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OtherRealms Issue 27 Part 08
Electronic OtherRealms #27
Spring, 1990
Part 8 of 11
Copyright 1990 by Chuq Von Rospach
All Rights Reserved.
OtherRealms may be distributed electronically only in the original
form and with copyrights, credits and return addresses intact.
OtherRealms may be reproduced in printed form only for your personal use.
No part of OtherRealms may be reprinted or used in any other
publication without permission of the author.
All rights to material published in OtherRealms hereby revert to the author.
Small Press Overview 1989
(continued)
Magazines
Australian Science Fiction Review; ASFR, c/o Cy Chauvin, 14248 Wilfred
St., Detroit MI 48213; A$3 each, or US$20 for six issues.
On the final ballot (non-fiction), but not seen.
Dreams and Nightmares, #29; Dreams and Nightmares, 4801 Cypress Creek
Dr., #1004, Tuscaloosa AL 35405; $1 each, or $5 for 6 issues.
The poetry here is a mixed bag of styles and qualities and the artwork
unfortunately detracts from rather enhances the works. On the whole, The
Magazine of Speculative Poetry (see below) is far superior.
Edge Detector, #2 (Summer 1989); Glenn Grant, 1850 Lincoln Avenue #803,
Montreal, Quebec H3H 1H4 CANADA; C$2.50 each.
Well, it contains a Sherlock Holmes story -- of sorts. "The Adventure of
the Microscopic Gear" by Sebastian Hassinger is about a current-day
teenager who fancies himself Sherlock Holmes, and investigates a case
involving nano-technology. Most of the rest of the magazine, however,
seems to be written in pseudo-stream-of-consciousness (sentence
fragments, no discernible sentence structure, etc.).
Eldritch Science, #3; Greater Medford and Suburbs Science Fiction
Society, 87-6 Park Avenue, Worcester MA 01605; $2.50 each, or $10 for 4
issues.
Though this is fan fiction, it is a notch above the usual sort one sees.
Unfortunately, the artwork is below average. For its format, this
publication is very well-presented.
Eldritch Tales, #18 -- #21; Eldritch Tales, 1051 Wellington Road,
Lawrence KS 66049; $6 each plus $1 postage and handling, or $24 for 4
issues.
The publisher of this has decided to concentrate on high-quality
black-and-white covers instead of flashy colors -- and does a good job.
(Ted Turner, eat your heart out!) The fiction concentrates on mood, but
the mood is of the "splatter" variety, with graphic sex and violence. It
may be well-written, but it's not my cup of tea. Fans of the new horror
authors may want to check this one out, but be warned.
Fantasy Tales, Volume 10, #2 and Volume 11, #3 (Spring 1989, Autumn
1989); Robinson Publishing, 11 Shepherd House, Shepherd St., London W1Y
7LD, GREAT BRITAIN; 99p each, or $15 for 4 issues.
This British publication may be called Fantasy Tales but it carries the
full range of fantasy, horror, and even science fiction, with a
preponderance of horror. At under 100 pages (many ads or letters), it
doesn't deliver very much in the way of actual fiction. (And while it's
nice to see such forms as the sestina revived, Neil Gaiman does cheat in
his rhyme scheme.)
Foundation, #46; SF Foundation, Polytechnic of East London, Longbridge
Road, Dagenham RM8 2AS GREAT BRITAIN; $6 each, or $17 for 3 issues.
Not for the casual reader, Foundation is very much a publication for
literary scholars. Because of this, I am probably not the most qualified
person to judge it. However, I did find Darko Suvin's article "On Gibson
and Cyberpunk SF" insightful. On the flip side, I found the article on
Stapledon frequently incomprehensible, though the drawing of parallels
between Star Maker and Dante's Divine Comedy was a new and provocative
concept to me, and some other observations were also thought-provoking.
Green Pages, May, August, October 1989; Hatrack River Publications, P.
O. Box 18184, Greensboro NC 27419-8184; no price indicated (sent with
Short Form).
The May issue contains the wonderful (and infamous) "Secular Humanist
Revival Meeting," but otherwise this is not very interesting. The pages
are not green. (Reprints of the SHRM are available from Hatrack River
Publications for $1 each; audio cassettes are $8.95.)
Grue Magazine, #10 (Fall 1989); Hell's Kitchen Productions, P. O. Box
370, Times Square Station, New York NY 10108-0370; $4.50 each, or $13
for 3 issues.
Grue Magazine provides, not surprisingly, horror stories (this seems to
be the trend in small-press magazines), this time mixed with sex. The
introductory warning says that they are meant to be disturbing rather
than erotic. I have to agree. This is not necessarily a recommendation.
Hardware, #1 (Spring 1989); Hardware, 710 Adeline St., Trenton NJ 08611;
$3 each (no subscription rate quoted).
This reminds me of the clubzine we put out twenty years ago at the
University of Massachusetts. Though the physical product is much more
polished, I found the contents immature.
Haunts, #17 (Fall/Winter 1989); Nightshade Publications, P. O. Box 3342,
Providence RI 02906; $3.50 each, or $13 for 4 issues.
This is different from many of the current crop of horror magazines in
that it doesn't rely on explicit gore, but has more of a "Twilight
Zone"/"Outer Limits" feel to it. There is a limit to how many horror
magazines the market can support -- I hope -- and this does not seem
above average, yet the fact that it has lasted seventeen issues
indicates someone likes it.
Ice River: A Magazine of Speculative Writing, Contemporary Music, and
Fantasy Art; Ice River, 953 N. Gale St., Union OR 97883; $4 each, or $9
for three issues.
On the final ballot (fiction), but not seen.
Interzone; Interzone, 124 Osborne Road, Brighton BN1 6LU, GREAT BRITAIN;
L1.95 each, or $22 ($26 airmail) for 6 issues.
On the final ballot, but not seen.
Magazine of Speculative Poetry, Volume 2, #3 -- #4; Magazine of
Speculative Poetry, P. O. Box 564, Beloit WI 53511; $2 each, or $7.50
for four issues.
The poetry in this magazine is far more "accessible" to the average
reader (in my opinion) than that in such works as Ballentine's Poly: New
Speculative Writing (see below). As such, I would recommend it for those
interested in starting out in speculative poetry. It also contains
reviews and pointers to other poetry publications (including Poly) for
those who wish to proceed further. Nicely laid out in a slim 18 pages
per issue, it entertains and educates without intimidating.
Mage, #11-#12 (Sprint -- Fall 1989); Student Association, Colgate
University, Hamilton NY 13346; $2.50 each, or $6 for 2 issues.
This college publication is well-presented with a professional look, but
the contents are only average -- not bad, mind you, but nothing to get
excited about either. The one item I found interesting was Michael
Kube-McDowell's rebuttal to a negative review of his Alternities -- this
is not the first such rebuttal I have seen, and given that authors do
not generally take the time to "defend" their works, I wonder why
Kube-McDowell seems to feel obliged to counter all the negative reviews
for this one.
Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Volume 2, #1 -- #2; Marion
Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, P. O. Box 11095, Oakland CA
94611-9991, $3.95 each, or $14 for 4 issues.
One of the few outlets for straight fantasy (no horror), this magazine
is still starting up but seems to be spreading in availability. (When it
stops listing every store where it is available in the back of the
magazine, you'll know it has succeeded.) I am not a big fantasy fan, but
the works here are better than those found in the few other magazines
that carry fantasy.
Midnight Graffiti, #3 -- #4; Midnight Graffiti, 13101 Sudan Road, Poway
CA 92064; $4.95 each, or "$24 per year."
The book reviews in this are mostly market reviews and plot summaries,
with no in-depth reviews or analyses. The covers are striking, but the
interior is amateurish looking (some pages have column lines, some
don't). There is a bit too much emphasis on "splatterpunk" for me. (Is
splatterpunk just another name for "hack" work?)
Since this seemed to have only two issues in 1989, I am not sure how
many issues the "one-year" subscription covers. Like many other small
press magazines, the publishing schedule seems to be running perpetually
behind.
Mystery Scene, #23 -- #24; Mystery Enterprises, 3840 Clark Rd. S.E.,
Cedar Rapids IO 52403; $5.50 each, or $35 for 7 issues.
This seems to be the Locus of the mystery world, with columns, reviews,
news, etc. There is some science fiction and horror coverage (also
westerns), but on the whole would probably be worthwhile only to mystery
fans. But I would encourage serious mystery fans to give it a try.
New Pathways; New Pathways, c/o MGA Services, P. O. Box 863994, Plano TX
75086; $4 each, or $12 for four issues.
On the final ballot (fiction), but not seen.
New York Review of Science Fiction, #5 -- #16; Dragon Press, P. O. Box
78, Pleasantville NY 10570; $2.50 each, or $24 for 12 issues.
This magazine has generated much comment. Most people seem either to
love it or to hate it. I will take the middle ground: I like what it
seems to be trying to do, but I find many of the articles "pretentious"
and the "Read This" sidebars of authors recommending books totally
useless. (One can argue that if you enjoy a particular author's work,
you may enjoy the books s/he recommends, but I don't think that follows
at all.) And far too much of 1989's column space was devoted to
reprinting large sections of the Panshins's World Beyond the Hill.
People who have bought the latter could reasonably feel cheated of part
of their subscription price for the former.
Niekas, #39; Niekas Publications, 380 Morrill St., Gilford NH 03246;
$3.95, or $15 for 4 issues.
The "non-special" issues of Niekas are as literate as the special ones
(see comments on The Once and Future Arthur and Andre Norton: Fables &
Futures in the non-fiction section above). In what other science fiction
magazine would an article toss off references to the Eutychians and the
Monophysites without explanation? Yet throughout, the articles are
readable and comprehensible in an era when many "serious" magazines seem
to tend toward obfuscation. Highly recommended. (Since special issues
are cover-priced at $5.95, this makes the subscription rate a very good
deal.)
Nova Express, Volume 2, #3 -- #4, Volume 3, #1 (Spring, Summer, and Fall
1989); Nova Express, P. O. Box 27231, Austin TX 78755; $3 each, or $10
for 4 issues.
Though this is overall only an average non-fiction magazine, it does
have in-depth interviews with, and good bibliographies of, featured
authors.
Other Worlds, #3; Gryphon Books, P. O. Box 209, Brooklyn NY 11228; $4
each, or $15 for 4 issues.
It is not a good sign when the first page of the first story contains
four typographical errors. And it was typical -- this magazine is full
of typos, bad fiction (of the sort written by high-schoolers and college
freshmen -- and I should know, because I wrote my share!), and mediocre
articles. Buck Coulson's reminiscences on his early conventions, for
example, are acceptable, but this topic has by now been done to death in
magazines and at cons. (At least at conventions, one may be speaking to
a lot of neos; in a small press magazine such as this one, you are
preaching to the choir.)
Pulsar, #12 -- #15 (Winter 1989 -- Fall 1989); Pulsar, P. O. Box 886,
Evansville IL 47706-0886, $3 each, or $12 for 4 issues.
This is a fanzine by its own admission, and as such it is not fair to
compare it to professional publications. As a fanzine, it is ambitious,
though I found much of the artwork mundane. It has a mix of fiction and
non-fiction, with a few worthwhile pieces (some recycled from elsewhere
-- not necessarily a bad thing, as I sometimes do it myself).
Science Fiction Guide; Charles Platt, 594 Broadway, Room 1208, New York
NY 10012; $1.50 each.
On the final ballot (non-fiction), but not seen.
SF Eye, Volume 1, #5; Science Fiction Eye, P. O. Box 43244, Washington
DC 20010-9244; $3.50 each, or $10 for 3 issues.
This professional-looking magazine provides more thought-provoking
articles than most. For example, this issue has "Beyond Cyberpunk" by
John Shirley, a conversation between Lewis Shiner and Howard Waldrop
(different from your run-of-the-mill interview feature), and Charles
Platt explaining how Judy-Lynn and Lester Del Rey, Isaac Asimov, Roger
Elwood, Byron Preiss, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Charles Brown, J.
R. R. Tolkien, Robert Asprin, Vonda McIntyre, Joan Vinge, and L. Ron
Hubbard have ruined science fiction. Its production values and subject
matter certainly raise it above the run-of-the-mill reviewzine.
Short Form, June, August, October 1989; Hatrack River Publications, P.
O. Box 18184, Greensboro NC 27419-8184; $4 each, or $24 for 6 issues.
The format of this is two columns with articles running in their column
until they end. So the left column and the right column are independent
of each other, and it drives the reader crazy! The editor claims he
wants to "challenge" the reader, but as several have said, they want to
be challenged by the content and see no need to be challenged by the
format. (Why not write it in Latin and challenge the reader that way?)
The content is at times boring, at times thought-provoking, though many
of the arguments made by the columnists (Sterling, Shiner, etc.) do not
bear close analysis. This was supposedly a magazine devoted to the field
of short fiction, but it has drifted into the subjects of children's
books and chain stores, as well as other more general topics.
Space & Time, #75 -- #76; Space and Time, 138 West 70th St. (4B), New
York NY 10023-4432; $5 each, or $18 for 4 issues.
Fiction magazine, at the fan level of writing -- good for amateurs but
not up to professional standards in most cases.
Strange Plasma, #1; Edgewood Press, P. O. Box 264, Cambridge MA 02238;
$3 each, or $8 for 3 issues.
A promising first issue of a new fiction magazine, if a bit slim. Only
time will tell whether this lasts or not.
Tales of the Unanticipated, #5 -- #6 (Spring/Summer 1989, Fall/Winter
1989/1990); Tales of the Unanticipated, P. O. Box 8036, Lake Street
Station, Minneapolis MN 55408; $2.50 each.
This is a mixed bag: some good items, some just so-so. Because it is so
reasonably priced, I would say pick up a copy if you can find it.
Thrust, #33 -- #35; Thrust Publications, 8217 Langport Terrace,
Gaithersburg MD 20877; $3 each, or $8 for 4 issues.
This is a non-fiction magazine, with good analyses and articles, and
with reviews of some controversy and depth.
Two AM, #11 -- #14; 2 AM Publications, P. O. Box 6754, Rockford IL
61125-1754; $4.95 each plus $1 postage and handling, or $19 for 4
issues.
This is mainly a horror fiction magazine, though with a substantial
amount of non-fiction. The stories are, in general, quite predictable,
and the book reviews section consists of only positive reviews.
Weird Tales, Winter 1989 (#293), Fall 1989 (#294), Winter 1990 (#295);
Terminus Press, 4426 Larchwood Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19104; $4 each,
or $18 for 6 issues.
Weird Tales has just broken out of the semi-professional category into
the professional category of the Hugos, having achieved a 10,000
circulation. And it is a welcome addition -- the fiction is top-notch,
with a higher percentage of good stories (for my tastes anyway) than any
other magazine I have seen. Each issue features a particular author
(e.g., Avram Davidson, Karl Edward Wagner, Brian Lumley), but has a wide
range of other authors. It seems to be unique in the field in that it
also features a single artist per issue, giving the artist a chance to
illustrate a variety of stories and the reader to judge the range of the
artist's abilities. Its fiction seems to concentrate more on style than
on graphic gore, and covers a range of horror, fantasy, and even some
science fiction. The book reviews and non-fiction pieces are also quite
good. And it is printed on good quality paper in a very readable
typeface.
Miscellaneous
This is a catch-all category for graphic novels, art books, poetry, and
anything else that doesn't really fit anywhere else.
Ballentine, Lee (editor); Poly: New Speculative Writing; Ocean View
Books, P. O. Box 4148, Mountain View CA 94040; 0-938075-05-5, $16.95.
The introduction to this is extremely pretentious while making several
errors (incorrect titles, grammar errors, the usual). It claims "poetry
is a science, an exact science, akin to astronomy" [italics theirs] and
"scientists are also poets.... If you doubt it, open any good Topology
text at random, and read a theorem or two" [all italics theirs].
The Bradbury and Disch pieces are good, but for the rest.... Well, here
is one sample from "a series of poems engendered in that textual space
where certain image systems of one Canadian poet intersect certain image
systems of one SF & F writer" by Douglas Barbour:
Gwendolyn Macewan & Vonda Mcintyre
listen this
shadow on black
synthesis image
reversed i
will ride you
o loving darkness
into a new
light
dark
light
Right. If you enjoy this, this is the book for you.
Cherkas, Michael and Hancock, Larry; The Silent Invasion 1-4; NBM
Publishing, 35-73 70th St., Jackson Heights NY 11372
This graphic novel by two Canadians was originally published by Renegade
Comics. Done in black-and-white, the artwork is extremely stylized (the
introduction calls it "cartoony" -- it reminded me of something like
"Little Lulu"). As a result I had difficulty telling who the characters
were from the drawings. The Silent Invasion has a good story, but I
didn't find the graphic novel a particularly good way to tell it.
Disch, Thomas M.; Yes, Let's; Johns Hopkins University Press, 701 West
40th St., Suite 275, Baltimore MD 21211; 0-8018-3851-1-7; $8.95.
Most science fiction readers know Thomas Disch for his novels and other
prose works. (These days it may be true that most people know him as the
author of the story they based the movie The Brave Little Toaster on,
but maybe I'm just becoming cynical.) At any rate, this collection, if
you can find it, will show you another side of Disch. This is really a
collection of collections, being excerpts from The Right Way to Figure
Plumbing (1972), ABCDEFG HIJKLM NPOQRST UVWXYZ (1981, and yes, the 'P'
does come before the 'O'), Burn This (1982), Orders of the Retina
(1982), and Here I Am, There You Are, Where Were We (1984), as well as
several previously uncollected poems.
Though not necessarily representative, I have to say the following
struck home the most with me:
It was hot -- we knew it would be --
And the beach was black with tar;
And we weren't all that we should be
At the fabled Sol e Mar.
Of course, I had recently returned from a less than ideal vacation which
included the Costa del Sol, so this may have just been a poem in the
right place at the right time with me.
Ellison, Harlan and Corben, Richard; Vic and Blood; NBM Publishing,
35-73 70th St., Jackson Heights NY 11372; 0-312-03471-7, $8.95.
I would call this a "graphic novel," but it is really three short
stories instead. In any case, I did not find it any improvement over the
original stories, though occasionally the artwork was striking. The
drive-in anecdote in the afterword was obviously false -- who goes to a
drive-in during the daytime? -- but I'm sure Ellison would give the same
excuse he always gives when confronted with a factual error in his
writing: literary license. Strange that if anyone else takes literary
license he gets all up in arms about it....
Giger, H. R.; Giger's Alien; Morpheus International, 200 N. Robertson
Boulevard, Suite 312, Beverly Hills CA 90211; 0-9623447-0-2; $39.95.
Of course the art work is gorgeous. But Morpheus has chosen that black
paper that shows every single fingerprint, meaning you will be afraid to
read this without gloves on. (I also wonder about the appropriateness of
this book for a "Readercon" award -- yes, it has text regarding the
illustrations and the film, but it is still a film tie-in rather than
"literature.")
Petersen, Sandy; Ferrari, Mark J.; Willis, Lynn; and Sullivan, Tom;
Petersen's Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands; Chaosium, Inc., Box
6302, Albany CA 94706-0302; 0-933635-53-2, $15.95.
This book is absolutely gorgeous! Done in "field guide" style, it
describes and portrays two dozen creatures from H. P. Lovecraft's
writings. If you liked such works as Dougal Dixon's After Man, you will
enjoy this work of "speculative biology." Chaosium specializes in gaming
materials and this (and another work, Petersen's Guide to Creatures of
the Cthulhu Mythos) were issued in part as supplements to role-playing
games. But even if you never do any gaming, you will enjoy these books.
In fairness let me give Mark Ferrari credit, since the artwork is mostly
his; Petersen wrote the text. The text is well-done also, but the
artwork, done in colored pencil and absolutely wonderful, is what makes
this book special.
(And you can handle it without worrying about every fingerprint
showing.)
And the Winners Are...
Novel -- No Award
Short Work -- A Dozen Tough Jobs, Howard Waldrop (Mark V. Ziesing)
Single-Author Collection -- Richard Matheson: Collected Stories, Richard
Matheson (Scream/Press)
Anthology -- What Did Miss Darrington See?: An Anthology of Feminist
Supernatural Fiction, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, ed. (Feminist Press)
Non-Fiction -- The Dark-Haired Girl, Philip K. Dick (Mark V. Ziesing)
Reference/Bibliography -- No Award
Reprint -- The Anubis Gates, Tim Powers (Mark V. Ziesing)
Jacket Illustration -- J. K. Potter, The Anubis Gates (Mark V. Ziesing)
Interior Illustration -- Mark Ferrari & Tom Sullivan, S. Peterson's
Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands (Chaosium)
Value in Bookcraft -- Richard Matheson: Collected Stories, Richard
Matheson (Scream/Press)
Magazines (Fiction) -- Interzone, David Pringle, ed. (Interzone)
Magazines (Criticism) -- Science Fiction Eye, Stephen P. Brown & Daniel
J. Steffan, eds. (Science Fiction Eye)
Magazines (Design) -- Science Fiction Eye, Stephen P. Brown & Daniel J.
Steffan, eds. (Science Fiction Eye)
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