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OtherRealms Issue 27 Part 11
Electronic OtherRealms #27
Spring, 1990
Part 11 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.
Your Turn
Letters to OtherRealms
Alexei Panshin
Thank you for your review of The World Beyond the Hill. But how strange
it rings in our ears ot have you suggest the book is personal and
subjective. We took twenty years to examine author statements, read and
re-read stories, research lives and times, and put down what we saw,
including exceptions and paradoxes. We include quotes that demonstrate
our points, and we carefully note our sources. We don't understand how
this careful work could seem like unrigourous belief statements to you.
It is true that we labored to avoid academic language and presented our
materials narratively rather than argumentatively...but surely this
can't have led you to think it wasn't critically rigorous, can it?
David Thayer
The computer gremlins strike again -- Torrocici is a great
transliteration of Phil Tortorici's last name. Perhaps you should make a
game of it -- "Find the name typo in this issue!"
I disagree with Dean R. Lambe's assessment of Bimbos of the Death Sun.
The subject alone is what sold the book. It hit many of its targets. But
it was two dimensional. Behavior at conventions is cartoony, but much of
it goes on beneath the surface.
[[If I ever catch that name gremlin, his toes are toast. -- chuq]]
Cathy Howard
I liked the articles, particularly the one by Lawrence Watt-Evans. I
also enjoy having authors talk about their work. This issue was
especially helpful, since I was doing crazy trying to remember the name
of a book I wanted, and lo and behold, it showed up in #26. Thanks!
I'm afraid I'm one of the people who don't see anything wrong with your
layout. Just don't let the type get too small.
Eric Sassaman
I'd like to mention that receiving your magazines is definitely one of
the highlights of the month! I am using your magazine reviews for about,
oh 70% of my purchasing decisions. My only minor gripe is reviewers that
don't use the *'s when rating - just a verbal review. I know, sometimes
it's hard to pigenhole a book like that, but I want to use the magazine
to tell me what books to buy; it's just that simple. And the stars me
decide. If something has 4.5 or 5 stars AND the verbal review looks
interesing, I put the book on my "list of books to buy sometime in the
next millenium". I'm really hesitant to put a book on my list that has
no star rating. Sometimes a book can have a high star rating but the
verbal review does not really rave at all, so I'm never sure with just a
verbal review. I tend to trust the star rating more than the verbal
part. Just a minor gripe! Can't please everybody, I know!
On the other hand, you have a great magazine, and you've almost never
steered me wrong! I really depend on your magazine to tell me about the
great books out there. Thanks a zillion!
[[For a while I tried to enforce the use of the star rating, but some
reviewers are uncomfortable with it and others submit material without
it, and tracking them down was an amazing hassle. I think it's more
important for the review to be published than it is to hold it waiting
for the missing information and make it so late it's useless. -- chuq]]
Lisa Thomas
I have just finished reading OtherRealms #24.
I wish I'd had a chance at the survey you mention in Editor's Notebook.
I buy lots of used paperbacks and hardbacks. Occasionally I buy a new
paperback. Recently (about the past three months) I've bought three new
ones and am waiting for a fourth I special-ordered to come in. I read
anything except Harlequin romances but usually will be found reading SF,
fantasy or nonfiction on any of the many subjects which interest me. I
read more of the fanzines than the prozines.
Regarding Watt-Evans' column, nothing, well almost nothing, could tempt
me to part with my copies of Born Leader and One in Three Hundred. To
me, these books are irreplaceable. Only once have I seen another copy of
Born Leader.
David Shea
The Of Taste There Is No Disputing Department: My impression is that
your taste and mine don't overlap much. For instance, you apparently
liked Phases Of Gravity, which bored me to tears. Here's a thought:
Bantam has recently re-issued Richard Grant's Rumors Of Spring, one of
my favorite books of the last several years. (See my review in Lan's
Lantern #25.) I would really find it interesting to get your reaction to
it. If you have an opportunity, perhaps you might consider reviewing it
in an upcoming issue.
The This Is A Comment, Not A Complaint Department: I thought we were in
general agreement that any rating system is probably more help than no
system at all. However, I notice that in #26, only one of my reviews
carried the [asterisk ***** system] rating I had proposed. Mr De Lint
also seems to have dropped the practice. Is this being de-emphasized
generally? Would you rather I not bother? Just curious ...
[[Our tastes do differ, sometimes radically. Which is good: I like to
encourage other views in OtherRealms where I can, since I know that my
perception of good isn't the only valid one out there. That's one reason
why I'm sorry to see Alan leave with this issue -- he and I tended to
disagree, sometimes strongly, on books and on other issues. But that
kind of spirited discussion makes for a good sanity check: once in a
while you realize you're wrong. Lots of the time I find, even if I don't
change my mind, I learn something from the exchange.
The reason none of your reviews had star ratings last issue was because
they got inadvertantly left off while I was doing data entry. But at
least I spelled your name right (I think) -- chuq]]
Arthur Hlavaty
A follow-up to the discussion you & B. Ware had on "spell checkers."
Shortly after I read that, I was in the computer lab, where a classmate
was word-processing a report on Young Adult fantasy books. She remarked,
with some surprise, "The spell checker recognizes 'mage.')" Thanks to
you, I was able to point out that it must be a spell checker, rather
than a spelling checker.
Martin Morse Wooster
Many thanks for OtherRealms 26. I think you are wise to shift the format
away from reviews to features, if only because many of your reviewers
seem to be practicing compression for compression's sake. Dan'l
Danehy-Oakes has now shown that he can review 24 books in three pages,
but I would much prefer it if he reviewed fewer books in more space.
Saying that Man from Mundania in a "new Xanth book" and "does anybody
really need to know more than that" says nothing, since it is a critique
that can be mindlessly applied to any novel for any reason. Why did
Danehy-Oakes bother to mention it? Granted, Piers Anthony is not one of
my favorite writers, but he deserves more than to be slammed in one
sentence.
Danehy-Oakes also misunderstands the cuts in The Puppet Masters, as I
recall from Grumbles From the Grave, Heinlein's juveniles from the
1950's were heavily edited for political and ideological reasons, but
his adult novels were simply sliced because they were too long. None of
the Doubleday sf novels from this period were over 60,000 words, and, at
approximately 85-90,000 words, The Puppet Masters had to be pruned
drastically to fit the Doubleday format. I suspect the revised editions
of The Door into Summer and Double Star will not be dramatically longer
than the published versions, since by that time Heinlein had learned to
prune his plots to fit Doubleday's rigid format.
Chuq Von Rospach makes many sound critiques in his editorial. There
really isn't any reason for publishers to be in New York save for
inertia; none of the specialty publishers, for example, is in or near
New York. But automation will not necessarily mean that jobs can be
farmed out. Electronic transfer of novels by modem or disc will save a
great deal of inputting time, but is it worthwhile for publishers to
make a second copy of the disc, send it out for copyediting, and then
have someone check the revised disc with the original to make sure that
the copyeditor didn't monkey around with the text too much? As for
sharecropping, the idea is not new; the Futurians in the early forties
shared a wide variety of names, and a great many hack bylines in some of
the cheesier Fifities sf magazines were shared among many writers.
(Bibliographers are still puzzled over which sf writers were "Ivar
Jorgenson" at any given time.) Granted, these ancient practices were not
sharecropping in the way we now use the term, but the purpose and
function was the same. I agree with you that sharecropping will survive,
provided the shared worlds created do not obviously derive from existing
models. Thieves' World, for example, was a fairly blatant imitation of
the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series; people will be reading Fritz
Leiber fifty years from now because of his originality, but Thieves'
World will have a hard time remaining in print.
[[Dan'l and I talked over the format of his column before he wrote it
last issue. It was an experiment, and it was, I think, a mixed success.
Will we do it again? Probably not.
Some authors would probably choke on the thought of a copy-editor having
an electronic version of their manuscript to play with -- some feel they
already do too much monkeying as it is [sometimes they do, also. Check
out Piers Anthony's But What of Earth [Tor Books] for a few giggles]. I
know, from experience, that working from text given to me electronically
(by disk, by E-mail, or whatever) saves me a lot of time in getting it
edited and ready for OtherRealms.
There are some downsides, though: I have to be careful to keep originals
around in case I do something stupid -- not just deleting the entire
file, but deleting paragraphs instead of words or simply hacking the
text into insensibility. it is also fairly difficult to get a good feel
for how badly text has been munged from the original: diff (on Unix)
helps in some cases, and there are programs like DocuComp on the Mac,
but I think sending back an edited version of a book-manuscript on disk
to an author and asking them to find and verify all of the changes can
be a real problem. Worse, imagine a scenario like this: Editor gets a
manuscript on disk, sends a copy to the copy-editor. Copy-editor does
the copy-editing and sends it back. Editor sends a copy of the edited
book back to the author, who hates the editing job. She goes in and
re-edits the copy-editing and makes some other, incidental changes. The
editor now has THREE significantly different versions of the manuscript
to sit down and figure out how to merge into a cohesive manuscript.
Better, I think, to give the copy-editor paper and have someone verify
and enter the changes than to do things completely by disk at this
point. -- chuq]]
Gene Wolfe
Thanks for the zine, for running Dan'l's review of Soldier of Arete and
for the plugs. You say you really want to be an editor, so I won't
inflict my certain cure for writer's block on you; but if you're ever
blocked again and truly want to be cured (most blocked writers don't),
write me and I'll provide the secret formula. It's only a little rough,
and it takes four days tops.
Typos: The possessive of it is its; it's means it is. Sorry you didn't
like Arete as much as Dan'l did. No more of those, I promise, unless
something changes radically.
Paperback returns: All pb publishers realize that it's a stupid system.
But any one publisher who changes is dead, and if they all change
together it's restraint of trade. Possible a few may be able to nibble
away at it. maybe.
15% agents: They should have a mask and a gun. I have before me a letter
from someone who sold two pb originals with a 10% agent. The writer has
not gone with a 15%er. This letter makes me want to cry.
Real Estate: It does make some sense for publishers to be in New York,
because that's where everyone expects them to be; when the guy from
Walden's goes around to the pb houses, he expects to do it by cab. There
are some publishers elsewhere, however. Philadelphia was the first U.S.
publishing center, then Boston. New York won't last forever. Beth flies
to New York once a month.
Too many books: This one's been around since before I was born. If you
cut your output from thirty-six to thirty, I'll raise my own from
thirty-nine to forty-five and more. Do it again. Go ahead. Each title is
a brand, and the brands fight for shelf-space, just like soap. Why does
one company market four or five different brands of soap? For the same
reason that a publisher puts out ten titles a month. If they got
together and agreed to have everybody cut, it would be restraint of
trade again.
Trade paperbacks. I'm not crazy about them either, but they go over very
big in Europe, like soccer.
Now the tough question -- what I'd like to see in the next ten years: To
start with, a hard ruble and the USSR open to U.S. books. Second,
schools that would actually teach reading in place of merely teaching
the kids how to read (or less). Third, I'd like to see better books from
every writer, including me.
[[Its and it's are a specific blind spot of mine. I've gotten much
better at keeping them separate, but I've got a long way to go before I
do them consistently correct. Sigh.
You're right about writer's block. When you are ready to be cured, you
will be. Not many magic secrets. Most writer's block seems to be a
message from your Muse -- either that you're ready to write what you're
trying to write (because of lack of research, lack of experience, lack
of a good concept to write, or whatever) or it's telling you that you
aren't ready to be writing. In my case, it was a lot of the latter,
since there were a lot of complexities in my life that needed to be
dealt with before I could sit down and deal with the problems involved
in writing. The block, long as it was, was also a learning process, and
I now feel I'm capable of writing publishable material, something that
(in retrospect) wasn't true four or five years ago. OtherRealms has been
a fascinating self-directed class into the techniques of SF and Fantasy,
and I've had some of the best teachers in the business helping me along
by giving me material worth studying. -- chuq]]
Richard Brandt
Thanks for OtherRealms #25; I found many of the reviews useful this time
around, especially the sections on horror fiction, which gave some idea
of the impressive diversity of the field.
Your Pagemaker is pretty nice overall, except that the combination "rn"
tends to come out looking like "m."
Lawrence Watt-Evans' "find" (Charbonneau's Sentinel Stars) has enough
similarities -- the system of nomenclature, the illicit romance -- to
make me wonder if George Lucas had it in the back of his mind while
writing THX-1138.
I agree with your position on who's to blame for the Hugo mess this
year. After the story broke, I was kidding to my friends about what a
waste those eleven supporting memberships I bought were. As it turned
out, I could have accomplished a like result with a bit less outlay, and
it's already been pointed out to me that such rash statements are likely
to get me into trouble someday...
Jane Yolen
Now I have had several cups of tea and a complete read through of
OtherRealms. Some thoughts: Though you have a scattered approach to
children's and YA fiction (at least it appears scattered, I've found no
rhyme or reason to it), it would be wonderful if you could enlist
someone involved in the newly forming SFWA-YA-SIG (that's an awful lot
intials for a simple interest group willing to read hells of stuff and
give out a sort of Not Quite Nebula award) to review for you. I have a
little list -- and no, my name is not on it! -- I could offer you if you
were so minded.
As a lover of short fiction, I was disappointed in the short story
collection reviews for the most part. Guess I have to continue with
Short Form for in depths there. OtherRealms seems happiest and most
comfortable when dealing with novels.
I'm glad to be getting your magazine now. Don't know what took me so
long....yes I do. Time. And honor. Time which I don't have and honor
which, alas, I do and means that I feel honor-bound to read what arrives
in my mail.
[[I would love to do more YA material, but the age-old question of
"Where can I stick it?" comes back to haunt me. I wish I was the size of
Locus, because then I might be able to start dealing with the things
that really need to be better covered in the publishing field. -- chuq]]
M. Elayn Harvey
OtherRealms 26 arrived today, and as usual, I read it cover to cover
immediately. I don't feel you should change the format. The three-column
look is neat, easy to read, familiar as our daily newspapers. So, don't
agonize over it. I'd rather you spend your fiddling time on your novel,
it sounds intriguing. This is the fourth work-in-progress I've heard
about, mine included, dealing with pagan/biblical themes, god and
goddess stuff, technologizing myths. My current effort, Gates of Eden,
deals with what the first world might have been like before and after
the Garden, another version of what happened. Is this preoccupation with
myth a trend? Has Joseph Campbell caught on with everybody? (We should
be so lucky.) Anyway, just an interesting coincidence?, or collective
unconscious?
A cheer for Lawrence Watt-Evans. He let the readers know about Engine
Summer, my personal favorite. I read it every year, just as spring turns
the pages toward summer. That sense of the unique he mentions is also
why I love it. And why I read SF and F; that experience of being other
and far away. Lawrence sets the time as "long-after-the-holocaust", but
it would be insightful to explain there was no holocaust. This is
another of the book's charms. In Crowley's vision of the future, we
didn't destroy ourselves, we grew Up; we stopped playing with toys. I
think it's a valid scenario because I often find myself growing tired of
it all, longing for something simpler, quieter, saner. Humm, it's almost
spring; I think I'll read it again.
Your comment about needlepoint struck a cord; I cross stitch to relax
and think. In fact, and why I mention this, is that I wore out the cover
to Engine Summer and stitched a beautiful cat in crystal for my
hardback. Now, if only I could corner John for a signature.
Alas, I must use the remainder of this letter to respond to Martin
Wooster's criticism of my essay, "Thoughts on the Classics". I must take
exception to his remarks on three counts.
First, and most important. At no place in the article did I say, or mean
to imply that Bester, Heinlein, and Kuttner were not serious writers. I
do not feel it is a discredit to their talent to say they were products
of their times. We are all products of our times. The very fact that Mr.
Wooster is aware of sexual stereotyping is proof.
Second, I did not say, or mean to imply their works were failures. I
don't believe that. Yes, I did say they failed as classics, in my
estimation. That was a bit too harsh; I've had second thoughts, after
reading a few more from that time period. The books mentioned do have
lasting value and significance; in comparison with contemporary SF are
of superior merit. A more careful reading of my essay will reveal I said
the characters failed to convince me, personally, that I was reading
about the future because they were psychological products of the '40's.
Mine was a gut-level reaction to the alchemy of personality, and a 'tap
on the shoulder' to other writers, saying, simply: "Hey, this insight
could be useful."
And third, how do I know people in the 21st century will not act as
people did in the '40's? Do I have a time machine? Yes, in a way I do;
it's called, THE PAST. There has been a steady, if somewhat erratic
evolution in our enlightenment. Our attitudes have changed. I don't
dispute there are among US throwbacks of the Barbarian Age, and there
probably always will be, but we don't hold them Up as models of
acceptable social behavior.
Will there come a time when we do? It's possible we could revert, again.
But, will that be any kind of world you or I will want to live in, much
less read about?
Thanks, Chuq, for letting me get that out of my head.
We Also heard from: Ray Feist, Arthur D. Hlavaty, Boris Zavgorodny,
Sheryl Birkhead. Dennis Virzi, Robert Lichtman, joan hanke-woods, Bruce
Bethke, Gael Baudino.
Subscriptions
OtherRealms is available for The Usual or by arranged trade. You can
also spend money on it: $2.85 each or $11 for a four issue subscription.
We do not currently offer paid subscriptions outside of the United
States.
Artwork
Submissions are welcome, but we generally use only one or two pieces per
artist in an issue. I am looking for genre oriented at at every size
from clip art or filler to full pages or covers. I prefer to work with a
good copy instead of the original, but originals will be returned if
requested after use.
Submissions
OtherRealms publishes reviews of Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and
related books.
Authors are solicited to discuss their work in the Behind the Scenes
section. This series allows you to describe the background and research
that went into your book and the things that make it special to you.
SF, Behind the Scenes, author interviews and special items should be
submitted to Chuq. Fantasy, and Science Fact articles should be
submitted to Laurie.
Please query on everything except reviews. Please include a SASE if you
want a response.
Letters
We solicit your feedback and comments for the letter column. Letters
will be considered for publication unless otherwise requested.
To contact us
Chuq Von Rospach
chuq@apple.com
GEnie: CHUQ
Laurie Sefton
lsefton@apple.com
CompuServe: 74010,3542
Delphi: LSEFTON
35111-F Newark Blvd.
Suite 255
Newark, CA 94560
OtherRealms is published three or four times a year. Next deadline: July 30
OtherRealms
Science Fiction and Fantasy in Review
Issue 27, Spring 1990
Editors:
Chuq Von Rospach
Laurie Sefton
Contributing Editors:
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Charles de Lint
Rick Kleffel
Dean R. Lambe
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Alan Wexelblat
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.
------ End ------
