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OtherRealms Issue 05 Part 02
OtherRealms
A Fanzine for the Non-Fan
"Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life"
Volume 1, Number 5
June, 1986
Part 2: The Columns
OtherRealms Pico Reviews for June, 1986
ADVENTURES by Mike Resnick [**+]
Signet, 1985, $2.95, 239pp
Not really sf, but a spoof of old fashioned African adventure stories
in the style of Vance's Cugel the Clever. Dr. Lucifer Jones, an
unprincipled clergyman, roams about Africa making himself unpopular,
luckily winning fortunes and foolishly losing them. Moderately
amusing, probably better in small doses than all at once.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
ARCHY AND MEHITABEL by don marquis [*****]
anchor press, 1973, 189 pages, $4.50
archy and mehitabel is a series of poems written by don marquis as a
poet who reincarnated in the body of a cockroach named archy who writes
by climbing to the top of the typewriter and jumping down on the keys
head first this is why he cant do capital letters or punctuation but
the works are fun and a must for anyone interested in the english
language as an innovative tool for good storytelling
-- chuq von rospach
THE BEST OF H.P. LOVECRAFT: BLOODCURDLING TALES OF HORROR
AND THE MACABRE by H.P. Lovecraft [*****]
Del Rey, 1963, 375 pages, $6.95 trade paper
If you like horror, you need to read this book. If you hate horror,
read it anyway, since Lovecraft is one of the people who defined the
genre, and his views leak into work everywhere. It this stuff doesn't
give you nightmares, you're already dead.
-- chuq von rospach
BROKEDOWN PALACE, by Steven Brust [****]
Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 270 pages
Legend-like fantasy tale, set as one age ends and another begins, this
is the story of a royal family and how each of the four princes deals
with change. Kept me anxious to find out what would happen next -
quite a good trick for a book that was actually very little "action".
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
CLAY'S ARK by Octavia Butler [*]
This is the kind of book you want to like but can't. A spaceman brings
back a terrible disease and ends up in the Arizona desert trying to
contain the contagion. The story breaks down into moralizing, cartoon
characters, shopworn plot devices, and predictability. Butler has shown
promise in her short stories, but not here. Had she spent a little more
effort on understanding people rather than the pathology of a fictional
disease, it might have succeeded. I'm surprised Michael Crichton
("Andromeda Strain") hasn't sued her for plagiarism.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
DAMIANO, by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $2.95, 243 pages
The story of a medieval Italian alchemist, learning to play the lute
from the archangel Raphael and willing to bargain with the Devil to
save his town from war. As an early musician in a recorder ensemble, I
especially liked the emphasis on music and the development of musical
style in all three books of this set. It reads more like a story of
medieval life where what we would consider fantasy is accepted fact
than like a "fantasy" tale.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
DAMIANO'S LUTE, by R. A. MacAvoy [***]
Bantam, $2.75, 254 pages
The second part of Damiano's story is about his travels as an almost
ordinary mortal, devoting himself to his music. This is a much darker
tale, about the reality of medieval life with its threat of the plague,
with only a few fantasy elements.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
THE DARK TIDE by Dennis L. McKiernan [*-]
Signet, 1984, $2.95, 303pp
The worst 40 pages I've read in years. I couldn't force myself to go
further, despite being on an airplane with no other reading material.
The feeblest of the Tolkein ripoffs, it makes "The Sword of Shanarra"
look like "The Lord of the Rings". Avoid at all costs.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
DEATHBIRD STORIES by Harlan Ellison [***+]
Bluejay books (SFBC edition) 295 pages
I disagree with Chuq about this being the best of the best of Ellison.
In fact, it's stories like these that earn Ellison his rep as a
depressing writer. By all means buy it, but don't read it if you're in
a bad mood, and don't read more than one story at a time.
--Alan Wexelblat
wex@mcc.arpa
DOOMSTALKER by Glen Cook [***]
Questar, 1985, $2.95, 264pp.
I was extremely impressed with Glen Cook's Black Company books.
"Doomstalker" isn't nearly as good, but it's acceptable. At first it
seems fantasy, but it soon proves to be sf. An intelligent, non-human
race keeps a vast portion of its populace in primitive conditions,
while psionically powerful members go to the stars. But, in this first
volume of a trilogy (what else?), dangerous, disruptive forces are on
the move. Cook's fondness for increasingly cataclysmic battles is well
displayed (two in this volume, more promised).
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card [**]
Very few short stories make good novels, just as very few pencil
sketches make good paintings. Card essentially includes the novella
that was his first sale and wraps it with more words, and not
particularly good ones. A letdown, especially from a writer who stands
so far above the crowd.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
THE FALLING TORCH by Algis Budrys [****]
Written a long time ago, this book is still a fascinating twist on the
standard theme of "one man army saves Earth from invaders and becomes
leader" story. Budrys is well-known as a reviewer for F&SF, but not so
prolific as a writer, which is a shame. His grasp of characterization
is firm, and his sympathy for the weak-willed is strong without being
pitying. The main surprise in this novel is that he would have written
it in such a deliberately non-surprising mode. And yet it is not
disappointing as so many novels that begin with the death of the main
character are. His portrayal of Michael Wireman, the awkward, gangly
adolescent who becomes savior of Earth is first-rate, and certainly not
heroic as so many of these kinds of characterizations can be; no one in
this novel, not even the invaders, is heroic or unflawed. His
description of the society of Earth's government-in-exile, a group of
old men who are now waiters, chefs, and tailors, is cutting, precise,
and redolent of the society of White Russian emigres in Paris in the '20s.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
FANTASY WARGAMING by Galloway et al [***]
Stein and Day, 1981, 291 pages
Fantasy wargamers and authors will enjoy this book. The book is a
series of articles and discussions that go through the mechanics of
building a dungeon -- a wargaming universe. A useful tool for anyone
who has to put together an entire society from scratch.
-- chuq von rospach
GALAPAGOS by Kurt Vonnegut [****-]
Delacorte, 1985, 184 pages
Vonnegut is a very frustrating writing. He intentionally manipulates
the English language, forcing you to not only deal with the social
satire of his work, but with the structure used to present it. Here,
the premise is that humanity's big brains are hindrances to survival.
He proves the point by sending some people to the Galapagos Islands
(where Darwin came up with evolution) and evolving them. He tells this
by talking about future events that haven't yet happened a million
years ago, using a narrator that doesn't exist. It works, but it isn't
easy for the reader, and the satire is much closer to the sledgehammer
of _Slaughterhouse Five_ than the scalpel of _Cat's Cradle_. You'll
like it, but you won't enjoy it.
-- chuq von rospach
GALAXY: THIRTY YEARS OF INNOVATIVE SCIENCE FICTION
edited by Fred Pohl et al [***]
Playboy Press, 1980, 490 pages including index to entire
series of Galaxy magazines
An instant remainder book, collecting in one place a lot of stories
well worth reading and probably familiar from one of the premier SF
magazines of its time. A real addition to SF fans is the index of
material from all of the issues of Galaxy.
-- chuq von rospach
IT CAME FROM SCHENECTADY, by Barry B. Longyear [***]
Popular Library, $3.50, 312 pages
Schenectady is, of course, where SF writers get their story ideas. The
dozen stories in this book don't bear any resemblance at all to
Schenectady, but instead tend more towards the cute or bizarre. In
these stories, Longyear shows himself to be a master of the cute ending
and shows imagination in handling situations that would boggle at least
my mind, but usually falls short when it comes to character development
and setting. A great book if you are looking for a fast read, but don't
expect richness or depth.
-- rick floyd
rochester!rick
IT CAME FROM SCHENECTADY, by Barry B. Longyear [**]
Popular Library, $3.50, 312 pages
Barry Longyear writes well, but I found myself more interested in his
commentary on the stories than the works themselves. None of them are
bad, simply none of them really interested me enough to care. He is a
writer I guess I just don't click with.
-- chuq von rospach
THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION -- A 30 YEAR
RETROSPECTIVE edited by Edward L. Ferman [***]
Doubleday, 1980, 310 pages
An "instant remainder" book, this is a collection of some of the best
short works to be published in the magazine Fantasy and Science
Fiction. Many of these are already familiar to you; the real advantage
of this kind of book is that it collects them all in one place until
you need them to read or reference.
-- chuq von rospach
MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE: SOLD! by Terry Brooks [*]
Del Rey, 1986, 324 pages, $16,95
Terry Brooks' first non-Shannara story. Hopefully his last.
Lackluster and underexecuted plot about a rich person who buys himself
a kingship in a fairy wonderland where the plumbing doesn't work and
the followers don't follow. Very slow to start, since fully a third of
the book is simply getting the guy into the kingdom, and at the end
(with the obligatory opening for a sequel) the best I could come up
with was a hearty "who cares?" I certainly don't.
-- chuq von rospach
MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE
MAGICIAN: MASTER
by Raymond E. Feist [*****]
Bantam, 1982, 689 pages total, $3.50 each
These two books comprise the paperback version of the book _Magician_.
They do not stand alone, so read them together. They are the single
best piece of Fantasy I have read in many years, and are the first book
in a trilogy. These books are on a par with few other works and can
hold their heads up to _Lord of the Rings_ with pride. A must read for
ANY Fantasy reader.
-- chuq von rospach
MYTHICAL BEASTIES edited by Asimov et all [***]
Signet Fantasy, 1986, 343 pages, $3.50
Number six in Isaac Asimov's Magical World of Fantasy anthology set, it
holds a collection of good (but not necessarily great) works involving
different fantastic animals. Good light reading. Nothing classic, but
nothing rotten, either.
-- chuq von rospach
NERILKA'S STORY -- A PERN ADVENTURE by Anne McCaffrey [****]
Del Rey, 1986, $12.95
This is a rather short (40,000 words) work that takes a closer look at
one of the minor characters of _Moreta_. If you haven't read that
book, this one will make no sense; it doesn't stand alone, and is much
closer to an epilogue than a story of its own. Still, it is a very
warm and well written story, it tells a very small part of a very big
story in a close and personal way, and it really made me care and like
for Nerilka. A very fine addition to the world of Pern, and a good
appetizer for the upcoming Dragonrider book.
-- chuq von rospach
NEUROMANCER by William Gibson [****]
Good, maybe even great. Reminds one of the mature John Brunner, without
the preachiness, and of the Bester of "The Stars My Destination".
Gibson captures that grittiness that made film noir popular, portraying
the seamy underside of technological advance in a manner that would
make Raymond Chandler proud. But more than that, beyond his obvious
talent at writing crackling dialogue and fascinating plots and creating
wonderful characters at the drop of a hat, is the ring of utter,
terrible truth in his writing. This society takes no effort at all to
believe, because it is so wonderfully extrapolated, so well thought
out. It's also very depressing, but then so is the real world, often.
It is rare in science fiction circles these days to deal with the
immediate, forseeable future; Gibson has brought the relevance back.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
NEXT OF KIN by Eric Frank Russell [****]
"Next of Kin" is the original, novel-length version of a story more
commonly known as "Plus X" (and to confuse things further, an expanded
version of "Plus X" entitled "The Space Willies" was also published).
Our Hero, John Leeming, takes off on a spy mission equipped with: an
experimental long-range spaceship; a wrongminded collection of survival
supplies (including the most dubious handweapon I've every heard of);
an extremely inventive imagination; and absolutely no respect for
authority (human or otherwise). When captured, his only chance for
escape is to completely bamboozle his captors, and he does a dilly of a
job. My fiancee could tell I liked the story: she poked her head into
the room every few minutes to find out what I was giggling at. Highly
recommended for an evening's light reading!
-- Dave Platt
Dave-Platt%LADC@CISL-SERVICE-MULTICS.ARPA
NORSTRILLA by Cordwainer Smith [**+]
Ballatine, 1975, $2.95, 275pp
Smith wrote great short stories, but a mediocre novel. Lots of ideas
floating around, not too well integrated. The story is only moderately
compelling. The prose is ambitious beyond Smith's talent, in places; in
others, very standard sf writing.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
THE POSTMAN, by David Brin [****]
Spectra/Bantam, $15.95, 294 pages
In my mind, David Brin's best novel to date. The U.S. has degraded
into a dark age after a limited nuclear war. One man posing as postman
creates a myth of a "Restored United States" and attempts to pull
together fragments of civilization. A fast paced, thinking book. My
choice for the awards this year.
-- Mike Rossow
ihnp4!umn-cs!rossow
THE PRINCESS BRIDE, by the Immortal S. Morgenstern [****]
"abridged" by William Goldman, 1973, Ballantine
WHAT HAPPENS when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the
handsomest prince in the world -- and he turns out to be a
son-of-a-bitch? Fencing (my favoritest fencing scene in all the world
is in this book). Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge.
Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes.
Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave
men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion.
Miracles.... A MUST-READ for anyone who enjoys a good yarn -- and loves
to chuckle, chortle, guffaw, and belly-laugh.
--Barb Jernigan
idi!oliveb!olivej!barb
RADIX by A. A. Attanasio [NO RATING]
A very difficult book. Inconsistent, and his themes are very obtuse and
in the final analysis have very little to say about the human
condition. But his initial concept is very, very different - that at
some point in the not-too-distant future, Earth and the solar system
come into the focus of a light source from the center of the galaxy
which alters space-time and is also the main highway for all kinds of
beings who are creatures consisting of light only. Attanasio has
written a post-relativity novel - he really does internally understand,
without blinking, the ramifications of quantum theory and relativity on
the day-to-day world. He also has quite a flair for the wild, and
incorporating the trappings of the existing world in this essentially
magical novel. The novel unfortunately spends too much time being "New
Age" and preachy about the universality of the All to be highly
recommended, but it has some very obvious and definite strengths.
-- Davis Tucker
ihnp4!dhuri!dht
RAPHAEL, by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $2.75, 230 pages
The third part of Damiano's story includes him in only a small role,
concentrating instead on Raphael's battle with Lucifer and the
sacrifices he makes for his mortal friends. I liked this one better
than Damiano's Lute; though the story contains many negative events, it
never gives in to the defeated tone of the second book.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
RED AS BLOOD, OR TALES FROM THE SISTER GRIMMER
by Tanith Lee [****+]
Daw books, 1983, 186 pages
A collection of stories that rewrite the traditional fairy tales.
Little Red Riding hood with a werewolf for a grandmother? There are
all very well thought out and pay homage to the original tale without
ruining it. Well worth finding and reading.
-- chuq von rospach
RETIEF AND THE PANGALACTIC PAGEANT OF PULCHRITUDE
by Keith Laumer [*-]
Baen Books, 1986, 278 pages, $2.95
Another bad book from Baen, a publishing house rapidly becoming known
for works to avoid. This isn't only bad Retief, it isn't even NEW
Retief. Most of the book is recycled from _Retief's Ransom_. If you've
read much Retief, you've probably read this already. Avoid.
-- chuq von rospach
SAILING TO BYZANTIUM by Robert Silverberg [****-]
Underwood-Miller, 1985, 114 pages.
Silverberg demonstrates the value of conciseness. The 114 pages use
big type, so the book is only about 40 normal pages. The story is set
in the far future, when, for pleasure, the inhabitants of Earth
recreate cities of the past. Many authors would produce 300
overstretched pages, Silverberg gives us 40 interesting ones. Well
written, good plot, poor value for $12.95, though. Get it from a library.
-- Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
THE SECOND SELF by Sherry Turkle [***+]
Simon and Shuster, softbound
While not a Science Fiction book (indeed not a fictional book at all!)
this is nonetheless quite fascinating reading for people who are
interested in how people react to, deal with, and learn to accept
computers. Dr. Turkle (of MIT) did extensive research into a number of
different areas of computing, including seeing how young children
accept and react to computers and computer-based toys (quite
fascinating and revealing), how older children use computers as either
an outlet for their creativity or desire for social 'ranking', to how
college students become "midnight hackers" and the peculiarities of
that particular subculture and finally the future directions of
computing, specifically AI, and how that will affect our ethical and
moral views of life and intelligence. To be honest, it does read a bit
slowly at places, but overall it's well worth reading.
-- Dave Taylor
taylor@hpldat.arpa
SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH, by Douglas Adams [*+]
Pan, 191 pp, 1.95 UK pounds
When Doyle wanted to stop writing Sherlock Holmes stories, he tried
killing off Holmes. This did not work. Perhaps Adams is trying another
approach to the same problem: he brings back the characters, and the
earth (and we meet the girl in the cafe in Rickmansworth), and after that,
there is a lot of mostly nothing. There are flashes of the HITCH-HIKER
trilogy style that we know and love, but they are too dispersed.
-- Mark Brader
ihnp4!utzoo!lsuc!msb
THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH by Arthur C Clarke
ISBN 0-345-33219-9
Not as substantial or inspiring as some of his better books. I found
it a bit disappointing. There are several plot features that are just
left hanging, and the story would have been just as good had they been
omitted. It is a repeat of the meeting of cultures that has occurred
in South Pacific and elsewhere, in a new setting. The cultures and
characters are believable and interesting, and the writing (vs editing)
is good, so enjoy this as light entertainment reading.
-- Rob Horn
decvax!wanginst!infinet!rhorn
Snail: Infinet, 40 High St.,
North Andover, MA
STARQUAKE by Robert L. Forward [*-]
Del Rey, 1985, 246 pages
A very bad sequel to a very good book, Forward forgets all that made
_Dragon's Egg_ a winner and forgoes the hard SF for social commentary.
The Cheela build a society with all the faults and foibles of humanity
and make all the same mistakes. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't buy
it, since the Cheela got too human for my tastes, and put it down
without finishing it. Forward should stick to what he is good at --
gadgetry and hard SF, and leave the real characters for the experts.
-- chuq von rospach
TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON, by R. A. MacAvoy [****]
Bantam, $2.95, 166 pages
Computers, music and eastern mythology wrapped into an adventure,
wonderful! A dragon reading Knuth - no wonder this book got such good
reviews on the net. MacAvoy's skill is in giving a conventional story
a fantasy flavor with almost no traditional "fantasy" elements. As the
Damiano books are stories of medieval life with a little fantasy
included, this is a present day detective story with the fantasy found
only in whether you believe what the main character says about himself.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
TIK-TOK by John Sladek [****]
I picked this up somewhat randomly, always on the lookout for a book
dealing with computers/etc in an intelligent fashion and this turned
out to be quite an interesting offering from a new British author!
There is a considerable amount of metaphysical rambling hidden in this
book in a pleasing, readable form. Tik Tok is a robot that questions
his value in society and, amusingly enough, deliberately breaks the
"three laws" equivalent to see what it's like.... so we have this
bizarre robot wandering around lying, murdering people and generally
wreaking havoc all the while thinking about his 'sensations' during the
events. It's really highly original and quite recommended!!
-- Dave Taylor
taylor@hpldat.arpa
WITH A TANGLED SKEIN by Piers Anthony [***]
Del Rey, 1985, 280 pages
The third Incarnation in Immortality book, it looks at Fate and its
interactions with Satan and the mortal world. Significantly better
than the previous _Bearing an Hourglass_ but not as good as _Riding a
Pale Horse_, my biggest gripe is that the latter part of the book tells
the same plot as the first book. Once this becomes obvious, a lot of
suspense is lost and the ending comes off flat.
-- chuq von rospach
UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR, ed. Susan Bridges
$2.75/issue, quarterly
Universal Translator is an indispensable resource for the zine
collector. Nominated for a fanzine Hugo this year, UT is a ~50 page,
quarterly listing of internationally available and proposed zines in
~30 SF/media categories. It also lists upcoming conventions,
"classified ads" on fannish topics, public statements from zine editors
and readers and has a zine review section. Most of the zines listed
here primarily print fiction, but there is also a column listing
letter/information zines. The current issue is #30, I've been a
subscriber since #4. If you're looking for a particular zine or have
some fan fiction you want to publish, this is a great place to get
information, if you just want to find out what zines are, browsing
through an issue will tell you a lot about the variety available.
-- Mary Anne Espenshade
umcp-cs!aplcen!aplvax!mae
mae@aplvax.arpa
WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, VOLUME 2 edited by A. J. Budrys [****]
Bridge, 1986, 390 pages, $3.95
The second volume of winners from the Writers of the Future contest
sponsored by the late L. Ron Hubbard, the stories are just as good as
those in the first book and most are very professional works. All of
the authors show great promise, and should be watched for in the
future. Least successful were the commentary by the famous authors
used to spice up the cover -- most were short and trivial, and the
space could have been better used by another unknown.
-- chuq von rospach
Reader's Survey for June, 1986
I'm going to take a break from asking specific questions this month.
The standard questions apply as always, though: What do you think was
best about the issue, and what was the worst?
* * *
Reader's Survey Report for May
1) Should OtherRealms publish fiction?
2) If so, what percentage of the magazine should be used for fiction?
3) Assuming that OtherRealms stays the same size, what parts would you
remove to make room?
4) Would there be interest in a second magazine for fiction?
5) Should the Pico reviews be split out into a separate magazine to make
room for other stuff, or should they be cut back (or left alone)?
All of these questions are inter-related, and so I'm going to look at
them that way. Almost everyone expressed an interest in seeing fiction.
Actually, most people specifically mentioned that they were interested
in seeing GOOD fiction. At the same time, few people wanted to see some
part of OtherRealms go away to make room for it. Most of the answers
were some variation of "Well, if I HAVE to..."
The offshoot of all of this is that there is a lot of support for a new
OtherRealms fiction magazine. From my point of view, though, I want to
wait on a second magazine for a number of reasons. First, and
foremost, is the simple fact that I don't know if there is enough
publishable fiction to support it. Another reason is that there is a
fair amount of work creating and maintaining a zine, and I don't want
to go through that until I'm sure that it is worth it (twice, that is.
I did it happily on faith with OtherRealms, but I'd rather build on
what I have if I can). A final reason is that I believe the prime
distribution net for OtherRealms (USENET and the UUCP networks) is
quite unstable and about to go through a number of significant changes
over the next few months, and I don't want to commit to something that
might get washed out by these changes until I see what happens.
I am still interested in fiction, though, and I plan to start using
fiction in a special section to OtherRealms as soon as I work out the
details. Please don't submit fiction yet! I'll let you know when I'm
ready for it.
I think we are in a position where everyone can win. The new
OtherRealms format gives me a setup where I'm not constantly trading
everything off each other for space, I can bring in fiction without
giving anything else up, and I'm not forced to go through the hassles
of a second publication setup. All of this is possible in great part
because of the feedback and suggestions I've gotten from people out
there -- the readers. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Remember, no
matter how good the magazine, the articles and the reviews, without the
readers they're nothing.
6) What about OtherRealms on paper?
The interest was mixed to negative here -- as I expected the market for
a paper version of OtherRealms is a different one from the electronic
version. I may well do this anyway (dreams of being the next Locus...)
but not for a while. There is still enough to learn about doing a good
magazine on the networks that I don't need any new challenges.
7) Anyone interested in an OtherRealms T-Shirt?
More Yes votes than I expected, frankly. I may well do one, when I can
track down a good idea and a good artist to help out. A piece of
obscurity to wear to the next Worldcon!
Favorite/Least Favorite articles.
There wasn't a clear cut favorite this month, although both the
editorial and my delRey piece got a lot of favorable comments. The
four Dave Berry reviews were, in retrospect, overkill in a single
issue, and a number of readers nicely pointed out that I should have
spread them out over a number of issues. With hindsight, I agree, and I
should have substituted something else.
OtherRealms Lettercol -- June 1986
Chuq,
Was the adaptation of Lord of the Rings the BBC one with Ian Holm as
Frodo? If not, there's another for you. The BBC have done several
enjoyable SF/fantasy productions. The adaptation/reading of Foundation
was, for me, more enjoyable than the book. The Hordes of the Things
was an amusing spoof of the genre. Earthsearch (somewhat hackneyed,
with self-serving computers) had a nice twist at the end that I didn't
suspect till the final episode, but then I never identify the murderer
in Agatha Christie stories...
Stephen Withers,
ACSnet: stephenw@murdu
UUCP: {seismo,mcvax,ukc,ubc-vision}!munnari!murdu.oz!stephenw
ARPA: munnari!murdu.oz!stephenw@seismo.css.gov
CSNET: stephenw%murdu@munnari.oz
Chuq,
Had a chance to chat with Robert Asprin at a recent tiny con here in
Austin. He said that he's contracted to do 6 more Myth books, and
hinted that the new ones will be quite different. He's grown
dissatisfied with Aahz and Skeeve, claiming that they're "dangerously
close to being not funny any more." So he's going to switch around to
other characters; at least one of the new ones will be told from
Gleep's point of view. Personally, I think he can pull it off. The
Myth books are short, and the topic is broad. By and large he also
manages to avoid the repetition and cuteness that turned me off of
Xanth several books back.
--Alan Wexelblat
wex@mcc.arpa
Chuq;
Issue 1.4 of OtherRealms contained two pairs of reviews, each covering
a book and a sequel to it. In one case, it happens that I have already
read both books. Because I have, I know that the second of the pair of
reviews contains a major spoiler of the first of the pair of books. I
would ask the reviewers to be more careful about such cross-spoilers in
the future. I would ask Chuq for a policy statement about spoiler
reviews in general.
Mark Brader
{ decvax | ihnp4 | watmath} !utzoo!lsuc!msb
[I agree with Mark that spoilers should be avoided whenever possible.
They aren't always possible, as my editorial on Callahan's Bar in V1.4
showed -- there was no way to get my points across any other way coherently.
Spoiler reviews should be (and will, from now on) marked as such so
that those haven't read the books yet can skip them. That is part of
my function, and I'll do what I can to make sure that you are warned in
the future. In general, I think a review that summarizes plot is a
lazy review, and if you find yourself doing that you should take a step
back and rethink what you are doing. It doesn't mean it is wrong, just
that you have to be aware of what you are doing. I'll be watching for
this more carefully in the future, and if I think a review can have the
spoilers removed, I'll ask the author for a rewrite.
-- chuq]
Editorial Notes and Comments on OtherRealms
The More Things Change Dept:
OtherRealms has mutated again. Between the comments I've gotten from
various people and my growing frustration with the enforced 50Kbyte
size limitation I've done some re-arranging. OtherRealms now comes in
two pieces: the first part contains the articles and other one time
editorial material, and the second part the columns.
This gives me more room and a lot more flexibility. I can now fit in
one or two more articles a month without having to squeeze things. I
don't have to worry about Pico Reviews pushing out the rest of the
magazine. I can worry more about the information in the issue than the
number of bytes I use to send it to you.
This also paves the way for other special features. I have a few
projects on the burner that would have potentially taken the editorial
space of an entire issue before; now I can simply make that a special
addition to an existing issue without taking away space from other
things. The Pico Review Index will be a special section. I expect
OtherRealms will average between 65 and 80,000 bytes for the forseeable
future, but some issues may well push 150,000. We now have in place a
way to deal with that kind of growth choking OtherRealms.
* * *
One of my hesitations in doing this before now is the issue of
protecting Copyrights and allowing the author to retain control of
their work. I now feel confident that a work published in OtherRealms
has an enforceable Copyright, and so I'm going to remove the
restriction on publishing fiction.
* * *
Errata: In the last issue, I accidently renamed Carl Gutekunst when
attributing his Pico review. My apologies to him and his parents, I
think his spelling is much superior to mine.
Masthead: The Necessary Administrivia
Masthead for OtherRealms
Volume 1, Number 5
June, 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
160 Pasito Terrace #712
Sunnyvale, CA 84086
USENET: {major_node}!sun!plaid!fanzine
ARPA: fanzine%plaid@sun.COM
Fidonet: 125/84, user chuq vonrospach
CompuServe: 73317,635
Submissions: Submissions are welcomed at any of the above addresses.
Electronic mail is preferred, Macintosh format disks through U.S. Mail
will allow me to publish your work MUCH faster (returned with SASE).
Hard copy is accepted but will get keyed into the system when I get time.
A writers guide is available. If you want to write for OtherRealms,
please ask for a copy. Pico reviews are welcome from everyone.
Duplicate the format used in this issue and limit your comments to one
paragraph. Multiple Pico reviews for the same work are welcome.
If you are on a BBS or other system that does not have access to the
above electronic addresses, contact your SYSOP about making
arrangements for a submission policy.
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.
Deadline for submissions for the next issue is June 15, 1986. Survey
responses will be taken to about June 25, 1986.
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.
Subscriptions: OtherRealms is available through the newsgroup
"mod.mag.otherrealms" on the USENET network. For those on the UUCP,
ARPANET, BITNET and CSNET computer networks without access to this
group, a mailing list subscription is available. Send mail to the
appropriate address above to be placed on the mailing list. Subscriptions
are not yet available on CompuServe. Please write me for the latest status.
OtherRealms is also available through the following bulletin boards:
SCI-FIDO, Fidonet number 125/84, (415) 655-0667.
The Terraboard, Fidonet number 14/341, (612)721-8967.
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.
--
:From the lofty realms of Castle Plaid: Chuq Von Rospach
chuq%plaid@sun.COM FidoNet: 125/84 CompuServe: 73317,635
{decwrl,decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,pyramid,seismo,ucbvax}!sun!plaid!chuq
The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your hands
and hoping when a rock or a club will do -- McCloctnik the Lucid
