Queen, two chafing Princes, a step-prince, and a slew of troll-bats (whatever they are) and you're in for a good read. It starts out funnier than it ends, as though Gilliland wanted to write a funny Fantasy that got away from him, but that didn't bother me. Solid Fantasy, worth reading. [***]

AFTER MAN: A ZOOLOGY OF THE FUTURE (Granada Publishing, 1981, oversize paperback) showed up on the remainder table. Written by Dougal Dixon, this is a look life will look on earth 50 million after man has left the world. You meet a wide variety of animals, the Rabbuck family (deer sized herbivores based on Rabbits), the Chirrit (a tree dweller somewhere between a chipmunk and a ferret) and the wooly Gigantalope (something that looks like a Bison crossbred with an Antelope). What makes this book interesting is the thought that went into it. Dixon has looked at what animals are likely to survive and how they will adapt to changing ecological niches. There are a lot of illustrations of the various animals, and they are all well done. You won't agree with all of his choices, but I don't think we'll be around to find out who is right. This could be a useful tool for people who want ideas on how evolution works. [***+]

TAKEOFF [Starblaze/Donning, trade paper, $7.95] is a 1986 re-release of a 1979 book. It is a collection of pastiches, parodies, and homages of various Famous Works by Randall Garrett. Garrett sharpens his pencil and his wit to write a series of satirical stories set in the Universes of famous authors, attempting to write the same way the author does. This he does, with great success. The worst of the pastiches is simply wonderful, the best, such as "Backstage Lensman" and "On the Martian Problem" (E.E. "Doc" Smith and E. R. Burroughs, respectively) are in many ways better than the original. The latter part of the book are a series of "Reviews in Verse" where Garrett reviews famous books in rhyme. They are less successful, but don't detract from the book at all. This book should be a must read, if you have a sense of humor at all. [****]

Insufficient Transmission
Fiction by Jim Brunet
jimb@ism780c.UUCP
Copyright 1986 by Jim Brunet

At Schrodinger Station, drifting in a lonely orbit a full tenth of a
light-year out from Earth, fourteen men and women were hunched over
consoles or laboratory equipment, conducting research on causality,
temporal gradients, and the properties of space beyond the
gravitational singularity of Sol.  Three others were off-duty, making
love in one of the recreational lounges. Roger Z. Briarton, the
station's eighteenth and final inhabitant, peered cautiously into the
communications room and then quickly stepped inside. Working swiftly
yet carefully, he removed the cover to the tachyon resonator's input
module.  Roger looked over his shoulder and then reached inside his
overalls and withdrew the storage chip containing the document he had
created in the utmost secrecy.   Roger pressed a button and the
contents of the chip were dumped into memory, joining the queue of
reports and other documents bound for Earth.

He checked his watch when he had finished and then crossed his arms as he waited, watching the machinery. Two minutes later, the resonator started humming, followed after thirty seconds by a soft rumble. There came a second, shorter, hum and then silence.

Roger smiled. All the documents, including his secret, were now inbound for Earth. Whistling a soft and springy tune, Roger Briarton left the Com Room and sauntered down the corridor in the direction of the Rec Lounges. Maybe I can get someone interested in a good game of Monopoly, he thought.

"Oh, Loo-TEN-ant! Ansible's ringing!" Lieutenant Brady Entwhistle, communications officer of the Niven Colony on Titan, sighed and put down the tech manual he had been reading. Ansible indeed! Brady was fighting a hopeless battle to maintain proper technical designations for all equipment. Tachyon resonator, for instance, instead of ansible.

Brady swiveled himself out of his chair and walked from the duty office into the Com Room. Outside, beyond the stellarium window, Saturn filled half the sky. It's the damn planet's fault, thought Brady as he flicked on the monitor and began to scan the incoming communications. Even the most straight-laced service officers developed a poetic temperament as they were slowly seduced by the ringed world.

That train of thought evaporated as Brady began to flash through the
documents.  From Schrodinger Station, most were due to be
re-transmitted to Earth.  He dumped out to local memory and printed
hardcopy of a report addressed to the Deep Space Psychological
Institute (Titan) and a letter addressed to the Titan field office of
the Interplanetary Revenue Service, appealing the IRS decision deeming
living quarters on Schrodinger Station as a "...taxable benefit,
supplied in lieu of salary for alternate arrangements."   The rest....

Brady's eyes widened as he saw the address of the last document in the queue: Com Duty Officer, Titan. Brady shook his head and press the hardcopy button. He didn't know anyone in Deep Space.

The first sheet was a cover letter. Ten minutes minutes later, Brady exhaled softly as the inbound laser facsimile transmission toward Ceres was completed. Brady had complied with the requests of the cover letter, but unusual as they were, he was unhappy. It was against all regulations, it really was. Mis-appropriation of government communications channels for unofficial business. Brady shook his head. Better not to think about it. Instead, he stuck his tech manual back on the gray metal bookshelf and signed out of the duty office. Maybe that craft class on ice sculpture was still open.

K.T. Dooley hunched over his drink and glumly watched the desultory social interactions among the clientele of the Gay Caballero. K.T. wasn't gay or bi -- which marked him as something of an oddity in the asteroid belt, given the scarcity of women -- so the social maneuvers of the other patrons were of only academic interest to him. The drinks, however, were the cheapest on Ceres, and Gus, the bartender, had even been known to be generous on occasion to a down and out single-ship prospector.

K.T. checked his watch and then swirled his drink moodily, trying to stretch out the time before he would order one more, depleting his finances by another half credit. Two more hours until his ship was refueled, two more fucking hours until he spaced again. He would have to hit this time, even a modest strike. Hit or go down the hole. This last time out he had come up hard-vacuum empty, without even a lousy kilogram of usable ore. K.T. swirled his glass again and then drained it, setting it down on the table with a clunk. Things couldn't get any worse.

He started to raise his hand to order when a movement at the door caught his eyes and he saw the silver-overalled figure of M'lumba Nsanzi striding purposefully toward him. "Oh, shit," said K.T., burying his face in his hands. Things had just gotten worse.

"Hey, Kay-Tee, old man. Just who I was looking for."

K.T. spread his fingers and peered out, hoping desperately to find that he was the victim of an illusion. Instead, he saw black, bald-headed M'lumba grinning as he pulled up a chair. K.T. groaned as if his eternal soul had just been consigned to the flames. All Government Service officers were bad news, and this one-- this one was with the belt's Provost Department, worse yet -- and this particular one NEVER smiled unless the news was going to be excruciatingly bad.

K.T. lowered his hands from his face and forced a smile. "What's the matter, M'lumba? Run out of government clerks to bugger and figure you'd try the private sector?"

M'lumba's smile only broadened as he shook his head. "You said that as a joke, thinking it funny, no? No matter. No, friend Dooley, I came seeking you for a different, but less--" The provost officer flicked his eyes over Dooley's scrawny frame and ragged dress a moment, "--unappetizing favor."

"Favor?" K.T.'s voice fairly squeaked. "What are you talking about? I don't do favors for any government snooper scumbag--" His voice broke off as M'lumba's smile vanished and the officer pressed his hands together, slowly tapping his fingertips against each other.

"It's only the delivery of a package," said the officer, quietly, reaching inside his overalls and placing a flat, foil-wrapped package on the table between them. K.T. breathed easier for a moment. Perhaps a small favor wouldn't be such a bad idea. You never knew when it might be nice to have someone in the provost's office who owed you one and might be persuaded to overlook a minor indiscretion....

"That's right," repeated the officer, "just one small package. An inbound facsimile mail parcel from Deep Space, to be delivered to an inbound ship at Marsport."

"Marsport!" bellowed K.T.  "Marsport!   Are you crazy? Do you know what
kind of orbit I'd have to burn to get to Marsport?  And what sort of
chance I'd have of running across any decent ore on the way?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Nobody, ah, more reliable is in port and heading that way. So I'm afraid you will have to do."

"The hell I will. There ain't no way I'm going to Marsport, so you can just kick in your jets and roll right now."

"Oh, but I think you will," said M'lumba softly. "Oh, yes, indeed, I think you will. Because it would be rather more unpleasant for you if you were to be officially detained in my office to discuss the little matter of changing the frequency of a Survey Service navigation buoy and then nudging it into a different orbit for your own personal use."

K.T. blanched. That had been six months ago and he had been so careful to avoid detection. Damn, he thought, I was sure I was radar masked. If the provost's department had hard evidence and could make it stick.... K.T. stared and M'lumba and tried to fight back the panic. "You're just prejudiced at me because I'm an independent," he whined.

M'lumba stood up and grabbed K.T.'s tunic at the throat, pulling him half out of his chair. "Wrong," he snarled. "I'm prejudiced against you because you're stupid." He threw K.T. back down in his chair. "I figure you might just barely be smart enough to get this packet to Marsport and get it on an inbound ship. It's either that, or I'll nail your ass. If not now, then the next time. Now, is it a deal?"

K.T.'s head bobbed up and down. Whatever M'lumba had on him might not hold up before a magistrate, but then why take chances. The provost officer scowled at him and then spun on his heel and left.

K.T. exhaled deeply and slumped back in his chair. Marsport. Christ. How was he going to stay in business? He shut his eyes and moaned and then opened them as a glass clunked on the table. "Here you go, big guy. Anyone who gets harlanned like that, get's one on the house from me."

K.T. looked up bleakly at Gus's compassionate face. Gus was okay, even if he did wear a dress. "Thanks, Gus," he said, taking the glass in hand. "And I'll pay you for another one, right away." He spent the next two hours drinking and staring at the address label on the package.

Brin Garrett stared curiously through the armored windows of the taxi as it made its way through the congestion on Lexington Avenue. It was his first visit to New York, for he was a west coast boy and normally took leave in L.A. or San Francisco on the earthbound side of the Clarion's run.

Though it was near noon, the sun cast a diffuse wan light through the haze. On a clear day, you can see half a block, or so the song ran. He shook his head. And they complain about L.A. He watched approvingly as an elderly, white haired lady dispatched three would-be purse snatchers with a couple of well-aimed electrostatic jolts from the stunner concealed in her umbrella. Technology being used for the improvement of social conditions, he thought. That's the way it should be.

Brin momentarily checked the address on the foil package on his lap and then compared it to the numbers on the buildings that he was passing by. The business of the package was the reason for his presence in New York, and a curious one it was.

He had been having lunch at the Nip-and-Tuck at Marsport when a crazy single-ship pilot had burst into the lounge, buying drinks for everyone in the house, a grand if economical gesture as the house was three-quarters empty. It seemed as if the pilot had made a strike on a hefty chunk of high-grade iridium ore while on transit between Ceres and Mars, chancing upon a bulky rock in a lonely orbit.

Brin was only to happy to enjoy the hospitality of another, but after the second vodka and tonic, the time came to pay, as the belter pilot staggered over to Brin's booth, insistent upon striking up a conversation. Brin had inwardly shrugged; there was, after all, no such thing as a free drink.

The fellow was ge-snockered to the gills and had rambled on about some "perverted prick of a provost officer" and the need to deliver a package to an inbound ship or his ass would be occupied by a navigation buoy. Who's ass, Brin wasn't sure, as the prospector's slurry speech left his pronoun antecedents in doubt, but the pilot had pulled out a foil wrapped package with an Earthbound address on the outside.

Brin had accepted it -- it was the kind of simple favor that crewmen often did -- mainly in hopes of the pilot going away quickly, but the man had been so grateful that he had insisted on buying Brin another drink and staying until he finished it.

The cab pulled over to the side of the street and the robot-driver beeped through a speaker set in the grill dividing the front seat from the passenger compartment and announced "Your destination, sir. Please insert your credit chip in the slot provided." Brin did so and moments later the driver released the door locks.

Brin re-pocketed his credit chip and exited. Little did he realize that the robot-driver had debited twenty percent extra from his chip, proving that after three centuries, New York cab drivers still held the upper hand and the so-called laws governing robotic behavior toward humans were as theoretical as ever. Brin again checked the address label on the package against the number of the building in front of him and then walked inside to look for the designated office.

The Editor finished reading the manuscript and then contemplated the mess in the far corner of his office -- six feet away -- for a moment before buzzing the intercom for his assistant. He was known simply as The Editor to almost everyone (except his wife, who called him The Husband), simply because he had held his present job as editor of one of the world's most prestigious science fiction magazines for well over a century. Rejuvenation treatments were wonderful.

Someone had once asked him about getting bored after so many decades in the same job, and he had replied, "Bored? Bored, when every day the future is unfolded before me as I read dozens of brilliantly written stories based on solid scientific extrapolation?" The response had had two effects. First, it had confirmed a general suspicion that the rejuve treatments did nothing to give one a more mature perspective on the world. Secondly, no one ever asked him the question again.

The Editor buzzed for his assistant again, and this time she looked up from her desk in the far corner of the office -- six feet away -- that they shared. "Yeah, boss?"

The Editor sighed. His assistant really was very good, but he wished that she would indulge him by using the intercom, so that at least he could pretend that he had a large spacious office of his own. "It's about this story, 'The Hyperspace Bordello and Other Conundrums,' by this guy Roger Briarton."

The assistant editor nodded her head. (She was not known as The Assistant Editor, she was called Ellen, which is most peculiar, because her name was Shelley.) "Uh, uh. I remember it. It was one of three out of this week's slush pile that I thought might be passable."

The Editor nodded. "Almost, but not quite. Still, it's promising enough that I'd like to ask for a re-write. The only thing is, the return address on the manuscript is a general credit number. Is there an SASE?"

The assistant editor grimaced and shook her head. "Nope. It was delivered in a foil space-pac by an off-duty Ansonline officer -- not the author. No self-addressed return envelope. The general credit number belongs to an unlisted account at a Zurich bank, I already checked."

The Editor riffled the pages and skimmed a few lines here and there. No, it wasn't quite good enough. And no way to even send an encouraging rejection note. The assistant editor was already back to work, so The Editor shrugged and tossed the manuscript into the gray, round waste can. Why couldn't writers take the trouble to make a proper submission?

Have You Joined the Conspiracy?

Have you joined the 1987 Worldcon yet? A supporting membership gives you the right to nominate and vote for the Hugo, SF's most prominent award. Many people complain that the Hugo is a popularity contest. Complain all you want about the award, but the publishing industry and the buying public watch the Hugos and reward them with sales. If you aren't voting for the Hugo, your voice isn't heard and you have no right to complain. Joining isn't expensive, and a few votes can make a difference in the outcome. Supporting membership is only $15 It gives you a say in the outcome of the awards. There is no reason not to get involved except laziness. To get a membership in the Worldcon, send your money to: Conspiracy 87, C/O Bill and Mary Burns, 23 Kensington Court, Hempstead NY 11550. Do it today, and make your voice heard.

End Papers
Editorial Comments
by
Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach

There is a disturbing trend in publishing these days. Publishing houses are getting very fast and loose with the word "original." LYTHANDE by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a "Daw Original." It contains stories from THIEVES' WORLD #1, from the anthology GREYHAVEN, from Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.

Baen announces THE COLLECTED STORIES OF TEMPUS by Janet Morris, an original anthology. Tempus is another character from Thieves' World.

My question on both of these is "What is original?" True, they've never been published together before. The art is original. The ISBN is original. The stories? Well, they don't matter.

There has always been controversy as to whether an anthology of material published in magazines can be considered original. Magazine material is seen by a very small percentage of the SF readers. First book publication gives a work life with a new and much larger audience.

Original means new, or at least not published in book form. Anything less is an attempt to mislead the buyer, and I feel it is an unethical and unacceptable marketing ploy. In the future, my reviews will reflect such attempts, and will have a more negative rating than I might otherwise give. If you find such deceptive marketing practices, let me know. You should also let the publishers the authors know by writing letters to them or voting with your pocketbooks. This practice is detrimental to publishing in the long term, because it removes any value to the word original and devalues the original material.

*******

This is the first year the Hugo for Best Professional Editor went to a book publisher, the late Judy-Lynn del Rey. Her husband, Lester, also properly turned down the award because, in his words, she wouldn't have gotten it if she hadn't died.

He's right and its a shame. Judy-Lynn deserved the award years ago, and she is just one of a number of highly talented book editors who have been ignored over the years because their work is behind the scenes. The Ballantines and the Wollheims all deserve recognition for what they've done for the genre and the publishing industry. Beth Meacham seems to be doing amazing things with the Tor lists, and the people at Ace and Bantam are publishing a lot consistently good books. Part of the problem is simply figuring out who does what behind the scenes. It is becoming a standard procedure to credit cover artists. Will anyone seriously question whether an editor is any less important? Let's get the editor name on the credit page with everyone else, and start giving them some of the recognition (and appropriate catcalls) they deserve.

Masthead

OtherRealms is Copyright 1986
by Chuq Von Rospach
All rights reserved

One time rights have been acquired from the contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.

Reproduction rights: OtherRealms may be reproduced only for non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction or reprinting of an individual article in any way on any media, is forbidden without permission.

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[****] Hugo Nominee quality
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[] Avoid at all costs

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