Reading for pleasure Issue 2

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in 

Reading for pleasure

 · 1 year ago

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 *         R E A D I N G    F O R    P L E A S U R E          * 
 *                                                            * 
 *                         Issue #2                           * 
 *                                                            * 
 *                         June 1989                          * 
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 *                                                            * 
 *                 Editor: Cindy Bartorillo                   * 
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 *        Published monthly and initially distributed         * 
 *        the weekend before the first of each month.         * 
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CONTACT US AT: Reading For Pleasure, c/o Cindy Bartorillo, 1819 Millstream Drive, Frederick, MD 21701; or on CompuServe leave a message to 74766,1206; or on GEnie leave mail to C.BARTORILLO; or call our BBS, the BAUDLINE II at 301-694-7108, 1200/2400 8N1.

NOTICE: Reading For Pleasure is not copyrighted, but excerpts from copyrighted material are contained within. When copying or otherwise reproducing any part herein, please give appropriate credit, whether it be to Shakespeare or Reading For Pleasure.

The better the book the more room for the reader.

--Holbrook Jackson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Editorial
• What's News
• Award Winners & Nominees
• Random Recommendations
• Good Reading Periodically
• Beach Bag Books
• June Birthdays
• Featured Author: Stanley Ellin
• Horror: Splatterpunk
• Mystery: Murderous Vacations
• NF: The Psychology of Everyday Things
• Fiction Into Film: The Shining
• SF: Fan-Lingo
• Pseudonyms
• Coming Next Month
• Trivia Quiz
• Trivia Answers

CONTRIBUTIONS: No money changes hands anywhere at Reading For Pleasure -- no one makes any, no one pays any. If that sounds OK to you, we'd be delighted to receive anything you'd like to contribute: articles, news, letters, etc. See masthead for our various addresses. Let us know how you like Reading For Pleasure.

EDITORIAL

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to get a comment to me about the first issue of Reading For Pleasure. The compliments were much appreciated, and made it so much easier to get out this second issue. I'm still most anxious to get any suggestions you might have, so please drop me a line if an idea occurs to you.

About nonfiction submissions for Reading For Pleasure: Send them. I can use all the help I can get. If you've read anything lately that you particularly liked, or didn't like, a paragraph about it would make a great submission. Also, any book related news would be much appreciated.

The biggest problem facing RFP right now is distribution. Very soon PC Pursuit will be a metered service, which means I won't be able to afford much time on it. If you have local access (no long distance rates) to a good BBS area, and wouldn't mind passing RFP around it in your spare time, please contact me. If we could get some kind of distribution network going, we could maintain (maybe even expand) the readership of RFP and preserve the guiding principle of FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

It has been suggested that we start a sister publication of fiction and poetry. This is a wonderful idea, but not until we get some kind of handle on the distribution problem. More on this subject next month.

Wouldn't it be nice to call your favorite BBS and find a large selection of magazines on every conceivable topic? If you are interested in starting a magazine dedicated to your area of expertise (or if you already have), be sure to let me know. We could work on this distribution problem together.

TRIVIA QUIZ

1. You know that the Pulitzer prizes come from an endowment by Joseph Pulitzer, but how did he get the money?
2. You know that SF fans give out the Hugo Awards, but just who is/was Hugo?
3. Whose biography did Boswell write?
4. Who wrote about the Joads trekking from the Dust Bowl to California?
5. What is the occupation of Willie Loman?
6. Where were Geoffrey Chaucer's characters going?
7. What book begins with the line, "Call me Ishmael"?
8. What was Dante's last name?
9. What do George Sand and George Eliot have in common?
10. What was Ian Fleming's last published novel before his death?

WHAT'S NEWS

* Another magazine bites the dust! PULPSMITH, a small press magazine published by Harry Smith has ceased publication after changing from quarterly to an annual issue. The magazine did, however, go out in style with a last issue that was 384 pages long.

* One of the very best mystery editors, Joan Kahn, has retired from St. Martin's Press. How good was she? Just take a look at a list of her writers: Tony Hillerman, Joseph Hansen, Dick Francis, Reginald Hill, Jonathan Gash, and John Ball. Wow!

* This is from the April 21, 1989 issue of Publishers Weekly:

TWO LONDON STORES HIT BY ARSON

Two arson attacks against well-known London bookshops--Collets Penguin on Charing Cross Road and Dillons on Gower Street--are thought to be the work of protesters against Salman Rushdie's THE SATANIC VERSES. The attacks took place within minutes of each other during the night of April 9, causing widespread smoke damage but no casualties. The Collets store had received several threats of an attack if it continued to sell the disputed novel.

--Vivienne Menkes

* Also, in the May 5, 1989 issue of Publishers Weekly:

...Collets has now decided not to continue to sell the book, just as the huge bookshop, Foyles, also decided against selling it after the staff received death threats. The other attacked store, Dillons, will continue to sell it, but not promote it. Also, a public library in Woking, Surrey, reported that two men, "of Arab appearance" asked for the names and addresses of those people who had borrowed THE SATANIC VERSES from the library. These were, of course, refused, and the police were alerted.

THE SATANIC VERSES is a big deal in Britain -- reportedly 1 out of every 2 books sold there is the controversial volume.

* True Story: Saying he wanted to improve his vocabulary, a community college student asked his bookstore clerk for a copy of ROGER THE SORCERER. It was later determined that ROGET'S THESAURUS was what he had in mind.

* Sol Stein, author of 8 novels, has created WritePro, a creative writing computer program, which will be the first software chosen by the Literary Guild. We presume that the program helps you to write more clearly.

* An ornithologist died on February 14th in Philadelphia, at the age of 89. Why am I telling you this? Because a writer saw the ornithologist's name on a book in the late '40s and thought that the name would be perfect for a character he was creating. The ornithologist's name was James Bond.

* I've heard that Robert Bloch is editing a book for Tor called THE PSYCHO FILES OF NORMAN BATES. Robert Bloch wrote the original book PSYCHO, but not the Hitchcock screenplay (that was Joseph Stefano).

* A TV miniseries of SCANDALS by Una-Mary Parker is planned.

* Morrow/Avon were unhappy with Whitley Streiber's new UFO novel MAJESTIC, so he bought it back from them and sold it for even more money to Putnam/Berkley.

* For those of you who want to read EVERYTHING about Stephen King, don't miss getting hold of the Feb. 27, 1989 issue of The New Yorker magazine. There's an article in it about his limited-edition collaboration with typographic artist Barbara Kruger, MY PRETTY PONY.

* Barbara Tuchman, bestselling, Pulitzer prize-wining writer and historian, died recently at the age of 77 from complications following a stroke. Her books were regularly on the bestseller lists, and THE GUNS OF AUGUST (1962) and STILWELL AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CHINA (1971) both won Pulitzer prizes.

* Michael Korda claims that horror is the next big genre -- the hot category for new writers to tackle.

* The market's not bad for older writers either. Dean R. Koontz is reportedly getting an advance of $1.8 million for six of his books that have already been published. Berkley gets THE SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT, THE EYES OF DARKNESS, THE HOUSE OF THUNDER, and THE KEY TO MIDNIGHT (all published under the name Leigh Nichols), THE VOICE OF THE NIGHT (published under the name Brian Coffey), and DEMON SEED (published under the name Dean R. Koontz).

* DRAGON CON will be held October 6-8, 1989 at the Omni International Hotel and Convention Center in Atlanta, GA. Guests include: Wes Craven, Anne McCaffrey, Michael Whelan, Andrew Greenberg, Larry Elmore, and others. Pre-registration (through September 15) is $30. Fantasy Role-Playing, Strategic, Miniature and Computer Gaming in over 100 feature tournaments, and much more. For additional information send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Dragon Con '89, Box 47696, Atlanta, GA 30362.

* Anne Rice is working on a movie based on her three vampire novels: INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, and THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED.

* Here's a report on a new writer's market that was in the April 1989 issue of Science Fiction Chronicle. Readers as well as writers might want to take notice.

BORDERLANDS, P.O. Box 5788, Baltimore, MD 21208. Editor: Thomas F. Monteleone. Current needs: This is a horror/dark fantasy anthology, planned to be an annual, to consist of all new, original fiction. I am looking for horror, suspense, tales of the bizarre and surreal. No taboos, no restrictions; stories on the "borderlands" of current HDF fiction. I want disturbing, innovative, provocative stories. Don't send any trunk stories: writers guilty of this will be spirited off to the Outer Darkness. Payment rates: 4-7 cents per word, depending on who you are and how good the story is. SASE: If you don't send one, it's going in File 13.

* Unsolicited manuscripts are the bane of a publisher's or editor's existence. Every moron who can put crayon to paper sends them his/her deathless prose, and even if they don't read it, all that tonnage of paper has to be dealt with. Several months ago, the editors of MIDNIGHT GRAFFITI magazine received an unsolicited manuscript with the following cover letter:

Dear Mssrs. Horsting and Van Hise,

Enclosed is a short story, "Rainy Season," which I thought might be right for GRAFFITI. It's pretty gross.

Thanks for the reading.

Sincerely,
Stephen King

The hottest writer in America sends an unsolicited manuscript out. Can you imagine what went through the editors' minds when they got it? I can: "Right. Sure. Stephen King. I bet." It turned out to actually be SK, and they produced a Stephen King Issue of their magazine. On one page they reproduced the cover letter and wrote beneath it: "What would you have done?"

We live in the greatest age in the history of the world -- the age of The Paperback. We no longer have to be bored out of our minds during all the "dead" times of modern life: waiting in lines, waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for the squash court to be free, waiting for Janey to finish her piano lesson, and waiting for your significant other to finish whatever it is they do that takes so long. There's no excuse for being caught without reading material.

1988 NEBULA AWARDS

Voted on by the Science Fiction Writers of America:

• Best Novel: FALLING FREE by Lois McMaster Bujold
• Best Novella: "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis
• Best Novelette: "Schrodinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger
• Best Short Story: "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge" by James Morrow
• Grand Master Award: Ray Bradbury

1988 PULITZER PRIZES

• Fiction: BREATHING LESSONS by Anne Tyler
• General Nonfiction: A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: JOHN PAUL VANN AND AMERICA IN VIETNAM by Neil Sheehan
• History: PARTING THE WATERS by Taylor Branch and BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA by James H. McPherson
• Biography: OSCAR WILDE by Richard Ellmann
• Poetry: NEW AND COLLECTED POEMS by Richard Wilbur
• Criticism: Michael Skube

The Pulitzer Prizes are annual awards in journalism and letters made by the trustees of Columbia University, endowed by the will of Joseph Pulitzer.

THE HUGO AWARD NOMINEES

The Hugo Awards are voted on by the members of the World Science Fiction Convention. It's not written out here, but No Award is a nominee in every category.

Best Novel of 1988:

• CYTEEN by C.J. Cherryh
• FALLING FREE by Lois McMaster Bujold
• THE GUARDSMAN by P.J. Beese & Todd Cameron Hamilton
• ISLANDS IN THE NET by Bruce Sterling
• MONA LISA OVERDRIVE by William Gibson
• RED PROPHET by Orson Scott Card

Best Novella of 1988:

• "The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians" by Bradley Denton
• "Journals of the Plague Years" by Norman Spinrad
• "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis
• "The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter" by Lucius Shepard
• "Surfacing" by Walter Jon Williams

Best Novelette of 1988:

• "Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance" by Howard Waldrop
• "The Function of Dream Sleep" by Harlan Ellison
• "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" by Neal Barrett, Jr.
• "Peaches for Mad Molly" by Steven Gould
• "Schrodinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger

Best Short Story of 1988:

• "The Fort Moxie Branch" by Jack McDevitt
• "The Giving Plague" by David Brin
• "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick
• "Our Neural Chernobyl" by Bruce Sterling
• "Ripples in the Dirac Sea" by Geoffrey R. Landis
• "Stable Strategies for Middle Management" by Eileen Gunn

Best Non-Fiction Book of 1988:

• A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ARTISTS by Robert Weinberg
• FIRST MAITZ by Don Maitz
• THE MOTION OF LIGHT IN WATER by Samuel R. Delany
• THE NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by James Gunn
• SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND HORROR: 1987 by Charles N. Brown & William G. Contento

Best Dramatic Presentation of 1988:

• ALIEN NATION
• BEETLEJUICE
• BIG
• WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?
• WILLOW

Best Professional Editor of 1988:

• Gardner Dozois
• Edward L. Ferman
• David G. Hartwell
• Charles C. Ryan
• Stanley Schmidt

Best Professional Artist of 1988:

• Thomas Canty
• David Cherry
• Bob Eggleton
• Todd Cameron Hamilton
• Don Maitz
• Michael Whelan

Best Semi-Prozine of 1988:

• INTERZONE edited by David Pringle
• LOCUS edited by Charles N. Brown
• THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, and Susan Palwick
• SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE edited by Andrew I. Porter
• THRUST edited by D. Douglas Fratz

Best Fanzine of 1988:

• FILE 770 edited by Mike Glyer
• FOSFAX edited by Timothy Lane
• LAN'S LANTERN edited by George "Lan" Laskowski
• NIEKAS edited by Edmund R. Meskys
• OTHER REALMS edited by Chuq Von Rospach

Best Fan Writer of 1988:

• Avedon Carol
• Mike Glyer
• Arthur D. Hlavaty
• Dave Langford
• Guy H. Lillian III
• Chuq Von Rospach

Best Fan Artist of 1988:

• Brad W. Foster
• Teddy Harvia
• Merle Insinga
• Stu Shiffman
• Taral Wayne
• Diana Gallagher Wu

THE BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEES

The Bram Stoker Awards are voted on by the eligible members of the Horror Writers of America. The Stokers are notable for being given for "superior achievement" rather than for being "best".

Novel:

• THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris
• STINGER by Robert R. McCammon
• BLACK WIND by F. Paul Wilson
• THE DRIVE-IN by Joe R. Lansdale
• QUEEN OF THE DAMNED by Anne Rice
• FLESH by Richard Laymon

First Novel:

• THE SUITING by Kelley Wilde
• CITIES OF THE DEAD by Michael Paine
• RESURRECTION, INC. by Kevin J. Anderson
• DELIVER US FROM EVIL by Allen Lee Harris
• DEMON NIGHT by J. Michael Straczynski
• FEAR BOOK by John Byrne

Novelette:

• "The Skin Trade" by George R.R. Martin
• "The Function of Dream Sleep" by Harlan Ellison
• "The Juniper Tree" by Peter Straub
• "Orange Is For Anguish, Blue For Insanity" by David Morrell
• "The Night Flier" by Stephen King
• "Horrorshow" by John Farris

Short Story:

• "Night They Missed the Horror Show" by Joe R. Lansdale
• "The Thing at the Top of the Stair" by Ray Bradbury
• "She's a Young Thing and Cannot Leave Her Mother" by Harlan Ellison
• "The Music of the Dark Time" by Chet Williamson
• "Jack's Decline" by Lucius Shepard
• "Nobody Lives There" by Carol Orlock

Collection:

• CHARLES BEAUMONT: SELECTED STORIES by Charles Beaumont
• THE TOYNBEE CONVECTOR by Ray Bradbury
• BLOOD AND WATER AND OTHER TALES by Patrick McGrath
• THE BLOOD KISS by Dennis Etchison
• ANGRY CANDY by Harlan Ellison
• SCARE TACTICS by John Farris

I am sitting in the smallest room in my house. I have your review in front of me. Soon it will be behind me.

--German composer Max Reger

RANDOM RECOMMENDATIONS

When's the last time you read Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND? That long? You'd be surprised how much adult material is in this children's book. Seems like everyone sees something different and fascinating in it. Try it again. You may be surprised.

If L.A. LAW on TV has given you the willies for a lawyer mystery, you really should try PRESUMED INNOCENT by Scott Turow. The writing style is a little unpolished, but the story is involving and the suspense is well orchestrated. This is another of those books that tends to cause long discussions/arguments.

A lovely box-of-peanuts book (bet you can't read just one page) is THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE by Jane Wagner. This is the Broadway play that Lily Tomlin did a while back. There are a number of different characters (all played by Tomlin), and they all have something fresh and intriguing to say about the human condition. Makes me wish I had been able to catch the play live.

Remember GONE WITH THE WIND? Margaret Mitchell's book is as wonderful as the movie, and you could do a lot worse than spend a week at Tara. The historical precision is always open to debate, but Mitchell's South does come alive and it's a thoroughly engrossing story.

Do you ever enjoy reading about scandals of the rich and famous? How about odd deaths? If you're one of us, you'll love THEY WENT THAT-A-WAY: How the Famous, the Infamous, and the Great Died by Malcolm Forbes with Jeff Bloch. Constructed of short chapters, one on each person, this is a perfect book to carry around for those short boring periods of life. I was particularly fascinated by the chapters on Jim Morrison, Sal Mineo, and Princess Grace.

My all-time favorite time travel book is Jack Finney's TIME AND AGAIN. There are fewer "hard" science details than in most of the others, and yet somehow I had no trouble at all believing in the process. And, like all good books, this one not only has a gimmick (time travel), it also has a wonderful historical mystery. I can recommend this novel without qualification.

Don't forget the value of books on cassette for friends who are ill, and particularly children. When you don't quite feel up to reading, having someone read to you is almost as good. And a cassette never gets hoarse. Some genres even have cassettes with special effects, like the 3-D special sound effects in the dramatized version of Stephen King's "The Mist".

GOOD READING PERIODICALLY

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC -- Yeah, you remember this one, the thick, slick magazine that you used to sneak peaks at in the library. Now that you're all grown up you should take another look, because this is definitely a BEST BUY in the magazine market. Not only are the pictures fabulous, but the writing is absorbing. And it's not all "Our Friend, the Warthog" kind of articles. Here are some of my favoriate articles from NG so far this year:

• Searching for the Secrets of Gravity
• Braving the Northwest Passage
• Living With Radiation
• Indian Burial Grounds: Who Owns Our Past?
• The Great Yellowstone Fires
• Cocaine's Deadly Reach

Great writing, great photography, and a price that will surprise you (I've GOT to stop watching so many TV commercials). NG subscriptions only start at January or July, so the 18-month period from July 1989 to December 1990 is the current subscription and it'll cost you $27. Lifetime membership (in the U.S. only) is $500, in case you wondered. Contact: National Geographic Society, P.O. Box 2895, Washington, D.C. 20077-9960.

THE ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE -- This is another big, slick magazine with thick covers and thick inside paper and it costs $6 per issue, $20 for four quarterly issues. Inside is a lot of good reading for the mystery buff, and invaluable information. They publish articles that are controversial (we're still muttering about a PRESUMED INNOCENT essay), and have wonderful columnists (William L. DeAndrea is our favorite).

There are many, many book reviews, as well as coverage of short stories, movies, TV, and books about mysteries. And, aside from their one-person's-opinion articles, there are many that are well-researched and very informative. All in all, well worth the $20 a year to the mystery fan. Send your check to The Armchair Detective, 129 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019.

BEACH BAG BOOKS

It's a derogatory term used by literary critics during the summer, a damning with faint praise: "It would make a good beach bag book", meaning that it's best read with a brain bleached by the sun. This only comes up when discussing "popular literature"; you know, all that bestselling trash. The theory is, if millions of people like it, how can it possibly be any good? Yeah, I know, literary critics are a strange bunch, but everybody's entitled to an opinion. I guess. Just wish it wasn't such a dumb opinion. Now I've lost my train of thought. What was I......Oh, yeah, beach bag books.

Anyway, even though "popular" is a dirty word to critics, publishers and booksellers think it's just wonderful. And so do readers like you and I, the foot soldiers who create a bestseller and thereby keep the critics, publishers, and booksellers employed. But I digress again. Without further ado, here are some great ideas for your summer reading list:

• HC = Hardcover
• TP = Trade Paperback
• PB = Paperback

HUMOR: In my opinion, humor is always in season, and here are some of the new choices:

THE NIGHT THE BEAR ATE GOOMBAW by Patrick F. McManus (June HC from Holt, $15.95). A new collection from McManus for the outdoorsman or anyone who sees the funny side of life.

STAND UP! MY LIFE AS A WOMAN by Roseanne Barr (August HC from Harper & Row, $17.95). This is the story of Roseanne Barr, "domestic goddess", as told by the woman herself.

DAVE BARRY'S GREATEST HITS by Dave Barry (July TP from Fawcett/ Columbine, $8.95). According to a local poll RFP conducted, Dave Barry is the funniest prose humorist currently working. Why not find out for yourself?

THE CATALOG OF LOST BOOKS: An Annotated and Seriously Addled Collection of Great Books that Should Have Been Written, but Never Were by Tad Tuleja (August TP from Fawcett/Columbine, ($7.95). I'm not sure exactly how FUNNY this is going to be, but, being a humorous book about books, I don't think anyone here at RFP will be able to resist.

GROUCHO AND ME by Groucho Marx (July TP from Simon & Schuster/ Fireside, $9.95). An autobiography of Groucho, this is on the top of our shopping list for summer reading (along with the next entry). Certainly one of the funniest people of all time.

MEMOIRS OF A MANGY LOVER by Groucho Marx (July TP from Simon & Schuster/Fireside, $8.95). A continuation of the above, this is guaranteed to entertain.

NOBODY'S PERFECT by Donald E. Westlake (July PB from Mysterious Press, $3.95). The comical criminal, Dortmunder, is back with his bungling band. This one's been out of print since 1979.

LOVE AND MARRIAGE by Bill Cosby (May HC from Doubleday, $16.95). Another sure bestseller, this time Mr. Cosby holds forth on the history and pitfalls of relationships. Advance word says that this could be his best book yet.

FRED ALLEN: HIS LIFE AND WIT by Robert Taylor (June HC from Little, Brown, $19.95). If you aren't aware just how funny this man was, now is your chance to find out. Mr. Allen's radio program was the most popular in the country for quite some time.

DAVE BARRY SLEPT HERE: A SORT OF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES by Dave Barry (June HC from Random House, $15.95). What can one say except -- more Dave Barry.

CLASSICS: Why gamble when you can read a sure thing?

MYTHOLOGY by Edith Hamilton. Here is the quintessential scratch to the tell-me-a-story itch, all the great story plots as they were in the beginning, pure and primeval.

THE WARDEN by Anthony Trollope. What happens when good politics are applied without a sense of humanity? This is a story as meaningful today as the day it was written.

HAMLET by William Shakespeare. Read it aloud in your head (did that make sense?) for best effect. A tale of a family that makes the Ewings seem boring.

THRILLERS: What better way to relax after a hard year's work than to have the fate of the world hanging by a thread? Here are a few good choices:

THE EIGHT by Katherine Neville (1988 HC from Ballantine, $18.95). Couldn't resist listing this. This novel about the search for the pieces to the fabled Montglane Chess Service has mystery, fantasy, science, history, the occult, and even romance. If you're hard to please, this could be the one.

THE BIOASSASSINS: A NOVEL by Gerald Posner (July HC from McGraw-Hill, $18.95). A technothriller about a CIA program to develop a lethal bacterium that causes instant death but leaves no traces.

CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER by Tom Clancy (July HC from Putnam, $21.95). The author of the bestselling THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN tells of Jack Ryan, the CIA agent who appeared in Clancy's four other novels and his run-ins with Colombian drug lords at home and abroad.

THE EIGHTH TRUMPET by Jon Land (May PB from Fawcett, $4.95). A retired professional killer is called back to solve a mystery. More for your money: this books contains TWO psycho killers. Warning: this book is not for the squeamish.

WIN, LOSE OR DIE by John Gardner (July HC from Putnam, $13.95). The James Bond series continues with Gardner's eighth entry, in which Bond joins a Soviet diplomat to fight terrorists.

THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SPY THRILLERS edited by John Winwood (July TP from Carroll & Graf, $8.95). Contains the complete texts of three classic spy novels: THE NAKED RUNNER by Francis Clifford; THE WRATH TO COME by E. Philips Oppenheim; and ROGUE MALE by Geoffrey Household.

CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN by Tom Clancy (August PB from Berkley, $5.95). CIA agent Jack Ryan of PATRIOT GAMES returns in this reprint of the bestselling hardcover.

THE RUSSIA HOUSE by John le Carre (June HC from Knopf, $19.95). The players: a dissident Soviet physicist, a London publisher, MI5, and the CIA. Reviews are calling le Carre's latest novel "brilliant", and saying "the genre may never be the same again". Be sure not to miss this one.

MAZE by Larry Collins (June HC from Simon & Schuster, $19.95). The KGB have a magneto-encephalogram that uses electromagnetic waves to trigger responses someone's brain at a distance. The author of IS PARIS BURNING? does it again.

RULES OF PREY by John Sandford (July HC from Putnam, $18.95). A serial killer is murdering Minneapolis women and leaving "murder rules" at the scene. John Sandford is a pseudonym for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp.

BUSINESS: If you're a die-hard Yuppie (or want people to think you are), you'll probably want to flash one of the latest business books. Frankly, some of the summer crop sound so good you don't even have to be a Yuppie to want to read them.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF HUTTON by Donna Sammons Carpenter & John Feloni (July HC from Holt, $19.95). Looks at the collapse of the Wall Street institution E.F. Hutton.

INSIDE JOB: THE LOOTING OF THE SAVINGS AND LOANS by Stephen Pizzo, Mary Fricker & Paul Muolo (July HC from McGraw-Hill, $18.95). Theorizes that federal deregulation led to the problems facing the savings and loan industry.

SUDDEN DEATH: THE RISE AND FALL OF E.F. HUTTON by Mark Stevens (August HC from NAL, $19.95). An account of the growth problems of the Wall Street brokerage firm.

THE AMERICAN DREAMERS: SIX BUSINESSMEN AND THE EMPIRES THEY BUILT by Michael Meyer (July HC from Times Books, $19.95). The story of six visionary business leaders and what drives them. Sort of Lifestyles of the Rich and Obsessive.

STAY OR LEAVE: A COMPLETE SYSTEM FOR DECIDING WHETHER TO REMAIN AT YOUR JOB OR PACK YOUR TRAVELLING BAG by Barry Gale & Linda Gale (August TP from Harper & Row/Perennial Library, $9.95). The authors of DISCOVER WHAT YOU'RE BEST AT now offer a simple, self-administered test to evaluate your job situation.

HIGH STEPPERS, FALLEN ANGELS AND LOLLIPOPS: WALL STREET SLANG by Kathleen Odean (July TP from Holt/Owl, $8.95). Learn to talk a good game while you're losing your shirt.

HOLLYWOOD: It doesn't matter whether your body is on the beach or in the back yard when you can send your imagination to tinseltown:

THE ZANUCKS OF HOLLYWOOD: THE DARK LEGACY OF AN AMERICAN DYNASTY by Marlys J. Harris (July HC from Crown, $18.95). How three generations of the powerful Hollywood family were dominated and destroyed by the spirit of one man.

NO TRICKS IN MY POCKET: PAUL NEWMAN DIRECTS by Stewart Stern (July HC from Grove, $17.95). Describes Paul Newman as he rehearses his cast for the film THE GLASS MENAGERIE, which Newman directed.

AMERICAN MADNESS: THE LIFE OF FRANK CAPRA by Joseph McBride (August HC from Knopf, $29.95). The life of the celebrated film director. I assume from the price that this is a large photo-filled volume. If so, this would make a wonderful gift.

KING OF THE NIGHT: THE BIOGRAPHY OF JOHNNY CARSON by Laurence Leamer (July HC from Morrow, $19.95). The career of the eminent TONIGHT SHOW host.

HOLLYWOOD'S UNSOLVED MYSTERIES by John Austin (August HC from Shapolsky, $16.95). Many never-before-published photographs of Hollywood figures who died under mysterious circumstances, including Natalie Wood, Bob Crane, Vicki Morgan and Marilyn Monroe. I love this kind of stuff.

THE WIZARD OF OZ: THE OFFICIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY PICTORIAL HISTORY by John Fricke, Jay Scarfone & William Stillman (August HC from Warner, $29.95). An illustrated tribute to the MGM film classic and includes many never-before-published photographs from private collections and the MGM archives.

THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ: MOVIE MAGIC AND STUDIO POWER IN THE PRIME OF MGM AND THE MIRACLE OF PRODUCTION #1060 by Aljean Harmetz, introduction by Margaret Hamilton (July TP from Delacorte/Delta, $12.95). Another 50th anniversary celebration. Do you remember who Margaret Hamilton is?

CULT MOVIES: THE CLASSICS, THE SLEEPERS, THE WEIRD, AND THE WONDERFUL by Danny Peary (July TP from Delacorte/Delta, $14.95). Analyzes 100 all-time favorite cult movies, from MAD MAX to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.

THE WIZARD OF OZ: THE SCREENPLAY edited & with an introduction by Michael Patrick Hearn (August TP from Delacorte/Delta, $9.95). The screenplay appears in book form for the first time.

CAPTAIN'S LOG: WILLIAM SHATNER'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE MAKING OF STAR TREK V by William Shatner as told to Lisabeth Shatner (July TP from Pocket, $9.95). The actor tells how he faced the challenge of writing and directing the latest Star Trek movie.

THE WORLDS OF THE FEDERATION by Shane Johnson (August TP from Pocket, $11.95). The author of MR. SCOTT'S GUIDE TO THE ENTERPRISE discusses in detail many of the alien races seen in STAR TREK.

OUTRAGEOUS CONDUCT by Stephen Farber & Marc Green (August PB from Ivy, $4.95). The authors reveal the inside story of THE TWILIGHT ZONE movie tragedy.

GOSSIP: Take your mind off your troubles by reading about the troubles of others. If it's dirt you want:

THE SECRET WORLD OF CYNDY GARVEY by Cynthia Garvey & Andy Meisler (August HC from Doubleday, $18.95). Reveals the violent childhood and devastating marriage of Steve Garvey's former wife.

BETTE AND JOAN: THE DIVINE FEUD by Shaun Considine (August HC from Dutton, $18.95). Reviews the rivalry between Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

THE PRINCESS AND THE DUCHESS by Josephine Fairley (July HC from St. Martin's, $17.95). Contains accounts of the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York.

THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEWS: THE 1980s by the editors of ROLLING STONE, introduction by Kurt Loder (July HC, TP from St. Martin's, $24.95, $15.95). Collects interviews with 35 of the major entertainment figures of the 1980s, including Bruce Springsteen, Woody Allen and Sting.

SENATORIAL PRIVILEGE: THE CHAPPAQUIDDICK COVER-UP by Leo Damore (July PB from Dell, $4.95). To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the tragic car accident. Can a real American ever get enough of the Kennedys?

THE LOVE YOU MAKE by Peter Brown & Steven Gaines (July PB from NAL/Signet, $4.95). Peter Brown, former business manager and friend of the Beatles, "sets the record straight" about the Fab Four.

THE RAGMAN'S SON by Kirk Douglas (July PB from Pocket, $5.50). The screen star describes his life with unflinching honesty.

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE by Myra Lewis with Murray Silver (July PB from St. Martin's, $4.50). An uncensored account of the life of music legend Jerry Lee Lewis as told by his former child bride.

THE BRIDESMAIDS by Judith Balaban Quine (June HC from Weidenfeld & Nicolson, $21.95). The author was one of Grace Kelly's "intimate friends" who served as bridesmaid at her wedding in 1956. This is the story of what happened to those six bridesmaids and is sure to be full of dirt.

THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK by Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso (May HC from Poseidon, $18.95). A hilarious and cynical look at subjects ranging from musicians and composing to censorship and TV evangelists.

MYSTERY: Some people (like me) feel that there's nothing quite so relaxing as a good murder, as long as it's just on a page. Here's a whole mountain of murderous print:

SIX OF THE BEST: SHORT NOVELS BY MASTERS OF MYSTERY edited by Ellery Queen (July HC from Carroll & Graf, $18.95). Novellas by Ellery Queen, Michael Gilbert, Ed McBain, Georges Simenon, Erle Stanley Gardner and John D. MacDonald.

MAIGRET AND THE FORTUNETELLER by Georges Simenon (July HC from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $16.95). The case of a murdered fortuneteller.

THE MAN WITH THE LITTLE DOG by Georges Simenon (July HC from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $16.95). Novel illustrating how the disease of egoism can eat away at a man's happiness. Not a Maigret story.

PERRY MASON IN THE CASE OF TOO MANY MURDERS by Thomas Chastain (July HC from Morrow, $15.95). The first original Perry Mason book since Erle Stanley Gardner's last title was released in 1973.

THE QUALITY OF MERCY by Faye Kellerman (June HC from Morrow, $19.95). A critical success already, this is an unusual period piece set in Elizabethan England, with Shakespeare as a character. Publishers Weekly said, "More than just a mystery, the novel is a spectacular epic--romantic, bawdy, witty and abounding with adventure. It's a stellar performance."

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY by Arthur Lyons (July HC from Mysterious Press, $17.95). L.A. private eye Jacob Asch investigates an art smuggler plotting to bring ancient treasure to the U.S.

POLAR STAR by Martin Cruz Smith (August HC from Random House, $19.95). In the sequel to GORKY PARK, Arkady Renko investigates the murder of a female crew member aboard a fishing factory ship.

MURDER ON THE GLITTER BOX by Steve Allen (July HC from Zebra, $18.95). A suspense novel set amidst the glamour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

A READER'S GUIDE TO THE CLASSIC BRITISH MYSTERY by Susan Oleksiw (July TP from Mysterious Press, $19.95). Covers 1440 titles by 121 authors.

BODY AND SOUL by Sherryl Woods (August PB from Popular Library, $3.95). New York reporter Amanda Roberts and ex-cop Joe Donelli team up to solve the murder of an aerobics instructor.

SISTERS IN CRIME edited by Marilyn Wallace (May PB from Berkley, $3.95). Includes stories from Elizabeth Peters, Barbara Michaels, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Mary Shura Craig, Sara Paretsky, and Sue Grafton.

TRUE CRIME: Above were the fictional crime stories. Now here are a few nonfictional crimes:

THE GIRL SCOUT MURDERS: A TRUE STORY OF VIOLENT DEATH AND INDIAN JUSTICE by Charles W. Sasser (July HC from Delacorte, $17.95). Investigates the murder of three Girl Scouts and the 10-month search for the killers, and tells a tale of justice gone wrong.

BLOOD AND POWER: ORGANIZED CRIME IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICA by Stephen Fox (July HC from Morrow, $22.95). Relies on manuscript collections, congressional hearings and interviews to tell the story of organized crime.

MURDER ALONG THE WAY: A PROSECUTOR'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF FIGHTING VIOLENT CRIME IN THE SUBURBS by Kenneth Gribetz & H. Paul Jeffers (July HC from Pharos/World Almanac, $16.95). Offers an account of D.A. Gribetz's two decades of prosecuting highly publicized crimes such as the Andrew Crispo murder case and the Brinks robbery.

FATAL ERROR: THE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE THAT SEALED THE ROSENBERGS' FATE by Joseph Scharlitt (July HC from Scribners, $24.95). Examines the Rosenberg case, revealing human, judicial and legal errors that led to their execution.

THE DEATH SHIFT: A TRUE STORY OF MURDER AND MEDICINE by Peter Elkind (August HC from Viking, $19.95). The author, associate editor of Texas Monthly magazine, reports on the true murder case of Genene Jones, a nurse who was tried for killing young intensive-care-unit patients.

APPOINTMENT FOR MURDER by Susan Crain Bakos (July PB from Pinnacle, $3.95). Report of the St. Louis "killing dentist", Glennon Engleman.

DEVIANT: THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY OF THE ORIGINAL "PSYCHO" by Harold Schecter (May PB from Pocket, $3.95). You guessed it, this is the true story of Ed Gein, every gruesome bit of it. Don't say we didn't warn you.

FANTASY: When you've had about all the reality you can take:

WIZARD'S BANE by Rick Cook (March PB from Baen, $3.50). If you like fantasy and computers, this is the book for you. A first novel from a very promising author.

SPHYNXES WILD by Esther M. Friesner (May PB from NAL, $3.95). Sorcerer and sphynx battle it out in the gambling casinos of Atlantic City. Take this one to the tables with you.

THE DIAMOND THRONE by David Eddings (May HC from Del Rey, $18.95). David Eddings is one of the hottest names in fantasy today. Don't miss this first volume of a new series.

SF: Here are a couple of suggestions for people who like to take their vacations far, far away:

THE LANTERN OF GOD by John Dalmas (May PB from Baen, $3.95). Six hundred genetically enhanced pleasure androids are being trans- ported by a starship when it crashes on a habitable planet -- the droids stranded one place, the crew elsewhere. Two thousand years later the descendants of both groups are at war. A thoroughly engrossing story.

2061: ODYSSEY THREE by Arthur C. Clarke (May PB from Del Rey, $4.95). Heywood Floyd must once again confront Dave Bowman (or whatever Dave Bowman has become), a newly independent HAL, and the power of an alien race. Read all three books together.

THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION by Dieter Wuckel & Bruce Cassiday (July HC from Crossroad/Continuum, $24.95). A survey of the roots of science fiction from ancient times to the present, with more than 200 photographs.

THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GOLDEN AGE SCIENCE FICTION: SHORT NOVELS OF THE 1940s edited by Isaac Asimov, Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg (July TP from Carroll & Graf, $8.95). Ten short science fiction novels from the '40s.

CRADLE by Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee (July PB from Warner, $4.95). An epic novel of adventure and imagination.

THE ASIMOV CHRONICLES: FIFTY YEARS OF ISAAC ASIMOV edited by Martin H. Greenberg (May HC from Dark Harvest, $21.95). An impressive historical collection of writing by Asimov, who's still at it after fifty years.

HORROR: When nothing but a cosmic confrontation between good and evil will do...

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris (June PB from St. Martin's, $5.95). The evil genius Dr. Hannibal Lecter returns in this followup to the critically acclaimed RED DRAGON.

ASH WEDNESDAY by Chet Williamson (April PB from Tor, $3.95). Chet Williamson is one of the best kept secrets in horror, but not for long. This novel's an excellent introduction.

THE NIGHT OF THE MOONBOW by Thomas Tryon (July HC from Knopf, $18.95). A novel of terror about young men awaiting a new arrival at Bible camp in 1938.

LORI by Robert Bloch (July HC from Tor, $16.95). The author of PSYCHO writes about a student who returns from her college graduation to a life of terror.

NIGHTTOWN by T.E.D. Klein (August HC from Viking, $17.95). A New York subway murderer hunts for the crime's only witness in this horror novel.

SEPULCHRE by James Herbert (August PB from Jove, $4.95). A nefarious psychic misuses his uncanny abilities in this novel, which was a top bestseller in England.

CABAL by Clive Barker (August PB from Pocket, $4.50). Tales by a master of horror, including the novella that is the basis for the summer film release, THE NIGHTBREED.

LIGHTNING by Dean R. Koontz (May PB from Berkley, $4.95). Who is the stranger who appears after the lightning strikes? Is he a guardian angel or the devil in disguise? Koontz does it again.

HOT BLOOD: TALES OF PROVOCATIVE HORROR edited by Jeff Gelb & Lonn Friend (May PB from Pocket, $3.95). Stories by Bloch, Campbell, Ellison, Etchison, Garton, Masterton, Matheson (pere et fils), McCammon, Schow, Skipp & Spector, Sturgeon, Tem, Williamson (Chet & J.N.), Wilson, and more. That says it all.

THE AXMAN COMETH by John Farris (July PB from Tor, $4.50). A blackout in New York City traps a woman with a stranger who may be the dreaded Axman.

ANCIENT IMAGES by Ramsey Campbell (June HC from Scribners, $18.95). Sandy Allen tracks down a horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi made in England in 1938 and immediately suppressed. It turns out all the horror wasn't on the film.

PRIME EVIL edited by Douglas E. Winter (April PB from NAL/Signet, $4.95). NEW stories by King, Etchison, Barker, Tessier, Morrell, Straub, Grant, Campbell, Strieber, and more. With an introduction by Douglas Winter. Essential reading for horror fans.

NF: Below are some top nonfiction choices for your summer reading enjoyment:

MEN FROM EARTH by Buzz Aldrin & Malcolm McConnell (July HC from Bantam, $19.95). Marks the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and recounts the history of the Apollo space program.

CARRYING THE FIRE: AN ASTRONAUT'S JOURNEYS by Michael Collins, foreword by Charles A. Lindbergh (July HC from Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $19.95). What it is like to be an astronaut.

REBUILDING SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE by Andrew Gurr with John Orrell (July HC from Routledge, Chapman & Hall, $25). The story of the Globe Theatre's rebuilding, which began in April 1988.

APOLLO: THE TEN-YEAR RACE TO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON by Charles Murray & Catherine Cox (July HC from Simon & Schuster, $19.95). The people behind the Apollo space program.

THE HOTEL: ONE WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE PLAZA by Sonny Kleinfield (July HC from Simon & Schuster, $18.95). The behind-the-scenes activity at a luxury hotel.

HEAVY TRAFFIC AND HIGH CULTURE: NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY AS LITERARY GATEKEEPER IN THE PAPERBACK REVOLUTION by Thomas L. Bonn (July HC from Southern Illinois University Press, $25.95). Profile of the book publishing company and its publisher Victor Weybright, from 1946 to 1961.

PRESERVING DISORDER: THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT 1988 by Abbie Hoffman & Jonathan Silvers (July HC from Viking, $18.95). This account of the 1988 campaign trail, at once serious and irreverent, also reviews Democratic party politics since 1968.

WOODSTOCK by Joel Makower (July HC, TP from Doubleday, $27.50, $15.95). An oral history of the famous rock festival with over 150 photographs.

HOW TO LOCATE ANYONE ANYWHERE by Ted Gunderson with Roger McGovern (August TP from Dutton, $7.95). A step-by-step guide to locating individuals. The author is a former FBI agent.

BE YOUR OWN DETECTIVE by Greg Fallis & Ruth Greenberg (August TP from M. Evans, $8.95). Tips on eavesdropping and tailing, accessing public records and subtle interrogation skills.

A NATURALIST'S NIGHTBOOK: A JOURNAL OF DISCOVERY ON THE FRONTIER OF NIGHT by Cathy Johnson (July TP from Globe Pequot, price not announced). Examines the hours between dusk and dawn.

RAINBOWS, CURVE BALLS & OTHER WONDERS OF THE NATURAL WORLD EXPLAINED by Ira Flatow (July TP from Harper & Row/Perennial Library, $7.95). Unveils the mysteries of everyday life.

STALAG LUFT III: THE SECRET STORY OF "THE GREAT ESCAPE" by Arthur A. Durand (July TP from Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, $10.95). This account details the actual adventure that took place in the WWII prison camp made famous by the movie THE GREAT ESCAPE.

TRANSFORMATION: THE BREAKTHROUGH by Whitley Strieber (August PB from Avon, $4.95). This sequel to the bestselling COMMUNION provides more information about the author's ongoing contact with extraterrestrial visitors.

FAMILY OF SPIES: INSIDE THE JOHN WALKER SPY RING by Pete Earley (August PB from Bantam, $4.95). The former Washington Post reporter bases this examination of the "most damaging spy ring of our time" on interviews with Walker and his family.

SATAN WANTS YOU: THE CULT OF DEVIL WORSHIP IN AMERICA by Arthur Lyons (July PB from Mysterious Press, $3.95). The author of THE TERRIBLE MASTER presents a history of Satanism in modern America.

WHAT TURNS MEN ON by Brigitte Nioche (July PB from NAL/Signet, $4.50). How men view women.

THE STORY OF PHYSICS by Lloyd Motz & Jefferson Weaver (May HC from Plenum, $24.95). The story of the evolution of physics, the most basic science. Publishers Weekly called it "a feast for the intellect".

ROMANCE: Take a look -- romance has changed a LOT in the past ten years. As they say, not for the squeamish:

TIGER'S EYE by Karen Robards (May PB from Avon, $4.50). Isabella St. Just is kidnapped by Alec Tyron, AKA the Tiger, the most feared man in the London underworld.

THE TAMING by Jude Deveraux (May PB from Pocket, $4.50). The first of a new trilogy, this is an upside down version of The Taming of the Shrew.

GIVE ME TONIGHT by Lisa Kleypas (April PB from Onyx, $4.50). A fascinating mixture of romance novel and time travel story.

IF MY LOVE COULD HOLD YOU by Elaine Coffman (May PB from Dell, $3.95). Charlotte Butterworth, the town spinster, saves the life of a man named Walker. A tender love story.

SPORTS: Once a jock, always a jock:

THE DETROIT TIGERS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY by Joe Falls, introduction by Sparky Anderson (June HC from Walker, $24.95). A rollicking history of the team that has employed Ty Cobb, Denny McLain and Mark Fidrych. Hundreds of action photos.

YOU GOTTA HAVE WA by Robert Whiting (June HC from Macmillan, $17.95). An interesting comparison of American versus Japanese baseball. Wa is the group harmony that is the essence of "besoboru" (baseball) in Japan.

TAE KWON DO: THE ULTIMATE REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR MARTIAL ART by Yeon Hee Park, Yeon Hwan Park & John Gerrard (July HC from Facts on File, $24.95). A combination of illustrations and text that presents the information needed to master the ancient Korean fighting art.

THE HUNDRED YARD LIE: THE CORRUPTION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO STOP IT by Rick Telander (August HC from Simon & Schuster, $17.95). The lead college football reporter for Sports Illustrated examines the myths that surround college football.

THE DUKE OF FLATBUSH by Duke Snider with Bill Gilbert (July PB from Zebra, $3.95). An ex-Brooklyn Dodger talks about his old team in this autobiography.

MISCELLANEOUS FICTION: The following books were difficult to classify, but represent a lot of good reading:

THE SATANIC VERSES by Salman Rushdie (1988). Why not find out what all the yelling is about?

I, JFK by Robert Mayer (July HC from Dutton, $18.95). The Edgar Award nominee depicts President Kennedy reflecting on his life from the hereafter.

JOURNEY by James Michener (July HC from Random House, $16.95). A novel focusing on five men who risked all during the Canadian gold rush of 1897.

SHINING THROUGH by Susan Isaacs (August PB from Ballantine, $5.95). A smart Wall Street secretary becomes a World War II spy in this bestseller by the author of COMPROMISING POSITIONS.

ALASKA by James Michener (July PB from Fawcett Crest, $5.95). This account of our 49th state is a reprint of the bestselling hardcover.

THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER by Stephen King (July PB from NAL/Signet, $4.95). The first volume in the Dark Tower series finally makes it to mass market paperback.

TILL WE MEET AGAIN by Judith Krantz (June PB from Bantam, $5.95). The story of a glamorous French family and their ups and downs during World War II.

MISCELLANEOUS: Here's one great book that needed a category all by itself:

CRACKER JACK PRIZES by Alex Jaramillo (June HC from Abbeville, $19.95). A lavish picture book history of a classic American artifact: the prizes in boxes of Cracker Jacks.

JUNE BIRTHDAYS

• 1 (1878) John Masefield
• 2 (1840) Thomas Hardy
• 2 (1913) Barbara Pym
• 3 (1926) Allen Ginsberg
• 4 (1917) Robert Anderson
• 5 (1898) Federico Garcia Lorca
• 5 (1934) Bill D. Moyers
• 5 (1939) Margaret Drabble
• 6 (1799) Aleksandr Pushkin
• 6 (1875) Thomas Mann
• 7 (1825) R.D. Blackmore
• 7 (1899) Elizabeth Bowen
• 8 (1814) Charles Reade
• 10 (1911) Terence Rattigan
• 10 (1928) Maurice Sendak
• 11 (1572) Ben Jonson
• 11 (1925) William Styron
• 12 (1819) Charles Kingsley
• 12 (1929) Anne Frank
• 13 (1752) Fanny Burney
• 13 (1865) William Butler Yeats
• 13 (1893) Dorothy L. Sayers
• 13 (1894) Mark van Doren
• 14 (1811) Harriet Beecher Stowe
• 14 (1925) Pierre Salinger
• 14 (1933) Jerzy Kosinski
• 16 (1937) Erich Segal
• 16 (1938) Joyce Carol Oates
• 17 (1703) John Wesley
• 17 (1914) John Hersey
• 20 (1905) Lillian Hellman
• 21 (1905) Jean-Paul Sartre
• 21 (1912) Mary McCarthy
• 21 (1935) Francoise Sagan
• 22 (1856) H. Rider Haggard
• 22 (1898) Erich Maria Remarque
• 22 (1906) Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• 23 (1910) Jean Anouilh
• 24 (1842) Ambrose Bierce
• 24 (1916) John Ciardi
• 24 (1935) Pete Hamill
• 25 (1903) George Orwell
• 26 (1892) Pearl Buck
• 27 (1850) Lafcadio Hearn
• 28 (1712) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• 28 (1909) Eric Ambler
• 30 (1685) John Gay

I try to leave out the parts that people skip.

--Elmore Leonard

FEATURED AUTHOR: STANLEY ELLIN

Stanley Ellin was born in New York City in 1916 and graduated from college at the age of 19. Early jobs included being a "pusher" for a newspaper distributor, running a Hudson Valley dairy farm, teaching at a junior college, and being a steelworker. After army service during World War II his wife Jeanne encouraged him to try writing and his first story, "The Specialty of the House" not only was bought by Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine but won their Best First Story award for 1948. The exact same fate befell his next SIX stories. After that, I guess they got tired of giving the same guy the award every year, so they inaugurated the annual Stanley Ellin Story, which is where almost all of his short stories made their debut.

Is he really that good? Dilys Winn (MURDER INK) said: "Whenever anyone tells you mystery writers can't write, sit him down and read Stanley Ellin to him. Mr. Ellin is clear, direct and chilling." Martin Seymour-Smith (NOVELS AND NOVELISTS) said: "Ellin manages to sustain a sometimes breath-taking excitement, while drawing his characters well and making subtle observations of the workings of social groups." If you aren't familiar with Stanely Ellin's work, you've got a real treat in store.

Tragically for us all, Stanley Ellin died in July of 1986. It's a scandal that so few of his books are in print now. Let's hope that someone recognizes the oversight and corrects it, soon.

STANLEY ELLIN: A CHECKLIST

• "The Specialty of the House" (1948) - short story
• Dreadful Summit (1948) - made into the movie The Big Night
• The Key to Nicholas Street (1952)
• "The House Party" (1954) - Edgar-winning short story
• "The Blessington Method" (1956) - Edgar-winning short story
• Mystery Stories (1956) - short stories
• The Eighth Circle (1958) - Edgar-winning novel
• The Panama Portrait (1962)
• The Blessington Method (1964) - short stories
• House of Cards (1967)
• The Valentine Estate (1968)
• The Bind (1970)
• Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (1972)
• Stronghold (1974)
• The Luxembourg Run (1977)
• The Specialty of the House and Other Stories: The Complete Mystery Tales, 1948-1978 (1979)
• Star Light, Star Bright (1979)
• The Dark Fantastic (1983)
• Very Old Money (1985)

Where should you start if you're new to Stanley Ellin's stories? This is the only writer I know of whom it is easy to say: anywhere. Pick up the first Ellin book you come to and I'm sure it'll be absolutely wonderful. Enjoy.

THE HORROR DEPARTMENT: SPLATTERPUNK

If writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Charles L. Grant are the mainstream of horror fiction, then the Splatter-punks are the cutting edge, the new frontier. And, like any frontier, time may turn it into a populous city or a ghost town. But for now, Splatterpunk is here -- and it's SELLING.

How can you tell Splatterpunk? The style is explicit, raw, and often somewhat crude. Taboos get violated. Gore is usually plentiful. The volume is set LOUD. And there's often a serious emotional and psychic toll to be paid by the reader. These books don't let you off easy.

But why talk about Splatterpunk when you could be reading it? The following list serves as a comprehensive introduction to the raw-edge world of explicit horror. Continue at your own risk.

The Splat Pack:

Richard Matheson: His seminal novel, I AM LEGEND (1954), brought the Victorian vampire into the twentieth century. Still good reading today, and is easily read as an AIDS metaphor.

Other works that could be taken as early examples of splatterpunk writing are: Theodore Sturgeon's SOME OF YOUR BLOOD (1961), Anthony Burgess' A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and S.P. Somtow's VAMPIRE JUNCTION.

Robert R. McCammon: This soft-spoken Alabama-born author can really go over the top when he wants to. THEY THIRST (1981) was one of his first books, and also one of the first books in which splatterpunk arrived in its current shape and form. Underrated and passed-over at the time, this book deserves a re-evaluation now. Since then, Mr. McCammon tends to be a bit more controlled, with the notable exception of STINGER (1988). Typically, this book has also been underrated and mostly dismissed, even though Mr. McCammon's plot construction has improved greatly since his early days. Both books are highly recommended to splatterpunkers.

Clive Barker: This is the poster boy for splatterpunk. Ever since Stephen King put the Horror Seal of Approval on him, he's been hot. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was young, bright, ambitious, and good looking. But his work does speak for itself. In my opinion, his writing technique has been overrated and his creativity and innovation have been underrated. Try his BOOKS OF BLOOD (1984), and I think you'll see what I mean. You'll probably have to admit that you've read better writing, but you certainly can't call these stories "the same old thing". In this respect he reminds me of Poe; a good idea man. This is definitely a writer-director-artist to watch. We may not always be cheering, but we'll never be bored.

John Skipp & Craig Spector: Here you have the Martin & Lewis of modern horror fiction (I hope I'm not the only one who remembers Martin & Lewis). Their first book, THE LIGHT AT THE END (1985), about a "Subway Psycho" in New York, got everyone's attention. Their second, THE CLEANUP (1986), was a bit of a stutterstep. It was right off the gore meter and got a lot of mediocre-to-bad reviews. But they impressed once again with their next, THE SCREAM (1988) and DEAD LINES (1989). The very next S&S effort will be THE BOOK OF THE DEAD due out this summer; an anthology of zombie stories they've edited. Also look for a Skipp & Spector writing credit on A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 5: THE DREAM POOL.

Ray Garton: After having done a few novelizations, Mr. Garton burst onto the scene in 1987 with LIVE GIRLS, which proved that the vampire story isn't dead and was one of the most rollicking, fun horror books in some time. Warning: You guys might get a bit squeamish here. According to Ray Garton, vampires don't have to be male, and they don't have to bite your NECK, if you get my drift. His latest novel was CRUCIFAX (CRUCIFAX AUTUMN in limited edition hardcover), well-received, but not quite as much so as LIVE GIRLS, which is a tough act to follow.

David J. Schow (who coined the term Splatterpunk): Don't miss SILVER SCREAM (1988), which Mr. Schow edited. There are selections from virtually every author named in this article. And you certainly don't want to miss his fiction: start with THE KILL RIFF. He calls his new novel THE SHAFT, and describes it as "a tale of an apartment building with Ahlzeimer's..." Sounds wonderful.

Dennis Etchison: Arguably the best writer in this group, certainly one of the finest short story writers today, Dennis Etchison is also one of the better anthology editors. He edited CUTTING EDGE (1986), and MASTERS OF DARKNESS (1986), which spawned a sequel, MASTERS OF DARKNESS II (1987). All three were well-received and include works of many of the Splatterpunk group. But don't forget to read some of Mr. Etchison's own work, including his collections: THE DARK COUNTRY (1982), RED DREAMS (1984), and BLOOD KISS (1986); also his novel, DARKSIDE (1986). His most famous short story is possibly "The Late Shift" (1980), which finally explained why the employees of convenience stores so often seem, well, not all there.

Joe Lansdale: This discussion would never be complete without a mention of this terrorizing Texan. His horror always pushes sensibilities and taboos to the limit. Warning: His stuff is GROSS. Start with THE DRIVE-IN (1988), which, believe it or not, is one of his more conservative efforts.

J.K. Potter: This is the name to know for horrific art. His best stuff (the gospel according to me) is his airbrush work. Potter's pictures can be surprising, unsettling, and chilling.

Richard Christian Matheson: You're not seeing double; this is RM's son. His specialty is the short-short, and he doesn't mind going for a sudden shock. See his collection, SCARS AND OTHER DISTINGUISHING MARKS (1987). And, he has just written his first novel, so far called CREATED BY, which should appear in hardcover sometime in 1990.

"I think our task as a species is to work out a moral ground that's solid and consistent with people's real lives. That involves taking apart the old systems very meticulously to find out what works and what's horse flop. To find something that really works in the face of increasingly complex and mad times is very high on the agenda."

--John Skipp

and

"As a style, Splatterpunk is often gross, usually extreme, and always visceral. You may love it, you may hate it, but it's damned hard to read it and be unmoved. That's its job: to shock complacency, to attack the neutral reaction, to challenge conventional wisdom and morality, to stimulate the dialogue. When we're at our best, we are fiction's subconscious saboteurs, laying mines behind enemy lines."

--Craig Spector

and

"When we write this hideous horror stuff we're throwing the reality of the ANATOMY of violence in the reader's face. We believe that helps the reader to make those hard choices. By pushing the limits of our awareness, we're better equipped to make real choices."

--John Skipp

and

"We are dealing with difficult subjects. We are dealing with sexual brutality, the nature and ramifications of real flesh-and- blood violence. It's ugly terrain; very scary stuff. And it doesn't surprise us that some people freak out when they read it. But there is a readership for this kind of writing. A lot of folks are looking for someone to deal with this stuff in a straight-ahead fashion, to go all the way while retaining a strong sense of humanity. But a lot of other people think you can't, or shouldn't, do this. That because we write it, we must be inhuman monsters. The biggest bone of contention thrown at us by our critics is that we have no moral compass. That's bullshit."

--John Skipp

THE MYSTERY DEPARTMENT: MURDEROUS VACATIONS

We here at Reading For Pleasure wanted to get you in a proper frame of mind for your summer vacation. Here are some suggestions to show you how some other peoples' vacations went. You may never leave home again.

• Aldyne, Nathan COBALT
• Anthony, Peter THE WOMAN IN THE WARDROBE
• Barry, Charles THE DETECTIVE'S HOLIDAY
• Bellairs, George ALL ROADS TO SOSPEL
• Blake, Nicholas THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY
• Brett, Simon A COMEDIAN DIES
• Buckingham, Bruce BROILED ALIVE
• Burton, Miles FOUND DROWNED - ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN
• Cairns, Alison STRAINED RELATIONS
• Cannan, Joanna ALL IS DISCOVERED
• Carvic, Heron MISS SEETON DRAWS THE LINE
• Christie, Agatha APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH (Poirot) - PERIL AT END HOUSE (Poirot) - A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY (Marple) - EVIL UNDER THE SUN (Poirot)
• Clark, Douglas POACHER'S BAG
• Cole, G.D.H. & Margaret THE MAN FROM THE RIVER
• Crane, Caroline COAST OF FEAR
• Crispin, Edmund HOLY DISORDERS
• Dolson, Hildegard BEAUTY SLEEP
• Ferrars, E.X. THE SMALL WORLD OF MURDER
• Gardner, Erle Stanley THE CASE OF THE ANGRY MOURNER
• Grimes, Martha THE DIRTY DUCK
• Hubbard, P.M. PICTURE OF MILLIE
• Hunter, Alan DEATH ON THE BROADLANDS - GENTLY IN THE SUN
• Huntington, John THE SEVEN BLACK CHESSMEN
• Innes, Michael THE CASE OF THE JOURNEYING BOY - THE CRABTREE AFFAIR
• James, P.D. UNNATURAL CAUSES
• Jeffers, H. Paul MURDER MOST IRREGULAR
• Lathen, Emma PICK UP STICKS
• Lockridge, Frances & Richard VOYAGE INTO VIOLENCE
• Lockridge, Richard INSPECTOR'S HOLIDAY - DEATH IN A SUNNY PLACE
• Lovesey, Peter MAD HATTER'S HOLIDAY
• MacKenzie, Donald RAVEN'S LONGEST NIGHT
• Marsh, Ngaio WHEN IN ROME - COLOUR SCHEME - PHOTO FINISH
• McConnor, Vincent THE PROVENCE PUZZLE
• McCormick, Claire THE CLUB PARADISE MURDERS
• McMullen, Mary A GRAVE WITHOUT FLOWERS
• Millar, Margaret THE WEAK-EYED BAT
• Morrison, B.J. BEER AND SKITTLES
• Moyes, Patricia ANGEL DEATH - DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN
• Nielsen, Helen THE DARKEST HOUR
• Olmsted, Lorena Ann SETUP FOR MURDER
• Pentecost, Hugh DEADLY TRAP
• Peters, Ellis WHO LIES HERE?
• Queen, Ellery INSPECTOR QUEEN'S OWN CASE
• Rendell, Ruth SHAKE HANDS FOR EVER - SPEAKER OF MANDARIN
• Robertson, Helen SWAN SONG
• Rutherford, Douglas MYSTERY TOUR
• Siller, Van THE LAST RESORT - UNDER A CLOUD
• Simenon, Georges MAIGRET IN VICHY - NO VACATION FOR MAIGRET - THE GUINGUETTE BY THE SEINE
• Stewart, Mary THE MOON SPINNERS
• Tey, Josephine A SHILLING FOR CANDLES
• Thomson, June THE HABIT OF LOVING
• Williams, Valentine THE CLUE OF THE RISING MOON - MASKS OFF AT MIDNIGHT
• Wyllie, John THE LONG DARK NIGHT OF BARON SAMEDI
• Yorke, Margaret GRAVE MATTERS - SILENT WITNESS

So what's a Narrative Hook? This is what the author of a work of fiction uses in the very beginning to keep you reading. It might be an exciting incident (a murder is nice), an odd statement that needs explanation ("John was feeling pretty good, except for that pain behind his third eye."), or a beginning that is in medias res (explained later in this issue).

THE NONFICTION DEPARTMENT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY THINGS

by Donald A. Norman
Basic Books, 1988

Have you ever walked up to the bank of doors at, say, a store, and push when you should have pulled (or vice versa)? You feel like a real jerk when you do that, don't you? You probably thought: Must be a soft spot in my brain where the door-opening ability is. After all, this is a public place, with thousands of people coming and going every day, and apparently they can figure it out. Does any of this sound familiar?

Donald A. Norman says that those thousands of other people are also pushing when they should be pulling. And, furthermore, the problem isn't with the people, the problem is with the doors, or, more correctly, with the people who designed the doors. As a matter of fact, our lives are full of these everyday things that are poorly design and that cause us frustration. And, typically, we blame ourselves when problems arise.

Mr. Norman brings up the new phone systems at three different locations. When asked, people at all three locations complain that there's no HOLD function. He investigates and finds that all three systems have a HOLD function. What's the problem? The HOLD function is no longer obvious (remember the old-fashioned HOLD button that lit up?) and the instructions are so complicated that the function is not really usable. Below is the cheat sheet that fits over the face plate of the phone at one location (provided by the phone system company):

CALL HOLD
TAP + * 99
To Retrieve
Replace Handset
Phone Rings
Answer Hold Party

Can you believe that this was the best that well-educated people trying to provide a service could do? By the way, in case you're trying to figure it out yourself, you might want to know that one of the phone keys is labeled TAP (so TAP isn't a verb, it's a noun). Why can't we have the old HOLD button?

Donald Norman also brings up the slide projector with one button to control the advance. Sometimes the slide advance would be forward, to the next slide, sometimes it would be backwards, to the previous slide. Only the one button. How do you work it properly? It turns out that holding the button down briefly makes it go forward, holding it down longer makes the go backwards. Why make it so difficult?

To be fair, Mr. Norman also points out examples of good design. The seat adjustment control on a Mercedes Benz that he drove was composed of two knobs, one shaped like the back of the seat, one shaped like the bottom of the seat -- both arranged like a cut-away view of the seat. To make the back of the seat tip backwards, just move the appropriate knob in a similar way. No instruction book needed, not even any labels on the knobs, and perfectly easy and natural to use. Beautifully designed.

If you'd like more discussions like the above, not to mention elucidations of what constitutes good design and why, ask your bookseller for a copy of THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY THINGS by Donald A. Norman. I was enthralled from the first page to the last.

No, no, there must be a limit to the baseness even of publishers.

--Dorothy L. Sayers

FICTION INTO FILM DEPARTMENT: THE SHINING

OK, let's start with the surprise revelation: I actually LIKED Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING. And I also was a big fan of Stephen King's novel (maybe not SK's "number one" fan, but certainly in the top ten).

I'll admit that Mr. Kubrick's improvement of Stephen King's novel was mostly misguided. As Douglas Winter has said, Stanley Kubrick attempted "to transcend a genre that he did not understand". First, he transferred the starring role from the hotel to Jack Nicholson (of course, he probably paid more for Nicholson). I like Jack, but I missed the hedge animals; and what used to be a story about a haunted hotel was now the story of one man's descent into madness. And the "horror shots" (the little girls, the little girls and the blood in the hall, and the tidal wave of blood) -- they were WAY to lingering. We had time to do lab tests on the fake blood. Not scary.

All right. So Kubrick doesn't have Stephen King's understanding of horror, and when he tries real hard it's self-consciously ludicrous. And the core of King's story -- the supernatural entity that is the hotel -- was largely lost (along with my hedge animals).

BUT ---- Let's look at the pluses: the cinematography (director of photography was John Alcott), the chilling sterility of the sets, the Bartok music, Nicholson, and all of the scenes in and around the ballroom.

Take the cinematography: like Kubrick's much-earlier 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the cinematography is superb. His films are visually striking. Remember the LOOOONG tracking shot of the little boy on his Hot Wheels? And the matching soundtrack; the alternating raw sound of the wheels on wooden floor and the muffled sound on the rugs. Lovely stuff.

The sets were the scariest element of the movie, in my opinion. The rooms were so large, the furniture sparse, with very little human litter anywhere. Reminded me of similar scenes and feelings in 2001. Kubrick is scarier when he doesn't try so hard.

The music background was perfect for this movie; as it was, once again, in 2001. The opening travelogue scenery shots, with music, were a great setup for the movie to follow. Good choices.

Nicholson, of course, was brilliant. His face alone was worth his salary. Remember when the little boy snuck into the family's apartment to retrieve a toy? He wasn't supposed to wake up his father, 'cause the guy was already going downhill. That shot, from the boy's point of view, looking into the parents' bedroom was terrific. Nicholson can REALLY be scary.

Everybody I know thought that Nicholson's conversations with the bartender in the ballroom were the best part of the movie. It established Nicholson's deteriorating mental state, and the bartender's understated conviviality kept the audience wondering what exactly was going on. I also enjoyed the scene in the men's room, where there was one of the few remnants of SK's theme (the butler's line: "You're the caretaker. You've always been the caretaker.")

If you'll try watching THE SHINING without looking for the Stephen King novel I think you'll find that it's a beautiful moody story that's well worth your time.

I love you sons of bitches. You're the only ones with guts enough to REALLY care about the future, who REALLY notice what machines do to us, what wars do to us, what cities do to us, what tremendous misunderstandings, mistakes, accidents, and catastrophes do to us. You're the only ones zany enough to agonize over time and distances without limit, over mysteries that will never die, over the fact that we are right now determining whether the space voyage for the next billion years or so is going to be Heaven or Hell.

--from Kurt Vonnegut's GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER; said to a convention of science fiction writers.

THE SF DEPARTMENT: SF FAN-LINGO

[from THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION LISTS by Mike Ashley, Cornerstone Library, 1982.]

• ACTIFAN - ACTIve FAN: one who participates regularly in fandom either by writing for or producing a FANZINE or other FANAC.
• APA - Amateur Press Association: in existence before SF fandom but rapidly adopted, it is a central organization for the publication and circulation of a common group of FANZINES. A fanzine produced by an apa is usually called an apazine.
• BNF - Big Name Fan: usually those who have been active in fandom for many years and are known to associate with the FILTHY PROS, and who may even have sold professionally themselves. Such writers as Robert Silverberg, Terry Carr, Ted White, Bob Shaw, James White and Wilson (Bob) Tucker were all BNFs at one time.
• CORFLU - CORrecting FLUid: the saving grace for all fanzines produced by stencils and a bad typist.
• EGOBOO - EGO BOOst: one has a feeling of egoboo when your FANZINE is praised in the PROZINES, or even in other FANZINES.
• FANAC - FANnish ACtivity: actually participating actively in fandom.
• FANZINE - a FAN magaZINE: sometimes called fanmags; amateur magazines produced by SF fans.
• FEN - plural of fan, in the same way as men is the plural of man.
• FIAWOL - Fandom Is A Way Of Life: an acronym which reveals that SF fandom is sufficiently important to dominate one's life.
• FILLO - Filler ILLO: a small illustration used to fill up space in a FANZINE or PROZINE.
• FILTHY PRO - a semi-affectionate term tinged with jealousy used by fans to refer to one of their number who has sold stories to the PROZINES.
• GAFIA - Getting Away From It All: another acronym to denote an escape from FIAWOL and FANAC, hence the verb to GAFIATE, or to stop ones fannish involvement.
• HUGO - the Science Fiction Achievement Award presented annually at WORLDCONS and named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the SF magazine.
• ILLO - illustration; plural illoes.
• LETTERCOL - the LETTER COLumn in a magazine, also known as a LOCOLUMN.
• LETTERHACK - a regular writer of letters to FANZINES or PROZINES whose letters are usually published.
• LOC - Letter Of Comment: one way to obtain a FANZINE is to write a loc on the previous issue, hence the verb to loc, or to write a letter to a ZINE commenting on it.
• LOCOLUMN - letter column, or more precisely the column for locs.
• MUNDANE - the world outside fandom and the people in it.
• NEOFAN - newcomer to fandom (plural neofen).
• PRODOM - the professional counterpart to fandom.
• PROZINE - a PROfessional magaZINE, also called promags.
• SERCON - SERious and CONstructive, an adjective that can describe either a fan or a fanzine. It means one that deals seriously with science fiction as opposed to a fannish fanzine which deals less seriously with SF and involves itself mostly with FANAC.
• SF - the accepted abbreviation for Science Fiction. An older variant is STEF derived from Hugo Gernsback's earlier name for science fiction, viz. scientifiction. Either of these terms may be used, especially as stef is adaptable as an adjective, e.g. a book with a science fiction flavor can be described as stefnish. Under no circumstances, however, will any self-respecting fan use the term sci-fi which has come to be associated with the public image of all that is bad in science fiction. Say sci-fi to any TRUFAN and watch him wince - unless he hits back first!
• TRUFAN - a tried and tested TRUe FAN often, but not necessarily, one of many years' standing, and who has considerable loyalty to fandom.
• WORLDCON - the annual World Science Fiction Convention.
• ZINE - magaZINE, whether fanzine or prozine.

OK, so what's "in medias res"? This term comes from Horace, who unfortunately didn't speak English. If he had, it would have come out "in the midst of things". This term is used to refer to the Narrative Hook device of starting a story in the middle of something, which forces you to stick around waiting for flashbacks to find out what the devil is going on.

AN EXHAUSTING, IF NOT EXHAUSTIVE, LIST OF WRITERS' PSEUDONYMS

* John Creasey used 26 different aliases.

TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. By editing and publishing newspapers
2. Hugo Gernsback, original publisher of Amazing Stories magazine
3. Samuel Johnson
4. John Steinbeck, in THE GRAPES OF WRATH
5. Salesman
6. Canterbury
7. MOBY DICK
8. Alighieri
9. They're both female writers
10. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

COMING NEXT MONTH:

Next month is our Books About Books issue. Also planned is a Featured Author special on Harlan Ellison. Initial delivery is scheduled for June 24/25/26.