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OtherRealms Issue 06 Part 01
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 6
July, 1986
Table of Contents
Part One
SF Magazines: Full of Great Hors D'Oeuvres
by James Brunet
Wizenbeak
by Danny Low
The Sorcery Within
by Chuq Von Rospach
A Jungle of Stars
by Alan Wexelblat
Guest Editorial: HR3389
by Leigh Ann Hussey
Part Two
Pico Reviews
by Our Readers
Part Three
Editorial -- Pros and Cons
By Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms
OtherRealms Lettercol -- July 1986
by Our Readers
Notes and Comments on OtherRealms
by Chuq Von Rospach
SF Magazines: Full of Great Hors D'Oeuvres
by
James Brunet
hplabs!hao!ism780b!jimb
Copyright 1986 by James Brunet
Have you ever enjoyed a meal, or snacked at a party, contenting yourself
splendidly with bite-sized bits of gourmet appetizers instead of a full-blown
meal? If so, you might also enjoy the contents of SF's magazines, which
provide a veritable delicatessen of science fiction and fantasy.
Many SF readers limit themselves to novels and indeed, there are many
fine novels published each year. But there are a number of reasons
that reading the SF magazines can bring great delight.
Variety. Each of the major SF magazines -- ANALOG, ASIMOV'S, F&SF, and
AMAZING -- has five to twelve stories. New authors and old, short
stories and novellas, stories with different themes and emphasises, all
in the same magazine. Do you find your SF reading habits getting into
a rut? Read a few issues of some of the magazines and you will add new
"favorite" authors to your list.
Catching the newcomers. I first read a David Brin novelette in
ASIMOV'S several years ago, long before STARTIDE RISING catapulted Brin
to fame. That novelette, along with a subsequent one, was the basis of
THE POSTMAN, which is on this year's Hugo ballot. By reading the
magazines, you can notice when a new author who bears watching comes on
the scene -- most writers begin learning their craft and business by
writing short stories before graduating to novels -- and seeing award
winning novels begin to take form.
Quality. Arguably, some of the best SF writing and story-telling is is
appearing in the magazines. The maturing of the field and the intense
competition may be responsible, but for whatever the reasons, any
reader who misses the magazines is missing a lot of good stories.
True, Sturgeon's law does apply, and in each issue there are several
stories that a reader may be indifferent about, but over the course of
the year you are also likely to encounter many outstanding pieces.
Miscellany. In addition to the stories, most magazines have features of
general interest. Con listings, giving information about SF conventions.
A good range of book and reviews; some of the reviewers include Harlan
Ellison, Norman Spinrad and my favorite, Algis Budrys. Science fact
articles. Puzzles. Editorials. All the grist of science and SF.
Which one? Okay, you've decided to give the magazines a try. Assuming
that reading time and money are limitations, which magazine is for you?
ANALOG is the linear descendant of ASTOUNDING, the John Campbell-edited
magazine that was the bedrock of the field in the 30's and 40's. Its
focus is hard science fiction, with very little in the way of stories
that do not contradict science as we now understand it. In some ways,
this limitation manifests itself in a moderate number of stories with
the same "feel," but it is the magazine that I breeze through most
quickly every month. Authors typical of those appearing in ANALOG
include Frederick Pohl, David Brin, Harry Turtledove, and Charles Harness.
ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE (ASIMOV'S) is currently the
most literary of the magazines, publishing well-crafted ambitious
stories. The content ranges from hard science to fantasy to stories
that are at the broadest reaches that can be defined as SF. Roger
Zelazny, William Gibson, the ubiquitous David Brin, Lucius Shepard, and
Kim Stanley Robinson are among those who have appeared in ASIMOV'S
recently. My opinion is that many of the *best* short SF is appearing
here; certainly that opinion is supported by the number of stories from
ASIMOV'S nominated for Nebula and Hugo awards.
FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION (F&SF) is the now the grand old lady of the
field, being the magazine with the longest continuous publication with
the same name. F&SF tries for a mix of science fiction and fantasy but
seems to run more of the latter. The stories are always well written,
but of all the magazines F&SF seems to run into the "sameness" of feel
problem most often, e.g., lots of contemporary spooky stories. Brian
Aldiss, Greg Benford, Hilbert Schenk, and Ian Watson are some of the
authors who have appeared here recently.
AMAZING is the weak sister of the Big Four, having by far the lowest
circulation and a very erratic quality. AMAZING has no connection with
the AMAZING STORIES television series, save for the fact that they
rented their name. Owned by TSR, the wonderful folks who introduced
Dungeons and Dragons, AMAZING has traditionally aimed at SF readers in
their teens and early twenties, a fact that showed up in the flimsiness
and splashiness of a lot of their stories. Still, they seem to be
improving as of late and a recent editorial change may help further
still. Somtow Suchartikul, among others, has published in AMAZING.
A few words about other SF magazines. OMNI has one to three stories
per issue -- it's main orientation isn't fiction, though several of its
stories are on this year's Hugo ballot. Fiction editor Ellen Datlow
has promoted herself as the "queen of punk SF." FANTASY BOOK is a
semi-pro magazine that has also been on the rapid rise in quality. It
has featured the work Paul Edwin Zimmer, Esther Freisner, Leigh Ann
Hussey, and yours truly.
If you like good SF, I hope you will sample some of the magazines and
find at least one or two that are right for you. There's a lot of good
readin' in them thar pages.
Wizenbeak
by Alexis A. Gilliland
Blue Jay Books $8.95 279pp
[***]
Reviewed by
Danny Low
hplabs!hpccc!dlow
Copyright 1986 by Danny Low
Long before Gilliland became a very good professional author, he was a
very good fan artist whose cartoons appeared frequently in many
fanzines. One of Gilliland's favorite cartoon characters is a bumbling
wizard, Wizenbeak. This book is supposedly about that cartoon wizard
but the Wizenbeak of the book is quite a different character than the
Wizenbeak of the cartoons.
Nevertheless, this is a very good book. There are two plotlines in this
book that converge in the last third of the book. The first plotline is
about Wizenbeak's efforts to establish a colony in an arid portion of
the kingdom of Guhland. The second plotline is about the palace
intrigues over the succession to the throne as the king is quite old
and has not designated a formal heir. The palace intrigue is the more
interesting story lines. The Wizenbeak story, however, has more
sympathetic characters. The Guhland society is an eclectic mixture of
medieval European and medieval Japanese cultures. The book contains
some very nice Tim Kirk artwork.
The ending was too abrupt. It could have gone on for a couple of more
chapters. There should be a sequel because so many interesting things
are only hinted at in this book. What will happen to Princess Marjia?
What are the dragons like? This book leaves me yearning for more; a
sign of a well done book. Despite the high price, this book is
worthwhile reading.
The Sorcery Within (A First Novel)
by
Dave Smeds
[****+]
Ace Fantasy, 291 pages, $2.95
Reviewed by
Chuq Von Rospach
If this book is any indication Smeds has a long and prosperous career
ahead of him. This isn't just a good first novel, this is one of the
finest pieces of Fantasy I've read in the last few years.
Twins on a quest in the desert to the Holy City of Setan. An assassination
attempt in Cilenhrodel. A Kingdom besieged by the invaders of the Dragon.
These seemingly independent plotlines weave their way through the book,
and it is only when Smeds is ready to tell you do the interrelationships
become apparent and the plotlines merge. His manipulation of the time sense
and plot of the novel is superb, and the way he warps your expectations to
do his bidding would put a master storyteller to shame.
The main plotline of the story centers on Elenya and her brother Alemar
on their quest for Setan. They are set upon by Bedouins for stealing
water and then adopted into the clan. Never fully a part of the clan,
they are trusted but watched, and watchful for the opportunity to move
on. The desert society is portrayed in great detail, the everlasting
struggle for survival at the edge of nothing.
The plot is never forced and never rushed. The book moves forward
quickly, but at a pace that is perfect for the story being told. The
characters are real and they never act differently than they ought to.
Smeds knows how to build tension into the work, and when to release is
with humor or tears. This book is as close to perfect as you are going
to find, and everything comes together in a perfect meshing of words.
Two minor problems tarnish the book. First, the cover shows two bedouins
riding a pair of beautiful horses. Nice as they are, there are NO horses
in the book -- the bedouins ride something that looks vaguely like a mule
deer. You can't blame Smeds for this one -- he'll happily point it out to
you. The artist, Kevin Johnson, didn't bother to read enough of the story
to do an accurate cover. Ace should have caught it.
The other is the ending. It isn't a true ending, but a stopping point,
crying for a sequel. This book is good enough that I'm looking forward
to the next one, but the climax really didn't and the reader is left
somewhat hanging. The finish isn't bad, but it could have been stronger.
Don't let that stop you, though. Read this book. It deserves your time.
A JUNGLE OF STARS
by Jack Chalker
Ballantine Books, 1976, 217 pages
ISBN 0-345-28960-9
[***]
Reviewed by
Alan Wexelblat
ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex
This book is actually three novellas woven together and it suffers some
as a result. The first novella is about the horrors of the Vietnam war
and what being there can do to people. The second is a detective story
with an SF twist about hunting down a parasite that can take over not only
its host's body but also the minds of others. The third story is about a
conflict between good and evil, neither of which is defined in human terms.
Protagonist Paul Savage is a soldier-turned-immortal-detective. He is
involuntarily drafted into an aeons-old conflict between the last two
members of a race called the Kreb. The Kreb have evolved into a higher
life form leaving behind a villain and a hero called The Bromgrev and
The Hunter. Savage is recruited by the Hunter but is not sure which is
the hero and which the villain. Much of the story revolves around how
he plays their game(s) and is used by them.
Many of the familiar Chalker themes are present: souls, people changing
bodies while retaining identity, games-within-games, etc. There's also
some good space-battle scenes and some fairly good aliens.
What's wrong with it, then? Lack of continuity, for one thing. The
stories are woven together poorly, with lots of jumps. In several
places we shift from following Paul to following others so that side
characters can get introduced and developed. This is confusing and
distracting. It also makes the book too long. From the detective
standpoint, the key clue is one sentence quite near the end of the
book, which always annoys me. It also needs some tightening; it's too
wordy in some places, too skimpy in others.
However, on the whole it's a good book, especially if you're a
confirmed Chalker fan. I tend to like the themes that Chalker deals
with, and the ending was fairly well done, which is important both for
the detective story and for the good/evil conflict story.
Guest Editorial: HR3389
by
Leigh Ann Hussey
lah@miro.berkeley.edu
Copyright 1986 by Leigh Ann Hussey
I would like to bring to your attention a certain bill now in the House
Ways and Means Committee. This is House Resolution 3389, also known as
the Walker Bill, a bill designed to deny tax exemptions to groups
involved (or purported to be involved) in Witchcraft. Since there are
already are safeguards to prevent the granting of tax-exemption to
dangerous groups, this bill serves no *legitimate* purpose. Rather, it
will give to the tax courts the power to judge what is a religion and
what is not, it will be a first step on the way toward designating a
state religion, and will be a staggering blow to the Bill of Rights.
The bill's history is fraught with underhanded dealing; suffice it to
say that only the title was read into the Congressional Record, and
Brad Hicks of St. Louis, MO, had a struggle in getting the text of the
bill from any source. The bill has been awaiting an opening on the
Ways & Means Committee schedule; as of 15 May, the two biggest items of
business for this session were finished. This means that HR3389 could
come up for debate and vote in committee any time now. Since Brad went
to so much trouble, let us have the content of the bill here:
``H.R. 3389. A bill to deny tax exemptions to, and income tax, estate
tax, and gift tax deductions for contributions to, religious organizations
having a substantial interest in the promotion of witchcraft.
(a) Section 503 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating
to requirements for exemption from tax on corporations,
certain trusts, etc.) is amended by adding at the end
thereof the following new subsection:
"(h) RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS SUBSTANTIALLY INTERESTED IN
THE PROMOTION OF WITCHCRAFT.--
"(1) IN GENERAL.--Notwithstanding subsections (b)
and (c) of section 501, any religious or apostolic
organization which has as it's primary purpose the
promotion of witchcraft or which has a substantial
interest in the promotion of witchcraft shall not
be exempt from taxation under section 501(a)."
"(2) DEFINITION OF WITCHCRAFT.--As used in this
subsection, the term "witchcraft" means the
purported use of --"(A) power derived from evil
spirits; "(B) sorcery; or "(C) supernatural powers
with malicious intent."
(b) The following provisions of such Code are each
amended by striking out "508(d)" and inserting in
lieu thereof "503(h), 508(d),": (1) Section
170(f)(1). (2) Section 2055(e)(1). (3) Section
2522(c)(1). (c) The amendments made by subsections
(a) and (b) shall apply with respect to taxable years
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.''
What this means is that any group that, in a judge's opinion, "worships
evil spirits", or "uses supernatural powers", any group that is even
ACCUSED of these things, will lose their tax status. Various groups
that have large areas of land dedicated to religious retreats, like
Circle Sanctuary, will be hit with huge property tax bills, and will
likely have to shut down.
In addition, this means that, for example, Catholics may come under
such a law -- after all, they use "supernatural powers" to engage in
ritual cannibalism, no? Of course, no Catholic would agree with such a
statement, and of course it could never happen in the United States.
But remember, we are not dealing with Catholics. Indications are that
the State Religion would be some form of Protestantism (after all, all
those Saints, and that Mary, they're just gods --er-- *devils* in
disguise, right?). And as for "it could not happen here"? Well, Jews
said that in Germany about the Holocaust just before WWII...
Following up the references to the Internal Revenue Code reveals that
this bill is making no attempt to disguise what it really is: an
attempt to restrict religious freedom. If the bill is reported out of
committee, it has a chance of passing on the floor. I think anyone who
values his/her "inalienable rights" should join with me in trying to
squash this thing before it even gets to the greater House. It is
important that we make a statement to our lawmakers: "We will not let
you treat our rights so nonchalantly, and we ARE paying attention!"
Here are some things to remember in writing to the Committee members,
and to Congresspeople. Handwritten letters are more impressive than
typed (and especially word-processed!) letters. They suggest to the
readers that the hand behind the letter really is an individual, that
the letters they are getting are really from thousands of people, not
just a noisy minority. Along these lines, be personal also. Don't
send petitions or form-style letters (though you can probably safely
send the same letter if you're sending one to every Committee member
and if the letters are handwritten; they are not likely to compare
notes), and use your own words.
It is best to be brief -- these folks are busy (or believe they are); a
couple of arguments stated clearly, firmly, and *politely* will have
more impact than five pages of documentation. Here are a few arguments
to get you started: it's unconstitutional, it's unconstitutional, and
it's unconstitutional! (Not to mention being immoral and ill-advised).
It is not necessary to mention that you are a pagan (if you are), nor
to point out the supposed long history of the religion, or even to
illustrate its harmlessness. Approach the Congresspeople as a constituent,
a voter, a well-informed citizen; this is much more impressive to them.
Write to Congresspeople, the Committee members, your local newspapers;
bring this to the attention of local religious groups and churches (as
I pointed out, the bill's arguments could conceivably apply to many
religious groups, not just Wiccan ones). And write to Circle's Pagan
Strength Web with the texts of any letters you send, copies of any
responses you receive, and clippings of any local newspaper coverage
the bill may generate; they are maintaining a master file of Pagan Rights
activities and responses, for future reference (yes, similar legislation
will appear when this one has been forgotten, as it has in the past, and
we need to react with equal speed and firmness each time). Their address
is: Pagan Strength Web, c/o Circle, Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572.
Finally, here are the addresses of all 38 members of the House Ways &
Means Committee. I urge you all to write, to spread the word, to show
Congress that they can't play these kinds of games with us. Thank you.
THE SPONSORS OF H.R. 3389
CONGRESSMAN OFFICE ADDRESS
Robert S. Walker (D-Penn.) Rayburn, 2445
Author, 9/19/85
Joe Barton (D-Tex.) Longworth, 1017
Co-sponsor, 11/14/85
THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
CONGRESSMAN OFFICE ADDRESS
Dan Rostenkowski (R-Ill.) Rayburn, 2111
Committee chairman
Beryl Anthony, Jr. (R-Ark.) Longworth, 1117
Bill Archer (D-Tex.) Longworth, 1135
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. (D-S.C.) Cannon, 106
William J. Coyne (R-Penn.) Cannon, 424
Philip M. Crane (D-Ill.) Longworth, 1035
Hal Daub (D-Neb.) Longworth, 1019
Brian J. Donnelly (R-Mass.) Cannon, 438
Byron L. Dorgan (R-N.D.) Cannon, 238
Thomas J. Downey (R-N.Y.) Rayburn, 2232
John J. Duncan (D-Tenn.) Rayburn, 2206
Ronnie G. Flippo (R-Al.) Rayburn, 2334
Harold E. Ford (R-Tenn.) Rayburn, 2305
Wyche Fowler, Jr. (R-Ga.) Longworth, 1210
Bill Frenzel (D-Minn.) Longworth, 1026
Richard A. Gephardt (R-Mo.) Longworth, 1432
Sam Gibbons (R-Fl.) Rayburn, 2204
Willis D. Gradison, Jr. (D-Oh.) Rayburn, 2311
Judd Gregg (D-N.H.) Cannon, 308
Frank J. Guarini (R-N.J.) Rayburn, 2458
Cecil (Cec) Heftel (R-Hi.) Longworth, 1034
Andrew Jacobs, Jr (R-Ind.) Longworth, 1533
Ed Jenkins (R-Ga.) Cannon, 217
James R. Jones (R-Ok.) Cannon, 203
Barbara B. Kennelly (R-Conn.) Longworth, 1230
Robert T. Matsui (R-Cal.) Cannon, 231
Raymond J. McGrath (D-N.Y.) Cannon, 205
W. Henson Moore (D-La.) Rayburn, 2183
Don J. Pease (R-Oh.) Longworth, 1127
J. J. Pickle (R-Tex.) Cannon, 242
Charles B. Rangle (R-N.Y.) Rayburn, 2330
Marty Russo (R-Ill.) Rayburn, 2233
Richard T. Schulze (D-Penn.) Rayburn, 2201
Authored similar bill!
Fortney H. (Pete) Stark (R-Cal.) Longworth, 1125
William M. Thomas (D-Cal.) Cannon, 324
Guy Vander Jagt (D-Mich.) Rayburn, 2409
_________
NOTE: All of the above can be reached at the addresses shown. For example,
Dan Rostenkowski, Rayburn, 2111 becomes:
The Honorable Dan Rostenkowski
Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2111
Washington, D.C. 20515
====
Leigh Ann Hussey has published in FANTASY BOOK. She is an currently
working on a novel set in a maritime Shamanistic culture. She is
married and living in the Berkeley area.
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. 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.
