·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! Leed
MAGAZINES SERVICES anh~~FiI;\tOtlAnOCllllonlld R'"9'lt - 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,AdamWisnieowsl In:imlledlllfclttle'SpaceDeTlons'Iiogy,abcd.boy1llfloescapesludesperale ~ ~byobsetvngaIoxSlldoselyhtamosat.::0me5ont,CII1lhn·5Boc:tclt"YNt nhislrala. .. *lIlduIShlpardBarnideNh!Spac«(t.lw.£S.99pb)-~ce&.oIShtpW5 ~AMrrntm.Pl'lr:JerR..WlIl:IeItWiOenl.EI'II')TIlII'I.~ ORlON Jo/ln &. 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TIIs, I'IstnltlOY8t. IIIledn:frier l'MlIwIga dedi on h11Icl.-I\aYe!llJlt andSabNJCU'"l'flIO~NeCr_lOdSClCM!fIls.1fIOUI "'SIUlIe..ote$lJbseqUert~b'flvel6'atlaslrtnalJMIt"'$piQ!tJ ~1*nIItr lPYfIllhil.kmQennl$ltlelobemnotrtll$CGlJ_He~l!le :"Randlts T~Wenf Reil-W.casesdNPMilIfIOfmM(CohlBrown o Fib 98 1ISUIlClMl'.ardCllll5p"iCleS.{)jtewrolelhtbook"lherurhesper1~bodtilld £1499It1, l~iLl-TwettrwewdlYll1tsandflef'lldencelorhm. torIhaaossIleAllanllconhlsbcat.lOtIchbeilslftOCriPngm~$. *CafmIllbril~PIants(Coh&Brown o Feb. £14.99 pl:I. 128pp1.)--o-]) WldIaelWoorcoct.F~f/artoln(A¥llllSNoot:$12.(l)lp,228pJI1-Searld¥Obne" desq!s1U 21 cdcu, rea (OOP'OMar;C1B991tl.32OWil) ChaIIngesIht-solOawb'lsiilnd$teplenGcUd •• on .... l.rIqJtilfld~CiilfIiildiilnllDkId. • *JoMD.BllTlIW~n.l.milsoi&:.Qandltlf$cIatQoi!.lllls(OlJ' OA(6' h:b:q OOP. 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S24ppI- Amxiilled iIfId eel Feb.C999pb.128jlp)-.YOU"'INdQid(,a-d"'J.P'I-1ob:JI(and~ ...... ,,-,- AmnlkDopltdl~dCdc~(OUP ofll!l'l'lIM!II)JQlllllffn:lhsolsornttllfftslNrd'you'oefNdGte;ae.-sreur.lSIatlf OAf6:0HlOhb.il32W) you~wan:lOlIkelkdll '.OOO ...Iorm"hde&lllM!t!ference~IOC*/fI)1hokIg(.~ex:end!d YiilryRobel1sonlSimDn BarOf!-Cohen Totn/le'sStntomt ThaFddS(Ol.I'-OFeb ts$I"'CIISUllYcydessucllash~ ~oi~Mi1JNl5I1f¥erydi,lJt (I299pb, 11 2¥IP 1 ) JoMEmsleyAlolllaMsAlAnfxhbllon *"idlioKakuV"_.H:lwSoern!W..~1tIf2I$1Cerll1yInd8eyl;nf(OUP0 lOOP o Ajr,(lB.!l9hb,256pp)-Answersl"lpop,U'lorm5UdlpoSffSiilS.lIha1lf1 IoW (IB!l9hb)-Kaku15Pn:l1'e5S(I"dTheorebciillPhysullllleLmersr!yolNewYorlt. etlOtdIle mNsus IeeI gIXld'WIIiill15 NUn's sIeeplf1g piI'Whilli Cff,d0e5cyberrulturestdll'm110rNSlIgone Prune Shlt only the mean streets eoclSled and they the way of tec!lno, house and rod; 'n' roll: rnel'o'ed weren't JUst mean anymore, they were mean plus. F;up by mocIem rultureand spat back aSJusl one BladrR..-nntr'sstrcflgth waslI\ Its wholesale styllShc design element of many. to be used lI\ fashioo spreads, pIllaging of 1940s film nolr. h was a style slalemml first, ad campaigns and kids'lv7(And il you don't hke Ihe sfserond,WeaJl know the school ofthoughl lhat says if music referen("e5, you can replace them with Bill you can't extrapolate your technology from whatever's Burroughs cut·ups, beat poetry and Sov~ RealISm, the appeanng m the current pages of Nw Som/is/then It's result's the Silmt), eOfIlE' 10 that, did malllSlream not real sf. because anything biI:sed on SOl'I\Cl' that cyben:uJrure ever rust as a separate enhty OUlSldt' a doesn't yet nISI IIas 10 be fantasy Just as wt all know ~1I enW\'e olla'f\ h.1clm. US roIlege counes and the popuLu prrJUdl(.l' that says If a story's set UI the Wtrnl mag.wne .? I don't thlllk so - It WiS an future then Lt M to be si, unless It'S wntlm by it aGldenur nmtruct fed off tne ttehno facet of early nre 8ool.er- Punk-ptlJ'lItms._nnrnt""'I)Olllllpt'llPk Rctloa-UltV>lttrlby tlltllMll"III'...5ptCl/.1l IJftNI9iOsmll9&lsmBn~/Il""fJldmstdliy. mmdllIst«y. rUmt rqtdlOlllr(tSIIIbIlSltnlsoorty (Botb Pmgulll Enghsh D!cboIwry,j Kubemttts-~n.NlatnIGll'ri:""""1tSt'Ii6yHomtI'intlttn_. thf me.m stredS lhemsdves ~ thf clothes might T!lerPwolSltune-mlIybt'lmtofifteelytarslgo- dwl~. but IIUllWl J'IlIture doesn't. If I'lOlr was I whm hard-boikd sf and cyberpwU. Wl'!'t Dn'hone It would be by Cyrnosm OUI of Injured IlIterdwl~bIe terms: when the mtMl Sl'rM$ 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 silicon. 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 universe's problems, and that democracy and SOCIology Srarship Troop6ts-TriSl3rlTouchstooe. DlreclorPaul Vefhoeo 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 ., 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 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 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$3p1\Js 10centSlYle. Send submissions 10 Daniel D. Adams. . Aemembermore mar1let news can be toundin lane [TTA Press. 5 Marlirn; lane. ::~~e~~~: ~~:~;a~i7sh~~~~~a In~~:P:~~~~~~~f ~:P:e~~e;:~~ WilChem. Ery. Cambs.. C662l8: sul)saiplion £8.00. Also lry Sc.avenger·sf.kwsleller. are known to the rcbcl Thodin (B.my Bostwickjand together they s!fal the lexx. JanelFoJ. 519 Elinwood. Osage City. KS66523-1329-orfrom GMs Reed at BBA, PO The next two epIsodes are damp squibs. In "Supernova" Tlm Curry messes BoI625.Sheffiejd,Sl3SY. around playmg Tlm Curry, and ~he plot is shoe-homed around l\al'5 home plaller as the crew try to find a way of restonng h1m 10 lik lev is captured and I~'S up to W,lt.. '.m_ ' Matrix Crossword 21 RESULTS OF COMPETITION 128: by John English "BLURBS R US" Theanswerswertc A:.r~:covererolbalarocepoinlS,jailOOd r,."'\--/.....-iI••--l.-r-j'.""\---,"."'\--/.....---/"•., l.Pa"J.~,Pa5ljUl/l·JM}I(I'GSF95 withscopefor, .. (81 2. Ja:IlMo::£lMl.EnpiltsdGod,VarllJ'll96 g, ascoveringsuchanasteroid,one .---1...... 1-....---1__---\0. 1 TerryF'faldl8!lWnst>:vTItIiS,Corgi95 4,~EvanJ.Al!lII:~,VGSF93 frorn 1lJt;m. 16) S,m~ToBuldJlfwllm.VGSF95 6,N,LeeWood,L~Rtt>tA/,lld,VlSla96 :~' =:::a~;du~:en1~~~, (.) 10" 0-__"""••'-'__1-....---1...... 7.P!ltrF.HanOlon,AoIn:ls/dIRiJq,Pan9J lealute5workerdesaibtngNiven's !.KinNewman,TIlI~I'oo:Ql!W 9. Ri:tlardCal:le<.OIiIiI1wJgs,Yrrpqo<96 12 moon,pO)~.~6~oneaYaila~efrorn AnQ'omedii...... __---\o JIf'."...... ---1__---\O. 1D.f'alR:iaM~.H.ipprPoli::trtwIl,NEL95 11.Jonaltlanltl~.&II.Wi!I'IUuscwIl/~NEL95 12.RcbartJSawyt<.TIlITItIIQ~HEL95 ThIn Cl:iOkedear{fried}.(8l 1. 13 SteJienBaxlIl'.R.rIl,Vrrpqo<92 15. NereK:fs prirnary plane! (Dune) 14 Jonal!IanCarrol,Froml/lfTW!IIoIM}III$.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>tCO