http://irosf.com/ The Latest Articles from IROSF en-us Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Quintamid Publishing Platform http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss stacey@irosf.com ( Stacey Jannsen ) bluejack@irosf.com ( Bluejack ) 60 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10454 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10454 <p>I think everyone can agree with me when I say that it has been a tough month for the world of SF. We said good-bye to Thomas M. Disch, Clarion West was burglarized, and then there was the <cite>Helix</cite> fiasco. We're all ready for some good news.</p> <br> <br> <p>Remember two months ago when Bluejack told you that he'd have more time to make improvements to the site if he wasn't also trying to run the magazine? Well, you may have noticed that the front page has been slightly tweaked, and what you're looking at are the fruits of his labor. We now have the <a href="http://www.irosf.com/received.qsml?id=all">"Recently Received"</a> section up and functioning, so if you've wanted to write a review for us, but haven't really known where to start, that's a great place to visit. We also have our new <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/irosf">Caf&eacute; Press store</a>, for those of you who are just dying for some IROSF swag, and of course, we now have a shiny new "Donate" button of our very own!</p> <br> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10454">Read More!</a></p> Editorial Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Stacey Janssen ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10445 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10445 <p>To help promote Arisia, a Boston area convention held in January, volunteers have launched "Arisia TV." It's a website where they hope to have lots of SF content that will be of interest to fans and which will, not so incidentally, promote the con. As a long-time participant, I was asked to do a series of brief vignettes on SF films focusing on the theme "The Five Essential Science Fiction Movies." In my <a href="http://arisiatv.blogspot.com/2008/06/star-critic-episode-i.html">introduction</a> to the series, I pointed out that such lists are interesting but are more points for discussion rather than definitive judgments.</p> <br> <br><p> Of course I couldn't resist the challenge, and my choices were a mix of the obvious and the quirky. I limited myself to no more than one film per decade so that once I picked "Forbidden Planet," all those other great '50s films were out of the running. Fortunately it's only an exercise&mdash;<wbr>other than comparing notes and, perhaps, seeing films you may have missed, there's really nothing at stake. However, I began to wonder what would have happened if they had made it more difficult by asking me to name five essential SF films <em>prior</em> to 1950. That would be more of a challenge simply because there are few films to choose from in order to come up with five titles that are enduring classics. No <a href="http://www.rockymusic.org/sfdf/FlashGordon.jpg">"Buck Rogers"</a> or <a href="http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k64/AprilFox58/flash_gordon1940.jpg">"Flash Gordon"</a> serials for me. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10445">Read More!</a></p> Feature Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Daniel M. Kimmel ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10450 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10450 <p> It's unusual, and a little disconcerting, to be asked to write an article summarizing a series of events of which one was a part. This goes double when the venue in question, <cite>The Internet Review of Science Fiction</cite>&mdash;<wbr>which calls itself a "review" and features articles with footnotes and annotations&mdash;<wbr>seems to have inclinations toward what we used to call "scholarly objectivity." Of course, such objectivity in the humanities and social sciences is an ideal one can only approach asymptotically and is increasingly not worth trying for. Still weird though, but I, and you, should get used to it, as we now live in a world where rhetorical and reputational power is radically decentered&mdash;<wbr>as several people have recently found out.</p> <br> <br><p> It started, as much Internet nonsense does, with an email. Luke Jackson, a writer living in Los Angeles, submitted a science fiction short story to Williams Sanders of <cite>Helix</cite>, an online magazine. The emailed rejection letter explained that the story was not sufficiently science fictional enough for <cite>Helix</cite>, and that Jackson may wish to try non-genre magazines. Sanders said a few other things as well:</p> <br> <br><blockquote> <br>I'm impressed by your knowledge of the Q'uran and Islamic traditions. (Having spent a couple of years in the Middle East, I know something about these things.) You did a good job of exploring the worm-brained mentality of those people&mdash;<wbr>at the end we still don't really understand it, but then no one from the civilized world ever can&mdash;<wbr>and I was pleased to see that you didn't engage in the typical error of trying to make this evil bastard sympathetic, or give him human qualities.</blockquote> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10450">Read More!</a></p> Feature Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Nick Mamatas ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10444 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10444 <p> <br>Arthur C. Clarke, literary titan and guiding light in both the fields of science fiction and science writing, was not always solely concerned with hard science fiction subjects. <cite>Childhood's End</cite> (1953), one of Clarke's most acclaimed novels and still one of his personal favorites (the other being <cite>The Songs of Distant Earth</cite> [1986]), was concerned with theological issues as well as the idea of future science becoming possible. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br>Joseph Olander and Martin Harry Greenberg wrote in 1977: "When all is said and done, Clarke's authentic commitment seems to be to the universe and, like Asimov, to the underlying sets of laws of behavior by which the mystery inherent in it will probably be explained." They added that "much of Clarke's fiction pushes the mind outward and ever open. If this is accomplished by an explication of assumed or searched-for universal laws, it is understandable and consistent with science-based extrapolation" (7). <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10444">Read More!</a></p> Essay Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Ryder W. Miller ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10451 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10451 <p>Robert Silverberg's career is replete with transformations, which only befits the relevance of that theme to his work. A recent survey (Bee) explored his development as a writer and his relationship to <cite>Galaxy</cite> magazine during a crucial period of growth. Here we concentrate on the subsequent years of Silverberg's career.</p> <br><p>Since 1980, when Silverberg returned from the latest&mdash;<wbr>though perhaps not the last&mdash;<wbr>of several retirements, he has been at once industrious and commercially successful. He has received appreciation both critical and popular (though in varying tempos not always synchronized with one another nor, for that matter, with the author's own esteem of his contribution's worth). Silverberg's work during this period (which we will refer to, in accordance with recent references [Lalumi&egrave;re, Stableford], as the third phase) has revealed the culmination of a life's refinement of technique, redeploying earlier motifs and preoccupations through highly polished and effective storytelling, and achieving a scale and range impossible in the earlier, more compressed fictions. And yet this same period has been beset by the occasional polemic regarding his commercialism and the "toned down" (Stableford) nature of his work when compared to earlier pieces. It has also been written, in reference to his novels, that "[...]from 1980 Silverberg's books, although broody and superbly professional, have tended to be yarns" (Clute 2, 184). Does this form an accurate appraisal of third-phase Silverberg?</p> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10451">Read More!</a></p> Criticism Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Alvaro Zinos-Amaro ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10452 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10452 <p>Cyril Kornbluth's novella "Two Dooms" begins with Edward Royland, a theoretical physicist pondering his situation at Los Alamos in May 1945. His dissatisfaction with it is tied to his feeling that the Manhattan Project in which he personally has been involved these last few years was all a colossal waste of time. However, a late development (the completion of "Phase 56c") changes that feeling into a profound anxiety that</p> <br><a name="b1"></a> <br><blockquote> Oppie [Robert Oppenheimer] and the rest of them were going to break the sky, kick humanity right in the crotch, and unleash a prowling monster that would go up and down by night and day peering in all the windows of the world, leaving no sane man unterrified for his life and the lives of his kin. (<a href="#f1">1</a>)</blockquote> <br> <br><p>Not sure what to do about it, Royland hopes to clear his mind by going to the nearby Hopi reservation and seeing his old friend the medicine man, Charles Miller Nahataspe. Hearing about his problem, Nahataspe suggests he try "God Food," dried black mushrooms far stronger than peyote, and finds himself transported a hundred and fifty years into an alternate future&#8212;the early 22nd century in a timeline where the atomic bomb that has instilled such dread in Royland never materialized, resulting in the conquest of the world by the Axis.</p> <br> <br><a name="b2"></a> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10452">Read More!</a></p> Criticism Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Nader Elhefnawy ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10446 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10446 <p class=intro> <br> <cite>Steampunk</cite><br /> <br> Edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer<br/> <br> Tachyon Publications: 400 pp., US$14.95<br/> <br> ISBN-13 978-1892391759 <br></p> <br><p> <br> Jeff and Ann VanderMeer have edited a series of useful genre-based anthologies of cyberpunk, the New Weird, and most recently steampunk. The last anthology is especially well-timed because steampunk&#8212;a term coined in the late '80s to describe Victorian alternate history science fiction, a world of Babbage computers, steam engines, and airships&#8212;is now more than a literary genre. It has morphed into a small subculture of eccentrics and amateur tinkerers. If you search "steampunk" on Boing Boing, you'll find dozens of postings for phonographs, t-shirt designs, bands, circus performers, watches, lamps, clothes, wedding cake toppers, motorcycles, cars, computers, etc. If you're a gamer, you can roleplay steampunk worlds live or in the paper and dice format. Steampunk has become a fashion statement with jewelry, and outfits ranging from Neo-Victorian vests and dresses to airship crew uniforms complete with goggles. <cite>The New York Times</cite>, <cite>Newsweek</cite>, and <cite>The Boston Globe</cite> have recently published articles about steampunk. There are <a href="http://www.buysteampunk.com">websites</a> where you can buy steampunk jewelry and other creations. Do you want a steampunk watch or a bracelet, but don't feel like building it yourself? Try eBay. Do you need cogs or old brass for your steampunk project? There's an auction or website for you. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10446">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Robert Bee ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10447 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10447 <p class=intro> <br> <em>Demon Theory</em> by Stephen Graham Jones<br /> <br> Anchor Canada: 2007 (first pub. by MacAdam/Cage Publishing, USA: 2006), 442 pp., US$21.00<br /> <br> ISBN-13 9780385664080 <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> The horror genre has many rooms in its house, and the doors have easily recognizable nameplates. It's usually a cinch to figure out which rooms its novels, films and stories came from: Zombies, Supernaturals (with sublets labeled Haunted House, Ghost, Vampire, Werewolf, etc.), Psychological (more sublets called Mad Slasher [deranged], Psycho Killer [sociopath], Dream World, etc.), and Mad Scientist, among others, are residents in the house. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10447">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( J. G. Stinson ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10449 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10449 <p> <br> Now available on DVD in North America, Satoshi Kon's latest film, <cite>Paprika</cite> (2006), is his most challenging work to date. It is about the DC-Mini, an experimental "dream machine" that allows a therapist to enter the dreams of her patient, and the potential for it to be misused as a weapon. Imagine an animated feature that is a reality-bending blend of Hitchcock's psychoanalytical thriller <cite>Spellbound</cite> (1945) and the cyberpunk movie <cite>Strange Days</cite> (1995), then crank it up. Because the film is so challenging, the following review will contain a lot of details that might seem like spoilers but in fact are merely enough to give readers the background and context to enjoy the movie in one viewing. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> <cite>Paprika</cite> starts in the middle of a dream, where a detective is searching for a criminal at a circus. His partner seems to be a young female clown. Suddenly the circus magician performing in the center ring teleports the detective into a cage. Then the spectators in the bleachers all rush the cage, but they all have the detective's face. The ground gives way and the detective is falling through the air, but the young woman catches him while swinging by on a Tarzan vine. The pair race through several more movie scenes, chasing the fleeing criminal, before the detective wakes up in a panic. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10449">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Michael Andre-Driussi ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10453 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10453 <p> Notable issues this time around are the Spring <cite>Weird Tales</cite> and the Spring issue of <cite>Paradox</cite>, as well as the August <cite>Realms of Fantasy.</cite></p> <br> <br><p></p> <br> <br><div id="minitoc"> <br><h1>Zines Reviewed</h1> <br> <br><ul> <br><li><a href="#fsf">F&SF</a>, September 2008 <br><li><a href="#asimovs">Asimov's</a>, September 2008 <br><li><a href="#analog">Analog</a>, September 2008 <br><li><a href="#sh">Strange Horizons</a>, July 2008 (<a href="http://www.strangehorizons.com/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#fantasy">Fantasy Magazine</a>, July 2008 (<a href=http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/>Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#clarke">Clarkesworld</a>, July 2008 (<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#rof">Realms of Fantasy</a>, August 2008 <br><li><a href="#weird">Weird Tales</a> 349, March/April 2008 <br><li><a href="#paradox">Paradox</a>, Spring 2008 <br><li><a href="#helix">Helix SF</a> #9, Summer 2008 (<a href=http://www.helixsf.com/>Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#aeon">Aeon</a> 14 <br></ul> <br></div> <br> <br> <br><div class="img200"><img src=http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/HisuiGems/sep_fsf.jpg width=200 <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10453">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Lois Tilton ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10439 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10439 <p> <br>Let's face it: change, even when we look forward to it, can make us anxious. The changes that are completely out of our control, however, are by far the worst&mdash;<wbr>when your favorite player gets traded to a new team, for example, or your favorite magazine is suddenly run by some person that you've never heard of. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br>I hate it when that happens. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10439">Read More!</a></p> Editorial Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Stacey Janssen ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10435 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10435 <div class="img200"><img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/HisuiGems/budrys2.jpg" width=200></div> <br> <br><p> <br>It wouldn't be any kind of exaggeration to say that without Algis Budrys my life would be immeasurably different. It all started, as it did for many wannabe SF writers of my generation and the next, with the Writers of the Future contest. I'd seen ads, knew there was an anthology (yep, just the one in those days), and had more or less decided it was useless. I have to say L. Ron Hubbard's name didn't do a lot to mitigate my snap judgment.</p> <br> <br><p> <br>But one day while I was sitting in the audience of a writing panel at a long-ago Norwescon, a pleasant-looking white-haired man stood up nearby during the comments portion of the panel, and said, "I'm Algis Budrys..." Now <em>there</em> was a name that took me all the way back to my childhood, reading my big brother's pulps, "...and I'm associated with the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, and I'd like to invite you all to the party we're having tonight." Hey, it couldn't hurt to go to a party, and they had <em>Algis Budrys</em>! </p> <br> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10435">Read More!</a></p> Obituary Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Bridget McKenna ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10432 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10432 <p>Jack Skillingstead is the critically acclaimed author of over two dozen short stories published in venues including <cite>Asimov's</cite>, <cite>Realms of Fantasy</cite>, and <cite>On Spec</cite>. Mr. Skillingstead's stories, including the Theodore Sturgeon Award finalist "Dead Worlds," have been reprinted in a number of <cite>Year's Best Science Fiction</cite> anthologies. In 2001, Jack's story "Bon Soir" was chosen by Stephen King as a winning entry in a writing exercise from his book <cite>On Writing</cite>. </p> <br> <br><p> His upcoming projects include work on <cite>Couplers</cite>&mdash;<wbr>a YA graphic novel&mdash;<wbr>and a collection of short stories from Golden Gryphon Press. Mr. Skillingstead lives in Seattle with several thousand books. Over the past few weeks, I exchanged emails with Jack to discuss his literary influences, some of the finer points of his concise short stories, upcoming projects, and how he became the writer he is today.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10432">Read More!</a></p> Interview Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Arun Jiwa ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10434 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10434 <p>In April 2007 IROSF started a bold experiment&mdash;to conduct an ongoing cycle of <a href="http://irosf.com/q/zine/article/10377">interviews</a> with a group of tenacious, <a href="http://nojojojo.livejournal.com/127741.html">Janey-on-the-Brink</a> writers. These five have had various levels of success and have various definitions of success. </p> <br> <br><p> Time is relentless and while we started with five, we're down to only four now. Shawn Scarber's whereabouts remain unknown as of the publication of this second round of interviews. Emails are bounced back. Livejournal account&mdash;gone! Personal web page&mdash;Page Not Found! With any luck he didn't end up dead in a ditch somewhere in the pitiless state of Texas.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10434">Read More!</a></p> Interview Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Dotar Sojat ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10437 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10437 <p> <br>Japan is a giant of the video games industry and in recent years, Japanese anime and manga have risen in popularity across the world. Yet Japanese science fiction novels remain largely unknown outside of Japan. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br>In 2007 Japan hosted Asia's first Worldcon. One of the convention's aims was to increase awareness of Japanese science fiction and the dealer's room included a display in English about Japanese SF legend Sakyo Komatsu. However, there was a noticeable divide in terms of attendance of Japanese and foreign fans at programming events. Language proved a difficult barrier to overcome and most Japanese SF program events featured only minimal translation, making it difficult to gain an insight into contemporary Japanese SF. <br></p> <br> <br><a name="back1"></a> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10437">Read More!</a></p> Feature Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Aidan Doyle ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10443 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10443 <blockquote> <br>Genre gives the writer a narrative framework to shelter in, a structure, a place to start. <br/> <br><span class=right>&mdash;Julie Phillips, <cite>James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon</cite>(<a href="#foot1">1</a>)</span><br></blockquote> <br> <br><p>To what extent is Phillips right about the comfort zone of genre? How much does an established narrative framework help or hinder the writer of science fiction, fantasy or horror? Or does an established narrative framework even exist at all? In these days of slipstream and interstitial fiction, the last point could be convincingly argued.(<a href="#foot2">2</a>) But at the same time, the fact that these "new" forms within the realm of speculative fiction have become important enough to almost qualify as marketing categories and are defining themselves <em>against</em> or <em>outside of</em> established norms presupposes that those norms are both present and commonly understood. </p> <br> <br><p>In order to examine some of the questions pertaining to genre, comfort zones and the craft of story, we have taken our metaphor from lost-wax casting. This is the art of creating a sculpted piece in wax, packing it inside a ceramic or other durable mold, then pouring metal into it. The wax flashes and is gone with the heat, but the form remains.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10443">Read More!</a></p> Feature Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Ruth NestvoldJay Lake ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10436 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10436 <p> <br> Science fiction was very good to David Bowie. His first big hit, "Space Oddity" (1969), describes an astronaut who succumbs to a mind-expanding rapture of outer space while in orbit, obviously inspired by the "journey into the monolith" trip near the end of Kubrick's <cite>2001: A Space Odyssey</cite> (1968). The single's release was delayed to coincide with the first Moon landing, whereupon the song rocketed to #5 in the UK charts (1969), but this was not enough to get it on the US charts. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> Bowie was no stranger to science fiction, and a few of his earlier songs have science fiction themes. "We Are Hungry Men" (1967) depicts a breathless scientist, a self-proclaimed messiah, who has just come up with a new technological solution to chronic overpopulation&mdash;only to find that the crowd he is talking to has come up with the old solution of cannibalism. "Cygnet Committee" (1969) tells of a cultural revolution that starts off with sweetness and light but then turns ugly, ending with the revolution's "love machines" killing civilians in the streets. "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" (1969), which first appeared as the B-side of the "Space Oddity" single, is a fantasy vignette about a strange boy, a "missionary mystic of peace/love," whom the unsympathetic mountain villagers try to hang as a witch (in a surprisingly brutal twist, the mountain sends an avalanche to kill them and save his boy). <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10436">Read More!</a></p> Essay Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Michael Andre-Driussi ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10438 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10438 <p> <br>Walking down a green path, whether in a city park or wilderness, it is hard not to be reminded of Bilbo and the dwarves in <cite>The Hobbit</cite> or of Frodo and Company in <cite>The Lord of the Rings</cite>. <cite>The Silmarillion</cite> has had the same effect on some of us. Tolkien evoked our biophilia, our connection with green and wild things. Now we have vivid images of movie characters and orchestrated movie melodies going through our minds. But some of the best parts of <cite>The Lord of the Rings</cite> were left out of the movies; early scenes when the hobbits set out to visit the elves. The hobbits came from an agrarian culture linked to the Earth. The green world of Middle Earth was home to all sorts of magical creatures, many of which found their way into the <cite>Dungeons & Dragons Monsters Guide</cite>. One can imagine that our heroes are setting out to protect the wild when they venture through lush, green forests. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br>Before Peter Jackson's movies, one could imagine all the beautiful and frightful creatures the characters find along their way, but much of the charm of Middle Earth is missing from a film almost entirely about war. There were walking, talking trees with their historical sorrows, the impervious Bombadills, and monsters like the barrow wights and ringwraiths. However, there were also many things that we have come to appreciate, including the countryside. Many Tolkien fans return repeatedly to that exciting and wondrous place that is Middle Earth, but they may be doing themselves a disservice. It's not that Tolkien is not worth re-reading&mdash;<wbr>he is probably the most re-read author in the history of fantasy literature. Part of his appeal is our desire for fantasy, for escape, in a world where the battle lines are more clearly drawn. Some may have trouble absorbing all sorts and manners of fantasy worlds, so by default&mdash;<wbr>and to his credit&mdash;<wbr>we tend to revisit Tolkien's Middle Earth again and again. It has been a place where many of us have done some of our growing up. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10438">Read More!</a></p> Essay Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Ryder W. Miller ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10431 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10431 <p class=intro> <br> <em>The New Weird</em><br /> <br> Edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer<br /> <br> Tachyon Publications, trade paperback: 432 pp., US$14.95<br /> <br> ISBN-13 9781892391551 <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> <cite>The New Weird</cite> begins with a ten-page footnoted introduction by Jeff VanderMeer. Later on, in the section entitled Symposium, we find critical essays by Michael Cisco, Darja Malcolm-Clarke, and K.J. Bishop, whose short fiction is also represented by "The Art of Dying." As well as the original internet thread started by British author M. John Harrison in which various writers and editors attempt to define New Weird, there are notes from several European editors. The internet discussions are well-known and oft linked to but will benefit those who are not yet in the know. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10431">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Ursula Pflug ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10433 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10433 <p class=intro> <br> <em>Flood</em> by Stephen Baxter<br /> <br> Gollancz, July 2008; hardcover: 480pp.; &pound;18.99<br /> <br> ISBN-13 978-0575080560 <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> Snapshots of a drowning London, July 2016: <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10433">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Niall Harrison ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10440 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10440 <p> A lot of interesting stuff. I want to particularly recommend <cite>Interzone</cite> 216. They have put together a Mundane SF issue with an intro by Geoff Ryman as guest editor. Asimov's has a strong issue for August, and the May <cite>Clarkesworld</cite> features a story by Catherynne M. Valente that made me swoon in ecstasy. <br></p> <br> <br> <br><div id="minitoc"> <br><h1>Zines Reviewed</h1> <br> <br><ul> <br><li><a href="#iz">Interzone 216</a>, June 2008 <br> <br><li><a href="#asimovs">Asimov's</a>, August 2008 <br> <br><li><a href="#fsf">F&SF</a>, August 2008 <br> <br><li><a href="#analog">Analog</a>, July/August 2008 <br> <br><li><a href="#clark20">Clarkesworld 20</a>, May 2008 (<a href="http://www.clarkesworldmagazine.com/">Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#clark21">Clarkesworld 21</a>, June 2008 (<a href=http://www.clarkesworldmagazine.com/>Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#sh">Strange Horizons</a>, May 2008 (<a href="http://www.strangehorizons.com/">Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#fantasy">Fantasy Magazine</a>, May/June, 2008 (<a href="http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/">Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#so">Subterranean Online</a>, Spring 2008 (<a href="http://subterraneanpress.com/index.php/magazine/spring-2008/">Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#jbu">Jim Baen's Universe</a>, June 2008 (<a href="http://baens-universe.com/">Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#lss">Lone Star Stories 27</a>, June 1, 2008 (<a href="http://literary.erictmarin.com/current.htm">Online</a>) <br> <br><li><a href="#apex">Apex Digest</a> #12 <br></ul> <br></div> <br> <br> <br> <br><div class="img200"><img src=http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/HisuiGems/iz216cover.jpg width=200><p>Interzone, June 2008</p></div> <br><a name="iz"></a> <br><h3 class="200R"><cite>Interzone</cite> 216, June 2008</h3> <br> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10440">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Lois Tilton ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10442 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10442 <p class=intro> <br><em>Black Magic Woman</em><br/> <br>by Justin Gustainis<br/> <br>Solaris (January 29, 2008)<br/> <br>ISBN: 1844165418<br/> <br></p> <br> <br> <br>&l <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10442">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Flynn Gallagher ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10424 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10424 <p>Welcome to, ah, June. <br> <br><p>If you noticed that May came and went without an issue, that's because we didn't have Stacey yet. Now we have Stacey Janssen, taking the lead as Managing Editor, and I think that's going to be what we need to keep <cite>IROSF</cite> flowing. <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10424">Read More!</a></p> Editorial Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Bluejack ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10419 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10419 <p>Discovered from the slush pile by the late, great Jim Baen himself, Lois McMaster <br>Bujold has not disappointed. Her novels are engaging, taut and just downright <br>entertaining. She fills her books with visionary worlds, robust characters and mythic <br>adventures. She has won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching <br>Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella <cite>The Mountains of Mourning</cite>, perhaps one of <br>the best science fiction novellas ever written, won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards. <br>Her fantasy novel <cite>The Curse of Chalion</cite> won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult <br>Literature. The same novel was a finalist in 2002 for the World Fantasy Award and her <br>novel <cite>Paladin of Souls</cite> won a Hugo and a Nebula, her fourth and second respectively. </p> <br> <br><p>A native of Columbus, Ohio&mdash;<wbr>land of distraught, near-suicidal Buckeye sports fans&mdash;<wbr> <br>Bujold now makes her home in the frigid land of Minnesota&mdash;<wbr>Minneapolis to be more <br>exact, the home of Prince, Neil Gaiman and Husker Du, or was it the Pixie?</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10419">Read More!</a></p> Interview Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Michael Lohr ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10420 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10420 <p> <br> The notion of discovering that your life is a lie&mdash;that everything you've seen and known is false&mdash;is such a powerful one that it has been used in countless stories and movies. From <cite>The Wizard of Oz</cite> (1939) to <cite><a href="http://dc-mrg.english.ucsb.edu/WarnerTeach/E192/Images/MATRIX.jpg">The Matrix</a></cite> (1999), we've seen characters awaken only to learn that what they have been experiencing was all a dream or an illusion. Usually these stories are about the experiences of its protagonist. <cite><a href="http://www.sanctus1.co.uk/blog/uploaded_images/donniedarko-783075.jpg">Donnie Darko</a></cite> (2001) or <cite><a href="http://www.tcnj.edu/~rasmuss4/eternal%20sunshine.jpg">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</a></cite> (2004) are about characters who, by chance or by choice, have become disconnected from the world. Sometimes these stories are not science fiction or fantasy at all, but the stuff of thrillers. Movies like <cite>The Lady Vanishes</cite> (1938) or <cite>Gaslight</cite> (1944) have characters whom, for various reasons, people are trying to trick into believing that what they know to be true is really false or vice versa. Even the notion of one's life being a work of fiction in someone else's reality has been done more than once, from Paul Bartel's classic short <cite><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156056/">The Secret Cinema</a></cite> (1968) to the strained Will Ferrell comedy <cite>Stranger than Fiction</cite> (2006). <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> So there's nothing new under the sun. Why, then, did <cite><a href="http://mdonath.googlepages.com/the_truman_show.jpg">The Truman Show</a></cite> strike such a chord in 1998, and why does the film still seem brilliant a decade later? I can still recall sitting at the press screening for the movie&#8212;oddly, shown a few months rather than few days before the opening, as if they knew we would need time to digest it&#8212;and thinking I had just seen what was likely one of the best films of the year. Although it was only March, my judgment stood and I easily placed it on my year's end ten best list. What impressed me then and impresses me now is just how complex a film it is. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10420">Read More!</a></p> Feature Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Daniel M. Kimmel ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10421 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10421 <p>The decade or so beginning in 1993 has been described by many over the years as a "golden age" for North American science fiction television (broadly defined). True, those years certainly did not mark the first appearance of the genre in that medium, which goes back all the way back to television’s roots with <cite>Captain Video</cite>. Anthology series like <cite>The Twilight Zone</cite> and <cite>The Outer Limits</cite>, space operas like <cite>Lost in Space</cite>, <cite>Star Trek</cite> and <cite>Battlestar Galactica</cite>, sitcoms like <cite>The Jetsons</cite> and <cite>My Favorite Martian</cite>, paranormal-themed shows like the soap opera <cite>Dark Shadows</cite> and the wryly comic <cite>Kolchak the Night Stalker</cite>, the cyberpunk series <cite>Max Headroom</cite>, and the time-jumping drama <cite>Quantum Leap</cite>, among others, won legions of fans, influenced later production and in general left lasting marks on pop culture. And of course, there were plenty of innovative imports from abroad, particularly Japanese anime from <cite>Astro Boy</cite> on, and British productions like <cite>Dr. Who</cite>, <cite>The Avengers</cite>, <cite>Thunderbirds</cite>, <cite>The Prisoner,</cite> <cite>Red Dwarf,</cite> and of course, <cite>Blake's 7</cite> (little seen and known here, but widely hailed as the Ur-story to every un-<cite>Star Trek</cite> and anti-<cite>Star Trek</cite> out there).</p> <br> <br><p>Nonetheless, the sheer volume of U.S. and Canadian production concentrated in the 1990s was staggering, much of it dross but some of it certainly of high quality. More importantly, a good deal of it built on what came before, further developing old concepts or moving in previously unexplored or rarely explored directions. Whatever one chooses to label it, it was an active and fertile period, and it is well worth taking a "big picture" look at it. This article explores the decade’s output, examining some of the circumstances that fostered it, the patterns it followed, and the product that came out of it, which defined genre television as it is today and likely will remain for some time to come.</p> <br> <br><h2>The Rise (and Decline) of the Syndication and Cable Market</h2> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10421">Read More!</a></p> Feature Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Nader Elhefnawy ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10423 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10423 <p> <br> <em>Splat! The First Graphic Novel Symposium</em> (March 2008) and <em>New York ComicCon</em> (April 2008) have come and gone. But graphic literature continues to evolve and is here to stay. <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> Graphic literature, or sequential storytelling, is a blend of many genres, mediums, and forms. Often referred to as comics, modern versions evolved from both comic books and newspaper and magazine comic strips, or "funnies." This is a bit of a misnomer since the material is often not humorous or juvenile. <br></p> <br> <br><a name="back1"></a> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10423">Read More!</a></p> Essay Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Carole Ann Moleti ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10426 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10426 <p>When most people hear "science fiction," they think of <em>fiction</em> and not poetry. Fantasy and horror have a less exclusive phrasing, but still, genre readers are more inclined to forget about poetry. It remains, however, a vital part of speculative literature. A genre is defined more by focus than by form. The speculative field&mdash;<wbr>in all its myriad subdivisions&mdash;<wbr>bases itself on the prime question, "What if?" Speculative poetry is simply exploration of "What if?" in verse.</p> <br> <br> <p>Although poetry has enjoyed tremendous respect in some cultures and time periods, today many people ignore or disdain it. Part of the reason lies in the sad fact that poetry just does not get taught, published, or shared as much as fiction. Yet to those who know and love it, speculative poetry becomes a passion. This article explores some examples of science fiction, fantasy, and horror poetry with attention to what makes them special.</p> <br> <br><h2>Poetry vs. Fiction</h2> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10426">Read More!</a></p> Essay Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Elizabeth Barrette ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10428 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10428 <p class=intro>This essay is derived from a Guest-of-Honor speech presented to Italcon in March of this year, in Fiuggi, Italy.</p> <br> <br><p>Ever since they started appearing in the trees where I like to walk, I've wanted to write a story about the parrots of Bad Cannstatt. Bad Cannstatt, the part of Stuttgart where I live, has one of the largest populations of wild parrots north of their native jungles of the Amazon and Central America&mdash;<wbr>the big ones, Yellow-Headed Amazons, that tend to be about forty centimeters long. According to recent estimates, there are up to one hundred parrots living in the parks on the edge of Stuttgart and in Cannstatt along the Neckar River.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10428">Read More!</a></p> Essay Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Ruth Nestvold ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10429 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10429 <p>Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structures, and can broken down into a number of disciplines such as semantics, phonetics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, etc. Linguistics is probably the most rigorous of the soft sciences and studies a phenomenon that is so omnipresent we take it for granted. According the <cite>Science Fiction Encyclopedia</cite>, language has been a prevalent topic in SF, but little SF has been written <em>about</em> linguistics (Clute and Nicholls, 723). Two works focused on linguistics and the nature of language are Samuel Delany's <cite>Babel-17</cite> and Jack Vance's <cite>The Languages of Pao</cite>, both of which rely on the world building opportunities of science fiction to perform interesting thought-experiments that explore how language shapes human experience. The novels consider important questions about linguistics, and demonstrate how SF writers utilize scientific theories to construct their work.</p> <br> <br><p>Jack Vance's 1958 novel <cite>The Languages of Pao</cite> explores the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis">Sapir-Whorf hypothesis</a>, the theory that language shapes culture. Benjamin Whorf and Edward Sapir were linguists and anthropologists who argued that a language's structure and grammar construct the perception and consciousness of its speakers. Ideas are shaped by language: speakers of different languages find certain ideas unthinkable, or conversely more palatable because of the grammatical structures and words which shape their perceptions. Even concepts such as time and punctuality are shaped by a language's verb tenses.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10429">Read More!</a></p> Criticism Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Robert Bee ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10422 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10422 <p class=intro> <br> <cite class=short>Infected</cite><br /> <br> By Scott Sigler<br /> <br> Crown, 2008, 352 pp.<br /> <br> ISBN 0307406105 <br></p> <br> <br><p> <br> It may sound like a clich&eacute;, but I really didn't expect to like this novel. Not because of the author or the subject matter, but because of all the hoopla surrounding it. Scott Sigler got a lot of attention when his first novel <cite>Earthcore</cite> became the first novel to be podcast-only, and he shortly followed it up with another (<cite>Ancestor</cite>), then another (<cite>Infection</cite>), another (<cite>The Rookie</cite>), and is currently podcasting yet a fifth (<cite>Nocturnal</cite>) on his <a href="http://www.scotsigler.net">website</a>. Almost from the beginning, he's made waves with the podcasts and gained quite a following&mdash;<wbr>more than 10,000 subscribers for <cite>Earthcore</cite>, and it's only gone uphill from there. Hoopla and I don't mix well&mdash;<wbr>for instance, I avoided <cite>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</cite> until after it was over because all the uproar annoyed me. Of course, now I love it. <br></p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10422">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Flynn Gallagher ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10425 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10425 <p class=intro> <br> <em>The Last Colony</em><br /> <br> By John Scalzi<br /> <br> Tor Books, 2007, hardcover: 320 pp., US$23.95<br /> <br> ISBN-10: 0765316978<br /> <br> ISBN-13: 978-0765316974 <br></p> <br> <br><p><cite>The Last Colony</cite> may be the perfect summer paperback.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10425">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Joe Tokamak ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10427 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10427 <p>Finally getting caught up after the <cite>IROSF</cite> hiatus. One new zine reviewed this time&mdash;<wbr><cite>Flurb</cite>. The prize this month goes to <cite>Helix SF</cite>. <cite>Strange Horizons</cite>' offerings were strong, as well.</p> <br> <br><div id="minitoc"> <br><h1>Zines Reviewed</h1> <br> <br><ul> <br><li><a href="#fsf06">F&SF</a>, June 2008 <br><li><a href="#fsf07">F&SF</a>, July 2008 <br><li><a href="#asimovs">Asimov's</a>, July 2008 <br><li><a href="#rof">Realms of Fantasy</a>, June 2008 <br><li><a href="#iz">Interzone 215</a>, April 2008 <br><li><a href="#sh">Strange Horizons</a>, April 2008 (<a href="http://www.strangehorizons.com/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#baen">Jim Baen's Universe 12</a>, April 2008 (<a href="http://baens-universe.com/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#helix">Helix #8</a>, Spring 2008 (<a href="http://www.helixsf.com/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#cw">Clarkesworld 19</a>, April 2008 (<a href="http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#lss">Lone Star Stories 26</a>, April 2008 (<a href="http://literary.erictmarin.com/current.htm">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#flurb">Flurb #5</a>, Spring-Summer 2008 (<a href="http://www.flurb.net/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#fm">Fantasy Magazine</a>, March-April 2008 (<a href="http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/">Online</a>) <br><li><a href="#tb">Talebones #36</a>, Spring 2008 <br></ul> <br></div> <br> <br><div class="img200"><img src="/i/08/fsf_0806.jpg" width=200 alt="June F&SF"><p>F&SF, June '08</p></div> <br><a name="fsf06"></a> <br><h3 class="200R"><cite>F&SF</cite>, June 2008</h3> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10427">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Lois Tilton ) http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10430 http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10430 <p class=intro><cite class=short>The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate</cite><br> <br>By Ted Chiang<br> <br>Subterranean Press, July 2007<br> <br>ISBN 9781596061002</p> <br> <br><p>Five long years since the publication of <cite>Stories of Your Life and Others</cite>, Ted Chiang is back with a new novella from Subterranean Press, <a href="http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=chiang&Category_Code=PRE&Product_Count=6">The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate</a>. Fuwaad ibn Abbas is a fabrics merchant from ancient Baghdad, in a time when that city was thriving and prosperous, the City of Peace. He has been brought before the Caliph with a remarkable story of time travel, enabled by an Egyptian alchemist named Bashaarat. Bashaarat's shop is filled with an assortment of artistic and mechanical oddities, crafted by the man himself, but the strangest item of all is located in the back, out of sight from the casual browser: the Gate of Years, an alchemical circular doorway constructed of polished black metal. A portal to the past or the future, depending upon which side of the gate one enters.</p> <br> <p><a href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10430">Read More!</a></p> Review Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000 noreply@irosf.com ( Jason Erik Lundberg )