OtherRealms

A fanzine for the non-fan

"Where FIJAGH becomes a way of life"

Volume 1, Number 2

February, 1986

Table of Contents

• Editorial: The Making of OtherRealms and Other Stories by Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms

• Authors: A Profile of Karen Joy Fowler by James Brunet

• Reviews: Wasp by Eric Frank Russell Reviewed by James D. Johnston

• Awards: Nebula Awards Final Ballot

• Writing: How to Write a Review by Chuq Von Rospach

• Pico Reviews by Our Readers

  • BLOOD MUSIC, by Greg Bear [****]

  • BROKEDOWN PALACE, by Steven Brust [*****]

  • CARDS OF GRIEF, by Jane Yolen [**]

  • CLIFFS NOTES ON HEINLEIN'S WORKS [**]

  • CORONA (A Star Trek Novel) by Greg Bear [***]

  • ENDER'S GAME, by Orson Scott Card [*****]

  • THE FRANKENSTEIN PAPERS, by Fred Saberhagen [**]

  • FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE, by H. Beam Piper [***]

  • KING KOBOLD REVISED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]

  • A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [***+]

  • A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [***+]

  • NIGHT OF POWER. by Spider Robinson [*]

  • NO DOORS, NO WINDOWS, by Harlan Ellison [***]

  • ORBIT 19, edited by Damon Knight, [***]

  • PET SEMATARY, by Stephen King [****]

  • THE PROTEUS OPERATION, J. P. Hogan, Bantam, [*1/2]

  • ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, by Isaac Asimov, [***]

  • THE SERPENT, by Jane Gaskell [*-]

  • SHIELD, by Paul Anderson [*****]

  • THE SNOW QUEEN, by Joan D. Vinge [*****]

  • THE SONG OF MAVIN MANYSHAPED , by Sheri S. Tepper [**]

  • STREETLETHAL, by Steven Barnes [****]

  • TIMESCOOP, by John Brunner [**]

  • UNACCOMPANIED SONATA AND OTHER STORIES, by Orson Scott Card [****]

  • THE WARLOCK IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, by Christopher Stasheff [***]

  • THE WARLOCK UNLOCKED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]

  • WORLDS END (VOLUME 2 IN THE SNOW QUEEN CYCLE), by Joan D. Vinge [***]

  • YENDI, by Steven Brust [****]

• Writing: WORKSHOPS AND CRITICISM: HELP FOR THE SF WRITER by James Brunet

• Readers Survey: Our monthly question to our readers

• Masthead: The necessary administrivia

by Chuq Von Rospach

Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach

I was originally going to write on the recent Shuttle tragedy. The

Shuttle, and the space program in general, needs as much support as we

can give it right now. Everything that I might have said about the

crash has already been said elsewhere and I don't think it is

productive to keep picking the past apart indefinitely. We should

start looking for ways to put the space program back into our future.

Without it, I wonder what future we have at all.

* * *

This is the second issue of OtherRealms, and the changes are rampant. I

was not happy with the look of the first issue. From my mail, it seems

that many of you agree with me. This issue experiments with a new look,

and I think it is on the right track. Drop me a line with your comments

on how to improve things further. I expect that OtherRealms will

continue to mutate over the next few months as I figure out how to

really deal with the limitations of an electronic media.

One big change I want to go into detail about is the move away from

mail Unix headers. OtherRealms is expanding rapidly, and has already

moved onto a number of non-Unix locations. One of possible interest is

SCI-FIDO, an IBM-PC based BBS that specializes in discussions of SF and

Fantasy (the phone number is in the masthead). Because of this, I

don't feel it is appropriate use a mail or digest format (both of which

are too limited for what I'm trying to do anyway).

I think it makes the magazine a lot more readable. I've now asking

authors to include U.S. mail addresses where they are willing so that

people on disconnected networks can contact each other.

Another change is that I'm now asking authors to include bionotes.

I'll use one or two a month, and I hope this will help the readers

learn something about the authors.

* * *

Who is the average OtherRealms reader? The details of the survey from

the first issue are in the Readers Survey section, but I wanted to

touch on them here. The readership is pretty much what I expected. Very

few of you read fanzines or go to conventions. One thing that did

surprise me was a high percentage of readers buying hardcover books

(about 15%). I expected about half that. This is just an indication of

how serious you are about your reading, since you don't wait until it

comes out in paperback.

The other really interesting part of the survey was the feedback

on who reads SF and Fantasy. Many readers claim to not read fantasy.

38 of forty admit to reading SF, but only 33 admit to reading

fantasy. The number of Fantasy books read per month is 25% lower.

Fantasy is the hottest selling book on the market right now (although horror

is growing the fastest in number of new titles) so I expected more

fantasy readers than there are. I guess the technical orientation of

people who would subscribe to this magazine skews things farther than

I'd expected.

Some people pointed out that the definitions of Fantasy and SF was

arbitrary. I agree, and to some degree those questions were ringers. I

was looking for information on your definitions of SF and Fantasy. Ben

Bova was quoted as defining SF as "anything I point at" and that

attitude is very much alive out there. You don't really care what the

spine of the book calls it. This is an important part of being an

intelligent reader. The definitions of SF and Fantasy would be an

interesting article or discussion to have in the letter column.

* * *

Speaking of the letter column, you'll notice that it is missing. This

is because nobody wrote in. I hope this will change in future issues.

Don't feel you have to comment on a published article. I'm happy to

start independent discussions on SF and Fantasy related subjects in

there as well. If you read Dragon magazine, they have two letter

columns -- a traditional column and a 'Forum' where people can talk

about things that don't really need to be a full article. I'd like to

see the OtherRealms letter column be both of these.

* * *

This issue of OtherRealms is heavily writing oriented. I hope future

issues have more reviews, but I'm working with the material that is

being submitted. This was a bad month for writing for me -- out of

town for a week, I'm now working on my third week of the flu. Because

of this, a couple of reviews and articles I'd planned simply didn't get

written. What did happen was that I was flat on my back next to a

large stack of unread books, so the Pico review section is huge.

I've really fallen in love with the Pico review format. It isn't what

I'd planned it to be, but this format works better quite well. The

more people who support it, the better it is going to get. It doesn't

take that long to drop me a paragraph on a book. Start making your

comments in that section. One thing I plan on starting in the a future

issue is a six month summary of the Pico reviews. People can then look

and see the average response to a book quickly. I'm encouraging

multiple Pico reviews of a single work, so don't let the fact that it

has been mentioned slow you down.

* * *

Reviews are the lifeblood of OtherRealms. One article I did get written

this month is "How to Write a Review." I'm also including it in a

revised version of the Writers Guide. It was important enough that I

wanted to make it available now. Writing reviews is hard work, and

there are some tricks that make it easier. I hope I passed some of

them them along. Please feel free to comment on how to improve it.

* * *

I've added a slogan to the OtherRealms title. "Where FIJAGH becomes a

way of life" is a play on a couple of famous fandom lines. FIJAGH,

stands for "Fandom is just a Goddamn Hobby", while the phrase "a way of

life" comes from FIAWOL or "Fandom is a Way of Life." I think that it

sums up what OtherRealms is all about -- learning more about the SF

without getting heavily involved in fandom. It's cute, and I like it.

* * *

I've rambled long enough. OtherRealms is starting to prove itself. I'd

estimated about 100 subscribers for the first issue and maybe 150

total. The first issue went to about 300 people and readership of this

issue should be about 450. The readership response is been gratifying

and positive, so I think I've pegged your interests pretty well. This

growth is making me work harder at turning it into a 'professional'

quality magazine faster than I'd planned, but I think it is worth it.

by James Brunet

hplabs!hao!ico!ism780!ism780b!jimb

Copyright 1986, by James Brunet

Karen Joy Fowler first came to my attention when WRITER'S OF THE

FUTURE, an anthology containing stories by the winners of the contest

of the same name, was published last May. Her "Recalling Cinderella"

was one of the few stories that was better than what I thought was the

mediocre average of the volume. I did not like the story -- it was a

psychologically chilly form of SF that I don't care for -- but I was

very impressed with the way mood and character were evoked.

I ran into Karen at WesterCon last July. I complimented her on her

writing and found out that she also enjoys writing poetry (that

accounts for the nice rhythms in the prose) and is a member of a

workshop run by Kim Stanley Robinson, author of two critically

acclaimed SF novels and some memorable shorter works.

Through the rest of 1985 I noticed Karen's name attached to other

stories in F&SF and Asimov's. At the end of the year, *TWO* wound up on

my list of possible nominees for the Hugo ballot.

All of her stories are intensely focused on mood and psychology. "The

Poplar Street Study" (F&SF, 6/85) is study of the inter-relationships

of people living on one small suburban block that happens to be the

control group for a study by aliens who have taken over the Earth.

"Praxis," (IASFM, 3/85), was Karen's first published story. It concerns

simulated people -- human body combined with software brain -- and is a

story of the stage, murder, and ethics. "The Lake Was Full of

Artificial Things" (IASFM, 10/85) is an tale of role-playing

psychotherapy and computer-induced therapeutic reality.

Finally, "The War of the Roses." It has nothing to do with Edward and

Margaret and 14th-century England. Part myth, part folk tale, part

apologue (extended parable). The teaser in Asimov's asks "Which is more

important, to preserve life or to preserve knowledge?"

This question barely scratches the surface of this story. I will not

spoil the plot; indeed, the plot is but the merest excuse upon which to

hang a wonderful story. The narrator is a young woman, a child of the

revolution. And the story concerns revolution, choices, tradition,

ideology, renewal and loyalty.

"There are many designs in the world, many plans. When you choose one,

then you are imprisoned. Then you have doomed yourself never to rise

above its weakest aspect. No, freedom involves the preservation of old

choices and work is the creation of new ones." Not a bad speech. In the

context of the story, it's not a speech but a character speaking, truly

and from the heart. No Heinleinesque speeching here.

Keep looking for works by Karen Joy Fowler. If you're thinking about

your Hugo ballot, or you simply want to read some good stories, go back

and read some of her earlier work. I particularly recommend "The Poplar

Street Study" and "The War of the Roses," though I'll admit that the

latter grew on me over time and fully blossomed on a second read.

Del Rel, ISBN 345-32759-4 $2.95, Original Copyright 1957

Reviewed by James D. Johnston

ihnp4!icarus!jj

(C) Copyright 1986, by James D. Johnston

Wasp, as one can note from the copyright date, is a book from another

era. It concerns an interstellar war, a gifted misfit, and the

effectiveness of subversion. An introductory blurb about the author

discusses his experiences in the OSS during WW II.

According to the introduction, the book contains many references to

wartime Japan including the ever-present secret police and the cowed

society of the "Sirians", who are purple and look like short, bowlegged

humans. Various of the tricks used by the protagonist "Mowry"

suggest, or perhaps even reek, of OSS during WW II.

Ignoring the parallels and possible racist insults for a minute, the

plot describes the efforts of Mowry, who disrupts life on a frontier

planet quite effectively by mobilizing and abusing the criminal

element and taking advantage of the hidebound and fear-motivated

bureaucracy. The society that he disrupts is one that the reader isn't

supposed to like and perhaps even one one that the reader is supposed to

fear. Shades of Senator Joe passed through my mind a few times.

The story is entertaining in a fashion after the James Bond stories,

although Mowry does not have the super-human panache of Bond. The story

is science fiction by the device of using an interstellar war as an

excuse so hard SF folks and fantasy folks are both left somewhat by the

wayside.

It's a good, trivial read if you don't feel up to the complexity of

Mark Helpern, Steven Brust, or John Myers Myers, and it is supposed to

make you feel good at the end because the earthlings win. It does make

you wonder if they SHOULD have won, even though it doesn't seem to be

the intent of the story.

The book is clearly a product of its time and reflects the attitudes of

the postwar US. The reader is free to excuse or condemn this -- I'm

comfortable just pointing it out.

I'll rate it a 2-. It's not a classic, never will be, doesn't contain

profundity, but it does entertain if one remembers the 1950's. It

certainly doesn't provide the third drink of returning. If you like

Bond, perhaps.

Nebula Finalists are listed on this ballot in alphabetical order by

title. In general, anything on the list is well worth reading. I've

read two of the novel finalists and both were superb.

Novel

• BLOOD MUSIC Greg Bear

• DINNER AT DEVIANT'S PALACE Tim Powers

• ENDER'S GAME Orson Scott Card

• HELLICONIA WINTER Brian W. Aldiss

• THE POSTMAN David Brin

• THE REMAKING OF SIGMUND FREUD Barry Malzberg

• SCHISMATRIX Bruce Sterling

Novella

• 24 VIEWS OF MT. FUJI, BY HOKUSAI Roger Zelazny

• THE GORGON FIELD Kate Wilhelm

• GREEN DAYS IN BRUNEI Bruce Sterling

• GREEN MARS Kim Stanley Robinson

• THE ONLY NEAT THING TO DO James Tiptree, Jr.

• SAILING TO BYZANTIUM Robert Silverberg

Novelette

• DOGFIGHT Michael Swanwick & William Gibson

• THE FRINGE Orson Scott Card

• A GIFT FROM THE GRAYLANDERS Michael Bishop

• THE JAGUAR HUNTER Lucius Shepard

• PALADIN OF THE LOST HOUR Harlan Ellison

• PORTRAITS OF HIS CHILDREN George R.R. Martin

• ROCKABYE BABY S.C. Sykes

Short Story

• FLYING SAUCER ROCK AND ROLL Howard Waldrop

• THE GODS OF MARS Gardner Dozois, Jack Dann, & Michael Swanwick

• HEIRS OF THE PERISPHERE Howard Waldrop

• HONG'S BLUFF William F. Wu

• MORE THAN THE SUM OF HIS PARTS Joe Haldeman

• OUT OF ALL THEM BRIGHT STARS Nancy Kress

• PAPER DRAGONS James P. Blaylock

• SNOW John Crowley

The top five finishers in each category are on the final ballot. The

Nebula Jury added one work in each category. In addition, a

fifth-place tie in the novel category and a three-way fifth-place tie

in the short story category added additional works to the ballot. In

the novelette category, the Rules Committee determined that if it

received enough votes to qualify (which it did), PALADIN OF THE LOST

HOUR, which was incorrectly listed on the preliminary ballot as a short

story, should be added to the novelette category without displacing any

novelette that would otherwise have reached the final ballot.

by Chuq Von Rospach

sun!plaid!fanzine

Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach

The purpose of a review is to help other people decide whether or not

to read (or view) that work. There are two keys to writing a good

review: Consistency and Objectivity.

Of the two, I feel consistency is the most important. As you write

reviews for OtherRealms (or for anywhere, for the matter) people will

read them and then compare their reactions to a book with yours. If you

are consistent, they will learn to use you as a filtering mechanism to

help them avoid the things they aren't going to want to waste time on.

If you write every review from a different reference point, they won't

be able to judge their reaction based on yours, and your opinion is

less useful.

The key to consistency is objectivity. Before you can transmit your

views effectively to others, you need to understand your own blind

spots. Everyone enjoys a different subset of literature for different

reasons. Some like SF, some like Fantasy. Some prefer interesting

characters, some enjoy complicated plots or detailed environments. Once

you realize your preferences you should probably avoid reviewing

material away from your interests.

You aren't going to be objective about all of the books you read. If

you don't like Hard SF, for instance, it would be likely that you

wouldn't like a book by Robert Forward and the book would get a worse

review than it might deserve.

If you do decide to review outside of your interests, make sure the

audience knows this -- it will help them judge the review from your

point of view. I've run into this situation recently with the book

"Footfall", by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. If I am going to review

that work, the readers need to know that I've never liked anything that

those authors have collaborated on since "Mote in God's Eye". My

viewpoint is as far from objective as you can get and it is important

that the readers understand that. I didn't even try to be objective in

my review, but in outlining where my objectivity ends, I help the

reader put it into perspective.

Don't be afraid to summarize a plot, but be aware that a plot summary

is not a review. If you are going to talk about the plot, don't give

away critical plot twists. Don't quote cover blurbs. Make sure that you

tie in the summarization with the comments you make about the book --

it is real easy to get into a mindset where you give a plot overview

and then you review the book. This is a lazy review, and you are

padding your word count. If the summary doesn't make a point, you don't

need it.

Don't worry about word count, and don't pad your reviews. Many books

frankly don't deserve a full review, which is why I have Pico reviews.

Save your words for the books that deserve exposure.

Each review should be submitted separately. Please include the

following information on a book review: title, author, publisher,

price, and number of pages (For example, "Brokedown Palace, Steven

Brust, Ace, 2.95, 270pp, ISBN 0-441-0718103", the ISBN number is but

not required). For media reviews: Title, studio/network, date shown

(for television). Include stars, authors, and whatever else as

necessary. The final paragraph should summarize the review and tell

the reader whether or not to read/view the work (with a quickie on any

qualifications). A scale of zero to five (with zero reserved for truly

rotten things and 5 for 'classics') should be used if you're going to

use a rating scale. Be wary of rating creep and be VERY wary about any

rating number outside the normal scale (any time I see someone say "On

a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it a 13" I realize that they have no

objectivity about the work).

In general, use the words you need to write the review, but don't use

any more. It is easy to decide if you liked or disliked a book. It is

more difficult to figure out why. Until you do, you won't be able to

write a good review. Once you do figure out why, don't let the review

wander off of that main topic -- tie it all together.

by Our Readers

BLOOD MUSIC, by Greg Bear [****]

Arbor House [SF Book Club edition] , 214 pages

A strong story by a strong new writer. Greg Bear handles the tough

problem of writing a hard SF story about a genetic engineering without

glossing over the details or overwhelming the reader. It finishes like

Childhoods End, but the weak ending is the only problem.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

BROKEDOWN PALACE, by Steven Brust [*****]

Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 270 pages

A very strong work from a writer showing a lot of potential. This book

is so rich in imagery, believable and interesting characters and plot

as to defy discussion. Brust shows himself to have a sense of humor

that rivals Spider Robinson in a serious but lighthearted fantasy.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

CARDS OF GRIEF, by Jane Yolen [**]

Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 193 pages

More SF than fantasy, this is an attempt to study an alien society and

the starmen studying the society at the same time. Yolen seems to be

trying to write like LeGuin, and ends up with a muddled

not-quite-successful work.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

CLIFFS NOTES ON HEINLEIN'S WORKS [**]

Cliffs Notes inc., 59 pp.

Neat idea, and a must for any Heinlein collector. A good source for a

listing of his books. But I disagreed on much of what they had to say

about him, and the way they broke down is works into categories.

--Peter Korn

(sdcsvax!ucbvax!korn)

CORONA (A Star Trek Novel) by Greg Bear [***]

Pocket Books, $2.95

It is beginning to look like Star Trek novels do for SF authors in the

80's what Batman did for actors in the 60's -- everyone has to do it

once. Greg Bear pays the rent and chews the scenery with the story of a

Xenophobic press-lady on the Enterprise as it goes into a Nebula to

save a Vulcan research team. He throws in a cloning device (not really

used, though...) and a "monitor" that can take over control of the ship

if the Captain does something it disagrees with (it does, at a critical

point, of course) and an alien menace trying to bring about a new "Big

Bang" of the Universe because it is lonely. The Xenophobe, of course,

saves the day, and everyone goes off with a smile on their face to the

next novel.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

ENDER'S GAME, by Orson Scott Card [*****]

Tor books, $3.50, 357 pages

Truly stunning novelization of Card's first published story from

Analog. Most novelizations just get padded, this version is

significantly improved from the impressive original. Card looks at a

bleak future of interstellar war and children as soldiers in a very

human and sensitive way.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

THE FRANKENSTEIN PAPERS, by Fred Saberhagen [**]

Baen Books, $3.50, 308 pages

Saberhagen tries to do to Frankenstein what he did to Dracula with his

book "The Dracula Tape". Unfortunately, the result is muddled and long

winded as the monster carries on a conversation with itself while

Benjamin Franklin's son looks for him. An amazingly rotten ending, with

a "deus ex machina" plot twist worthy of the worst of Greek drama that

made anything done earlier in the book completely worthless.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

FUZZIES AND OTHER PEOPLE, by H. Beam Piper [***]

Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 216 pages

The third Fuzzy novel, thought lost for 20 years, has finally seen the

light of day. Fuzzy followers will enjoy it, but it doesn't have the

polish of the other two. It starts an interesting exploration of what

happens when everyone forgets the non-interference pacts, but doesn't

really carry it through.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

KING KOBOLD REVISED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]

Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 216 pages

Another of the Warlock stories, this time with Cro-Magnon Vikings

leading the attack. The names change, the plot remains the same.

Enjoyable light reading, but don't expect miracles.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [****+]

ACE Fantasy, 1986. 235 pp. $2.95 (mass-market).

A Malady of Magicks is a humorous collection of short fantasy stories

about a wizard and his apprentice. Collected together into one novel

are three short stories published previously and ~140 pages of new

stories. Perhaps some of the funniest stories I have ever read (if you

liked Another Fine Myth, you'll love this). I was prevented from

giving it five stars only by my reluctance to call a novel 'classic'.

The ideas were original (a wizard who is allergic to magic) and were

never carried to extremes (not another Xanth). There will be two

further volumes published, "A Multitude of Monsters" (Aug.86) and "A

Knight in the Netherhells" (Feb.87).

Aydin Edguer

decvax!cwruecmp!edguer

A MALADY OF MAGICKS, by Craig Shaw Gardner [***+]

Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 235 pages

Simply one of the funniest books I've read since Flying Sorcerors.

Non-stop gigglefest about the wizard Ebenezum and his apprentice

looking for the cure to his allergy -- to magic. Every time someone

sneezes, you're in for a new and silly adventure.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

NIGHT OF POWER. by Spider Robinson [*]

Berkley, $2.95, 287 pages

Spider Robinson writes an anti-racist novel. A man of strong emotions,

Robinson lets his anger get out of control and loses his objectivity on

the subject. The result is an angry and uneven book that doesn't really

make the points he was trying to make. An example of a 'cause' book --

one that just doesn't make it.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

NO DOORS, NO WINDOWS, by Harlan Ellison [***]

Ace, $2.95, 223 pages

A good book to give people who think that Ellison is an SF writer, this

is a collection of his mystery and thriller stories. It includes the

story that one him his Edgar (the Mystery Writers version of the

Nebula) "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs". Otherwise, none of the stories

are great, but none of them are bad, either. A must for Ellison

completists.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

ORBIT 19, edited by Damon Knight, [***]

stories by John Varley, Kate Wilhelm, Gene Wolfe, Felix

Gotschalk, R.A. Lafferty, Stephen Robinett, Michael McClintock,

Michael Conner, Phillip Teich, Kevin O'Donnell, Jr., Eleanor

Arnason, and Kim Stanley Robinson; Harpers Science Fiction [SF

Book Club Edition], 217 pages.

The 1976 edition of Orbit, the oldest continuing anthology of original

work in SF. Nothing flashy, nothing that will go down as a classic, but

good, solid SF with no rotten apples. Best story has to be "The

Disguise" by Kim Stanley Robinson with a futuristic psychological drama

about theater. The best known is probably "Lollipop and the Tar Baby"

by Varley.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

PET SEMATARY, by Stephen King [****]

Signet, $4.50, 410 pages

Classic King, the sort of stuff that deserves to be a Bestseller. With

just enough supernatural to keep his fans happy, King does a masterful

job of showing a family learning to cope with death.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

THE PROTEUS OPERATION, J. P. Hogan, Bantam, [*1/2]

SF Book Club

Cardboard characters, an action plot that doesn't, and a plot-fault

that makes us all realize it doesn't matter about half-way through.

One female character, who isn't even 3'rd lead.

James Johnson

ihnp4!alice!jj

ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, by Isaac Asimov, [***]

Doubleday [SF Book Club Edition], 383 pages

Much better than average Asimov as he continues the endless quest to

tie up every loose end in everything he ever wrote into a single

Universe. I don't like his writing style normally and found it

tolerable. Asimov tries to invent robotic metaphysics and the zeroth

law of robotics. I didn't buy either.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

THE SERPENT, by Jane Gaskell [*-]

Daw Fantasy, $2.95, 320 pages

Atlantean fantasy. I was repulsed by the way Gaskell chose to write the

story and didn't get past page 41. Dog of the month on my list

-- Chuq Von Rospach

SHIELD, by Paul Anderson [*****]

Berkley, 1963. 158 pp.

Great idea, well written, interesting, with a believable protagonist.

--Peter Korn

(sdcsvax!ucbvax!korn)

THE SNOW QUEEN, by Joan D. Vinge [*****]

Dell books, 1980, $3.95, 536 pages

a deep and entrancing tapestry of words, this book one a Hugo and

richly deserved it. This book stands with those of Tolkien and Wolfe

for building rich and interesting societies and putting real people in

them. A classic if any book deserves the title.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

THE SONG OF MAVIN MANYSHAPED , by Sheri S. Tepper [**]

Ace Fantasy, $2.75, 183 pages

A short novel about a person I didn't care about doing things I didn't

care about. The concept has a lot of promise, the execution just didn't

grab me. Very ho-hum fantasy when there is a lot better stuff on the

market.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

STREETLETHAL, by Steven Barnes [****]

Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 308 pages

First solo novel shows promise. Post-earthquake Los Angeles is the

backdrop for an thriller about a super drug that pits a human fighting

machine against the Mob as he searches for his humanity. Strong

characters and a good plot has me waiting for the sequel. A rotten

cover, showing a 6 million dollar man clone with a sunburn despite the

fact that the lead character is black, really bothered me.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

TIMESCOOP, by John Brunner [**]

Daw Science Fiction, $2.95, 239 pages

A 1969 book recently reprinted, it could well have remained lost

without the world caring. A light farce of a rich man who has a

timescoop (for grabbing things from ancient days) invented so he can

bring his relatives forward in time for a family reunion. They all, of

course, turn out to be rotten and nasty people -- just what the world

needs more of. The ending is forced (a famous "Oh, I only have 50 pages

left, think of something..." type) and leaves the story incomplete and

rather muddled.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

UNACCOMPANIED SONATA AND OTHER STORIES, by Orson Scott Card [****]

Orbit books(UK) 272 pages

The first collection of Card's shorter work, including the original

"Ender's Game" (well worth getting just as a comparison to the novel).

There are a lot of good stories here: "Kingsmeat", "I Put My Blue Genes

On" and "Unaccompanied Sonata" (my choice for best in the book) among

them. At worst the writing is so-so, a collection well worth grabbing.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

THE WARLOCK IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, by Christopher Stasheff [***]

Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 378 pages

An amusing romp as a high technology man runs into a low technology,

ESP oriented society. Throw in some good guys, some bad guys, an

epileptic robotic horse, and you have an interesting play on the line

between technology and magic.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

THE WARLOCK UNLOCKED, by Christopher Stasheff [***-]

Ace Science Fiction, $2.95, 282 pages

Another in the Warlock series, our hero gets shunted to an alternative

universe where magic works instead of technology. It's amusing stuff,

but gets repetitive after a while and the Warlock starts sounding like

Maxwell Smart in my mind.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

WORLDS END (VOLUME 2 IN THE SNOW QUEEN CYCLE), by Joan D. Vinge [***]

Bluejay Books, 230 pages

Only one character (BZ, the assistant police commissioner) in common

with Snow Queen, this not-quite-a-sequel has a much smaller scale and

is ultimately less interesting as we watch the main character head off

to the backwaters of the Hegemony in search of his brothers, and,

ultimately, a reason for his existence and his sanity.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

YENDI, by Steven Brust [****]

Ace Fantasy, $2.95, 209 pages

The sequel (sort of) to Jhereg. Brust puts me in the position of reading

everything I can find by him. There isn't nearly enough, and what there

is to read is consistently excellent.

-- Chuq Von Rospach

by James Brunet

hplabs!hao!ico!ism780!ism780b!jimb

Copyright 1986, by James Brunet

R.A. MacAvoy wrote a novel a year for 15 years before her first sale,

TEA WITH THE BLACK DRAGON, became a best seller and a HUGO nominee. The

case of reader turned writer is not unusual, the degree of persistence

and endurance exhibited by Ms. MacAvoy are. Many readers of SF, more

than those of any other field, decide to take a crack a writing in the

genre they love. The existence of this column is owed to this fact. SF

is in many ways more forgiving to the beginning writer. There are many

markets for short SF. The variety of opportunities is greater; last

year nearly 20 novellas and over 100 novelettes were published --

you'll have to look long and hard to find short (non-novel length)

mainstream fiction of greater than 7,000 words -- there are even fewer

by authors who aren't major names. Many new SF novels, including first

novels, are published each year. SF has traditionally welcomed

newcomers, if there are literary cliques in SF, there's always room for

one or two more.

But whatever the advantages of writing SF are the great majority of

would-be SF writers drop out, just as the great majority of would-be

writers in other fields. Much of the attrition is due to frustration

and much of the frustration comes from producing manuscript after

manuscript that, bluntly, show little or no improvement and no

likelihood that the writer will develop into a professional.

One of the best ways you can avoid this problem is to get good

criticism on your manuscripts, to learn what you're doing right, what

you need work on, and what you're doing wrong. All writers need this

kind of feedback, but SF writers most of all. All writers find that,

for the most part, the criticism of friends and relatives is

worthless. Unless your mother is an editor, your uncle a literary

agent, and your girl/boy friend a publisher, the comments you get

simply won't be very helpful.

SF writers have an additional burden to bear in that avid SF readers

aren't much help either. Most readers of any sort do not have the

critical vocabulary to analyze a manuscript and tell the writer what is

wrong in a way that will let writer fix the manuscript. Most SF readers

are so enthusiastic for SF material that they aren't discriminating

enough to tell good from mediocre from bad, and many will tell you that

a manuscript is good *just because* it's SF. This is just as silly as

the stodgy readers of Harper's who will turn up their noses at your

manuscript for the same reason.

The best place for most writers to get criticism is the workshop. A

writer's workshop is group of people who write and give each other

criticism. Workshops take many different forms. They may be short

term, lasting a day or a weekend; or they may be ongoing, meeting every

week or every month. Composition of the workshop may vary; some will

have leaders/instructors, others will be cooperative efforts of the

writers themselves. Following is a list of some of the characteristics

in a workshop and how they can have an effect on your work.

*Writing of manuscripts is REQUIRED for class.* Strange as it seems,

some workshops only encourage writers to produce. I've heard of several

workshops like this, mostly classes at community colleges, but at least

one class in Dark Fantasy at UCLA, taught by Dennis Etchison, followed

the same principle. In my experience, the workshop situation works only

if all participants both write and critique. One of the benefits of the

workshop process is that a deadline for manuscript submittal *forces*

you to produce. There's no better cure for writer's block than a

deadline a week away; the cure is even stronger if you've established

yourself as a tough critic -- there's no way that YOU can't produce to

the best of your abilities.

*Readers have sufficient time to read and critique manuscripts.* All

the workshops in my experience have had a protocol where manuscripts

submitted at one session are critiqued at the following session. This

gives readers the chance to read your story at least twice and to

assimilate it before marking up your manuscript and writing a

critique. Some workshops work on the principle that writers read their

work aloud. To my mind, this is irrelevant to the writing/publishing

process. A manuscript will be encountered by an editor or reader

silently -- just the words on the paper. Also, a good voice/reading

style can give a gloss to a bad manuscript, while a weak voice/style

will kill a good manuscript.

*Check the workshop size.* Too large a class means that your

manuscript will get too little attention. For a three-hour per week

class, I suggest 20 for absolute tops; 16 is better and 12 is better

still. Fewer than eight, however, means there is unlikely to be

sufficient diversity of opinion, which is one of the important qualities

a workshop can offer . Also, it's nice to have a roughly even balance

of male and female participants. Some works will have reactions

breaking along sex lines and it's important to know. With too small a

workshop, you can be uncertain whether it's a legitimate split along

sex lines or merely probability raising its ugly head. (Then, too, I

met my wife in a workshop, so I'm partial to the male-female balance.)

*Genre mix.* In general, avoid all-SF workshops. If you get a chance

to go to Clarion or Clarion West, by all means do, but most workshops

do not have such an intensive admissions process nor do they have the

quality of instructors. You can learn a lot from criticism by

mainstream-mystery-romance-???? readers/writers in a workshop. Since

they are not utterly enchanted with your ideas, they'll give good, hard

criticism on your writing. To balance this out, common SF conventions

like parallel universes or FTL travel will seem outlandish to them, but

you can discount their opinions here.

*Background of instructor.* An instructor who has significant

publication credits is probably the best indicator, although some who

can do can't teach. I had one instructor who said that he didn't

believe writing could be taught, the best you could do was to offer

gentle encouragement. I dropped him like a hot potato. Some parts of

creativity you can't teach, but I know that technique and craft *can*

be taught to a moderately high degree. Respect of the student's

intentions is also important. The best workshop leader that I've ever

had doesn't even particularly like SF, but he respected the intent of

my work and gave it very sound criticism. If you have doubts about a

given instructor, ask them how they feels about SF. Ask former students

for references if you aren't sure how it will work out.

*Class level.* Being consistently the best writer in a workshop does

you little good; being consistently at the bottom is hard on the soul

and can be embarrassing, though sometimes there aren't any alternatives.

Find a workshop that suits you. When you outgrow that, co-opt some of

the better writers you know and form your own group.

*Manuscript submittal.* Some workshops require advanced manuscript

submittal as the basis for entry into the class. This is not a bad

thing. It keep the raw beginners out. If you're a raw beginner, there's

usually a class called something like Fiction Fundamentals offered

through the same institution. Take it. When I first started writing

fiction seriously, I took a Fundamentals class just for drill -- I

figured I already knew pretty much everything at that level. When my

first exercise was criticized I realized that I had a *lot* to learn and

that that class was exactly what was needed for a cocky ego linked to

some pretty raw talent.

*Cost.* This is tricky. My pocketbook says, "The cheaper, the

better." Experience tells me otherwise, but adds, "Don't get soaked

needlessly." The argument in favor of workshops that cost is that they

automatically screen out participants who aren't serious. You want to

be working with people who really WANT to be there, not those who have

nothing better to do on Tuesday night. On the other hand, some prestige

programs don't seem to offer more for the dollar than some more

modestly priced workshops; the Writer's Program at USC comes to mind.

Caveat emptor.

I'm currently taking two workshops. One is a co-op group, made up of

refugees from various advanced classes at UCLA. We have nine members,

of whom four write some or only SF. We meet one night every three weeks

and do two or three manuscripts per evening. Everyone writes 1-6 page

critiques for each work and manuscripts are marked up with suggestions.

Both critique and marked-up manuscript are returned to the author as an

aid in revision. Roughly half the participants in the group have had at

least one fiction sale.

The other workshop is an advanced class at the UCLA Extension. It meets

one night a week for 10 weeks. It functions similarly to the co-op

workshop with one exception: manuscripts are anonymous. Participants

deliver copies to the instructor, who then passes them out in class.

This keeps the criticism from being given or taken personally; it also

thwarts the possibility of give and take between author and critics.

On the plus side, it puts each writer in the position of having to

critique his or her own manuscript. Overall, the anonymous style is

good for writers who are still sensitive about criticism. I prefer

open submissions, where the author can participate in a dialog with the

critics about what worked and what didn't. Writers should get

thick-skinned about criticism early. Constructive criticism is the best

possible thing that can happen to your manuscript. Even if it's a good

manuscript already, good criticism will help make it better.

I haven't been in a UCLA workshop for about a year. I went back for two

reasons. First, I wanted to find a couple of recruits to join our

private group (I succeeded). Second, the instructor is the best I've

ever had; I took workshops with him 4-5 years ago. I had an story that

I wanted to write and I knew that his presence would help get the most

out of me and that his criticism would be extremely helpful. My peers

in the co-op writing group give good criticism; for this story I was

looking for exceptional criticism. My manuscript was ambitious and it

got lots of praise. It also got attention to some deficiencies that

would have killed it in the marketplace. I will be doing a substantial

revision, throwing out the first six pages (out of 42), re-ordering

some scenes, creating new scenes, using a new point-of-entry, and

re-casting the way I present my main character. If you ever read THE

ELECTOR OF CAEN in one of your favorite SF magazines, it will be

because a workshop gave me criticism that I would never have been able

to work out on my own.

I believe in workshops and I believe in criticism. Both fiction

manuscripts that I've sold were developed in workshops. Beyond that,

workshops have had their impact on a lot of manuscripts I have on the

market right now. Workshops have been of incalculable aid to me; if

you're serious about writing, I think that you'll find them a great

help to you.

The question this month: If you were going to teach a college level

introduction to Science Fiction, what books would you put on the

reading list. Limit your list to 5-10 titles and include the author as

well. Mail your answers to "sun!plaid!fanzine" or one of the other

addresses in the masthead.

Also the obligatory poll taking:

o What article did you like most in this issue of OtherRealms? Least?

Readers Survey Responses from January, 1986

The average OtherRealms reader is 27.7 years old, male (out of 40

respondents, 38 were male), works in computers or is a student (almost

a 50-50 split, with about 3% in miscellaneous other jobs), reads 4 SF

and three fantasy books a month, and reads 2.5 other books a month. 38

of the 40 read SF, 33 read Fantasy. 15% buy hardcovers. Of those that

do, they buy about 6 a year. 30% buy from the SB Book club, and they

average a book a month.

Your favorite author is Larry Niven (4 votes total) followed by Spider

Robinson, Roger Zelazny, R.A.Heinlein, Isaac Asimov (3 votes each),

Douglas Adams, Orson Scott Card and David Brin (2 votes each).

Your favorite work of all time is Lord of the Rings (7 votes). The Moon

is a Harsh Mistress got three votes, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the

Galaxy and Lord of Light both got two votes. Your favorite work in the

last year was a tie between Emergence and Ender's Game (three each)

followed by the Stainless Steel Rat series, To Reign in Hell, and

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (two each).

The readership don't read many SF magazines, with only about 5%

subscribing to one or more. Most popular was Analog, followed by Isaac

Asimov's SF Magazine and Fantasy and Science Fiction a distant third.

Nobody admitted to reading Amazing. Only a couple people expressed

interest in reading fanzines or going to cons.

February 1986

This issue is Copyright 1986, by Chuq Von Rospach

All Rights reserved

OtherRealms is edited and Published on a monthly schedule by:

Chuq Von Rospach

3770 Flora Vista #1805

Santa Clara, CA 95051

USENET: sun!plaid!fanzine

ARPA: plaid!fanzine@sun.ARPA

Fidonet: 125/84

Deadline for submissions for the next issue is March 20, 1986.

All material in this magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach.

One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited

contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors.

Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate

OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses as long as all

associated copyright notices and bylines are left intact. Re-use,

reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in

any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without

permission of the author or rights holder. Reproduction of subsets of

an issue of OtherRealms is permitted only if all bylines, copyright

notices and the masthead and table of contents areas are included in

the reproduction.

Subscriptions: Subscriptions are available on the USENET, ARPANET and

CSNET computer networks free. Send mail to the above addresses to be

placed on the mailing list. OtherRealms is also available through

SCI-FIDO, a Science Fiction oriented BBS, Fidonet number 125/84. The

SCI-FIDO phone number is (415) 655-0667.

Other BBS systems or computer networks are welcome to make OtherRealms

available on their systems. Either copy it from an available location

or contact me to make arrangements. If you do make it available, I

would appreciate hearing about where it is being distributed.

Submissions: Submissions can be made to any of the above addresses.

Electronic mail is preferred, for U.S. mail, macintosh format disks are

recommended to minimize publication delay (since I have to retype

hardcopy). Please enclose SASE with U.S. mail when appropriate. A

writers guide is available. Please read it before submissions as it

will answer most questions about what OtherRealms is interested in

publishing and style.

Letters to the Letter column: should be mailed to the above address.

Letters to an author should be mailed directly to the author where

possible. If you can't reach an author, I'll do what I can to get the

letter forwarded. All letters will be considered for publication unless

requested otherwise.

Coming attractions

• Chuq Von Rospach again tries to write about a set of historical romance novels -- starring a vampire.

• An article titled "How Not to Write a Novel," full of examples from a published novel that breaks all the rules.

• Reviews, reviews, and more reviews. Also Pico reviews

• Hopefully a letter column (hint, hint)