·MATRIX· £175 mE· NEWS· MAGAZINE' OF mE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION 130 MARCH I APRIL 1998 .

JON . COURTENAY . GRIMWOOD punk fiction r:MATRIX·~ ."'.,.....,.,.r1i·!!"i§i."P'.."'.w'm,li. 'CONTENTS'Mi.p'M,,'''M',''. News • 2' Ihe happening worW Editor· Chris Terran - Oarke hounded by tabloids ,;all ">IC.w.~/le:d /J7f1Io'o 9 Beechwood Court -Oarke, Dick A?'ard shortlisls ,,,II1pbot!c"flb) &Id: Beechwood GIO\'e B5FAAUW"ds • 7' 1998shc:nlisls! Leediled punk sf for breakfasl Editorial Assistance. Elizabeth BiUinger Modem Hard-roiled SF ... with ~diers SJarsbip Troopers' 14 • Andrew M. Butler looks upon Media· John Ashbrook Verhoeven's work, and finds it BSFA logo • Ian Brooks DroCllJa's }'ear· IS· FrederickJohnsseleassome highlights frem the Dr.lcula c.o...tt • JOD CourtUl:l}' Grim,,-ood looks cerllenaIy celebrations moody Phocograph rounesy cl!he Contented CoiJeaing • 16 • Brian Ameringm and 'uen", Copyright. () BSFA 1998 EtJe1/ts DiClry • 22 • con culTent Individual copyright~ are the propeny ofthe contributors and editor. Competition Extra • 23 • Results and another crossword Members' Noticeboard· 23 • ad apt ~=sd~A~e n()I nea=uily Skull Cradlen' • 24 • Rogu Robinson Prinled by • PIX: Copyprinl, 11 Jeffries Passage. C"""""'" 24 ']ohnEngllib,1ogolepc Guildford, GUI 4AP Big BuJt • 24 • Akph suuggle:'! nollO mention you-koow-who

MAGAZINES SERVICES anh~~FiI;\tOtlAnOCllllonlld R'"9'ltIt'-"lll>fCi<.¥.-'INCcrnpar>lflo921SOO IISFAAwmll. • OuisHill 1'«100' 0 ToarOaUen R.go.,...toA.Z oundingorder,1.11unM/l'!dUfcrnem­ ~I()Ol1116551}16 I'llOl~252939 bmtllpJ.l90,~:EuropcU~'iO publicily.* ebsh'tr.gie.deJlOn.eo.uk * uIJlkfC11.eo.uk c~hen:U~'iOSIJ,bccmJU,i30:lirmaU prom;IlIOfISoMartPlWllmC'r I'l1011l16<;60137 F<.>nQ • carolAnnKerTyGrttn OlcquespajOOklOBSFAUd IU ...... a !lll\'It.1ONA,-.:n..... Hull AU non-US mo:mbmIlip 0 hul Billlnan ~'~Jdby qucno.fmt"oI:Ils,~ Hl''mion.[hvmuy M1Nger '*' pcvcrel~l.a. .~.-.,rnest'li'o:D "'Ol~~"su-.l'b'bnd AlU5~ tmlllrdfmlSl=s,Deuol.,\G~1l A'-en''''.ltul.tM1LT @ U75Urba:,$~71"', USA. j»yilicIQ' CyCb2.uvln(BSFA) -news------TABLOID ACCUSATIONS MAR =1998 Clarke Award Shortlisl = STEPHEN 8AXTER Titan CLARKE KNIGHlliOOD (Voyager) THE NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST published on 1January 1998 brought the news that Arlhur C. Clark!' ELIZABETH HAND had been awarded a knighthood. But a month later, on Sunday 1February - lhr~ days before he Glimmering was dul' to r&eive the honour - the Slwday Mirror published a front-page attack on (larke, (Voyager) accusing him of having sex with children in his home for many years, Sri Lanka. Clarke Immediately holly denied the allegations, saying "I am outragoo by the Sunday Mirror's JAMES LOVEGROVE allegations, and [ am seeking legal advice." He believes that the story was an indirect altl'mpl to Days smear Prince Charles, who was due to dub him on Wednesday 4 February during an official visit (Phcenix) to the Indian subcontinent. (larke withdrew from the ceremony, expressing a wish not to embarrass the royal ViSllor. JEFF NOON The ne ....·spaper's front p3ge erthisyear,aoolhel)l'oanisers haVll have 'got' theWyndham papers. There is still a e.htRl el.jlreSsedlllterestinLewJs·sC(IMedI(flswnhth!:!slworld,II)'llUcan furlherelemrot of the purchase pnce, 3ssoaatl.'d o The archive mc1udes items such as help, 01 Wlshlullher int()(ll1auon, contact. Lfnda Grl!e!1wO«l, Irish and olwo unpublished sf novels, mcludmg an LocalSludeslJbrarian, BeIIasl Cernrallibrary, Aoyal Avenue. BeIIast. costs, and theronditions of the grant to be looked BTllEATeI01232243233e,t239 at. We do nOI yet have all the financial inlormatiOll unrompleted sequcltoTheMldwichClu,*oos,and weno>ed. However, Ihings look ronsiderably more fourunpublishedmystt"rynovels, PUBUSHil'lGMERR1.G().ROIIlloSledtQl'NickAuslenhasle~HodcIer ch~rful than they did before the grant was o holograph manuscripts of TIlt Day Qj the Tnjfids $.Sloughtoo,JonCourlenayGrimwoodwishestwnwelandwrites awarded, and I'd particularly like to thank those and ThtKrllkmWakts; 'WfleI11wenlinlotheoosirwssmanyyearsback.Nickwas(fleotthe people in fandom who donated money or material 'corrected typescnpts and proofs of TItr graal5, iI man merely whiSjlered about tor his capacily both 10 party 10 help our appeal forfunds.~ Chrysalids.ThtMidwirhCurkros~ndothernovels; hard aJld spol good books. Theguyisawa1kJngcompendumotsolid sl info:'MalcolmEdwards has moved Irom Harpt>rCoIIns 10 become Efforts so far have LIIduded C400 raised by a 'playscriptsandradio/tvscripts; ManaQlIl9OireclorolOnon ralfll'al the World Fantasy Convention in October o correspondence with publishers from 1931 last year, and the Friends of Liverpool University onwards, taped communications with his t~st JOHN L. COI(ER IlIleceiV1ld the Sam M;)skow;lz Fan Award. h~ve pledged G,OOJ. "We hve ~Iso received brother, Vivian Beyllon Hams, and over 350 "given annually to Bl'ICOUrage recognise outstardngian actMt( and donahons and pledges from individuals in ~he sf letters from Wyndham to his wife wnllrn Colu!r IS aIong-hme Amencan lan historian aJld phologra,ohel world,~saysAndy, "and are hoping for more " betw("('nI939-1945,O S.W'lERS~.KsTheSFFoundati(fl·sAndySllW)'erlslr'inga serlllnaroo'Soence Fidoo in Scierlce and EWcatiorf en Tllesday 10 Marehal3pm,altheAdefp/llBuifding, F)1de Aoad,Uruvers'l)'aI Cernral Lalltilshue in Preslen. All are welcome bu1111e seatJrlg is NICHOLAS ROYLE GETS SEX AWARD ~mited so)'llUl need alid<.el. oblanable from Duncan TeUl!I', Oept. 01 CompullOQ,VemonBuilOng. UliversityotCBIltralLancastVre, PAl Nlcholas Royle, here 2HETeI:01772893285 snapped tly Roger Roblnsonat lasl E~NESIfOEIl.AKER,US\II'oIogistandNASAaa,.;sor,had7golhis Oc!obersWorldFantasy ashes sent 1ll10orbrl rOUl1d tile mOOl1 (fl board the Lunar Prospeetor Convention in , saellite,whicIlwilf be crashed inlo the surtace when Its mlSSlOll eoosin won the 18 months Of so As we went 10 press ~ was aMOUnced that its main Literary Reviews miSSl(ll\,lolleted water ice rlpc.'arcralefS, appears to have annual 'Bad Sex' competition tor a scene in .""'" his new novel The Mal!er IRISH SF AsSOClATlON EXPIRES wl!l'e goiI'lgto press we heard As we of the Heart. The award­ that the Irish Science Fiction Association has ceasedlo l!liSl 0Je to a statue'suggestiveo! 'lackotllllerest"_EffoosareUl1llerwaytoreSlar1i1,probablywithtlle same mals. a meeungwill be held en 2 Maleh al tile StGeorge badsex'-was not Hotel. Parnel$q.Jare, DublinaIS,3Opm,andal\)'lIl1efestedpartiesare presented~Stephen encouragedtoll.V1lUIl Fry, who !orgot to turn up afterdlcta~ng lhe day of AwJ;lNGSTOlllf:S,lhelirslstmagazmellaunchedbyHu\lO the presentation. He was Gernsback in 1921i1, is to be relaunched in the sumrTlef by tile in Canada this time, not gaming·card company Wizards elllle Coast, Original fidi(fl wjl predonwnate. thou!1l ~ appears that Il\Ostel~wift betilm, G3me andlV 8elgium.D ~e-ins IHarperColIins): Peter Slraub ThtI Hellfire Club STE~HEII RUlER was ~ US book<:iealer Barry Levin's aMual A~ARDSNITSCELLANY lHarperCoIIins), SooRT STORY: Thomas Llgoni 'The Red ~lefQl'lhemostcolled.able aul"-or, C~es ol!~sl e

- Best Novel- - Best Short Fiction - - Best Artwork-

JACK DEIGHTON STEPHEN BAXTER BRIAN FROUD ASon of the Rock "War Birds" Cover of The Wood Wife by Terri Windling {Oro, £5.99 pb) (Interzone 126) {Legend: £5.gg pb) DOMINIC HARMAN M. JOHN HARR,SON EUGENE BYRNE IIluslrationfor'Secrels"by lanWalson Signs of Life "Thigmoo" (Inlerzone 124,p27) {Gollancz: £16.99 hb) (/nterzone 120) SMS TIM POWERS PAT CADIGAN 'The Black Blood or the Dead" Earthquake Weather "The Emperor's New Reality" (/nterzone 116coverj (Legend: £1799hb) (New Worlds) MICHAEL WHELAN MARY DORIA RUSSEll RICHARD KADREY Cover 01 The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jenniler The Sparrow 'The Firsl Man Nollo Walk on Ihe Moon" Roberson & Kale Elliol (Black Swan: £6.99 tp) (Back Brain Recluse 2JJ {Pan:£7.99pbl PAUL YOUNG MICHAElSWANWICK PAUL KINCAID "Last Day or the Carnival - 36 Exposures' Cover of Child of Ihe Riverby Paul J. McAuley (also Jack Faust cover 01 Interzone 123) (Orion: £16.99 hb. £9.99 tp} (Back Brain Recluse 23) {Gollancz: £16,99 hb)

Q'BRIEN WINS US TAFF BULMER'S 1955 TAFF REPORT PUBLISHED AMERICAN FAN Ulrika O'Bricn won the 1997/98 US Two SCORE AND SIX years ago, in 1952, a special from a visit to an American football g~me to an to EuroJX' TAFF mc, and Will represent N. American fund was created to bring Northern Irish fanWaH encounter with a heavily-anned policeman fandom at the 1998 Eastercon in Manchester and at Willis to America, which led to the aeation of the (complete with "(a) a tommy-gun doWTI his leg,(bJ Cortlu Ul Leed,.The full results are below (figures are TransAtlantic Fan Fund in 1953. The first winner a pistol at his belt,lc)a riot gun in the back seat, fdJ tota\s for Europe and North America rombined) was Vint Clarkc in 1954, but he was unable to and probably an H-bomb in a SAC B-52b on call • This year's £urope-tl>-US TAFF race is between Chris make the trip; however, the following year Ken fromhiscarradio".·'What'reyoudoing,bub?,"he Bell, Bridget Hardcastlcand Mauret>n Kincaid Spel­ Bulmer won, journeyed to America in late July, said to our Ken.) It's somewhat episodic, though ler, Votmg IS encour~ged, and all you need to do is returned in early November,and now, forty-three this is probably due more to the way parts of it first don~te Cl to the fund, Votes must be cast before 25 years later, his trip report TAFF T.les has finally appeared, mostly in EUa Parker's fanzine Or;O'1 ApriI19'J8. and the winner will go to the Bucronerr bern published in its full fonn betwem 1959 and 1962. There's also artwork from Worldcon III Baltimore later this year If you would It's a fa>cinating pICture of the fifties, both in the the much-missed Atom. like more details send an SAE to the TAFF sfwor\dand Real Life There are cameos from Rob­ Asitslradit;onal reward forthepubhcationofa Admll1lstrator Martin Tudor at 24 Ravensbourne ert Sllverl>erg, ArthurClarke, HarJan Ellison, Ran­ trip report - which all winners are expected to Road, Wlllenhall, West Midland,. WV13 IHX. 0 dallGarrctt, Ted White, Robert Bloch, Willy Ley, produce, though toofewhave-SCIFI Il1Callfomia AnthonyBoucher, lsaac Asimov and manyothel> has donated SSOO to the fund. 0 First MentiOlls of Don Bradman, Terry-Thomas and Tom • TAFF r.les is published by Ansible Information Place Second Final Lehrerfix it in time (Ihough Kl'I\'s mClltiOll of sing­ It costs £5 post-free (all proceeds go to TAFF, of Votes Round Round ing Lehrersongs III a car could have happened last course), is in nicely-bound A4 format, and is Victor Gonzalez 55 60 77 year - he's aspopu\ar infandom IlOW as he was available from UlrikaO'Bnen If> 82 105 then 3tthe start of his career), and as an Dive ....ngford, 94 London Road, Reading, Vic\..lRO>!'llzweig 46 57 entertaining colll'{tion of anecdotes it works Berkshire,RG15AU. TomSadler splendidly. There are amusing stories of an In North America copies cost $10 post free, Hold Over Funds ") Englishman Abroad, from a time whl'l\ America avaiJablefromthisyear'sU5-Europewinner NoPref<>rence , andilsrultureweremu(hl~familiar(throughlv Ulrika O'Bricn, 123 Melody Lane, Apt C. Costa Total BallotsCasl m and rultura\ Cocarolonisation) than it is now - Mesa, CA 92627, USA SlMON & SCHUSTER'S new science fiction and world. calling for romaprisons with Stephl'l1 fantasy imprint. Earlhlight. wil1 be launched at thJs Donaldson's 'ThomasCovenanl' novels:' he said WHAT A START to thr yrar. Matrix wcntto the year's Eastercon in Manchester on Sunday 12 April ·lnfact,[·dsaythatBtY(JIldl~Aillwasamixof printers in rarly December. so wr missed the news Enthuslasticeditorlohnjarrold has signed upa Donaldson and another Stephen - King this of ArthurClarkr's knighthood. Thcn it began to number of big-name authors and newer writers for book has best-seller written all over it. N become apparcnt that a fair portion of the mailing the hst. whomclude had gone missing, so far as wrcan asrertain eaten • Guy Gavriel Kay. with a new two-book !">enes by the Post Office - and if yours didn't arrive The first is called $Ililhlgto $Ilnmlium.and will be please let Paul Billinger know (seethe box on out mhardback in the summer, Kay has writtcn the EARTHllGHT page 2 for further details). Ihaven't received minr bestsellmg fantaSies Tigorlo and Thr FiQlIIll:

*Dal'idHartwel\(ed.jTheScienctJFictionCenhNy(Ravoo.029Jan,£14.99t,o, \,OOSpp)-Hugeanltl,oI sl "lhar has shaped ltle last 100 yeiilS,· ThEfell beal(j;ot fuss aboot thiS book. so rt'sworth liSling the contributors ~ntheordertheyappear) Tiplrl?e,C,S,lI!\\llS,Pangban,Weils,C1ement,BIish,Et.I,Forster,MargaretStClair, t.lidlaelSharra,Hamess,FrankBetknaplOflg,AdamWisnieowslt_rQVlewin Vedorhldale: GN_GraphicNllVel:ab _AuIiobook: 'fA_ 'f(ll,l1g MJtt Iiekll0 lhoseunlami~ill with~. Thus he ropes in LllfIdon and lewis and Forsterl0 show co!l,_slorycdledioo(sameaulhor):anth,_anthology(dlfEfentaulhors) fs Proper liIeralure. WhichislairerlOl.4l,butthererealyseemsnoelcuselOl'someol ;\,_H~1ight ll_Editor'schoice O.F~stUKeditillfl ~omissklns TreatfuturedateswithcauWn,AIIuroquoledremarksllyC!visTetTan BUl8OOlIfI1,There'slolsmoreloarguewith,bolhinthesplern:iltyeontel1tioos QootedCOO1mootsarefrom~isl1Efs'mat&rial-c.i\1latemplOr1 Inlfol1Jdillfl and the se!ectillfl rtse.'l,which 11 leave to my estl?emed andlar more ~ThankstoMichaetJ.CrIlsslorhisi'ldeJ:bttp:II\I\I\[ .•jckeb,dnon,co.ul;/tophsh.htl~ insighllulcoDeaguesllfl Vectatomuloveratl~Sl.Jre 'IOktI'leol1he'StnderCMndes Relilled"l)'Il~andmchedJedIrtmNov97 RicII.-cIAudgley~~rJ~SIbsUnces(OM¥:£1899hb.c32Opp • • I.) Encydope-).pt86 Soencefantasysell1thenew·Slilshleld'\Il'IIYefs.e L.E.ModeslnJfThe$op'aoo$an:etrss(05Febr699pb6S8pp)-Famasy,fifSllllhe DavldThomson8erluthl.Utobnd(O"fit:£2000hb.e288W)-Subtrtk!d·Tl-aq1tson newsenes"'TheSpeboogC!dt" AmuSlCleacherl1lowilSlllll.lnlYerSllyl$chwnnolhe Hc:IyIroodandItsGh0st5·.ti5lS.coI.afeuaysaboul1he'll'lyHc:lylroodadcnm t;lrll4lsr1andErdeandfindsr.SO'l9"l9his~powt'fSl«tlilere·samap' d\nclenbec:oneP¥1o1cusharedruilyandgm.knlolpsllyeustence.Nsotakes Jo$ephSkibelIA8IessIlgonMleA/ocrl{lde,BrownOFebr,.99ti1.268pp)-Lttl1ry 1l1llernaliYlIisltwywtlenThanson~theeartlJ.)ames0ean.haVlIlobMcI I¥«uy AJewlSiihot4JmgItleHoloauslnrwudolreslrlgpeac:eluly.. hwartdlo rid ..... TII\'CIlla's ch¥icterll Sa!I.ft1;Iy htgIW FrIeIwWdhM!beaJme llrNIlile. QIheI C

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Cff,d0e5cyberrulturestdll'm110rNSlIgone Prune Shlt only the mean streets eoclSled and they the way of tec!lno, house and rod; 'n' roll: rnel'o'ed weren't JUst mean anymore, they were mean plus. F;up by mocIem rultureand spat back aSJusl one BladrR..-nntr'sstrcflgth waslI\ Its wholesale styllShc design element of many. to be used lI\ fashioo spreads, pIllaging of 1940s film nolr. h was a style slalemml first, ad campaigns and kids'lv7(And il you don't hke Ihe sfserond,WeaJl know the school ofthoughl lhat says if music referen("e5, you can replace them with Bill you can't extrapolate your technology from whatever's Burroughs cut·ups, beat poetry and Sov~ RealISm, the appeanng m the current pages of Nw Som/is/then It's result's the Silmt), eOfIlE' 10 that, did malllSlream not real sf. because anything biI:sed on SOl'I\Cl' that cyben:uJrure ever rust as a separate enhty OUlSldt' a doesn't yet nISI IIas 10 be fantasy Just as wt all know ~1I enW\'e olla'f\ h.1clm. US roIlege counes and the popuLu prrJUdl(.l' that says If a story's set UI the Wtrnl mag.wne .? I don't thlllk so - It WiS an future then Lt M to be si, unless It'S wntlm by it aGldenur nmtruct fed off tne ttehno facet of early nre 8ool.er-p U\ the long-term development of MKhael Marshall Srruth's S~'(5 was thl' 1dl'i1 of glint hard-boded lictton.Wl'ltUght tillk about the U1nuenceof nymg shopptng malls, they JUst didn't stxl. up as Edge, The Harlan ElllSOl\ or the strl'eIWJst debt CP owes to somce.WJuchlStJUe-thtydonTNorcanwewa.ll. 'MlerehIllNllSlrHlSa'elocated. NormanSpuvadandMIdladMOClfC'Od.Oritsdebtto through pps UI rnhty U110 'I rt'trt'ad Vl'fSIOf\ of 'MIen ~·Sl':ll a'l1dull"MQ'lg Sldeol K. W.Jl'ter'sDrNldnortheUlf1uenceolBrunner's11lt ApldJypstNow.ButClJlWly,iI5i1punk..fictlmenthUSlilst tltndlslDC'atlCln (I a lUltol nn1 S~ Ridtr. Not to menbon the even greater I found mysdfilShng,does it maner? No one I know spmtual drill owC'd to J. G. Billlard But - UI PUblK really beheves UI the possibility of a fW'iIOOId iIIldroKl percepbOn at least - cybemOlf ...·ent maUlStream not al1ed Marvm or 'I Mancuman-based drug feather that Fixer through books but through the anemahc lInagUlahoo of can nip you Ultoilllotherreahty,buteveryonemstantly Nir go-Oe\'Ifeen or dNl-ma..... Where one man. Rldley Scott knew e~actly what Douglas Adams and Jetf Noon werr ---­)'DU go when evel'(lhng !a~s {lake Almost by aCCldl'J1t. the mean streets got relocated tallmgabout Not to Moscow as Martm Cruz Smith did With Qlrky Leavmg aside the arguml'l1tthat alllichon 15 fantasy """" WICl' Giri PQ,k or mto history as Phthp Ken later did wtlh hIS It lSI\'t reality, I thmk that mD5t hard-boded sf is ·Berlm NOlr' senes. back In the days before he got aD actually fantasy. Morl' or less by defimhon, It follows Japa1esewordlo'adl!btoltlorlluor wnlm dre~ed "l,IIi.vodatN!oblIgallGn.The$e~ clever. Nor to iIIly other of the p101Cl5 went tight rules of the bnd that USlUUy defint the F IookIl18 fOf' new tlOhc IociibOm. but mto the furnft' as a word: and they're not rules 01 somce but rules 01 spmt. ~~lIIIIoIIentat.il rountcJblast to the down-home frtshness of SUir WITS (I'm waitlng l'agerly for DwIa Wynne }ones's TOIl:" l\.rifSS)QIhiIpp«IlCI betlt two). t. _ and the soence-an-sav~you naiVety of Trd:. The GYIIIrIIlTOIIPFict...j.lt'sbemilnaxiomofllilrd-boUed ~.",Gcml.tlt~ Si., ~ wasn't out therto, the Prunl1' DlrectI\'l' W

Punk-ptlJ'lItms._nnrnt""'I)Olllllpt'llPk Rctloa-UltV>lttrlby tlltllMll"III'...5ptCl/.1l IJftNI9iOsmll9&lsmBn~/Il""fJldmstdliy. mmdllIst«y. rUmt rqtdlOlllr(tSIIIbIlSltnlsoorty (Botb Pmgulll Enghsh D!cboIwry,j Kubemttts-~n.NlatnIGll'ri:""""1tSt'Ii6yHomtI'intlttn_.

thf me.m stredS lhemsdves ~ thf clothes might T!lerPwolSltune-mlIybt'lmtofifteelytarslgo- dwl~. but IIUllWl J'IlIture doesn't. If I'lOlr was I whm hard-boikd sf and cyberpwU. Wl'!'t Dn'hone It would be by Cyrnosm OUI of Injured IlIterdwl~bIe terms: when the mtMl Sl'rM$ welt'slld: ~ PunJ,.FicttonbdJMSllllheCUI-prnllClbihty WIth poIyrneJ iind all ~ skle wtrt lilt coklur of of the l1.IWftllhtnght of strerl rilts 10 scnbbW. hVUlg tl'lMslon.tuned toil dt~ dwmtI. Wlucholcourst W.IS III ChiN. Moss 5KIe 01' somt f1ymg vefSQI of ruIJyconvtrnelllforfwofCP,beaUStnolonlywiS 8loofmngdales. llYl you'", .llowed 10 get btatm up. there a 101: of our fnounle fictxxI ....., but It WIS tbf have wdess sa and dnnl:. yowself 10 de.1th goes donurwU gmre. But tM !by [ 5110' MDnIllSll Omdrmo almost WIthout Siymg Tht mltnl pmpectJvt', the resptctfullyreYJeWl'dUlthdlrilyTNtlllJ'rknewllWitS sdf~vr lJOlly and flawed smst 01 honour haVE' ovtJ. Cyberpunl: rouId SUIVlvt' ~ytIung. ~ gomg bt'romt as much ronvenbons as htrolSm. unreqUIted rrwnstreanl. WltJun Il'lCl1ths, IIrure Sttrhng was turned love .lIld COlInly lore evrl' WeT!' to Malary"s Moo' \1110 a med~ pundIt and WllllmI Clbson WIS regarded DII,th,andllShordE'ofurulalOfS hmllvbl!thatDlmon by hlln5clf and most of thf lJclok-buvmg publIC as a Valkyrie Runvon mU)" dll'l 11\"(' III a world Illhabltl'd by senous ncr..ehSl {lhanUuJly, Glbson stmlS to havt'got An,US&Ilheia:Jp«l'nallac:kmod!TIri O\m:lressed gangsters, down~t-hel.oI pnvate eyes and ol'er ltl· RadKal Hard SF wmt out 01 fashIon Almost ApocaIn;tst ....(eYfI:yOOeelse hasl untru~worthy peroxide bIorwtes, but J doubt If the ~ Simultaneously - and not roUlCldentally - computers 01 that urty mun-strtels bngadedld ~ame commonplace as small dllldren learned to surf Throwback But as saId, none 01 the hard-boiled flctlon now beIlIg the web, .md what had hem hIp CIllttng-edgt suddenly O!5paragngdescnpbonloranyblxl,guatd, .....nttm IS m flawless desctnt from the pulp fiction cl the became kllldergartm. The ttdmology got subsumed mto balltdna.streelsanuilld'l¥isille 11l20s and 10305 anyway. [f It'S hard to nn.agme 5eX E'l'eryday Me, and the same fact that once thought ~.Wt'~almean1to~l>"O"'r1 before Freud, It'S harMr to Tl'I11ember nOlr before B/Ildt dIgital watches a pretty neat Idea and thm got over It, ouol1halshalllcartiage5hJI Rum'.... gave us Raymond Chandlt'r's Amenca refracted started to grow out of thelr faSCInation WIth E'l'eTythmg through a 21st rentury lens of pollUhon and rain. It's like . As Gibson pomted out, "It's ~ a bIt hl..e the Sweedack Ihat old rol..~ about the Velvet Underground's first album IS90s WIth the worktng electnc motor. CongregallOl'lS of FrendlCMIaIJanslangfCf1agl!@'. lrom tt -onlya thousand people bought it but every one of propleusedtogathertowatdlltopeme,Todaymostof SliIr!«:aXd. them went out and formed a band. So, RldleyScolt's film us have several dozm electric motors at any givCl\ time- nopped badly, but everyone who watched it went out in our wrist watc~, m our cars, in the fridge, they're all Sphincter Factor and wrote a novel, dIrected thelr own film or just lifted over the plare and J thmk that's the direction we're JustllowalraidrooareUsua/lyn;nn;ogona mohk lor their own ad campaigns, ,,, [nitially prople going in with computers." scaltotltol(>,tI1cJug1tralitioodemand:sat got confused by It and the film got trashed, said RJdley The new punk fiction IS wetware-drivCl\, b«ause leaSlontinOOenlwhertthelevelgoesolfthe Scoll, poUlhng out that BlDdt Rumltr was so VIsually today's new ground-breakers are no longer software heavy It overpowered what was a very straIghtforward start-ups in SIlicon Valley but tmy three-person blotech "'"Slap Patch storvhne. But E'l'CI\lually It found a ctrtam measul\'of companies, busilv trying to patCl\t scraps 01 the human Myd'u;,~Ol'oIletwisl1.lakentl'Jolql!lle recognttlon gmome Cyberpunk Itself has lU~ mutated Swallowed sUI. Tlri.oI_asal\.I'bo-boostedNicoI'ette Wllhm the smaller, more limIted world of wnttl.'fl sf. into the belly of hard·bolled fiction, hl..e Chandler and the Glbsons al'd Jeff Noons create SImIlar mleres!, Hammett beIort It. WhatE'l'er the lIe~t century lool..s hke, Recycling because they explode lrnagrnahon, To the new reildcrs lhl' mean strt'ets will shll be t~ not shck WIth S1hcon FilITIOOSIy~l$the commg lA, they'l1' the Velvet Underground albums of butsloppywlthspl!ledDNA enwtnII8'llaI'f·b'lenltraetol~ our till\('. (Hell,Glbsoo dum't evm own a computer unlll On the whole wnters don't fret about how theu work sorneonen:llhe'l\aklnglhwCClJlS8toabody he'd fmlSbed hIS second lIOYeI, GIlIllI Zm. The man IS going to get labelled, they leave that to the edllOl$, .... whose 198-1 debut novel Ntv/'OlllllllC'tr finally made CP Though If wntm are really ~gmalK they nught worry famous, wrote It on a manual typtwnttr - not ~en m about whether tilt book fits the gmre (as defined by Realism eIectnc Thm},. about It. tilt man who created cyberspace some poor n-year old at W. H. SmIths If1 Swtndon n..nbetknds,Magic-R.HJper-Rnl pulled all that stuff about hacl.ulg al'd vutual rtal1ly OIIt who's hopmg to get off sI.md be promoted to Buyer - 5IOnlId1nrna<:l.N!e.lhealltne. oflushe.d Thtrewasnowufyinglheory,sriU!mm ButbdayCardsJUSllSsoon as hulTWlly possibltj. But If1tneate knowledge of computm and wnhng rodl' [I mostly Ihl'y'rt JIlSl glad to mm thar publISher's Paranoid ...assheoer lmagoulJOn.) de-adlmeand get anotherconlracl. Somecntwhohasaltlttaets..(,Myme dIali'lg-.flltllaboYt_1 -+ -+ -+ --+ --+ --+ -+ -+ -+ -+ :=':::nMY~-: f Organitskaya Fl/s$IIIIlrIrfltMalil.Seealsolli!eeuya L~kI kiaking gead Mileetsya Mushl andlborosho ~e~cfis own t e F\Isslanf~b".Thl'y '-ba~glikh.hse WIlnlbl~lI:IheI\I}'OU.eih!r,ber;::au$e happenaln:orM!l'Wltn:luuly Nine USslPlrslqk:r.".a'lI:Il!pJsro't,:t. lltw!(ltpotoe1l'ssilhltaceClfhl "tmthlgportl.~lol1M krfplSlOllrom'Mtmilmct'MWan(1 lrom5l!l..,tlIMIll'9ptr101'lloa_ Mait.21~.,.fIel.iik hadlll\l5Sllfl1d1ict1oodt>;plomgh ~ -_...... - -film------

Ifs beIlindyouf-Johnny Rk:o (Casper Van Dien) warns his ctilJeagues ofan aprxoadI61g 'Tanker Bug'

an asterOid and war breaks out. Rico transforms from boyfrirnd who'd joined up to impress in a uniform to a hardened leader of mC'll who will Willingly take command until heis kllled or someone better comes along Appearanccscanbedeceptive.R.J,E1ltshasargued(atconferences-Strangl' Attractorsin 1~4 - and in Fowrldatiml - "65, "Ant You a Fuckmg Mutant: Tolal Rtcall'sFantastic Hesitations") that Tolal Rrolllrnds III a dream seqUC'IlCl', in a mctafictlVe parallel course to Dick's style. And m 51arship T""'pm the gung-ho idcology and acstheticism is undercut by the vl"rY Clltremity of the vision In the novc! the mamcharacter wasnotanAryan-ifsoneol the novel's only redeeming radical e1emC'llts _ and the film's depiction of so many blondes living in Buenos Aires alerts us to the fact that the Nazi Youth symbolism must not be taken too uncritically. When Harris reappears at the climax, in regulation knee-length Nazi leatherroat, it would only take a round of salutes ("Heill") to hammer home the pomt: by the end of the film YOU'd be hard pressed to decide whether the species of seeming automata tramed to sacrifiU' themselves for th~ reviewed by andrew mbutler cause and unqucstioll1ngly obey authority (because It is authority) Ishumamty or the Bugs. That the school at the start would fit alongside those at MflrostPIaCl' or &t"'rlry Hills 'KlllO suggests a cntique 01 American values as much as HE MC6T ArT and .telling rt'V.lew would be. to. slick with an ovt'fheard commWlistones. comml'l11 by a member of the prevIew audience: ·Was that a spoof or Theinterspersednewsreelsandadvertisements~ which economically sketch Twhat?" Or what, mdl.'l'd. Hcmlcm's novel IS, In my personal pantheon of in the background - Cl'rtainly show that the only Good Bug is a Dead Bug, but offensive novels. about as oflensillt' as John Norman's 'Cor' sequence, Robert when this extends to kids stamping on Blatta orientalist, theaim Isdearlysatiric. la~e-period Adams's buggery-obsessed 'Horseclans' books, or - let's face it - The cinematography IS fantastic, and theCGI Bugs areconvlIlcing lf1 theIr Hemlein's treatment althe Incest theme with a matunly that would make Beavis various guises, and there is lillle room lor 5CIltimrot or cuteness That being sald, and Butthead proud. ThIS isa novel WhKh tllSlsts that only war veterans should other standard sf mOVie annoyances aren't aVOided: space has a dear up and vote, that democrary solws fewer problems lhan violence can, and pusheshatroo down, explOSions are audible m vacuum and tlOOPS emerge from landing boo ts of Marxism and communism to racist proportiOns. (il la Nonnandy) without SO much as an alrlock oran.KJ,ualung Nomdicahonis Offer this package to the dirfctor who flatlened out [hck's metaphysICal glvenofhowsocietygotthatway:curiouslyforsuchaquasi-faSlislWorldorder, h playfulru>ss ("We Can Remember It For You Whok"5a\e ) into 5l;hwarzmeggerVi;,­ SOCIetyislnterracial,although anyone we care about is white. ion (Tolal R.>fIlmand you'd be forgiven for steenng a very wide rourse around This should not be taken la override Verhoeven's achievement In what is thiS film, That would bea shame, slllce you'd miss thesf movie of the year unquestionably the hest sf film I've sem so far this year. BUl then, as it ended On the surface, this IS Heinlein's novel and philosophy writ large, Our barely twenty and a half hours into 1~8,this is hardly a radical claim beautiiul blue-eyed blond boy Johnny Riro (Van Dim) is being taught theethics - C Alldrnv M, Bwllu 1998 af war by a grizzlrd one-armed veteran (lranSlde) who explains that vlolCllCl' is the only way to solve the 's problems, and that democracy and SOCIology Srarship Troop6ts-TriSl3rlTouchstooe. DlreclorPaul VefhoeoCS, er, abdomens, Fonner schoolfnends Johnny, Dizzy (Meyer), Carmen SpacestipVisuaIFXSuperviSlOf1Scol1E.Andersoo (Rlchardsl and Carl (Harris) join up, traUl and go their separate ways as in fantry, Cast:CasparVanD\el1,DflaMeyer,DeniseRichards,NeiIPatJidlHall;s,~8IIronside pilot and mIlitary sclrntist lust as their home town Buenos Aires is obliterated by 129 mins.Cen, 15 ------fangs~·T , i

FrederickJohns looks back at various celebrations sunvunding the centenary ofDracula Artwork by Ruby

,18 Novmlbef LJ:st ~ar IUlho 2 broidcasl Drto:uII- A 8Irtl!Jll¥Tnb~tt TMblurb III RAJ., 0 TiJfIN Yid "In thIS, tilt> year marlll1g lMo mllen~ry otItic pubhcallOl1 of BramStoler's horror story. Arm Manll lr~velled to Whltby. an area featured significantly 10 the book to interview members of the WhJtby DracuJa Soat>ty. With contributions from RAM STOkER and Dr,row are, of course, becoming Stoler's greal-Mphew Damel farson and the actor very popularsubJeds for literary study, Whal Chnstopher let' ~ Not very rnssunng for myont fUlly BWOIIderful opporturubt'5 tht author's lire and ~lly I/lteresled III (or for anyone who who thought they all ros fictJon (but the most famous) offer for mIght want to find OIItSOll'lftlungabou1lontoflht leuual. sexu.L psydlologJCal sooal ..nd poIltKal vea1figuRSdliteJaturr. anal)'Sl5' Ollrid Clo\'rr's V"pI"rtS, MlIlIlmars IPIIl Ho",'I'Yl'f, Ann Mann, who prod~ her own libmlJ. Bmn St!'lnIn!IIttPoI"", ~ff\>pwlllrfl(h'" rompll.lhOll of Illlemews and rtotdl/lgs. made a fatrly (OukeUmvl'I"SllyPress. J996)l5lypteaJofsud1!otudles. goodJObofsupplymgasfuI1aplctureofboththebool:. A bit 'Eng l.Jr al hmes, bUI someustfullnsights,and and the author as was possible in an hour-long although Ihe book IS US-published the author lectures Druwlu, A Toy Thrum (ChMles 5mbner's Sons, 19711 broadcast Chnstopher Let> was on 101' form. readLIIg mEngland, and so he does not make tile many mistakes ~nd shll available from spCCl~lisI supplie-rsj, based on lheoperungparaguphsoltheboolverycompelhngly; about fJlghsl1 SOCIety and London geography wlllch the sct5 and costumes of the 19n Boradway fe~tunng ....hat a filly he w;as nol olSled 10 (any on With lhe wllolt unfortunatdydetract from the apparenl authonty of prodUChon Frank lmgdla - and ,lOO Ihlllg as a &\'It,t !Wtllfr No.... tlutwOIIkllIa\·ebf'ena Bmu~ Brlford's B...... St~ AB.""",,", ~flllr AIIIJIor ildded II\(' texl of "DrJrula's Guest", ~ excdlent !re,}l lngnd Pitt's conlribuhon ....g (wJ1 we poIlte1V l'( ar.ou. (Wedenfdd and f',;JCholsonJ, ThIS NfW mtroductlOn.¥t'l)'good note:s,an ITllngumg e:ssay on Soly') ~ Intk on, wlule lilt mterv_'S 10.1111 members )'orl-donuciled Profes5Of of JoufNbsm ..t CoIumbl.l rrhe ParadOll of a Prwalt' PublIC Mdn" and an of Ihf Wtulbv Dro1C\ll~ 500ety .cIdl'd bltle of much Umll'nlty otherwJst does a ft.i5Ollable lOb at t:\ttnSlvt annotated blbOOgraphy of Stol;er's S!gnfK~nCl' - "rep! to nnph~slst th~t they vlfwtl! marshalhng 'new' information found In vaoous pnnClpal wntmgs, ~II by MartIn lUye They then gOl tllelr ~cl1Vltlt'S as fun, Ct'lltred around a fictIOnal archIVes - espeo.ally that~t the SlIalesf'fare Cl'lltre In Charles J, Z1ga to do a beauhful,ab wltll tile ch~racter - a pomt Ihal apparl'l1tly needed ma~mg in Stratlord·upon-AVon. BUI thiS mformatlon IS not qUite typography and layout and an unfortunately Whilby,ls the loc~1 BIShop h~s accused tllnn of bemg as 'new' as she seems 10 believe: the aKhives were anonymouspnnler toprinl and bmd II to the usual WOrshlppm of The Pnnce of Darkness'. described and used by Raynond McNally &. R-idu hIgh Amencanslandard D.Jmd Fmon appeared bnefly towards the Aorrsc:uIII ThtEwnfllllDr-nt.ll(New)'orkMayRower "Dracula'sG~"alsoappearsITlThtBumptr&.Jl. beguullng of the programme, m wllal mJy llave been 1Iool.s.1979). l'( VIlIlp'rr Slont's, wlult Chnstopher Fr~ylmg hIS1asImtl'M('WbtIorehtsdeath,outlmmgStolerlht Tht ShalespeareCentre put on a fitst·raleexhiblOOn performs a typKalIy bnlh~nt babnong iCI: "'1tl1 man, wrole Vlrtwlly all Iht comments on the of chcJlao Items from Its Bram Stol:er Collection m the UISlghtful e:ssaysm r...ntrrrs/lln, 51f1l1ltUsro{Dr S1gmficanCl." and mAumet' of the book were pnmded autumn, bul as 11 IIad h"1e pubbotyand no catalogue 11 1d1JllnJMfHyrltandThtH~llIIJpfIIttBnttmIltsas cnsply by an umdl'lltlfied vttutary surgeon. Ann has dlSappeal'l'd completely. Ptler H.ining &. Prlrl" well as DfllCuil In Nig1lllUrr TIrt B"t~"fHp'lOI-the Mann's own rontnbutlons were a louch pompous, bUI Trrm~ynr's Ct'lltenary bllJ8raphy was sound enough, book of the Iv smes. IhanHullynot m the typically arch m;rnnerusually so but presumably for ma,rketmg purposes It was gIven Fmally, unhke the Brillsh POSI Officc, whoseserltS belovedoftheBedlOllsuchocrasions-perllaps thenusleadmglysensatlonahsttltleofTllrUruinzll: TIlt of 'Fantasy' stamps (including Dracula) ""ere so because II was an mdl.'fll'lldl'lltly-made Gfl'('fl Man I.rgrnd of B.,m Statu dill! D'lI(uil (Con!otable, 1997), feeblftheyhad to be wllhdrawn from circulation, the prod"""". wlucll seemed to suggest that llIelr accounr was lnsh rost Office came up trumps wlllllhtlr set Annlt' Lennox's "Tribult' toa Vamp.n>- was used as some!lownotstnc1!ylnH'. I.'I'ItIrelVd~OIl'dloDro1C\lla-lTlfullbloodasyou lilt md mUSIC. bul would ha\'t 1I\9I\t bltlt to an)'Ollf In 19'16Bamesand Noble, thf New Yon. booLsdlers, nughlSilvlnadentally,tl\('TfJfdedrlo?Slgnsforlhe who had not heard II bdOn', as her stnlmgdelJvtry publtShtd a fine new edition of lhe no\'l?I Itself In tilts BntM Sf( Ut' perh.lPs t'\en better. and may be al""a15 reqUlll.'S /TIOft than 00(' heanng to bnng out Ihe llIey m.uched lilt te\t of the r: during the accumulation stage you may Even when the name remains Ihe same-and publishers have acquired mostofa favourileaulhor's works, and the and authors can and do mix and malch any romblJ1ahOll of better-liked books and aUihors are more likely to have these romplicallOlls - matters are not always survived the rationalisation. You already have a good straightforward. Authors may have publishl'.\ $<1" A'I,irlll Tablft>, Illl SnllJ.?lpf' "Ullecting Sld<'S of U:itJ Mal(hb;,x~ and 5 m more d"'all III a later artKll'). And once you've cc started to take an mterest m a wnter It IS not uncommon to e~tend thatlnteresl to other associated a:l "'nteT5and arhsts: forfllample, you may move on :x: from). R R, Tolkif?lltohlslnkhngassociatesC.S, LcW1S and Charles \'Il11ialllS; or from Robert en Hemlem to John W, Campbell, the editor of « A,h1u,aJlllt,and from there to Henry KuttJI('J, Poul Aoderson, and otll('J Golden Age si wntm; or more :2: ~tlv, from Emma Bull and Will Shetterly to Cbarle5de lmtand Stt-ven Brust and othet' authors :x: 1Ilt1k>MlIInl'apobswntm'group C> \1Jnvofthesamt'pnnClplesandproblemsappear ....., ",htncolla1lll.gbylllllStTlltOfOfcovtJartISl,a sut,Kt tOOYast for more than a bnef Sl1JTIIN,ry here CtWA1HA\l\OlXWlllrtmltlloll\''''1'!ld ",·herethelll5Qs.the1Osandthe'lOsclll'lnISlStde CoIlerttnl! CO\'er art IS billy common m si ardes. films that the aphonsm lhere are no new b)' SIde, and Amencan duller (such as lII'I Amtnean thanks m p.u1 la therradltlon aI art shows at Yldeas under the ~ has hem taken as oot 1-800 phooe cMd theClocls use as a door) can be ronlt:111lOllS The work 01 artISts such as Da'ld pemuSSIOll la go mad and steal from every Iound 1IlongSldeS!ret'ts lhat half-limbered Mams Hardv, Ilons ValleJOand many OIherson IlK-covers halfway-soccessful film, boot. and Iv show ever Travellers drive down - and clcctncally-powered 0' bools ,1lId magaZllIes has shaped our thmkmg made. Or maybe they're nOl stealmg; maybe they're Morris Minors at that! about lt'TT1I~, Mr rOller rKHmakeforgood\·It'....·lflgforanold~oll"-hls­ ....·ords. And m .111 these cases some people collect tile has a fanuly of sllhng tenants- very small slttmg lImesourpusshleme /ltIl,lf'!"0\'cdthatanylilm,no onglllalartworktoo,thO\Jghlhat(n~lesstosaY)ls tenanls. who livebehmd thefloorboordsandundl'T matter how lame and unfunny,gl\'ClI the rl.'lulsl'e f,ullloreexpenslwandevCllmoredlfflcult. 1111.' grandfather clock number of fart and crap IOkes, wJlI kL'Cp any COlIl'Cllon 01 Illustrators' work IS rarer. but IlIere Jim Broadbent ([1ft Is Srl't'l'l and tv's 111, Prl" self·respectmgelgllt-year-old In stitches. fI this IS IS sllll much torolJert The sf magazllIes commonly Prill(lpir) plays Pod Clock, the lather 01 the your 'tastc' in humour, then you will enJOY JcWs commISSIon Ultemal 11luSlfatlons, as do the Borrower clan. Indeed, he plays Pod With all the puppyparlller'saromallcmtcrruphons publrShers of many small press and collectors' breadth and subtlety 01 a pantomlme dame But Mcanwhl1e,b.Jckattllesubplot,lfindllmteres­ edltlOllS. ACf', DAW and othef publtshm, Ihen,thewholefmulysporlhalT-dosJaneljackson bng tllat the INjOfltyol the full'SlZe humans (allied, ~rtKUlarl~llllheUS,havtproducedlllustratedand would be proud 01, and "''tar clothes ..iJKh ma~e lromca11yenough. 'beans1are played by AmerKirlS, twrdbad ahtKJns ol works by wntm SIKh as Jcan-PlIu1 GaullJer's look subtle; so broad, downlsh /or It IS they who, n:empIJfitd by the bIoalt'd Good­ ZeWny and MVerposslble a betler lerm, we shall calJ·theplof the Yldrool that Of rou~. you can Ignore all these complICatIOnS The Clocks' haberdashery nOlwlthstandmg. the Stdl,therelSplentytomJOYIIere:themeekv and keep 11 SImple, 11 you rhoo§e. We know someone IooL 01 the film IS Its py: the designers have made dCSlgn.theWlllyusealstate-ol-the-cbchisp.'CIa1 ""ho roIlecK books WIth the word 'chance' III the unagmabve use allrud-lnads n everytlung from eff«ts. and somt' greal wall-oo performarKeS, htlt, and someme who collects books where t~ htlt lunuturetofootwearl-eepyoureyespeekd/orl partKularly(as unhkelyasIt stemS) IromRuby IVn rhymes wuh tNeaul!lor's nallW Well hey, It'S all bndcameolrornllttlellear,thebtularheroolT7lt as the Gvil ~ant From Hell. But best allIl!, thf roIIerttng, ,1I1d rl'Il'Itmber you don't have to rNd Irtd.,./llllltCIlp,..rdl end theme IS sung by the Osmonds' evil ""'U\S themllll .. ,]ustputlhemontheshdf The look 01 lhe movll!' also provides theh~ hmt Hanson.Mmm-/IIfdtIt _ C)urolilll' MII/laln & hit Ammngm 1998 that the seItu1g IS some notlOlIal fantasy world, -film,------

., Dilector Jean·Pietre Jeunet. PrOOJrerS Bi~ Badalato Gorclon Carroil, Dam GilBf, Wah81 Hut Saee!1play I- Joss Whedon. $pedal E"eels ,1,01, BI~e Sky Duboi. Stucios. ~sie Johrl Frizzell. Cinemalograp/ly DariousKllonqi colin odell Cast:$Igoume:yWeal'llf.WlOOIlaR/'def, BradDoorit ROll Pe!lman. Mldlael Wincott. Dan Hedaya and DominiqJe Pinoo,Je Freeman, Raymood Cruz. t05mins, CM, 18. UK release 2!l Nowmbef 1997 mitch le blanc Cmema$copel:2,35 gary dalkin HE CONCEPT of making another 'Alien' film set'lIlS initially to be a very bad wo HUNDRW. YEARS after the events of A/imJ a fully.-fOrmed .adult clone is idea - we know th.e setting. the character Ripley and the gruesome made from a sample of blood taken from Ellen Rlpley dunng the events Tlife-cydeof th('alirn ilsell- so the very nolion 01 repeating the same old Tdepicted m that,m.m, and fro~.the clone.an mfanl 'alien' queen IS formula stinks of blatant commercialism. This one features every kind of alien surgically removed. ThIs IS a secret mllllary expenment on ~he space station seen before plus a few markl.'lable new ones, the age-old spot-the-android game. Aunga, located spatIally and morally beyond any offiCial Junsdlctlon, The the lust-wherHs-thah:hest-gomg-to-burst? rauhne. and the COI\sistently useless Betty,asmuggler'sshlp,arnvestodeJiverahumancargo,thecrewofaship the cargo bay door. a hxhmcal problem thal 250 years of progress has failed to soIve smugglers have hijacked, as bodies m which the SCIentists can mcubate more Thlslsnollosaylhalthemdresultlsadlsaster,{arfromll.l.Jkeilspred~essors, aliens. Call (Winona Ryder), nommally one of the smugglers, gams access 10 at the helm of lhls film IS a dlslmctivedlrector Uean Pierrejeunetj as opposed to Rlpley'scell wIth the1l1tenhon oflolhng her, and lhl"1l the <3lil"1ls escape the all too familiar 'seque1 by numbers' hacl.,and herem hesthe problem: the film What drew me to the part was the idea of Ripley suddenly existing with a has 10 ronslanlly slruggle lob.llance the baggage of the previOUS lilms with the clean slale, only to discover that she's not what we expect, In Alien vislOno{itsdirector. Resurrection, Ripley doesn'1 have 10 do the right thing anl1 stand up for Rlpley IS back,but she·s not herself today, SCIentists have decided to clone her Ihe good and the righl-alllhethlngs she's done in the pa'l. m order to breed subservient xenomorphs wilh the result thal she is also the -SigourneyWeaver molheroflheahm.and alien herself. She is an unlikely heroine, in lhalwedonol know ifsheisa heroine, and view her with the same suspldon as all theolher There are many things wrong with Alitn i1Lsurr«liorl, but the foremost among ch<3racters. Once agam we are on board J spaceship wilh a crew of scientists, them is CIted above by Weaver as a Virtue, 50 muddled is loss Whedon's soldiers and a bunchofmisfil traders, all of whose motives are questionable, and screenplay that we never gam any real understanding of the character of the who are the alien·s fodder. Characterisahon is generally lacking, less so Wl th the 'new' Ripley, and therefore the film lacks any emohOl1al or intellectual rore. misfits with whom we identify, but 10 an exlenl even they are caricatures so lhe Moretroublesomestill,whateverthenewRipleyis,sheisnotgood,andsothe film relies upon lheplot and dialogue 10 produce tension, and motlvatioo is film offers no heroine to care aoout.Good may beunlashlon<3ble, but ltremams drivenbylheneedforambiguilyanddislruSlWithinthenarrative. necessary if we are to care what happens in an action/horror thriJler. Here the The whole feel of the film is testamenl tojeunet's directonal and designskil1s. new Ripley is a cold enigma left largely unexplored. The result lsa dctached , Visually il harks back 10 TIt(CilyofL~1 Chi/drm in ilsgolhic I industrial confused film whIch can generate no terror, no excitement. archilecture and quasi-Victorian anachroniSms, The miSt (11 sml( is very grimy, If there were supporting characters one could care for matters might be and lhehghlingbrown,givingasepia-lffitedquaJilythathlghlighlslheblend 01 different. There is one, CaU, but all the interesting lhings about her are future and ancienl,Grotty spaceships seem to be in mode at the momenl (see also discarded after one dialogue scene which raises far more questions than it SI'IlCl' T,u(kr'~ Jnd £1'1'111 Horrzoll) and aooullime loo - who wants a spaceship provides salisfactory answers for. Everyone else is <3n accessory toa biomedical lhat looks like a hospItal? There are some lovely gadgets, notably whiskey cubes l'):penment so corrupt and evil lhal It places lhem as moral companions to the and doors that open on the baSIS of breath Identification (Do they sli!1 workllone Gennan concentrahOll camp doctors who performed analogous expenments has been dnnl.mg that whiskey?) TIllS atlenhon to detail IS characteristic of dunng the Second World War, It IS Simply Imp0s51ble to CHe whether such Jeunel'spre\'louslilmsanditworl.sasatoolthatenhcestheaudil"1lcell1tothe people live or die, Add to this the fact that they all remalllalmost completely diegeslssmoolhly and qUJCkJy. uncharactensed, beyond black-

Tilt Cil.~pf I-,~I Child,m, Although as bloody and gorr-fiIle we du Sl'C are l.ugeiy replay) vf wh~t ha. a total failure, a!l\llh~ IIHlSt dll4!JlJIJlIltlllg film r hdW ~v~r M'l'1I T1t~ ~dVdIlL~ gone before word was exrellelll: that this was to be the mD5t mlensc, ternfymg and cxcihng Not evrn attemptmg suspense, Jeunct also demonstrates that he cannot of all the 'Alien' films, combinlllg the relentless t~on of the ongmal With the construct an action sct·p"xe, In one sequence Ripley is underwater, swmuning blistering action of the first sequel. American pre-release prel'iews were so towards the surface when she is suddenly grabbed lrom below by an alien and posihve that Fox took the remarkable step of 'green-hghhng' a further pulled back down. Jeunet then cuts elsewhere, and when we next SC'C Ripley instalment in the series bcfore IIlitll Rrsurrrcliorl wasI'Ven IIlthecll1~maS, so she is back on the surface, CriSIS not resolved but ignored, Moments later she confident were they of a major box- thal lor this sulficirntly mutatl.'d that she would reprodure not by laying eggs, but by franchise it's "Game over, man, game over , mammalian gestation, ull1matcly giving birth to an ahen/human hybrid. This -(lGar~lAllkiIl199S misunderstanding of basic biology contradicts everything shown in previous "":....-radio------_ 2025 reviewed by ellen cheshire 5CJftl(t,. not tilt utlfiOil ll1te1hgenct', not IM Although tht sl elements have betn done btfore, 2015-WrCel'IbyIaeWalkIr Dndedb'f'SalyA't'8IS VOIce-xbvalec! tedlnology, not the genetIC the l/lleractK:n olthe two female leads - playtd by Cisl.~EIrwnmJeI(lrena),MoniHammond~). tngtneering or tilt fulunstlc landscape. Alphonsla Emmanuel MId MOI\.il Hammond - was a DMlieIa tWtn(Dr8efJOM:I). Da'IicIYlp{HefvylJ,4fu However, all these famihar soencr-fictJonal pleasant reworkmg of this tin.'d landSQpt'. Sally BBC FUIllO •. 2I60nwUlt$. 5Ind 12Jarl.Jary 1998. stereotypes are pteSef1l. but just serve as part of AVen5sdirectloo of Mike Walker's script was good, everyday life in 2025, where sf has beoome reality. andkeptthemter~upover-,woone-houreplSOdes, AGAINST the background of generic engineering and a Another ever-present sfnal convention is a large although theoperung was httlefragmentcd and the futuriSIK, post·"Blairgate 2002" London, is Ihe a ~lorneralewith.Ullerestsinpeople·shves,and characters took a while 10 develop. Thisrould have growlIlg n'lahonshlp betw~ lrena and her whlChk~aneyeonallthosewhodarequestlOnlt. tumedoffa number of hstcners, but for those who grandmother OlJvia. Tht'lr love and undemandl/lg 2025's slIUSter company IS Fortun.lte Fragrance­ persevered 2025wasa httlegem. grows IS lheysearch London's underworld fora curt -savmg the world. the world over" - and it is their -C£//(IlClttslmrlm for lhelr bfu-threatmmg and debthlahngillness.hlS llttWorkolsp!tSmdmformetsthalktepsantyeon theltrelUlomlllpwludl IS at tht he.Jrt of lOlS,not the 1f!N'smdObvia'sse.udlfot help. FINDING FELLOWS

reviewed by andrew mbutler lecturer m Medaa Studies. who k>ads a doubk> hfeon by me.tnS 01 tht' one-to-one tutonal (whICh only one 01 the Stllr Usenet groups 00 the lnternet A Find;ngFtIJows-WrnI.enbyMk*F"I5herDlrectedbyP$ rTtt SUrvlVes III rrloM The set-up IS nthtf loopy, thepen;onalllles nther 1"""". P\.Iyslot. TIusha1f·hourdramawasrecortlll'll'ndm cbchid (a, Jmre iiICC\Intely, ardletypal)MId there From Olllfused source malmal, Woodeson JUs! anumberol~pers,wlththeQvealthiltIIWJS was lIldeed a wholt lo"Odge oItechoospeak lhrown m aboulsalvagcssometlung:aQSl'oIan.ror~ chocl·fuUotlfchruallftn\s.. to estabbsh a pretty shaky authmboty. It seems mudl betler than ascnpt. RM:ha.rd Fellows (Woodeson) IS a nlher dull unlildythataurnVCfSltywouldtexhMedlaStudles -CJlndrt1&lM.B~llrrlm ruE MAGIC COTIAGE reviewed by ell en cheshire was a hgure lurklllg In the woods, and yes, Flora did TlI~ ollly faul! I could posSibly fUld - and J am J.ITIt$ Herbtrl'$ TIle Magic Cottage - Dramatised by dIe UI mysterLousClfcumslances. But I would have reallystrogghng here, as both the performances by the Greg«yfunStromlhelMbyJamHHertlel1 Oirededby tantahsed the listener wllh qucshonssurroundmg thl.' lourlt'adsandl1lvldBlount'sdlrechonwereexC\'llenl, OI'/ldBlounttNslcbyNeilBrancl mystenous rehgiollS cull 111 a nClghbounng house and and perfectly undmrored by Ned Brand's musIC ­ CaS! Wilt (Mtbj. KaMne Sc:I'Mslrlg« (1MJe), KIllY how the Idyllic I\ome had powers oIlts own would be Ihe 'chnactK endmg'. h came and went SO ~lMycrdlj.Joh1Sanan{Hlb1 Jnrts Hrrbrrt's nr MilglCCoIt'gr (as It was fully qUKklylhatllseemed almost an anh-elJ.max after the BllCfQcio490rrnnes,11~1998 IIlled) IS a very faithful adaptahonolahugenovel­ suspense built upovtfthepm'lOOS85nunut6.h was -JI T4J£l'{trrrot(n;wt Bn/j;,,'s r..."ltMntrlmltr f1011l IlOlTlt'anfealtorondense35lpagesto90mmules,but only Mike'snaffilhon lllal really ptJtllltowordsthe OIlllJlIm's ./Alllo1lJpu5l'. is t'-' IM/I( lac- rVl MiU,,.J Gregory bans has done an aceUent JOb. He wlSl.'ly OICOphany 01 sound effMSand mes lMt had gone Mldtfhrlvhlgtd"'. B.wt ...... l5lhrfil~"'~rbrrll~ IN kept MJke'spoUll-d·VleWnarrahon wluch added to ,..,..,."" 1l\",s'A/IJ/AldrJF/ar,dl('· the mystery 01 the cottige and Mtdge'sdYngl.' UI Bul dm°t !et tlussmall-MId illS re.a.IIysm.all­ Thus wmt the Rtdio Ti.., blurb Ican'l and wonOt penonahly. [I also dlSOl1l.'llted the lIStener- (m a good IIlgghng cnbci.sm put you oIfbuymg the cassette (If argue WIth the firsllWO sentence, but the lasl two way) when tlus famJlaar leduuque was blown sky one is lSSuedj or hstenmg (when It is repeated). 11 really questlOl'lS are not those lhat would munedialely htgh(bterally)whenlheseoemmgly~l't'observer IS agood adaptation 01 a popular novel. spnng to mind after listenmg 10 the play. Yes, there took on an activt' role mthe play's climax. -CEJImOrmtnr1998 WHAT'S THE BEST BRITISH SF NOVEL OF THE LAST FIFTY YEARS? Sometimes you jusl have trainstorms and sometimes couections begal correctIOns. Ifs along bme since Idid sums, and 1958 and 1948 kepI on gelling contused as the start date Ior our poD. 1958 makes sense as the BSFA's tjrthdate, but 19481elS In Chlldhood's Endandsome dassicWyrdlam aod makes even fTlOfe sense. Ihad a phoneconversallon WIIh ems Terran where Ieither tIlol9tt abolll correding arTIlstake«lellinga ~t Iie,aod- wet,l oIMousIycooiusedthe IXlOfthllg. Meacu/JB. Forlheretord: E/igitiIify:noveIbya8riti:sh-bcmauthorJXJblishedbe!Weef11948(theyearbelorefineteenEighly·fotI}aodl998. _dOOoks:FlWplease.le.AMo1a""'''''''''''. OeaclWJe:30.b1el998. Destlllalol: Send your votes by posllo me, AndrN M. Bull!!", 33 Brook Vew OriYe, I

Focus Contacts Carol Ann Ke-rryGreen 278VlClooaA_ull,HlIll,HU53DZ Tej0148249404S Emal ~et!phor.enterprl.e.net

- Ollt of FOCIlS -

appears in Mal/il El the ma~ings when Fows is absent, FOCl!s -!he next rssue is sd1ediedtoappear,.lhesprong-istheBSFA'swriters'maganne, " publishes slCWleS, artides and poeIlylrom members arK! oon·members." you wisl110 Corltribule. fiction sIloold be 01 good qualily and up 10 5,OOOWO«!s:poellyloa malimumol SOliles. We seek artiOes on al asped1 of wrmr,g and publislliog, espetial~ t.ose r~ating to si arid fantasy,upto~.OOOwords WealsoseekCOVEfart,ilusjrationsarodfi1lefs. reviewed by ian simpson

- Letters to FOCIIS - oo promised much, but delivered little of its potentia!. It looked cool and " you wooIdi1ke10 reSllOrldtoa prlMO'JSi$$Ueor wish to stana dscussionon any asped e\hibitedadanngoriginality,butmordertoholdonc"sattenhon!orfour of writing p!ease write or email lAI Ietlers are welcllme Ltwo-hour featurcs, decenl plots afC requ1red Le:o It!i('lf 1S an orgamc - Market News - SpaCl'Shlp. the most powerful force m the galxay. created by thl' 1mmortal HIS 'CommonwtalrhPublicalions Shadow m order to conquer saId galaxy_In the fma mstalml'l11, Itlsstolcnbva ·Newwntl3'rSwelcome-CommonwealthPublicauOIls.aCanadanputlisher,lsnow band olmlsfits who IIaYfa Sfnes of adycntures mlhe Dark ZlIne, an ahemate'ev11' acupt'll\IslbT\lsSlOi1sillaJl>ClJonarldnon-fictiongerweslorplJblicauonlOmaSSiTl8rile! dimrnsion our heroes escape to at the end of the oprner andtradepaperbackforma1.Cootr8C1sarenegoliablePleasesernlqJeryWllhoutlinel It all sounded likca typical mJ.l:ed bag of sf c1ich6;,and it is. The 'Shadow' IS not sl'flop~sto-· an individual as such. buta collIXhon of !tYing brains with thecurrcnt Shadowma Commonwea~h Publications [!\C., 9764· 45th Avenue. Etinonton. AB. Canada T6E 5C5 host body. The crew is not composcd ofyourlypical misfits, but mIsfits they are. Fill: (403) 432-9409 Durl~ Ema~ lion5@coll\ll1on~·ealthpub.cOll ThfSCthng is rem.inisccnt of David lynch's sel in a Bruzil·stylt'sociely. But (1 was wary of this whM rt first arrived, and wondered If II was. vanlly publishet'.1 dlChe and regurgitated themes can shU makf for gocxl sf, If the mgredlCllts arf toundtherollowlngcommentlnSc.vengers'Scr.pboo/r.·... alleastpaltotlheir right operation Is subsidy publlealion, I.e. the wrilel musl pay 10 be published." lwoold It started off well with the obligatory 'OrigU1S' eplslxk Paul Donoyan mhiS first beinleresledlohearrrom.nyonewllollasllledCommonweallh.] major prO)l'ct IS the creatIVe foret' behmd un, and cred1t due, he shows flalf and • The Edge ImagU1ation. Unfortunately the story IS fairly standard, Stanley Twl'{'(\le (Brian Change of adli'ess lor eO:lll(Granam Eyans: tll GINIMSS Buildngs. Fliham Palace Downey) is the picked-on dwed>, searching for hero status so he can be adored by Road.Loodoo,W68BOl~formodemslM1:pa""entE10perl,OOOwords.blJtbuy women., The glamorous Zev. (Eva Habcrmann), once an obese and unhappy FirsIWorIdAi!1rtsooly,They~comeunsoliciledSlon~ • Even/Horizon hOU5Cwlfe, gets a chance at bcmg every man's dream with a 10vl'Slck robot headin Mc~anus) 32lJWooOl1ereDnve, lIimon, IIA24179.Acceplpoetrysubmissionswithnolineim~for low; and, Kai (Michael is the 'Iasl member of a dead racc' superhero slM1,Pa/'S$3p1\Js 10centSlYle. Send submissions 10 Daniel D. Adams. . Aemembermore mar1let news can be toundin lane [TTA Press. 5 Marlirn; lane. ::~~e~~~: ~~:~;a~i7sh~~~~~a In~~:P:~~~~~~~f ~:P:e~~e;:~~ WilChem. Ery. Cambs.. C662l8: sul)saiplion £8.00. Also lry Sc.avenger·sf.kwsleller. are known to the rcbcl Thodin (B.my Bostwickjand together they s!fal the lexx. JanelFoJ. 519 Elinwood. Osage City. KS66523-1329-orfrom GMs Reed at BBA, PO The next two epIsodes are damp squibs. In "Supernova" Tlm Curry messes BoI625.Sheffiejd,Sl3SY. around playmg Tlm Curry, and ~he plot is shoe-homed around l\al'5 home plaller as the crew try to find a way of restonng h1m 10 lik lev is captured and I~'S up to W,lt.. '.m_ '' a.auable,Supp, £15 stalionsWat9!loo{mainlineor Undergroondjor Westmiflster 0Nelus98,1LullingtooRd.. Knowfe,Brislol,BS42lH lUnliergroondj. ThiogsSla~ataboul7,00pm;~yougetlnere 111 Mar 1998: SF in Science and Education early and the upSlairs roornis dosed wel be in the main bar Seminar S-9Aug 1998: Bucconeer and.~incloubl,askmelaodord.Meelingsareopenloall TheSfFoundatioo'sAndySawyeris~ngasem~ron The 56th Wor1dcoo al Ba~imore, Mary1and, Guesls C. J. ({) Paul Hood on 11181 333 6670 tor further infOfrJ1~tion. "Science Fittion in Sci$1ce and Eli:Jcatioo' al 3pm in the Cherryh, Milton A. Rolhman, Stanley Schmidl, Micl1ael 25 Feb 98: 25 Mar 98: 22 fofJ( 98: 27 Ma~ 98: 24 Jun 98 Adelp'li Boiking, Fylde Road, University 01 Central Laneashil'e Whalal1. Rag, £80 an, lpus various complicatIonS ~ you voted London Circle Meetings ~eaSl~~ are w~come but me seating is limited so)'OO1 orpre-supporled) GlDUlI(:anTelref,Dept.ol~,VemonBuilOOg, UKAgenf: A1soat!heJubileeTavemlseeabove).'londonCi'cle 0.!OOnOallman,cJoEOSUrvgraphics, Parlcer's House. 46 meetlngsareonthefirstTlusdayoltr.emon1handusually Uriversit)'otCentralLaneasture,PRI2HE. Regertt&reet.,Cambridge.CB210B pcl!lU1~r start about 5pm No special evenlS bul very and ro Duncan Teller 0001772893285. !lJ01223570179 a~'" *[email protected] GlJoSltt.l11 up! 13·16 Mar 1998: Corllu Genera/info: 5Mar98: 2Af198:7 May 98: 4Jun 98 lan Soransanbrings Cor1Iu-the lanzine fans'COflYMIion-IO *baltillOre98~ccess.dlgex.net forthef~sl Birmingham The Bn.rn Sf Group m~s on the second !tle UK time. Localion is the Griffin Hotel in Leeds .htlp:II...."o'.access.dlgex.net/~balt98 Friday ol the morrthala plJbin&mingham,contaclth-emlor Reg. £25 all,,£5 sup.. rooms £25 pppn doublet1Wln. £40 pppn dela~s. Membershill is £15 ~ yea'. whid1 ind\Jdes a .... 21·24Aug1998: The Wrap Party monttiynewsletler 01an Sorens(ll1, 7Woodside Wa/lt Hamilton, Ml3 7HY CelebratelheconclusjOl'1olBabyjoo5atlhaRadsson Gllolarlln ludo<. 24 Ra.ensbwme Grove, 011 Clar.es Lane * [email protected],co.uk Ear;ardan Hot~, Healhrow.londoo, Coofirmad gues/sare J. WiDenhal, WeS1 Midands. WW131H~ Mlchael Stracrynskl. Harlan Ellison. Jack Cohen, John [email protected].,r..CQ.u~ * 21.22Mar1998:SF.Days Rldgeway, Bryan Talbol, Adam 'MoW LebowiU:, John Cambridge SF Gr~ meets 01'1 the second Monday of Ihe G~slsAlan German con in Dortmund. Dean FOSler, Mark MaI\flews.Rag, £65 (inslalmentschemeavailable),lIlder 17s mon1hin TheWrestl&rS. NewMarket Road,Cambridge Brandis.Rag, 45DMto15 Mar,55DMal000r ha~ price, WIder 125 tree. Rates rise to £75 aftl!f Easlercon, 'CambridgeFantasyGroupmeetsonlhesecondSundayol 0Torslen M. Frarrtz, Rulhstrasse 8128, [).44149 Dortmund, themonlhintheZebrapoubOl'1NewmarlcetSt,Carnbridgll £80 al door. Room rates: £4Opppn lriple,£42pppn dc:diIe or 0JohnO.-am, 3 Qa,UandsAVI., 8arHill. Cambridge,CEl3 G~"" twin,WPllPOsir'ge· SEO *OluchKrause@T·onllne.de 0TheWrapPart~, POBoJ 505, Realing, 001 70Z CardiffSFGl'oupmeetSOI'1lhebrsIT~esdayolthemonth *http://WII.l9.9l.cbg.de/sf·ta9e·nrw * TheWtapParty~bllpln.co.uk .t73Opm", Wel!in1on'li Calt Bar.•2 The HayM.Carcilf 2H9 Mar 1998: *htlp:/I'N'o'.bilpin.CQ.uk/TheWrapPuty ColcllesferSF I Horror I Fantasy Group meelS on Ihe lhlrd Deliverance Blake's Se\ll1ll con at me SloIo;e--on-T,em Meal House Saluldayolead'1 rnon1hal 123Opm;" Tha Playhouse plJbin 3-6Sep 1998: Dragon"Con9a Ichangedvenuej,Rag, £50all,,£45for2 da}'$,£30for 1 day. SI,JO/v>'sStreel Premierel;l';lf1o!the Soolhem USA, al Ihe Hyan Rege!lqin Z,OesLewlson01255812119 BooICrlgsclose 12 Mar AIlanta.G\les1sinckJdeHarlanEllison,C.J.Cherryh,Larry HullSFGroopm~sontheSacondandlOU!lhTuesdaysol o Deli'lerance, 186u-yMe., Newport PaQllel,Bucks"MK16 Niven, Srlan lumley, James P. Hogan, Jerry Pournelle, 1hemonth,8pmlolO.3OprnatVeOldeBlveBEII,MarIlOlt OED Place. tu Storm Cooslanllne. Reg. $35 to 31 Dec 97,t/lence $50. Z,lan & Julle on 01482 «7953 orOa.e & EslelleOl'1 111·14 April 1998: Intuition GDragon'Con 98. PO Bol 47696,Adanta, GA:):l:li2·0696, 01.a2.«291 The 1it98 Eastercon at the Picadll~ Jarvis Hotel In Mancl1ester. USA LeicesterSFGmupmeelsonthetitslFndayollhemonth: Guests ConnleWillis. l.an McDonakl and Martin Tudor. Rag *http://lI'o''o'.du90ncon.org venuevaries £35 all 4-6 Sep 1998: FestivalofFanl8st!cFllms Z,TlmG"~omeon01162792280 Gllmuition,l Waverley Wa~. Carshatton Beedies, Surrey, Sidla's Hot~ fl Mandlester Guest Gerry Anderson and *[email protected] SM531Q At Manchester - FONT meelS rl Wethefli!XlOI1's po,Ib (on lntultlOn~elsevJer.co.uk iXhers.£45an,tolfofJ(,£55thereafttf the oomerol P>ccadllyGardenli. near lhe BR Slationl onlhe * 0SOC.o! FantaSlitFllms, clo95 MeadowgiteRoad,SalIord. http://''VrI.ast.ca~.ac.uk/~acb/lntullJOn/lntu secondanon ha~ 0SAE to 56 P9IlIlIngtoo, Or1onGold'1ay, Petaorovgh. price, LIlder 9S free PE25RB 10 May 1998: Fantasy FalrB 0Cuh TV, PO Box 1701, Peterboroogh, PE7 lER POr!smoufhThe South Hants SF Group meets 01'1 the PelerooraughSF Club's annual shindgatlheCressel *[email protected] secoodand!ourthTuesdaj'SoIlhemonthaIThaMa~a. ElIlibitionC(lI1tle,Bretton.PelerbooolJ1,IO,:~H.OOpm,Guests *http://culttv.base.Ot9 F,anOl'1Road,Porlsmouth indude'LooeWoIl'QeatorJoeDever No ratesinlo ye1 {but 11·13 Sep 1998: Fanfasycon22 . Reading SF Groop meats waekJy on Mondaysal 9,0<:iIl!": usually cheap) foratrlal~todtheyhavamovedlolhaHopeTap.Fnar British Fantasy Society con VenueAlban~ Hot~, BirmiJ11am, 0Fanlasy Fa~ S, cJo sa Pennington. Orloo GoIltIay !JJf!sts Fleda Warringlon, Jane Yolen: MC Ramsey SI'eet.Aeaang Peleroorougll,PE20RB Campbllll,U5 (£35 BFS mernbers) an, to 31 Dec97,1hence Surb/lonSurrey SF Groupmeels In lI1e Coronation Hal. ([)BruceKingonOl46021G372 Surt:>non, a WethftrSdayslllhemon1h.lrom6pm e Fantuycon, 46 O.l!oro Road, AcodIs Green, 8irmiVWn, 18·21 Sep 1998: Discworld 0Novacon 28. 14 Park Street, lye. *[email protected] somewhere in flO(lhern Europe, probably the Convention 1I 51oorb!idge.WeslMidands,OY98SS UKoraBeNei.UIlXlLlntry,l4.00peryear,to • be dedIc1ed lrom the eventual memtlersllip Thesecl)1doonvel1UondevoledtoaRlhinOS 26"28 Feb1999: Redempflon Jul 1999; Baroquon Pralcheltian I.1.kes place mlt1e Ade!phi Hotel The annual UK rOle-playmg con, I'l Babyloo Sand Blakf's SeWll con al !he o MiIlerv1lI,l11. do Malcolm Aetd. 186 In 1..NeIpooI, with guests incIUling IntemallOllalHotelflAsl1lord Kent, £35 all Cambriclge.Guestt.tal)'Genlle "'" Casewi

Matrix Crossword 21 RESULTS OF COMPETITION 128: by John English "BLURBS R US" Theanswerswertc A:.r~:covererolbalarocepoinlS,jailOOd r,."'\--/.....-iI••--l.-r-j'.""\---,"."'\--/.....---/"•., l.Pa"J.~,Pa5ljUl/l·JM}I(I'GSF95 withscopefor, .. (81 2. Ja:IlMo::£lMl.EnpiltsdGod,VarllJ'll96 g, ascoveringsuchanasteroid,one .---1...... 1-....---1__---\0. 1 TerryF'faldl8!lWnst>:vTItIiS,Corgi95 4,~EvanJ.Al!lII:~,VGSF93 frorn 1lJt;m. 16) S,m~ToBuldJlfwllm.VGSF95 6,N,LeeWood,L~Rtt>tA/,lld,VlSla96 :~' =:::a~;du~:en1~~~, (.) 10" 0-__"""••'-'__1-....---1...... 7.P!ltrF.HanOlon,AoIn:ls/dIRiJq,Pan9J lealute5workerdesaibtngNiven's !.KinNewman,TIlI~I'oo:Ql!W 9. Ri:tlardCal:le<.OIiIiI1wJgs,Yrrpqo<96 12 moon,pO)~.~6~oneaYaila~efrorn AnQ'omedii...... __---\o JIf'."...... ---1__---\O. 1D.f'alR:iaM~.H.ipprPoli::trtwIl,NEL95 11.Jonaltlanltl~.&II.Wi!I'IUuscwIl/~NEL95 12.RcbartJSawyt<.TIlITItIIQ~HEL95 ThIn Cl:iOkedear{fried}.(8l 1. 13 SteJienBaxlIl'.R.rIl,Vrrpqo<92 15. NereK:fs prirnary plane! (Dune) 14 Jonal!IanCarrol,Froml/lfTW!IIoIM}III$.VO)'¥9S destroyed after Iadisev3Cl1aled.(7] 15. SIormConslarfuo.SUlilslTWlrPr.y.CreeCgs 17. WaXl!1Q lhus. I cry'AlJ's Iostr (7) I~. ,I,I..;arder 8esIlor, Rim. 0til:9S 20 Non·EinSlt'lfWlinSll\JmenltrackJng 11 Ahoosroaf,L"9"*.ltIItmUn9S saIlor,thus,(8) t:N'f(:ul:,Wlhtlilllisi'lcWed;,1hebkJotlled 22. Weapon irrIenled by PreSldentRonald. !!.",\--,"",\-'-H.".""\---,",,,\--,"",\-,.., 1!.Ila$dat(l.-ay.l!lll?,J.1rW>f,"''9'M'65 we hear (61 BkrtI...tIenbrrlnylwrtsel 23. LoiteredloooyO'lnks,(5.5) 19Lany~JI..,.PoI1rM&Sl~BameI.lll1l.agNyol_.... 24 Type 01 flyloond upoo the deep. (4) 2O.~FJym,"t>tCOr,n 3. IlhOl(Afo,A"dromtJ, - With Fred Hoyle) 4 C~lIl1rl"l' ANNOUNCEMENTS oegoIiolo ...... ,...., lrom herown*J1MlM >adio"*;>iarS<:ilrl'nrr) 8. Crl'lghtoo.Wa,d (Lady Penclope) hrll .... S<>otUf_,~arwyl_~wI'ir;l'lwil_ ~ ..... ~ ~ n ~tlnI SOotoots and Thetle-breakanswl'l'wasMAJOR-·coslhelrulldllelters _ol""*';IilomoIOrPltlllrJ'lOClollP'US.Lelmo_""" Engn,omg-~"""",_...... larbocl< .. ",.1tIs $eI>j 01 each dl\\W('T spell (bac~wMds) CLANGERS. arod d. :;~~~::''''~~~"':~''''::ol'::'''''"'''· ~~='=-~b:':":"'rl:=":= evryfulenoMljorOmgerwaslhepalriarchlilhet,iffK WhEocI,31eo..tr;Road,I-.E...,X;lolOOEmoil L~Geoisocl n.Y_~BUISF.f'f1lW'IwwICoIlt'I., ... The flrsl out Iithelaat wllo spolled all this was 'eguL!r RADIOPl,OYSW.t.NTEllRaGio'__ lrd_BSFAjoonooJ US_. 11Io_.. 8OJI_SFf"'n .... rontl'Slant Nigel P£ISOIIS, so a boo~ token "111 wing It~ EIItIlC/lnhl"."''''"'*'''gelher ...... ,..., .. g,"'~.. is~I".'ab.... isOOl waytolV~lesinthfnear future fftf~., They",,' M Mo...... '" .CIlIllItion~.CotWt,Sydf.lltf.... 01J12201im.,...... pq! _ .... _ •• • The winner of Iheaossword in issu~ 12S was regular $I.oO<'rJ ..,.,....1las_'ol_rd".,DDPI'lIlem.Ellen ... ~ lUooI.eorwt:JoMOIII.SlDomorlRooo1L-.lUllU l'1\trant5uejOnfs,Congralulallons' ~ ,• , , , • , . JJJWW Rage, ig Butt ~ kull ra;;'k~~~, B Oushesbackllienm S C ·THEIWJSrR,lTEClMJ,HAIlerJohnJarrold's-wecan1~avethal man alone -lhoug,lfuI critique of last yea(s CLarke Awards 10l' i'1lOfing good old tradtional sf. K's nice 10 seethal tI1e EarthMghtboss Please sel/d al/competilioll is ~ing his money where his mouth is by sJg:1ing up such hard-sf and crossword elltrirs, IlIIIirlaries as Guy Gavrlel Kay, John WhllOOurn, Ray BradbYry and togetlla with mlY related JaneWele!l.Wilhepulspaceshipsont~rCCMlfs? correspolldellce, 10; • KrIG RAr LAo?Further pr()(j 01 the non·elislence 01 Gary Dalkln Roger Robin~(In came in iSSIJe 197 of V.dor:lX. AnAmtwgUOlJS Crifjtopiawhere Mr 75 KosslynAvenlle Dalkin·s edIonal was attributed 10 Of BuIIef on the COOler1lS pa\ll! Meanwhile. saldOO'1ter1ls Usl paid homa!1l! to the neyday 01 the 6ear HuoldWood,Essex old Grudniadin a virtuoso display of lypos A spokestublard relrOled' RM30RG "Fcku FoF· Noll0 be outdone, the editOf of TIle Best M.Jtn~ In The Qrtnwi/' Wrri:l-E~IVoJ. 129}Pl"O'IedlhalheOOeSl11readhlsown [email protected] maga2lfil!('WeII.nobohOl", what kmd cl sam~e would ~ be? (2) How many 00w0hiJl raus have you seen? (31 Wh~ on earth do you wam to tudl ? • DRAJIIA OR CRISIS? The news that someone has mana!1ed to Matrix Crossword 22 - "Against Stupidity", a Perimetric Jigsaw OO'1W1ceaninwranucompanylhalne'sbel!!1abdoctedbyaliel1s (with a,opropriate ooear1hly body pans as I!YIdenreI and is sel to by John English receive a £1mi1lion payout had ~pI1 gijbbering in disbeliet, What Melhl)d:SOOetheclu~andinsertthe w(lJ!dtheprenllumbelor-~rssay- The SpallOwwiJring all the awardsgoillg? lX -wtisper ~ soIdy - a BSFAma~i!lg being delivered ~~I~::;=rrt~~~a:m I.H..J.-\'.J---1I--~J-I..,jH..J.-\'..1 on lime and to every member? completedciagramwhel1readc:lockwise I""H~--I'~-II __-I"'~~H~--I''''I • EOOORSBEHAVlNO BAocrCanrt be mere chance that 50'11. 01 the e6torialteamclVwbr:OrtheModemPromelheussharethenamesof =~r:~:~ofti~p71~bya...1--1-I-4..1----1..._--l...... I--I-1-4..1 50'1. of the Cl'1aracters from BBCfs most popt.lar currer1l sitcom? well-Ieringis ••••t=.U.jt=-t) • $P£AKJNG lI'Ielev1lll\ conceming less·than·nanering men\lons 01 criIics in certain authors' wcas. Alephhas atways wondered about a line in Terry Pralche1t's 1,PulZlemakesonenea~yirate.wim Lords andLarfWs (GoIIancz 1992),Onpage59.GrannyWeatherwu !WJltltIS) has jyst l!I1lered the roosa 01 the naug,ry young witch Perdila to feach 2. Nol many lUlIIIl19 sooth-ncrth and her alesson ~Blessingsbeupo."11hishousa:saidGrannyWeatherwax J =;:~~~~8~ttoooeonthe ...1--1-I-4...... _--l.0I----I.1--1-1-4. In much lhe same tctll! li l'Oiuha'le J)I!Oplesaid. ·Ealhol~ad, 00&.(8) IGncailf" 4011alilicatjonalstartolt!!rm!Ofsl!Ch Aleptl is sure t!lis is SOI11e ~terary or mmic re1erence that's gone ngl1t as Laurnefs Relief? (8) ...1--1-I-4..1--I..J---III--I.I--I-I-4. overrishead".butperhapsOlJfPaulor.ce~veTerryabadrlMew? Sllaidpopoul,seffigdo\lble18) ·PHEW, .. ma6e K, and the column hasnl ()(ICe ml!/1tioned 6.Fll'example,spotsreturnmgto Chikltood'sEnd. damn __O - N,<'oeCI'sQl 8 Yooorlseemastb!W;en-iIluSlon' 16 Memorable.~keJohnl1'/'181 cr-,andtriJell~lIdtwiiIadohIsl (7) 17TomHoItlnearty)l'Idisarraycausedby~in2001,{8) 9 F~'erplanefIOl'lnbadwardsby 18ChnSlianaeedhaschurCl'1embrodedin9,(6) t!1egreasepaintEKlmalrlxls improvised on an acorn a5000. Farren-aneolOOll·gabbUlglriekl(7l 19,Frankor()son.l~tlany-awriter,141 hamm&d up atrociousty by various bils Pe~ainiogtose~ualrevel.makingpa~oIt(11"!lIache?(6) 10, Shatter bean endessJy. gnOOog 20, of soltwale (nolablyzap. which was plAses. (10) 21, Brokentail~ c:ure using second slomachs in cows, (8) just-marv(lllous-darling),maoeupbyan 11 Smelsurrour'olingprophelin 22 DiMergOllpStakettletr seats. with EiOl embraong Dean, (8) BarsoOllfs m3lOfcity., (51 23, Ceaseloused1a~whl!l1 hokingsumm~, (4,2) COlt£: hp~~:~~5~y S~r~l~l~yb~~I~~~~~~~~ 12 ~o!sme"withaliredion?(5) 24. Make it with acule starl (3.4) lJ~Jo" (oh ~ei'r:::~~~I~(~~e:sl~~;:;~~~ 13 De>ilallowedloremainoospok8l1.(8) 25.Pa~o!patrlAsimO'lhadwithatternoonmeals.(4j 14 Coocerfllngpa~oIeye.lbanish 26. Earthlinghastomakemislakei'1lrigonometrieallltlction,(6) booedal lrom the stalls by you McDorlald (7) 27 Fannrshmee!lngplauwith publisher's imptint if11he sky. aCCllf!ingto -m.t~.,ao_lO<.O'Iylh.per>gYinuti",chest'.(_conc:"" 151~inlravel,~melyrelumngby Heutfel/l?(6) lI'ogromm.-&---bf<>ao5/l',-lhet''''''''''!1­ Onelrrotzero)ine~lreme{yllolpursuilofsexualgralificaMn.16) InCllcness means of lranspon, (61 2ll duk.eIlingtCll\_romeo &juliel_, 1I..-...>lol>._t'."ce .....ope ••II'••I_. 1he$holl.'ll&1lm.Ia._,pIIoenI.a6.lIIdno!~"';oion.I.~