http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ F&SF Forum » Recent Posts en Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:49:28 +0000 http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=432#post-5322 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:41:32 +0000 dtruesdale 5322@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Hard to believe I'm the only one here (after an entire week!) to congratulate Rick Bowes on his WFA win, and by extension GVG and F&amp;SF.</p> <p>Can't imagine why...</p> <p>Brian? How about you? Aren't you up for giving praise where praise is certainly due? If you -- or anyone else here -- were to win a -major- writing award, wouldn't you sorta, kinda like to read congrats from anyone? </p> <p>Not requisite for proclaiming praise for any winner, mind you, but did you perchance happen to read Rick Bowes' story from the Feb., 2008 issue of F&amp;SF? If so, what did you think of it? How did it compare with the other WFA stories on the ballot, most specifically Albert Cowdrey's "The Overseer" from the March, 2008 issue?</p> <p>Anyone else have thoughts, pro or con, on these two award-nominated stories from our favorite magazine? I actually, if truth be known, rather preferred the Cowdrey entry, though I liked both and, as I've stated, was extremely pleased that Rick won his second WFA award.</p> <p>So how about some well earned and deserved hurrahs to Rick, GVG, and F&amp;SF for their great showing at the WFA awards this year? And perhaps at least some cursory thoughts on the Bowes and Cowdrey stories since they have been judged as two of the Best of the Year by the World Fantasy Award eligible voters, plus the five judges as well?</p> <p>Brian, you up for it, you rascal you? :-)</p> <p>What made these stories work for you, or not? Do you think they were worthy nominees?</p> <p>--Dave </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5321 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:26:59 +0000 Kyte 5321@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Good spot about "Here Come the Clones." I found a description online: "A short, rather nonsensical science fiction story, filled with cliches, each one footnoted to give a satiric history of science fiction."</p> <p>I actually liked The Lake House, Brian. Enough so that I arranged for you to send me a letter from the future with the answer to the question of whether there's anything you will ever do to get Mr. Van Gelder to acknowledge your presence. Let's just say that movies have happy endings more often than real life. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=434#post-5320 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:26:38 +0000 08kfbooth 5320@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Good to know. Even with two months to read the issue I always manage to run late. (Doesn't bode well for the Fed/Mar issue!) </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=434#post-5319 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:26:37 +0000 Gordon Van Gelder 5319@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Subscribers, please know that the December subscription mailing went out late. I'll have more info for you soon. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=416#post-5318 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:25:34 +0000 Gordon Van Gelder 5318@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>I just got late notification that this issue shipped late to most subscribers. Stay tuned for more info. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5317 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:24:51 +0000 Gordon Van Gelder 5317@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>I saw Charles in the bar shortly after he lost that Hugo in '93 and he was bemused by the outcome of the voting. I forget exactly what he said, but if he was upset in any way about losing, he sure fooled me.</p> <p>By the way, it's nice to see you here, Andy.</p> <p>---Gordon V.G. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5316 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:25:36 +0000 BrianJackson 5316@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Just another example of my amazing ability to create great threads and bring people together.</p> <p>Slapping myself on the back with my Elephant Man flipper-arm. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5315 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:16:48 +0000 dtruesdale 5315@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Thanks for clearing all that up, Andrew. Nice to see you here, by the way.</p> <p>So, was the Bester story "A Complete Short History..." the one where he used all of the SF cliches he could think of? If so, that's the story I was referring Brian to above.</p> <p>I'm still laughing every time I think of Charles losing the Hugo in 1993 by one vote--his. Twas fine by me though; was tired of Locus winning automatically every year. :-)</p> <p>--Dave </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5314 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:25:37 +0000 AndrewPorter 5314@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Oh, btw, ALGOL aka STARSHIP received exactly one Hugo, in 1974. Although it was one of the reasons the semi-prozine Hugo was created, and although lots of people remembering it dominating the Hugos in the 70s-80s, that didn't happen. Nope, it was Dick Geis's variously named zines, plus LOCUS, that dominated the fanzine Hugos.</p> <p>SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE won the Semi-Prozine Hugo twice, in 1993, by, incredibly, one vote — the year that Charlie Brown didn't vote because he was too busy planning LOCUS's 25th anniversary celebration — and in 1994. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5313 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:20:41 +0000 AndrewPorter 5313@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>David Truesdale almost gets it right, but not quite. I started ALGOL in 1963, and in the mid-70s changed the name to STARSHIP. The mag folded in 1984. Meanwhile, in the late 1970s, I started SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE, which had one proto-issue appear in STARSHIP before beginning monthly publication with the October 1979 issue. SF CHRONICLE continued until I sold it to Warren Lapine's DNA Publications in 2000; he fired me in 2002, and the mag folded in 2006, a victim of the internet. Who, after all, needs a monthly news magazine when there are so many SF-oriented news websites?</p> <p>The Alfred Bester story I published, "Here Come the Clones", subtitled "A Complete Short History of SF Writing With Fifty All-Purpose Footnotes", appeared first in the June 14, 1976 issue of PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, and it was in the Spring 1977 issue of ALGOL (as it then was) on page 35-37.</p> <p>However, the story, "Oh, Those Trepidatious Eyes!" by R.A. Lafferty, in the same issue on pages 38-40, was an original, never before published piece of fiction. I don't know whether it ever appeared anywhere else. And yes, I have a copyright notice from the Library of Congress on the issue... </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5312 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:48:20 +0000 JohnWThiel 5312@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Science Fiction Weekly online at SciFi dot com was presenting magnificent sf art each week---where were they getting it and wasn't it being wasted in an online magazine? Surely they weren't paying much for it but they were obtaining it. The only question is whether they were getting full rights to this art, which is improbable in a here-today, gone-tomorrow online magazine. I've seen a lot of wasted sf art online that is of high quality and very usable by magazines. But is this art displayed from use elsewhere, or what? What SF Weekly had didn't seem to me to be art that was used elsewhere.</p> <p>Interior art may be another matter, but cover art is locatable. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5311 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:33:37 +0000 BrianJackson 5311@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Maybe you should read comic books for that sort of thing, try Heavy Metal. In fact, if you've got some scratch and you want to buy a full collection of HM from the first French issues of 1974 until the year 2000 of the American edition, hit me up at <a href="mailto:badfish07@yahoo.com">badfish07@yahoo.com</a> </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5310 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:04:29 +0000 z 5310@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Indeed, Vincent DiFate's work was often quite striking; I was thinking of him when I mentioned Ted White's AMAZING/FANTASTIC. Vaughan Bodé did some good work in those venues in the '70s as well. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5309 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:04:07 +0000 Hillro 5309@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>I have to chime in on this one; I am an illustrator, and I feel compelled to comment...</p> <p>Why is the art of poor quality in magazines like Analog? My guess would be money. It didn't used to be that way, though. I was drawn to the digests in the early 70s because of the artwork -- people like Vincent DiFate, Kelly Freas, Stephen Fabian, Alex Schomburg, even still the occasional Virgil Finlay were all represented in Analog, Galaxy, Fantastic, Asimov's, Thrilling, etc. </p> <p>It seems in the late 80s and 90s the illustrations in Asimov's and Analog started getting kitschy and what we called "nephew-art"... and this is when budgets started getting tight due to paper costs and postage. </p> <p>I never worked for the digests, but I did lots of illustrations for the Dungeons and Dragons magazines and competing books in the late 80s, and I had to quit around 1995 when they kept cutting the fees for art... digital games and card art were taking their toll on the books.</p> <p>Of course I would love to see illustrations in the F&amp;SF, but unless there was a new commitment to quality illustration, at a decent size (Analog used to feature many beautiful 2-page illustrations like Vince Difate's stunning scratchboard work), and not to commission the cheapest bidder or student artist cutting his teeth on these assignments, I'd rather save the space for the quality stories I enjoy each issue.</p> <p>And you are right, GusG: an illustration can do an injustice to a story - I think of how eerie I pictured Halloweentown's cliff houses and swamps and river... it would be very challenging to capture that in pen and ink!</p> <p>As far as art online, I think that's there because the web needs to stay visual and compete with print; I don't see a lot of quality there, either.</p> <p>Concerning the 2-column question: It would read faster if it was 2-columns; all digests were 2 columns in the 50s-80s. I find I lose my place from the end of the line to the next one when I am tired and can't find my bifocals! </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5308 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:59:14 +0000 GusG 5308@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Interior art does nothing for me. I read because of the images my mind conjures up (among other reasons), and I do not need artwork to illustrate the story. I do agree that FSF's cover art is superior to the other surviving digests.</p> <p>z, the two column page is not unprecedented in FSF. The early eighties used that format. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5307 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:44:34 +0000 Thomas 5307@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Are you asking me that John? I'd venture to guess that maybe some people are just attached to the kitchy stuff because they've grown up with it: it seems that scifi/fantasy art (sff) is dominated by a certain nostalgia. In fact my relatively short exposure to the sff scene has already led me to formulate the hypothesis that the people who inhabit it are surprisingly anachronistic (considering the progressive social/political/technological ideas of the scifi genre at least). More than that though I think that its just ignorance, the same way that people of other subcultures are ignorant of sff so are the latter generally ignorant of the former: and this ignorance leads to an inability to appreciate the other. If you polled a bunch of people at a con how many of them would even know the difference between Manet and Monet for instance, let alone how many would be keeping up with events in the contemporary art scene? </p> <p>Sff art appears to me still trapped in the confines of the heroic escapist content of the golden age from which it gestated, with some exceptions (the cover art of Ray Bradbury or William Gibson's books for example generally being good, albeit not spectacular). And until a significant group of writers take up an appreciation for aesthetics I expect that it will continue to be that way. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5306 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:08:17 +0000 JohnWThiel 5306@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>But why is SF and Fantasy art being peddled on the net? And why are there no takers for the really good art? </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5305 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:40:56 +0000 Thomas 5305@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Personally I find the illustrations in all the sci fi magazines that I have seen to be generally of poor quality comapared to the sort that one would find for example in comparable literary magazines (Harper's, The Walrus) or art magazines (Art in America, Juxtapose). More generally the science fiction/fantasy communities don't seem to have a flare for aesthetics or style (look at any issue of Locus and see how shabbily dressed everyone is). Of course this is predictable since the science orientated and fantasy orientated communities mostly haven't overlapped with avante-garde artistic communities: which is a shame of course. </p> <p>That said, when it comes to cover art F&amp;SF is far better than the others and I'd prefer no art to bad art cluttering up its pages. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5304 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:25:15 +0000 z 5304@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>I always liked the art that appeared in AMAZING and FANTASTIC under Ted White, a lot of it single-column (half page width) format. But I can't imagine F&amp;SF following suit &amp; remaining true to itself.</p> <p>Tangent: personally, with my bad/deterioriating eyesight, I wish F&amp;SF would use a 2-column typographic format for all its pages - much, much easier to read. But that too would breach tradition. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5303 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:18:13 +0000 myshortname 5303@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>I prefer no artwork to the kind of crude boring repetitve vapid anti-life derivative illustrations that appear in Analog. </p> <p>In fact the artwork in F &amp; SF may be minimal but it does at least it shows some element of taste and the cartoons are funny. The covers especially are usually excellent.</p> <p>David </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5302 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:31:53 +0000 BrianJackson 5302@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>No, but you can draw anything you like in the margins. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=416#post-5301 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:23:35 +0000 chrstnsln22 5301@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Nice cover and it seems like the December 2009 issue is really exciting. Will grab a copy later. I just hope though, it's already in the market this early.</p> <p>Christine </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=433#post-5300 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:15:36 +0000 econtheory 5300@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Mr. Van Gelder,<br /> One of the aspects I like about Analog (actually one of the qualities which sets them apart in the current market), and other classics like Galaxy and Worlds of If is the accompaning art. Now historically FSF has never been strong in this area. Is there ever a possibility that art could take a more active role beyond the cover? </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=416#post-5299 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:02:16 +0000 Gordon Van Gelder 5299@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Another blogger checks in: <a href="http://www.mytwoblessings.com/2009/11/awesome-fantasy-and-science-fiction.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.mytwoblessings.com/2009/11/awesome-fantasy-and-science-fiction.html</a> </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=383&page=2#post-5298 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:53:43 +0000 JohnWThiel 5298@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>I just got a copy from the Science Fiction Book Club, and a very handsome volume it was--THE VERY BEST OF FANTASY &amp; SCIENCE FICTION Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology. Of course I'm moaning "Where's 'The Chestnut Beads'? Where's Fredrick Brown? How about 'The Red Wagon'?" But that's going to be a response to a Very Best of anthology. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=383&page=2#post-5297 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:12:41 +0000 Gordon Van Gelder 5297@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Here's a review by Patrick Mahon for SF CROW'S NEST: <a href="http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/The-Very-Best-Of-Fantasy--Science-Fiction-edited-by-Gordon-Van-Gelder-14331.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/articles/books/2009/The-Very-Best-Of-Fantasy--Science-Fiction-edited-by-Gordon-Van-Gelder-14331.php</a> </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=383&page=2#post-5296 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:12:20 +0000 Gordon Van Gelder 5296@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Thanks for passing along Fred Cleaver's review, Jack. Hope you had fun at MileHiCon. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=375&page=3#post-5295 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:17:27 +0000 FabriceDoublet 5295@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>"Blocked" by Geoff Ryman is the most beautiful and moving story I've read in a long time.....thanks. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=375&page=3#post-5294 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:57:07 +0000 FabriceDoublet 5294@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Just began reading the issue. great story by elizabeth Hand, a good one by Albert E. Cowdrey in his osuthern vein, and a very nice surprise with the Silverberg's: a new Majipoor story!!! </p> <p>Carol Emshwiller's story is sweet and bitter, with her special kind of voice, all in pastel and poesy. I wondered how old she was, since she's Ed Emsh's wife. I found she's born in 1921!!! She's awfully prolific for an 88 years old author!!! Is she the new Jack Williamson? </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=416#post-5293 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:02:43 +0000 BrianJackson 5293@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Nice cover </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=432#post-5292 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:41:27 +0000 dtruesdale 5292@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>But more specific to the subject title of this topic, congratulations to World Fantasy Award winner in the Novella category, Richard Bowes, for "If Angels Fight," from the Feb. 2008 issue of our beloved F&amp;SF (and thus congrats go also to our esteemed editor Gordon Van Gelder). </p> <p>This marks Richard's -second- World Fantasy Award trophy, his first coming in 1998 for his 1997 F&amp;SF story "Streetcar Dreams." Which, I not so humbly add, was the year (1998) in which I was honored to be chosen as one of the five WFA judges for work appearing in 1997. I loved "Streetcar Dreams" and was the first to bring it to the attention of my fellow judges. After a thorough vetting and discussion among the judges (with several other high caliber works in the running), it ended up being one of our easier picks, with nearly zero horse trading--if any--needed to give it its well deserved win.</p> <p>Believe me, this year's contenders in the novella category were a tough bunch with which to contend, with F&amp;SF co-contender Albert Cowdrey's deeply moving "The Overseer" from the March, 2008 issue, and the elephant in the room coming by way of the highly popular and in vogue Neil Gaiman with his "Odd and the Frost Giants."</p> <p>Rick indeed achieved a monumental victory against such other worthy stories--along with the other nominees--and he (and F&amp;SF) should be doubly proud.</p> <p>For those who may not have read Rick's World Fantasy Award winning story, I again most humbly point to my short review of it from my SF Site column from last year here: <a href="http://www.sfsite.com/columns/tangent276.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.sfsite.com/columns/tangent276.htm</a></p> <p>Heartfelt commiserations to Bert Cowdrey for not winning (there's nothing like winning, but let me tell you from experience, it truly *is* an honor to be nominated), for his story will undoubtedly be reprinted many times elsewhere down the road for the excellent piece of work it is, and a rousing Well Done to Rick Bowes for his second, well-deserved win.</p> <p>The complete list of the 2009 WFA winners and nominees can be found here (among other places):</p> <p><a href="http://www.locusmag.com/News/2009/11/world-fantasy-awards-winners.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.locusmag.com/News/2009/11/world-fantasy-awards-winners.html</a> </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=383&page=2#post-5291 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:49:18 +0000 BrianJackson 5291@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Stephen King, awake on the wild side... Posting at breakfast time in Maine, yet 3am in the Pacific Northwest, where Skillingstead supposedly lives. Give it up, SK! You're had!</p> <p>You lose my respect because you won't admit that I gotcha. </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=383&page=2#post-5290 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:44:05 +0000 JackSkillingstead 5290@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Here's a review in the Denver Post. I came across it because the guy who wrote the review also happened to review my novel in the same print edition of the paper, which he pointed out was in the lobby of the hotel we were staying in last weekend.</p> <p><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/books/ci_13620726" rel="nofollow">http://www.denverpost.com/books/ci_13620726</a> </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5289 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:41:42 +0000 Thomas 5289@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Sorry Khareneha20, as far as I know Mars Attacks 2 is just something I made up: a dream... a terrible terrible dream... </p> http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/topic.php?id=429#post-5288 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:13:43 +0000 dtruesdale 5288@http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/blog/forum/ <p>Hey, good going, Kyte! I wouldn't have remembered the title, but I'm sure that's the story. Evidently it was reprinted in Algol; I know it was definitely there. </p>