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OtherRealms Issue 02
OtherRealms
A fanzine for the non-fan
"Where FIJAGH becomes a way of life"
Volume 1, Number 2
February, 1986
Table of Contents
Editorial: The Making of OtherRealms and Other Stories
by Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms
Authors: A Profile of Karen Joy Fowler
by James Brunet
Reviews: Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
Reviewed by James D. Johnston
Awards: Nebula Awards Final Ballot
Writing: How to Write a Review
by Chuq Von Rospach
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Writing: WORKSHOPS AND CRITICISM: HELP FOR THE SF WRITER
by James Brunet
Readers Survey: Our monthly question to our readers
Masthead: The necessary administrivia
Editorial: The Making of OtherRealms and Other Stories
by Chuq Von Rospach
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
I was originally going to write on the recent Shuttle tragedy. The
Shuttle, and the space program in general, needs as much support as we
can give it right now. Everything that I might have said about the
crash has already been said elsewhere and I don't think it is
productive to keep picking the past apart indefinitely. We should
start looking for ways to put the space program back into our future.
Without it, I wonder what future we have at all.
* * *
This is the second issue of OtherRealms, and the changes are rampant. I
was not happy with the look of the first issue. From my mail, it seems
that many of you agree with me. This issue experiments with a new look,
and I think it is on the right track. Drop me a line with your comments
on how to improve things further. I expect that OtherRealms will
continue to mutate over the next few months as I figure out how to
really deal with the limitations of an electronic media.
One big change I want to go into detail about is the move away from
mail Unix headers. OtherRealms is expanding rapidly, and has already
moved onto a number of non-Unix locations. One of possible interest is
SCI-FIDO, an IBM-PC based BBS that specializes in discussions of SF and
Fantasy (the phone number is in the masthead). Because of this, I
don't feel it is appropriate use a mail or digest format (both of which
are too limited for what I'm trying to do anyway).
I think it makes the magazine a lot more readable. I've now asking
authors to include U.S. mail addresses where they are willing so that
people on disconnected networks can contact each other.
Another change is that I'm now asking authors to include bionotes.
I'll use one or two a month, and I hope this will help the readers
learn something about the authors.
* * *
Who is the average OtherRealms reader? The details of the survey from
the first issue are in the Readers Survey section, but I wanted to
touch on them here. The readership is pretty much what I expected. Very
few of you read fanzines or go to conventions. One thing that did
surprise me was a high percentage of readers buying hardcover books
(about 15%). I expected about half that. This is just an indication of
how serious you are about your reading, since you don't wait until it
comes out in paperback.
The other really interesting part of the survey was the feedback
on who reads SF and Fantasy. Many readers claim to not read fantasy.
38 of forty admit to reading SF, but only 33 admit to reading
fantasy. The number of Fantasy books read per month is 25% lower.
Fantasy is the hottest selling book on the market right now (although horror
is growing the fastest in number of new titles) so I expected more
fantasy readers than there are. I guess the technical orientation of
people who would subscribe to this magazine skews things farther than
I'd expected.
Some people pointed out that the definitions of Fantasy and SF was
arbitrary. I agree, and to some degree those questions were ringers. I
was looking for information on your definitions of SF and Fantasy. Ben
Bova was quoted as defining SF as "anything I point at" and that
attitude is very much alive out there. You don't really care what the
spine of the book calls it. This is an important part of being an
intelligent reader. The definitions of SF and Fantasy would be an
interesting article or discussion to have in the letter column.
* * *
Speaking of the letter column, you'll notice that it is missing. This
is because nobody wrote in. I hope this will change in future issues.
Don't feel you have to comment on a published article. I'm happy to
start independent discussions on SF and Fantasy related subjects in
there as well. If you read Dragon magazine, they have two letter
columns -- a traditional column and a 'Forum' where people can talk
about things that don't really need to be a full article. I'd like to
see the OtherRealms letter column be both of these.
* * *
This issue of OtherRealms is heavily writing oriented. I hope future
issues have more reviews, but I'm working with the material that is
being submitted. This was a bad month for writing for me -- out of
town for a week, I'm now working on my third week of the flu. Because
of this, a couple of reviews and articles I'd planned simply didn't get
written. What did happen was that I was flat on my back next to a
large stack of unread books, so the Pico review section is huge.
I've really fallen in love with the Pico review format. It isn't what
I'd planned it to be, but this format works better quite well. The
more people who support it, the better it is going to get. It doesn't
take that long to drop me a paragraph on a book. Start making your
comments in that section. One thing I plan on starting in the a future
issue is a six month summary of the Pico reviews. People can then look
and see the average response to a book quickly. I'm encouraging
multiple Pico reviews of a single work, so don't let the fact that it
has been mentioned slow you down.
* * *
Reviews are the lifeblood of OtherRealms. One article I did get written
this month is "How to Write a Review." I'm also including it in a
revised version of the Writers Guide. It was important enough that I
wanted to make it available now. Writing reviews is hard work, and
there are some tricks that make it easier. I hope I passed some of
them them along. Please feel free to comment on how to improve it.
* * *
I've added a slogan to the OtherRealms title. "Where FIJAGH becomes a
way of life" is a play on a couple of famous fandom lines. FIJAGH,
stands for "Fandom is just a Goddamn Hobby", while the phrase "a way of
life" comes from FIAWOL or "Fandom is a Way of Life." I think that it
sums up what OtherRealms is all about -- learning more about the SF
without getting heavily involved in fandom. It's cute, and I like it.
* * *
I've rambled long enough. OtherRealms is starting to prove itself. I'd
estimated about 100 subscribers for the first issue and maybe 150
total. The first issue went to about 300 people and readership of this
issue should be about 450. The readership response is been gratifying
and positive, so I think I've pegged your interests pretty well. This
growth is making me work harder at turning it into a 'professional'
quality magazine faster than I'd planned, but I think it is worth it.
Authors: A Profile of Karen Joy Fowler
by James Brunet
hplabs!hao!ico!ism780!ism780b!jimb
Copyright 1986, by James Brunet
Karen Joy Fowler first came to my attention when WRITER'S OF THE
FUTURE, an anthology containing stories by the winners of the contest
of the same name, was published last May. Her "Recalling Cinderella"
was one of the few stories that was better than what I thought was the
mediocre average of the volume. I did not like the story -- it was a
psychologically chilly form of SF that I don't care for -- but I was
very impressed with the way mood and character were evoked.
I ran into Karen at WesterCon last July. I complimented her on her
writing and found out that she also enjoys writing poetry (that
accounts for the nice rhythms in the prose) and is a member of a
workshop run by Kim Stanley Robinson, author of two critically
acclaimed SF novels and some memorable shorter works.
Through the rest of 1985 I noticed Karen's name attached to other
stories in F&SF and Asimov's. At the end of the year, *TWO* wound up on
my list of possible nominees for the Hugo ballot.
All of her stories are intensely focused on mood and psychology. "The
Poplar Street Study" (F&SF, 6/85) is study of the inter-relationships
of people living on one small suburban block that happens to be the
control group for a study by aliens who have taken over the Earth.
"Praxis," (IASFM, 3/85), was Karen's first published story. It concerns
simulated people -- human body combined with software brain -- and is a
story of the stage, murder, and ethics. "The Lake Was Full of
Artificial Things" (IASFM, 10/85) is an tale of role-playing
psychotherapy and computer-induced therapeutic reality.
Finally, "The War of the Roses." It has nothing to do with Edward and
Margaret and 14th-century England. Part myth, part folk tale, part
apologue (extended parable). The teaser in Asimov's asks "Which is more
important, to preserve life or to preserve knowledge?"
This question barely scratches the surface of this story. I will not
spoil the plot; indeed, the plot is but the merest excuse upon which to
hang a wonderful story. The narrator is a young woman, a child of the
revolution. And the story concerns revolution, choices, tradition,
ideology, renewal and loyalty.
"There are many designs in the world, many plans. When you choose one,
then you are imprisoned. Then you have doomed yourself never to rise
above its weakest aspect. No, freedom involves the preservation of old
choices and work is the creation of new ones." Not a bad speech. In the
context of the story, it's not a speech but a character speaking, truly
and from the heart. No Heinleinesque speeching here.
Keep looking for works by Karen Joy Fowler. If you're thinking about
your Hugo ballot, or you simply want to read some good stories, go back
and read some of her earlier work. I particularly recommend "The Poplar
Street Study" and "The War of the Roses," though I'll admit that the
latter grew on me over time and fully blossomed on a second read.
Reviews: Wasp, by Eric Frank Russell
Del Rel, ISBN 345-32759-4 $2.95, Original Copyright 1957
Reviewed by James D. Johnston
ihnp4!icarus!jj
(C) Copyright 1986, by James D. Johnston
Wasp, as one can note from the copyright date, is a book from another
era. It concerns an interstellar war, a gifted misfit, and the
effectiveness of subversion. An introductory blurb about the author
discusses his experiences in the OSS during WW II.
According to the introduction, the book contains many references to
wartime Japan including the ever-present secret police and the cowed
society of the "Sirians", who are purple and look like short, bowlegged
humans. Various of the tricks used by the protagonist "Mowry"
suggest, or perhaps even reek, of OSS during WW II.
Ignoring the parallels and possible racist insults for a minute, the
plot describes the efforts of Mowry, who disrupts life on a frontier
planet quite effectively by mobilizing and abusing the criminal
element and taking advantage of the hidebound and fear-motivated
bureaucracy. The society that he disrupts is one that the reader isn't
supposed to like and perhaps even one one that the reader is supposed to
fear. Shades of Senator Joe passed through my mind a few times.
The story is entertaining in a fashion after the James Bond stories,
although Mowry does not have the super-human panache of Bond. The story
is science fiction by the device of using an interstellar war as an
excuse so hard SF folks and fantasy folks are both left somewhat by the
wayside.
It's a good, trivial read if you don't feel up to the complexity of
Mark Helpern, Steven Brust, or John Myers Myers, and it is supposed to
make you feel good at the end because the earthlings win. It does make
you wonder if they SHOULD have won, even though it doesn't seem to be
the intent of the story.
The book is clearly a product of its time and reflects the attitudes of
the postwar US. The reader is free to excuse or condemn this -- I'm
comfortable just pointing it out.
I'll rate it a 2-. It's not a classic, never will be, doesn't contain
profundity, but it does entertain if one remembers the 1950's. It
certainly doesn't provide the third drink of returning. If you like
Bond, perhaps.
1985 NEBULA AWARDS FINAL BALLOT
Nebula Finalists are listed on this ballot in alphabetical order by
title. In general, anything on the list is well worth reading. I've
read two of the novel finalists and both were superb.
Novel
BLOOD MUSIC Greg Bear
DINNER AT DEVIANT'S PALACE Tim Powers
ENDER'S GAME Orson Scott Card
HELLICONIA WINTER Brian W. Aldiss
THE POSTMAN David Brin
THE REMAKING OF SIGMUND FREUD Barry Malzberg
SCHISMATRIX Bruce Sterling
Novella
24 VIEWS OF MT. FUJI, BY HOKUSAI Roger Zelazny
THE GORGON FIELD Kate Wilhelm
GREEN DAYS IN BRUNEI Bruce Sterling
GREEN MARS Kim Stanley Robinson
THE ONLY NEAT THING TO DO James Tiptree, Jr.
SAILING TO BYZANTIUM Robert Silverberg
Novelette
DOGFIGHT Michael Swanwick & William Gibson
THE FRINGE Orson Scott Card
A GIFT FROM THE GRAYLANDERS Michael Bishop
THE JAGUAR HUNTER Lucius Shepard
PALADIN OF THE LOST HOUR Harlan Ellison
PORTRAITS OF HIS CHILDREN George R.R. Martin
ROCKABYE BABY S.C. Sykes
Short Story
FLYING SAUCER ROCK AND ROLL Howard Waldrop
THE GODS OF MARS Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, & Michael Swanwick
HEIRS OF THE PERISPHERE Howard Waldrop
HONG'S BLUFF William F. Wu
MORE THAN THE SUM OF HIS PARTS Joe Haldeman
OUT OF ALL THEM BRIGHT STARS Nancy Kress
PAPER DRAGONS James P. Blaylock
SNOW John Crowley
The top five finishers in each category are on the final ballot. The
Nebula Jury added one work in each category. In addition, a
fifth-place tie in the novel category and a three-way fifth-place tie
in the short story category added additional works to the ballot. In
the novelette category, the Rules Committee determined that if it
received enough votes to qualify (which it did), PALADIN OF THE LOST
HOUR, which was incorrectly listed on the preliminary ballot as a short
story, should be added to the novelette category without displacing any
novelette that would otherwise have reached the final ballot.
How to Write a Review
by Chuq Von Rospach
sun!plaid!fanzine
Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach
The purpose of a review is to help other people decide whether or not
to read (or view) that work. There are two keys to writing a good
review: Consistency and Objectivity.
Of the two, I feel consistency is the most important. As you write
reviews for OtherRealms (or for anywhere, for the matter) people will
read them and then compare their reactions to a book with yours. If you
are consistent, they will learn to use you as a filtering mechanism to
help them avoid the things they aren't going to want to waste time on.
If you write every review from a different reference point, they won't
be able to judge their reaction based on yours, and your opinion is
less useful.
The key to consistency is objectivity. Before you can transmit your
views effectively to others, you need to understand your own blind
spots. Everyone enjoys a different subset of literature for different
reasons. Some like SF, some like Fantasy. Some prefer interesting
characters, some enjoy complicated plots or detailed environments. Once
you realize your preferences you should probably avoid reviewing
material away from your interests.
You aren't going to be objective about all of the books you read. If
you don't like Hard SF, for instance, it would be likely that you
wouldn't like a book by Robert Forward and the book would get a worse
review than it might deserve.
If you do decide to review outside of your interests, make sure the
audience knows this -- it will help them judge the review from your
point of view. I've run into this situation recently with the book
"Footfall", by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. If I am going to review
that work, the readers need to know that I've never liked anything that
those authors have collaborated on since "Mote in God's Eye". My
viewpoint is as far from objective as you can get and it is important
that the readers understand that. I didn't even try to be objective in
my review, but in outlining where my objectivity ends, I help the
reader put it into perspective.
Don't be afraid to summarize a plot, but be aware that a plot summary
is not a review. If you are going to talk about the plot, don't give
away critical plot twists. Don't quote cover blurbs. Make sure that you
tie in the summarization with the comments you make about the book --
it is real easy to get into a mindset where you give a plot overview
and then you review the book. This is a lazy review, and you are
padding your word count. If the summary doesn't make a point, you don't
need it.
Don't worry about word count, and don't pad your reviews. Many books
frankly don't deserve a full review, which is why I have Pico reviews.
Save your words for the books that deserve exposure.
Each review should be submitted separately. Please include the
following information on a book review: title, author, publisher,
price, and number of pages (For example, "Brokedown Palace, Steven
Brust, Ace, 2.95, 270pp, ISBN 0-441-0718103", the ISBN number is but
not required). For media reviews: Title, studio/network, date shown
(for television). Include stars, authors, and whatever else as
necessary. The final paragraph should summarize the review and tell
the reader whether or not to read/view the work (with a quickie on any
qualifications). A scale of zero to five (with zero reserved for truly
rotten things and 5 for 'classics') should be used if you're going to
use a rating scale. Be wary of rating creep and be VERY wary about any
rating number outside the normal scale (any time I see someone say "On
a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it a 13" I realize that they have no
objectivity about the work).
In general, use the words you need to write the review, but don't use
any more. It is easy to decide if you liked or disliked a book. It is
more difficult to figure out why. Until you do, you won't be able to
write a good review. Once you do figure out why, don't let the review
wander off of that main topic -- tie it all together.
PICO Reviews
by Our Readers
BLOOD MUSIC, by Greg Bear [****]
Arbor House [SF Book Club edition] , 214 pages
A strong story by a strong new writer. Greg Bear handles the tough
problem of writing a hard SF story about a genetic engineering without
glossing over the details or overwhelming the reader. It finishes like
Childhoods End, but the weak ending is the only problem.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
BROKEDOWN PALACE, by Steven Brust [*****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 270 pages
A very strong work from a writer showing a lot of potential. This book
is so rich in imagery, believable and interesting characters and plot
as to defy discussion. Brust shows himself to have a sense of humor
that rivals Spider Robinson in a serious but lighthearted fantasy.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
CARDS OF GRIEF, by Jane Yolen [**]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 193 pages
More SF than fantasy, this is an attempt to study an alien society and
the starmen studying the society at the same time. Yolen seems to be
trying to write like LeGuin, and ends up with a muddled
not-quite-successful work.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
CLIFFS NOTES ON HEINLEIN'S WORKS [**]
Cliffs Notes inc., 59 pp.
Neat idea, and a must for any Heinlein collector. A good source for a
listing of his books. But I disagreed on much of what they had to say
about him, and the way they broke down is works into categories.
--Peter Korn
(sdcsvax!ucbvax!korn)
CORONA (A Star Trek Novel) by Greg Bear [***]
Pocket Books, $2.95
It is beginning to look like Star Trek novels do for SF authors in the
80's what Batman did for actors in the 60's -- everyone has to do it
once. Greg Bear pays the rent and chews the scenery with the story of a
Xenophobic press-lady on the Enterprise as it goes into a Nebula to
save a Vulcan research team. He throws in a cloning device (not really
used, though...) and a "monitor" that can take over control of the ship
if the Captain does something it disagrees with (it does, at a critical
point, of course) and an alien menace trying to bring about a new "Big
Bang" of the Universe because it is lonely. The Xenophobe, of course,
saves the day, and everyone goes off with a smile on their face to the
next novel.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
ENDER'S GAME, by Orson Scott Card [*****]
Tor books, $3.50, 357 pages
Truly stunning novelization of Card's first published story from
Analog. Most novelizations just get padded, this version is
significantly improved from the impressive original. Card looks at a
bleak future of interstellar war and children as soldiers in a very
human and sensitive way.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE FRANKENSTEIN PAPERS, by Fred Saberhagen [**]
Baen Books, $3.50, 308 pages
Saberhagen tries to do to Frankenstein what he did to Dracula with his
book "The Dracula Tape". Unfortunately, the result is muddled and long
winded as the monster carries on a conversation with itself while
Benjamin Franklin's son looks for him. An amazingly rotten ending, with
a "deus ex machina" plot twist worthy of the worst of Greek drama that
made anything done earlier in the book completely worthless.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE, by H. Beam Piper [***]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 216 pages
The third Fuzzy novel, thought lost for 20 years, has finally seen the
light of day. Fuzzy followers will enjoy it, but it doesn't have the
polish of the other two. It starts an interesting exploration of what
happens when everyone forgets the non-interference pacts, but doesn't
really carry it through.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
KING KOBOLD REVISED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 216 pages
Another of the Warlock stories, this time with Cro-Magnon Vikings
leading the attack. The names change, the plot remains the same.
Enjoyable light reading, but don't expect miracles.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [****+]
ACE Fantasy, 1986. 235 pp. $2.95 (mass-market).
A Malady of Magicks is a humorous collection of short fantasy stories
about a wizard and his apprentice. Collected together into one novel
are three short stories published previously and ~140 pages of new
stories. Perhaps some of the funniest stories I have ever read (if you
liked Another Fine Myth, you'll love this). I was prevented from
giving it five stars only by my reluctance to call a novel 'classic'.
The ideas were original (a wizard who is allergic to magic) and were
never carried to extremes (not another Xanth). There will be two
further volumes published, "A Multitude of Monsters" (Aug.86) and "A
Knight in the Netherhells" (Feb.87).
Aydin Edguer
decvax!cwruecmp!edguer
A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [***+]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 235 pages
Simply one of the funniest books I've read since Flying Sorcerors.
Non-stop gigglefest about the wizard Ebenezum and his apprentice
looking for the cure to his allergy -- to magic. Every time someone
sneezes, you're in for a new and silly adventure.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
NIGHT OF POWER. by Spider Robinson [*]
Berkley, $2.95, 287 pages
Spider Robinson writes an anti-racist novel. A man of strong emotions,
Robinson lets his anger get out of control and loses his objectivity on
the subject. The result is an angry and uneven book that doesn't really
make the points he was trying to make. An example of a 'cause' book --
one that just doesn't make it.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
NO DOORS, NO WINDOWS, by Harlan Ellison [***]
Ace, $2.95, 223 pages
A good book to give people who think that Ellison is an SF writer, this
is a collection of his mystery and thriller stories. It includes the
story that one him his Edgar (the Mystery Writers version of the
Nebula) "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs". Otherwise, none of the stories
are great, but none of them are bad, either. A must for Ellison
completists.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
ORBIT 19, edited by Damon Knight, [***]
stories by John Varley, Kate Wilhelm, Gene Wolfe, Felix
Gotschalk, R.A. Lafferty, Stephen Robinett, Michael McClintock,
Michael Conner, Phillip Teich, Kevin O'Donnell, Jr., Eleanor
Arnason, and Kim Stanley Robinson; Harpers Science Fiction [SF
Book Club Edition], 217 pages.
The 1976 edition of Orbit, the oldest continuing anthology of original
work in SF. Nothing flashy, nothing that will go down as a classic, but
good, solid SF with no rotten apples. Best story has to be "The
Disguise" by Kim Stanley Robinson with a futuristic psychological drama
about theater. The best known is probably "Lollipop and the Tar Baby"
by Varley.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
PET SEMATARY, by Stephen King [****]
Signet, $4.50, 410 pages
Classic King, the sort of stuff that deserves to be a Bestseller. With
just enough supernatural to keep his fans happy, King does a masterful
job of showing a family learning to cope with death.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE PROTEUS OPERATION, J. P. Hogan, Bantam, [*1/2]
SF Book Club
Cardboard characters, an action plot that doesn't, and a plot-fault
that makes us all realize it doesn't matter about half-way through.
One female character, who isn't even 3'rd lead.
James Johnson
ihnp4!alice!jj
ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, by Isaac Asimov, [***]
Doubleday [SF Book Club Edition], 383 pages
Much better than average Asimov as he continues the endless quest to
tie up every loose end in everything he ever wrote into a single
Universe. I don't like his writing style normally and found it
tolerable. Asimov tries to invent robotic metaphysics and the zeroth
law of robotics. I didn't buy either.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE SERPENT, by Jane Gaskell [*-]
Daw Fantasy, $2.95, 320 pages
Atlantean fantasy. I was repulsed by the way Gaskell chose to write the
story and didn't get past page 41. Dog of the month on my list
-- Chuq Von Rospach
SHIELD, by Paul Anderson [*****]
Berkley, 1963. 158 pp.
Great idea, well written, interesting, with a believable protagonist.
--Peter Korn
(sdcsvax!ucbvax!korn)
THE SNOW QUEEN, by Joan D. Vinge [*****]
Dell books, 1980, $3.95, 536 pages
a deep and entrancing tapestry of words, this book one a Hugo and
richly deserved it. This book stands with those of Tolkien and Wolfe
for building rich and interesting societies and putting real people in
them. A classic if any book deserves the title.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE SONG OF MAVIN MANYSHAPED , by Sheri S. Tepper [**]
Ace Fantasy, $2.75, 183 pages
A short novel about a person I didn't care about doing things I didn't
care about. The concept has a lot of promise, the execution just didn't
grab me. Very ho-hum fantasy when there is a lot better stuff on the
market.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
STREETLETHAL, by Steven Barnes [****]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 308 pages
First solo novel shows promise. Post-earthquake Los Angeles is the
backdrop for an thriller about a super drug that pits a human fighting
machine against the Mob as he searches for his humanity. Strong
characters and a good plot has me waiting for the sequel. A rotten
cover, showing a 6 million dollar man clone with a sunburn despite the
fact that the lead character is black, really bothered me.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
TIMESCOOP, by John Brunner [**]
Daw Science Fiction, $2.95, 239 pages
A 1969 book recently reprinted, it could well have remained lost
without the world caring. A light farce of a rich man who has a
timescoop (for grabbing things from ancient days) invented so he can
bring his relatives forward in time for a family reunion. They all, of
course, turn out to be rotten and nasty people -- just what the world
needs more of. The ending is forced (a famous "Oh, I only have 50 pages
left, think of something..." type) and leaves the story incomplete and
rather muddled.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
UNACCOMPANIED SONATA AND OTHER STORIES, by Orson Scott Card [****]
Orbit books(UK) 272 pages
The first collection of Card's shorter work, including the original
"Ender's Game" (well worth getting just as a comparison to the novel).
There are a lot of good stories here: "Kingsmeat", "I Put My Blue Genes
On" and "Unaccompanied Sonata" (my choice for best in the book) among
them. At worst the writing is so-so, a collection well worth grabbing.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE WARLOCK IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, by Christopher Stasheff [***]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 378 pages
An amusing romp as a high technology man runs into a low technology,
ESP oriented society. Throw in some good guys, some bad guys, an
epileptic robotic horse, and you have an interesting play on the line
between technology and magic.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
THE WARLOCK UNLOCKED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]
Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 282 pages
Another in the Warlock series, our hero gets shunted to an alternative
universe where magic works instead of technology. It's amusing stuff,
but gets repetitive after a while and the Warlock starts sounding like
Maxwell Smart in my mind.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
WORLDS END (VOLUME 2 IN THE SNOW QUEEN CYCLE), by Joan D. Vinge [***]
Bluejay Books, 230 pages
Only one character (BZ, the assistant police commissioner) in common
with Snow Queen, this not-quite-a-sequel has a much smaller scale and
is ultimately less interesting as we watch the main character head off
to the backwaters of the Hegemony in search of his brothers, and,
ultimately, a reason for his existence and his sanity.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
YENDI, by Steven Brust [****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 209 pages
The sequel (sort of) to Jhereg. Brust puts me in the position of reading
everything I can find by him. There isn't nearly enough, and what there
is to read is consistently excellent.
-- Chuq Von Rospach
WORKSHOPS AND CRITICISM: HELP FOR THE SF WRITER
by James Brunet
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Copyright 1986, by James Brunet
R.A. MacAvoy wrote a novel a year for 15 years before her first sale,
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON, became a best seller and a HUGO nominee. The
case of reader turned writer is not unusual, the degree of persistence
and endurance exhibited by Ms. MacAvoy are. Many readers of SF, more
than those of any other field, decide to take a crack a writing in the
genre they love. The existence of this column is owed to this fact. SF
is in many ways more forgiving to the beginning writer. There are many
markets for short SF. The variety of opportunities is greater; last
year nearly 20 novellas and over 100 novelettes were published --
you'll have to look long and hard to find short (non-novel length)
mainstream fiction of greater than 7,000 words -- there are even fewer
by authors who aren't major names. Many new SF novels, including first
novels, are published each year. SF has traditionally welcomed
newcomers, if there are literary cliques in SF, there's always room for
one or two more.
But whatever the advantages of writing SF are the great majority of
would-be SF writers drop out, just as the great majority of would-be
writers in other fields. Much of the attrition is due to frustration
and much of the frustration comes from producing manuscript after
manuscript that, bluntly, show little or no improvement and no
likelihood that the writer will develop into a professional.
One of the best ways you can avoid this problem is to get good
criticism on your manuscripts, to learn what you're doing right, what
you need work on, and what you're doing wrong. All writers need this
kind of feedback, but SF writers most of all. All writers find that,
for the most part, the criticism of friends and relatives is
worthless. Unless your mother is an editor, your uncle a literary
agent, and your girl/boy friend a publisher, the comments you get
simply won't be very helpful.
SF writers have an additional burden to bear in that avid SF readers
aren't much help either. Most readers of any sort do not have the
critical vocabulary to analyze a manuscript and tell the writer what is
wrong in a way that will let writer fix the manuscript. Most SF readers
are so enthusiastic for SF material that they aren't discriminating
enough to tell good from mediocre from bad, and many will tell you that
a manuscript is good *just because* it's SF. This is just as silly as
the stodgy readers of Harper's who will turn up their noses at your
manuscript for the same reason.
The best place for most writers to get criticism is the workshop. A
writer's workshop is group of people who write and give each other
criticism. Workshops take many different forms. They may be short
term, lasting a day or a weekend; or they may be ongoing, meeting every
week or every month. Composition of the workshop may vary; some will
have leaders/instructors, others will be cooperative efforts of the
writers themselves. Following is a list of some of the characteristics
in a workshop and how they can have an effect on your work.
*Writing of manuscripts is REQUIRED for class.* Strange as it seems,
some workshops only encourage writers to produce. I've heard of several
workshops like this, mostly classes at community colleges, but at least
one class in Dark Fantasy at UCLA, taught by Dennis Etchison, followed
the same principle. In my experience, the workshop situation works only
if all participants both write and critique. One of the benefits of the
workshop process is that a deadline for manuscript submittal *forces*
you to produce. There's no better cure for writer's block than a
deadline a week away; the cure is even stronger if you've established
yourself as a tough critic -- there's no way that YOU can't produce to
the best of your abilities.
*Readers have sufficient time to read and critique manuscripts.* All
the workshops in my experience have had a protocol where manuscripts
submitted at one session are critiqued at the following session. This
gives readers the chance to read your story at least twice and to
assimilate it before marking up your manuscript and writing a
critique. Some workshops work on the principle that writers read their
work aloud. To my mind, this is irrelevant to the writing/publishing
process. A manuscript will be encountered by an editor or reader
silently -- just the words on the paper. Also, a good voice/reading
style can give a gloss to a bad manuscript, while a weak voice/style
will kill a good manuscript.
*Check the workshop size.* Too large a class means that your
manuscript will get too little attention. For a three-hour per week
class, I suggest 20 for absolute tops; 16 is better and 12 is better
still. Fewer than eight, however, means there is unlikely to be
sufficient diversity of opinion, which is one of the important qualities
a workshop can offer . Also, it's nice to have a roughly even balance
of male and female participants. Some works will have reactions
breaking along sex lines and it's important to know. With too small a
workshop, you can be uncertain whether it's a legitimate split along
sex lines or merely probability raising its ugly head. (Then, too, I
met my wife in a workshop, so I'm partial to the male-female balance.)
*Genre mix.* In general, avoid all-SF workshops. If you get a chance
to go to Clarion or Clarion West, by all means do, but most workshops
do not have such an intensive admissions process nor do they have the
quality of instructors. You can learn a lot from criticism by
mainstream-mystery-romance-???? readers/writers in a workshop. Since
they are not utterly enchanted with your ideas, they'll give good, hard
criticism on your writing. To balance this out, common SF conventions
like parallel universes or FTL travel will seem outlandish to them, but
you can discount their opinions here.
*Background of instructor.* An instructor who has significant
publication credits is probably the best indicator, although some who
can do can't teach. I had one instructor who said that he didn't
believe writing could be taught, the best you could do was to offer
gentle encouragement. I dropped him like a hot potato. Some parts of
creativity you can't teach, but I know that technique and craft *can*
be taught to a moderately high degree. Respect of the student's
intentions is also important. The best workshop leader that I've ever
had doesn't even particularly like SF, but he respected the intent of
my work and gave it very sound criticism. If you have doubts about a
given instructor, ask them how they feels about SF. Ask former students
for references if you aren't sure how it will work out.
*Class level.* Being consistently the best writer in a workshop does
you little good; being consistently at the bottom is hard on the soul
and can be embarrassing, though sometimes there aren't any alternatives.
Find a workshop that suits you. When you outgrow that, co-opt some of
the better writers you know and form your own group.
*Manuscript submittal.* Some workshops require advanced manuscript
submittal as the basis for entry into the class. This is not a bad
thing. It keep the raw beginners out. If you're a raw beginner, there's
usually a class called something like Fiction Fundamentals offered
through the same institution. Take it. When I first started writing
fiction seriously, I took a Fundamentals class just for drill -- I
figured I already knew pretty much everything at that level. When my
first exercise was criticized I realized that I had a *lot* to learn and
that that class was exactly what was needed for a cocky ego linked to
some pretty raw talent.
*Cost.* This is tricky. My pocketbook says, "The cheaper, the
better." Experience tells me otherwise, but adds, "Don't get soaked
needlessly." The argument in favor of workshops that cost is that they
automatically screen out participants who aren't serious. You want to
be working with people who really WANT to be there, not those who have
nothing better to do on Tuesday night. On the other hand, some prestige
programs don't seem to offer more for the dollar than some more
modestly priced workshops; the Writer's Program at USC comes to mind.
Caveat emptor.
I'm currently taking two workshops. One is a co-op group, made up of
refugees from various advanced classes at UCLA. We have nine members,
of whom four write some or only SF. We meet one night every three weeks
and do two or three manuscripts per evening. Everyone writes 1-6 page
critiques for each work and manuscripts are marked up with suggestions.
Both critique and marked-up manuscript are returned to the author as an
aid in revision. Roughly half the participants in the group have had at
least one fiction sale.
The other workshop is an advanced class at the UCLA Extension. It meets
one night a week for 10 weeks. It functions similarly to the co-op
workshop with one exception: manuscripts are anonymous. Participants
deliver copies to the instructor, who then passes them out in class.
This keeps the criticism from being given or taken personally; it also
thwarts the possibility of give and take between author and critics.
On the plus side, it puts each writer in the position of having to
critique his or her own manuscript. Overall, the anonymous style is
good for writers who are still sensitive about criticism. I prefer
open submissions, where the author can participate in a dialog with the
critics about what worked and what didn't. Writers should get
thick-skinned about criticism early. Constructive criticism is the best
possible thing that can happen to your manuscript. Even if it's a good
manuscript already, good criticism will help make it better.
I haven't been in a UCLA workshop for about a year. I went back for two
reasons. First, I wanted to find a couple of recruits to join our
private group (I succeeded). Second, the instructor is the best I've
ever had; I took workshops with him 4-5 years ago. I had an story that
I wanted to write and I knew that his presence would help get the most
out of me and that his criticism would be extremely helpful. My peers
in the co-op writing group give good criticism; for this story I was
looking for exceptional criticism. My manuscript was ambitious and it
got lots of praise. It also got attention to some deficiencies that
would have killed it in the marketplace. I will be doing a substantial
revision, throwing out the first six pages (out of 42), re-ordering
some scenes, creating new scenes, using a new point-of-entry, and
re-casting the way I present my main character. If you ever read THE
ELECTOR OF CAEN in one of your favorite SF magazines, it will be
because a workshop gave me criticism that I would never have been able
to work out on my own.
I believe in workshops and I believe in criticism. Both fiction
manuscripts that I've sold were developed in workshops. Beyond that,
workshops have had their impact on a lot of manuscripts I have on the
market right now. Workshops have been of incalculable aid to me; if
you're serious about writing, I think that you'll find them a great
help to you.
Readers Survey For February, 1986
The question this month: If you were going to teach a college level
introduction to Science Fiction, what books would you put on the
reading list. Limit your list to 5-10 titles and include the author as
well. Mail your answers to "sun!plaid!fanzine" or one of the other
addresses in the masthead.
Also the obligatory poll taking:
o What article did you like most in this issue of OtherRealms? Least?
Readers Survey Responses from January, 1986
The average OtherRealms reader is 27.7 years old, male (out of 40
respondents, 38 were male), works in computers or is a student (almost
a 50-50 split, with about 3% in miscellaneous other jobs), reads 4 SF
and three fantasy books a month, and reads 2.5 other books a month. 38
of the 40 read SF, 33 read Fantasy. 15% buy hardcovers. Of those that
do, they buy about 6 a year. 30% buy from the SB Book club, and they
average a book a month.
Your favorite author is Larry Niven (4 votes total) followed by Spider
Robinson, Roger Zelazny, R.A.Heinlein, Isaac Asimov (3 votes each),
Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card and David Brin (2 votes each).
Your favorite work of all time is Lord of the Rings (7 votes). The Moon
is a Harsh Mistress got three votes, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy and Lord of Light both got two votes. Your favorite work in the
last year was a tie between Emergence and Ender's Game (three each)
followed by the Stainless Steel Rat series, To Reign in Hell, and
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (two each).
The readership don't read many SF magazines, with only about 5%
subscribing to one or more. Most popular was Analog, followed by Isaac
Asimov's SF Magazine and Fantasy and Science Fiction a distant third.
Nobody admitted to reading Amazing. Only a couple people expressed
interest in reading fanzines or going to cons.
Masthead for OtherRealms, Volume 1, Number 2,
February 1986
This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights reserved
OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:
Chuq Von Rospach
3770 Flora Vista #1805
Santa Clara, CA 95051
USENET: sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: plaid!fanzine@sun.ARPA
Fidonet: 125/84
Deadline for submissions for the next issue is March 20, 1986.
All material in this magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach.
One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited
contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.
Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate
OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses as long as all
associated copyright notices and bylines are left intact. Re-use,
reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in
any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without
permission of the author or rights holder. Reproduction of subsets of
an issue of OtherRealms is permitted only if all bylines, copyright
notices and the masthead and table of contents areas are included in
the reproduction.
Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available on the USENET, ARPANET and
CSNET computer networks free. Send mail to the above addresses to be
placed on the mailing list. OtherRealms is also available through
SCI-FIDO, a Science Fiction oriented BBS, Fidonet number 125/84. The
SCI-FIDO phone number is (415) 655-0667.
Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms
available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location
or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I
would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.
Submissions: Submissions can be made to any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, for U.S. mail, macintosh format disks are
recommended to minimize publication delay (since I have to retype
hardcopy). Please enclose SASE with U.S. mail when appropriate. A
writers guide is available. Please read it before submissions as it
will answer most questions about what OtherRealms is interested in
publishing and style.
Letters to the Letter column: should be mailed to the above address.
Letters to an author should be mailed directly to the author where
possible. If you can't reach an author, I'll do what I can to get the
letter forwarded. All letters will be considered for publication unless
requested otherwise.
Coming attractions
o Chuq Von Rospach again tries to write about a set of historical
romance novels -- starring a vampire.
o An article titled "How Not to Write a Novel," full of examples from a
published novel that breaks all the rules.
o Reviews, reviews, and more reviews. Also Pico reviews
o Hopefully a letter column (hint, hint)
