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OtherRealms Issue 01
OtherRealms, Volume 1, Number 1 (January 1986)
Table of Contents:
o Editorial: Am I missing something? -- chuq von rospach
o Words: Brokedown Palace -- alice!jj
o Writers: And You Thought Your FIRST Sale Was Hard... -- Jim Brunet
o Words: Mindkiller -- Peter Korn
o Authors: A Profile of Harry Turtledove -- Jim Brunet
o Picos: Quick reviews from the readership
o Readers: This month's readers survey
o Letters: The start of the Letter column
Edited and Published on an almost monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
3770 Flora Vista #1805
Santa Clara, CA. 95051
(sun!plaid!chuq)
All material in this magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach,
all rights reserved. One time rights only have been acquired from signed of
credited contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate OtherRealms
in its entirety for non-commercial uses as long as all associated copyright
notices and bylines are left intact. If a subset of the issue needs to be
duplicated, it must include all copyright notices and bylines and this
masthead. Re-use of an individual article is forbidden without permission
of the author.
Subscriptions: Subscription is currently free and limited to the USENET
electronic network and other networks accessible through USENET. Subscription
requests should be mailed to the address "sun!plaid!fanzine-request".
Submissions: Submissions should be mailed to the address "sun!plaid!fanzine"
in text or nroff format. A writers guide is available for the asking from the
"fanzine-request" address.
Correspondence: All correspondence should be addressed to
"sun!plaid!fanzine-request". Unless otherwise specified, all letters will
be considered for publication in the letter column. Letters to an authors
should be mailed directly if possible, but I will forward them to the best
of my ability.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Jim Brunet talks about a young woman who is a winner of the Writer's of the
Future Contest and has since appeared in F&SF and ASIMOV'S.
Chuq Von Rospach talks about a set of historical romance novels -- starring
a vampire.
Also, "Inventing Reality" a look at making the fantastic make sense.
WRITE FOR OTHERREALMS
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are welcome to submit articles for the following sections: Words (book
reviews), Pico (mini reviews), Visions (media reviews), Authors (interviews
and articles about authors), Conventions (con reviews of major cons), Fandom
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Guide to OtherRealms is available, if you are interested in writing please
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"sun!plaid!fanzine-request"
From sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
Subject: Editorial: Am I Missing Something?
In case you hadn't noticed it, the walls around our ghetto are crumbling and
Science Fiction books are making it onto best seller lists. The world is
peeking over the barriers and discovering what we've always known.
I recently read a story, though, that brought forward something that has been
bothering me for a while. In the January "Fantasy & Science Fiction", Greg
Benford published "Newton Sleep." It is a departure from his hard SF, is well
done and I recommend it highly.
As I read it a little voice in the back of my head kept whispering "Am I
missing something?"
This story works on its own, but to really understand what was going on, you
have to recognize that one of the main characters is Ernest Hemingway and to
know something about his life. Hemingway, one of the best writers of his
generation, was a journalist in the Spanish Civil war and finally ended his
life as a suicide. Without that knowledge, the motivations of Benford's
character remain hidden. The story is a lot more than just the light fantasy
that it seems at first glance. But I realized realize that the story had a
deeper level to explore. It wasn't just about Hemingway, Benford was writing
a Hemingway story, and again the story becomes something else because the
hidden references back to Hemingway's work allow him to say things without
writing the words.
I've taken a roundabout way to make a point. In talking to people it seems
that the percentages of people who don't venture outside the wall of our SF
ghetto is as large as the group that never comes in. Walls work both ways.
And that's a shame, because there is a lot out there in the 'real' world of
publishing. I'm not talking about Sydney Sheldon or Erica Jong, but Robert
Ludlum and Laurence Sanders and Erma Bombeck. And the classics.
Once you start exploring, you'll find that many SF writers have been influenced
by the classics. It shows up in their work, and those who prefer the ghetto
miss a lot because of it.
There are a lot of classical references to be enjoyed. Steve Brust's work "To
Reign in Hell" takes on more meaning if you've read the Bible, of course, but
it also pays tribute to Dante's "Inferno". Phil Farmer's Riverworld uses as
main characters Sir Richard Burton, Alice Hargreaves, and Mark Twain. For all
of its faults, his Twain is a good characterization of a man who symbolized
America through his writings. Twain's Riverworld actions make a lot more
sense if you've read Twain.
If you think of movies when you hear the name Burton, you're missing out on
the reason for the series to exist. Sir Richard Burton was a real-life
personification of the great adventurer, and Riverworld is intended to be his
greatest adventure. If you know nothing of the life of Charles Dodgson and
the girl-child he wrote Alice in Wonderland for, the relationship between her
and Burton in the book makes no sense.
The wall is imaginary, a phantom; the ghetto, a convenient stomping ground.
You can read Lovecraft and still attend a con. You can read Twain, can ponder
Kafka, or Dante, or Dickens. There is a lot of very good work out there
waiting for you.
The outside world is getting smart enough to sample what we have to offer
them. Are we going to reciprocate and sample their wares as well?
From ihnp4!alice!jj Fri Dec 27 12:33:05 1985
Subject: Words: Brokedown Palace by Steven Brust
"Brokedown Palace", Steven Brust, Ace, 2.95 US, 270 pp, ISBN 0-441-07181-3.
Copyright J.D. Johnston 12/27/85, Warren, NJ.
"Brokedown Palace" is Steven K. Zoltan Brust's fourth book. Its scope,
in contrast with the third, "To Reign in Hell", is small, concerning
the survival and succoring of a small kingdom cut off from the rest of
the universe by disinterest and lack of need. Brust borrows names and
folklore from the Hungarian tradition and names, and creates a small,
inwardly directed world that could (although this reviewer would not
suggest that such is the author's intent) parallel some of the world's
great historic institutions.
The story is written from the viewpoint of the youngest of four royal
brothers, each with a different problem. Over time, some of the
brothers accept their weaknesses, turning them to strengths, and others
fail, in ways large or small. The problem presented at the beginning
of the story, the staleness of the Fenarian royalty, is extended to the
physical symbols (or perhaps it is the other way around), and resolved
in a most unusual way that seems quite natural to the setting, as well
as (ahem) rather symbolic of several well-known philosophies.
The story certainly is of the "wheel turning" or "renewal of the circle"
style, perhaps (the reviewer is not well versed in the subject, having
failed to find a source thereof) in the style of Hungarian Mythology,
and certainly in the way of several non-deific mystical philosophies.
Brust does a most remarkable job of using the language to portray both
the characters and the situation, in a way that suggests that he would
be a most remarkable story-teller in other ages. A great deal of the
charm and pleasure of the story is in the modest and occasionally wry
language of "Brokedown Palace".
Those who have read "Jhereg" and "Yendi" will find more of the same story
telling, although in a more mature and less jarring fashion. Some of the
elements of the world of "Jhereg" appear in "Brokedown Palace", but the
story is NOT a sequel, nor does it appear, at least at the surface, to be
connected by anything other than the names of the wildlife.
Hard SF fans will find nothing of hard SF in this story, which reads much
as a folk tale, or fantasy. Those who like stories of *E*P*I*C* character,
as in "To Reign in Hell", will find nothing to suit their sense of cosmic
importance. Those readers who wish to enjoy a quiet, non-jarring book,
who are fascinated by colorful (but far from overbearing) tales, and who
like to read a good story, well written, and with interesting characters
and human-sized problems, will greatly enjoy this book. As is clear from
this review, I am of the latter category.
On a scale of 0-5, I figure I'll rate it a 4. It's not (quite)
a classic, but quite worth reading, and it deserves preservation.
From ihnp4!ima!haddock!ism780!ism780b!jimb Fri Jan 3 21:31:40 1986
From: Jim Brunet
Subject: Writing: And You Thought Your FIRST Sale Was Hard....
And You Thought Your FIRST Sale Was Hard....
by
James Brunet
A common assumption of beginning writers is, "Gee, if I can just get
my foot in the door and make a first sale, I can start selling regularly
because the editor will know me." In my own case, I made a sale to FANTASY
BOOK over a year ago. I KNOW that my writing is better, I now wince at some
of the writing in the story that I published. Another writer in my writing
group is in the same boat; he sold to F&SF, with no sales since. We've both
heard of other writers with similar experiences. So what's the problem?
"You look outside the next day, and the sun is still shining, and
birds are still singing and you realize that no one gives a damn." So said
Algis Budrys, SF writer and critic, when I asked him about the
after-the-first-sale blues encountered by many writers trying to make their
*second* sale. Our subsequent conversation confirmed what I had already
learned the hard way: one sale does not constitute a "break" into the
market. Talking to other writers and editors, as well as examining my own
pattern of non-success, has given me some idea of what some of the problems
of one-sale writers are.
*Story content.* Most writers who have made their first sale are at
least passable in terms of their writing craft. While their storytelling
abilities will not immediately bring Larry Niven to mind, or their style
evoke recollections of Roger Zelazny, they have mastered the basic art of
getting scene, character, and action down on paper in an entertaining way.
You may hear a writer complain, "...but my Merlin re-telling is just
as good as the ones that Jane Yolen gets published in F&SF" or "...my
post-holocaust story is a cross between Vinge, Brin, and Palmer."
Ah, but it turns out that's the problem. The story may be *just as
good* -- but put yourself in the editor's shoes. You have two stories of
more or less equal quality. One is by a recognized name, the other by a new
writer. Which story will help you sell copies by adding to the prestige of
the publication?
For a new writer to get published, their material must be either NEW,
or else extraordinarily well written. In the case of David Palmer's novella
EMERGENCE, a Hugo winner after it was published in ANALOG, it was both. The
story was a post-nuclear-holocaust story. The plot of plucky survivor makes
good is rather routine. What made EMERGENCE stand out was the NEW twist of
the point-of-view character -- an adolescent girl genius who unknowingly is
part of a human mutant strain that appeared in the 1920's -- coupled with
exceedingly good writing. Chances are that if you've sold a story, it was
one of your more imaginative efforts.
If you're having trouble selling your stories, look through your file
copies of your manuscripts that are out on the market. If you see a lot of
"me-too" plots, go ahead and keep them out on the market. You *may* catch
lightning in a bottle, an editor might find YOUR story to be the one that is
refreshing and different. If the stories don't sell, keep them. You may
need them someday when you DO have a name. In the meantime, every time you
sit down at your wordprocessor or typewriter, ask yourself "Does the story I
have in mind stand out sufficiently from all the stories by my favorite
authors?" By breaking new ground, you will increase the chances of an editor
buying a story from you, instead of someone else.
*Losing sight of the market.* Even in SF, all editors are human, at
least until proved otherwise. Each editor has his or her own style and
unique tastes. Reading entries in WRITER's MARKET or FICTION WRITER's MARKET
will give you some idea of editorial tastes. A careful reading of your
target magazines will give you an even better idea of your editor's taste.
So will carefully reading any personal notes on rejection slips from a given
editor.
Many neo-pros quite correctly attempt to learn the market before they
first start sending manuscripts out, only to develop instant amnesia once
that first sale hits the mailbox. "Oh, boy. I can now send that fantasy
that F&SF rejected to Stan Schmidt at ANALOG, and send that cyber-punk hard
SF story to FANTASY BOOK." Well, comrades, we may undergo a sea change with
our first sale, but it's highly unlikely that the editors have.
A professional credit listed on your cover letter will almost
certainly get your story a closer reading by the editor or first reader; it
may even get your story out of the "slush pile" or at least to the top of it.
But it doesn't change the nature and character of the magazine. Immediately
after my first sale, the nature of my rejection slips got worse, not better.
I soon recognized that I was trying too hard and went back to my normal
hard-headed appraisal of the market for each story. No, it didn't result in
a new sale, but the tone of the rejection slips told me that I was closer,
and if you view getting published as a statistical quantum event as I do,
then at least your odds are better. (Remember, in the best of cases its a
a very tough market -- typically only one percent or less of all submissions
get published. William F. Wu, whose WONG'S LOST AND FOUND EMPORIUM was
nominated for a Hugo, still routinely got rejection slips two years later
for stories he thought were just as good.)
Remember, too, that part of an editor's being human includes the
capacity to make mistakes. Before EMERGENCE was picked up by Stan Schmidt,
another editor rejected it with a note that said "Something this long needs
to be good. This isn't."
*Self-mimicry.* The final problem that occurs with new writers is
that once they have made a sale, they tend to repeat themselves. If the
first sale was a moody dark fantasy set in suburban Los Angeles, they'll
write three more supernatural stories along the same lines. Big name authors
do this all the time; the practice is known variously as writing a series,
creating a distinctive style, or milking the public.
Unless the story is both first rate and distinctive, however, the
writer is back to square one with the magazine editor, who is looking for
something NEW, or otherwise something that will help sell the magazine, i.e.,
a story by a writer with a following. As outlined in the beginning of this
article, derivative writing is difficult to sell, especially for a newcomer,
and doubly difficult if the newcomer's writing is derivative of his or her
own work.
*Proof?* Interesting assertions, but where's the proof you might
ask. I have none. These revelations have crystallized for me within the
past two months as a result of letters, insights, and conversations -- some
of the latter had been rolling around in my head since Westercon in July.
I'm applying these observations to my own work and have audaciously
set a goal of four sales for 1986. I'll let you know how it turns out; in
the meantime, your comments are welcome. The best of luck to all of you who
write and send your manuscripts out.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Editors Shawna McCarthy, Stan Schmidt, George Scithers
for their letters and conversations about my writing and the publishing
process in general; writers Algis Budrys , David Weiner, and William F. Wu
for sharing their experiences.
From korn@cory.berkeley.edu Tue Jan 14 14:30:03 1986
Subject: Words: Mindkiller by Spider Robinson
"Mindkiller", Spider Robinson, Berkley Books, N.Y., $2.95, 246 pages
(originally published Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1982)
With any review, one of the challenges is to tell the readers about the
book without telling them about the book--and thus spoiling the book for
them. I'm in the "know as little about the book before reading
it as possible" camp. I flatly refuse to read the outside covers or
inside page-long blurb designed to get you to read the book in order to
find that tantalizing scene displayed before you. That said, this review
will try to tell you how Spider Robinson tells you the story--and not
what happens in the story. From that I hope you'll be able to decide
whether or not you'll want to read the book.
Spider Robinson is different from all the other Science Fiction authors I've
read in that he writes human stories first, and SF second. His stories
all have deeper underlying meanings which come first, as opposed to an author
like Heinlein, where it's kind of hard to tell which came first. The SF setting
is almost incidental, though it's definitely not dispensible. Mindkiller is
no exception. This is not a "I want to forget my brain for a bit" reading
in either the Piers Anthony or Niven style
Mindkiller is a very human story, that asks a few important questions about
scientific possibilities the future will very likely bring us. Foremost of
these is the ability to directly stimulate the pleasure center of the brain
electronically (do you see where this might lead in a human story? Guess
again; Spider does something different!).
The style of the book is also very different from the norm of SF novels.
The story is told by two different speakers, alternating chapters. It
took me a while to get into the book b/c of this, but later I found that
I just HAD to keep reading in order to find out what happens to speaker
#1; and after reading speaker #2, I'd have to read all of #1 again because
#2 came to a crisis that needed resolution.
In fact, the entire book is really two building crises desperately needing
a resolution. As a warning to those who need sleep, don't start this book
as I did at 12:30 am. I didn't go to sleep until 6:00 am because I just
COULDN'T put the book down. I found this book the most intense novel I've
ever read, let alone the most intense SF novel.
Perhaps there is one negative thing I can say about Mindkiller. If it's the
first Spider Robinson you've read, you may be just a bit disappointed when
you read others. Don't get me wrong, all his books are excellent. But
Mindkiller is by far the most human and the most intense. Also, he's only
written six books, so you'll exhaust the lot of them quite quickly and want
more.
Without reservation I recommend this book--unless all you want is mindless
first Spider Robinson you've read, you may be just a bit disappointed when
entertainment, in which case you can read Piers Anthony and pick your nose
and try not to groan at the awful puns. In fact, I even like the way he
treats sex. Spider is the _only_ author that treats sex as something people do,
as opposed to aliens (Anthony again) or sex saints (Heinlein).
On our scale of 0-5, it's at least a 5. (I'd put a 6 or 7 on it, but chuq
wants me all of the reviewers to stick to the same system).
From ihnp4!ima!haddock!ism780!ism780b!jimb Thu Jan 9 10:31:45 1986
From: Jim Brunet
Subject: Authors: A Profile of Harry Turtledove
Authors: A Profile of Harry Turtledove
by
James Brunet
One of my year-end rituals is a review of all the SF magazines I get,
looking for those stories that I thought stood out from the crowd and
deserved recognition in terms of Hugo nominations, Locus Poll, ANALOG's AnLab
poll, etc. I take the resulting "long" list -- generally about a third of
the total published and break it down into "short" lists of five to seven
titles for each category: novella, novelette and short story.
The final process of picking and ranking the stories is much like
deciding who to kick out of the lifeboat; it's a painful process. One of the
compensating joys, however, is that each year I discover certain writers
placing several titles on my long list and and at least one title on my short
list, writers who aren't well known and whom I had not been consciously aware
of as being "good" writers that I could name if asked.
Following is a review of one writer whose work I've enjoyed for
the past couple of years, yet whose name is not widely known in the SF
community. Obviously, appraising writing is a matter of personal taste,
but the writers I've discovered that I like through this method are so
varied that I hope it will help you find some new favorite names to look
for, whatever your tastes happen to be.
* * *
A rabbi being called to decide whether flesh from a strain of pigs
radically altered by genetic engineering can be kosher; the consequences of
"bluffing" at poker introduced to a Sumerian-level civilization by a
interstellar survey team; the Jamestown colonists contending with not
red-skinned savages, but fur-covered *homo erecti* that lived on in the New
World while *homo sapiens* developed the Old. These are just some of the
premises for the stories of Harry Turtledove, who until recently was
published under the pseudonym of Eric G. Iverson.
One of Turtledove's main assets is developing solid story lines.
Many SF stories feature slender plots, or gimmicks as an excuse for the
story; Turtledove may use a novel idea as a gimmick to hook the reader, but
his stories then proceed to develop the ideas, usually with the the aid of
memorable, identifiable characters.
Turtledove's writing is simple and straightforward. While it may
lack any special elegance -- there are passages of Zelazny or Avram
Davidson that can make me stop and go "Oh, wow!" -- his writing avoids the
elaborately chiseled and self-conscious prose of Lucius Shephard and the
ponderous exposition of a writer like Robert Forward. Not a bad compromise.
It's to Turtledove's credit that I remember and respect even the
stories that I didn't care for, such as "Vilest Beast," which appeared in the
September '85 issue of ANALOG. This story concerned the interaction of the
Jamestown colonists with the New World *homo erecti*, and while it made me
shiver with distaste at what happened, the story was extremely vivid from
an emotional viewpoint.
I appreciate Turtledove's range, from the dark alternate world
described above, to a murder mystery set at the Winter Olympics on a moon of
Saturn, to the humorous piece concerning the rabbi and the pseudo-pork.
Indeed, even in his serious stories, it appears that Turtledove's sense of
humor is never far from the surface. The variety of his work approaches
that of Poul Anderson; I can only hope that we begin to see novels from
Turtledove so that we can have fuller meals borne of his toil in the SF
fields.
I first became aware of Iverson/Turtledove in late 1984; he has
appeared regularly in the pages of ANALOG since then. According to Jay
Kay Klein's Biolog column in the February '85 issue of ANALOG, Turtledove
was first published in 1979, when he sold a two-volume sword-and-sorcery
fantasy. Klein's column also stated that Turtledove abandoned CalTech and
later received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history.
Following is a partial bibliography:
"Herbig-Haro" ANALOG, 10/84
"Hindsight" ANALOG, mid-12/84
"Bluff" ANALOG, 2/85
"The R-Strain" ANALOG, 6/85
"Non-Interference" ANALOG, 7/85
"Les Mortes D'Arthur" ANALOG, 8/85
"Vilest Beast" ANALOG, 9/85
"The Road Not Taken" ANALOG, ll/85
"Hatching Season" ANALOG, 12/85
"And So To Bed" ANALOG, 1/86
From sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
Subject: Pico Reviews
FOOTFALL, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [**]
Del Rey, 1985. 574 pp. (SF Book Club edition).
The cover proclaims, "Probably the finest novel of alien invasion ever written".
Replace "finest" with "longest" and I agree wholeheartedly. Features five SF
writers, the most intelligent President of the United States since Jefferson,
and the usual Niven/Pournelle Cast of Thousands. The first half of the book
was slow going, but things picked up when the action started. These guys can
do better. Anybody might do better.
-- Bill Laubenheimer (ucbvax!wildbill)
FOOTFALL, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle [*****]
del rey, 495 pages, $17.95
You either love Niven and Pournelle or hate them. I hate them (together) , and
loved this book. Don't expect deep insight or new themes, this is a fast paced,
fun, and original rehash of the alien conquest story. It'll give you a hernia,
but its worth it. I'm nominating it for a Hugo this year.
-- chuq von rospach
HACKERS, by Steven Levy [*****]
Dell, $4.50, 430 pages plus index
A detailed book on what it means to be a hacker -- not the way the media
normally uses the term, but as the hackers themselves do. Starting with the
first computers at MIT, this book gives an inside perspective on the people
that formed the underground of the computer industry. The books is three
sections -- Early MIT days, the Homebrew Computer Club, and Sierra On-Line.
The final section should be required reading in all business schools on how
NOT to run a software business. A good perspective on the people behind the
software, and highly recommended.
-- chuq von rospach
THE HIGH KINGS, by Joy Chant [*****]
Bantam books, 245 pages, $3.50
The first book I've seen on English Mythology (no, the Greeks and Romans didn't
have a monopoly, they just have a better agent). The stories of the ancestors
of King Arthur and the Round Table, it really helps fill out English history.
If you like Arthurian works, you have to read this book.
-- chuq von rospach
IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, compiled by Scott Rice [***+]
Penguin, 144 pages, $4.95
A compilation of the best of the worst from the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest,
where everyone tries to write the best worst opening line for a novel. Some
are great, some are inspired, some are just bad, all together they are
sidesplitting (Example, the winner of the Sci-fi category: "The surface of the
strange, forbidden planet was roughly textured and green, much like cottage
cheese gets way after the date on the list says its all right to buy it."
-- chuq von rospach
MEDEA: HARLAN'S WORLD, edited by Harlan Ellison [****]
stories by Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Thomas M. Disch, Harlan Ellison,
Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, Theodore
Sturgeon, Kate Wilhelm, and Jack Williamson; illustrations by Kelly
Freas. Bantam, 1985. 532 pp. (SF Book Club edition)
This book is the outgrowth of an extension course on SF given at UCLA by
Ellison in 1975. Ellison being who he is, he was not content with doing the
same old thing in the same old way; this book is the end result of a
demonstration of world-building. The stories range from good to very good.
Even more fascinating, though, were the SF authors trying to figure out where
they and the characters they intended to write about fit into a world the
particulars of which they had been handed shortly before appearing in front
of several hundred people interested in where crazy ideas come from. Especially
enjoyable for anybody who's ever tried to think like an SF writer.
-- Bill Laubenheimer (ucbvax!wildbill)
THE POOH PERPLEX, by Fredrick C. Crews [****]
dutton, 150 pages, $5.75
If you are interested in Pooh, a great book to read if you can find it (best
bet is a university bookstore). A series of literary criticisms of the work of
A.A. Milne in the best literaci form. The English major's version of what Pooh
is all about, my favorite (for pure strangeness) is the freudian evaluation of
the works.
-- chuq von rospach
A STAINLESS STEEL RAT IS BORN, by Harry Harrison [***+]
Bantam, 219 pages, $2.95
The story of the beginnings of Slippery Jim diGriz, super thief. Much better
than the last book (Stainless Steel Rat for President), but not quite as good
as the originals. It does show that there is life left in the series, though.
-- chuq von rospach
SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN (ADVENTURES OF A CURIOUS CHARACTER) [***-]
by Richard P. Feynman
Bantam books, 317 pages plus index, $4.50
Parts are truly hilarious, but the books reads like a transcription. Fenyman
rambles, and it could have used some serious editing. Even knowing how he
talks doesn't help as much as it should. He's strange enough to want to wade
through, but expect to skim through parts of it. This book is for everyone
who thinks that subnuclear physicists are fuddy-duddies.
-- chuq von rospach
The TAO OF POOH, by Benjamin Hoff [****+]
penguin books, 158 pages, $4.95
If you're a Pooh fan and haven't found this book, run out and grab it. You
thought that Winnie the Pooh was just a childrens story? Find out what Milne
was really telling the kids...
-- chuq von rospach
VENUS, INC., by Fredrick Pohl and C.M Kornbluth [****/**]
nelson doubleday [SFBC edition], 346 pages
Two novels in one volume: The classic advertising satire "The Space Merchants"
where P&C rake Madison avenue over the coals, and "The Merchant's War" where
Pohl tries to carry the story forward. The first is even more appropriate and
fun than it was when published in 1952, but the sequel simply doesn't carry
the punch -- Pohl tries to toss in a message and forgets to enjoy himself. If
you've ever yelled back at your TV set, read "The Space Merchants".
-- chuq von rospach
---
Pico reviews are short, informal ratings of books you've read. Don't be
afraid to review something someone else has already done. Comments should be
limited to a short paragraph (if you can't say it in that space, you should
write a full review of the work). Pico review ratings will be collated
occasionally to help us see what the group mind thinks.
From sun!plaid!fanzine-request Fri Jan 17 12:00:00 1986
Subject: Readers Survey
This month the Readers Survey is in two parts. The first part is to find out a
bit about who is reading OtherRealms, the second part is to get an idea of
what you thought about OtherRealms. Please send your responses to
"sun!plaid!fanzine-request". It should only take a few minutes to do this, and
it will help immeasurably in tuning OtherRealms towards what the readership
wants to see.
chuq
1) Sex: (male or female, not yes)
2) Age:
3) Profession
4) How many Science Fiction Books do you read a month?
5) How many Fantasy Books do you read a month?
6) How many other books do you read a month?
7) How many hardcover books (not Book Club) did you buy in the last year?
8) How many book club books did you buy in the last year?
9) Favorite Author
10) Favorite Book of all time
11) Favorite Book in the last year
12) What magazines do you read?
13) Do you read fanzines? Which ones?
14) Do you go to conventions? Which ones?
I) What did you like most about OtherRealms?
II) What did you like least about OtherRealms?
III) What do you want to see in OtherRealms in the future?
From cwruecmp!edguer Sat Dec 21 01:37:49 1985
Subject: Letter: Researching for Writers
Dear Mr. Von Rospach,
While I am not the best or most creative writer, I enjoy reading
the science fiction and fantasy writings of others. One problem I have
encountered in my reading fairly frequently in 'bad' or erroneous science.
Encountering such problems can easily break my 'suspension of disbelief'
and make an otherwise well written story an effort in patience to finish.
In an effort to help improve the situation and possibly end these problems
for some people I am willing to help people do research. I will answer
short questions with short answers and provide references to more extensive
materials. I will do the legwork so others won't have to.
Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
