October-November 1990 125p Issue 157 The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association Gregory Benford on Shared Worlds David Brin Interviewed Kim Newman on Films of the 1980s ........ The Uninformed - Heart: Bettelheim'--'-. and sf Cover An by Karel Soukup Vectorl,t-,_J , ~- I '-< I • Issue 157 ISSN 0505-1448 Contents 4-Letters 7 - SF Cinema In the sos Film critic and au1hor Kim Newman looks at 1hL mgh- and low-points of genre film-mo.Jang in thL 1980s 9 - David Brin Andy Sawyer mer the American "hard sf'' author on his recent publicity tour of thL UK andpro~·ilks a profile of him and his la­ test Mvd, &rth 12 - The Uninformed Heart BeudhLim. sf, and 1uhnology as a god by Sm·e Pa/mu 15 - Book Reviews Nightrall -lsoacAsimov &: Robm Silvubug • Ratspike-JohnB/anche & Ian Miller Blood and Iron -Les Edwards• Earth-David Brin The Folk or lhe Fr inge-Orson Scou Card • Moonheart - Charlu tll l.inr The Goth ic Ta les or Marquis de Sade - Marquis {ll Sak (tr. Marga~ , Crosland) The Lost Yea rs-IM Dillard • Sorcerer's Son -Phyffis Eisenstein Double Helix Fall-Neil Ferguson• The Stand -S1ephen King The Bad Place - Dean R Koontz • The Night or the Moon bow- ThomLJs Tryon The Blood or Roses-Tanith Ue • Buffalo Gals- Ursula UGuin The Land of Eternal Fire - TP Newark • The Barsoom Projecl -LarryNiven &: Steven Barnes Nara bed la Ltd -Frederik Pohl • Star Scroll - Mdanie Rawn Escape from Kathmandu- Kim Stanley Robinson• Summertide-Charles SMffield Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons • Voices-nm \t.ynne-Jones Perspectives-John Spencer • Skin ollhe Soul -Lisa Tu1tle (Ed) The Ice-Shirt- William T Vollman• Angel Station-Walter Jon Williams Gypsies-Rohen Charles Wilson • Soldier or Arete -Gene Wolfe Co-Editors Boyd Parkinson 11 Marsh Street. 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The idea of trying to think ly, often in unexpecled directions. what goes on in sf, and actively regards suc­ beyond the world of 1948 science, within Curiomly, we often 50CJll. to cast change in ce:ss 15 1 sign of failed standards. which he crcaled Against, came up naturally. the role of demon. Thttc arc more reasoned rapanses: Nor­ My far funtte, in fact, differs radically from Nowhere is thi5 more obvious than in the man Spinrad and Gardner Dozois think it his. yet is consistent with his vision. (Huck railings against ..shared world" fiction. Since represents I terrible decline of artistic stand­ Finn didn't contradict Tom Sawyer, either: I stand pan]y indicted in this regard, by writ­ ards. There are occasional mutterings about that's one oflhe rules.) In 1948 nobody knew ing a book wich Arthur C Clarke, Beyond the how the field is seeing more "generic" of DNA or uw the potential of bioengineer­ FaH of Night, I've been mher bemused by worlcs, meaning action-adventure which ing. And there have been black holes, the froth kicked up. merely usessfprops.lbislaSlobservationis cosmological changes galore, and much else I recall the fwiow condemnations a few quite true, but independent of shared worlds; since. By writing beyond where Arthur had years back of sequels - particularly tri­ it's an outc:omc of the need for product. left off, I could also comment on how time logies. Does no one notice thal a novel driven by chain stores. changes aesthetic and other attitudes. Maybe Hemingway thought the best in American lit­ I'm reminded of John Berger's definition I could even slip in a little sex ... The prospect erature is a .sequel - indeed, following on a of hack work, describing oil painting in wastootastytopassup. boy's book, Tom Sawyer? Ways of Seeing, 15 " ... nol the ra;ultofcithcr Generally, I see no reason why several So it goes wilh sharing common liierary clwnsiness or provincialism; it is the result of authors, writing under common assumptions. ground. Are we thrown into moral confusion the market making more insistent demands CaIUIOI produce admilablc work. The fact.th.at when we hear Rhapsody on a Theme by than the art." Fair enough; but this can hap­ marketing practices stress One Big Name in Paganini? Do we indignantly march from the pm in any contcxL Working in a known the packaging is perhaps sad, but I think well­ concert hall when assault.ed by Varbdons oo region of concept-space docs not necessarily meaning critics like Norman Spinrad a Theme by Haydn? imply that territory has been mined OUL Nor underestimate our savvy readers. A quick Does it lnlly never occur to critics tha1 re­ is fresh ground always fertile. glance al jacket copy tells them what they're inspecting the asswnption.s and methods of Behind a lot of repugnance for the market getting. As rcce.nt a suc.cess as Poodle classica.l works could yield new fruit? That a is that old stereotype: the artisl as Grcal Man. Springs. in which Rober! Parker comgleted fresh narrative could both strike out into new Such wonderful figures arc conswned by the manuscript Raymond Chandler struggled tenitorywhilereflectingonthclandscapeof struggle, partly again.SI lack of understanding, with while dying, points out a certain engag­ the past? Recall that Hamid followed on and partly against hunger, partly against inner de­ ing zest can come of such work. drew from several earlier plays about the mons. This U I peculiarly western vision, a Much of the attitude about this pn.ctiec sameploL romantic one, and it falsifies our own cxperi­ strikes me as a warmed-over version of the I make no general case abou1 "franchis­ crw;:c enormously. Ard in contemplating the High Aht vs Low Commerce clichC. Non· ing" or shared world works. precisely Life of profcssKlnals, believers in this hoary sense. of coUJse. One of the critics' worse because they are w varied in method and image go for the easily understood.. sopho­ habits is seeing li1eratwc in moral terms accomplishmenL There is the Thieves World moric motivation: bucks. alone. Refusals to read any work besmirched Sffles (which apparently began th11 particular Of course money miners. But IC! me speak by this "taint" is simple-minded and, in a awcach); Heroes in Hell; varioU5 military for myself. I didn't undertake to write Be­ critic, cowardly. It is judging a book not motifs;Silverberg'shomagestoseveralear­ yond lbe Fall of Night with Arthur Clarke merely by its cover, but by its contracL litt wrilttS, including CL Moore and Joselfl for money: I have quite enough. I did it to get Commerce means contradiction, freedom. Conrad; stories sel in worlds invented by at material I could not otherwise, and to point the right to be wrong. Even. yes. the right to Isaac Asimov and Clarke, nolably the series up my subject by I direct comparison with 1 be tacky. by Paul Preuss; the new offshoot of lhe Tor classic meditation from anOlhcr age. l'drathertakcthepositive view: What new Doubles in which newer writen write sequels The topic came up while ArthUJ and I were avenuesdocsthisevolutionofthefieldopen? or prequels to classic novell1S... quite 1 spending I pleasant summer afternoon tour­ How do we criticise the work7 What's per­ nnge. It seems to me thar the preseoce of ing the Air &. Space Museum in Washington, missible? 0'11 grant that not everything is.) sevttal such stories on Nebula and Hugo bal­ OC, escorted by the ircsent museum director These are interesting questions which re­ lots argues for :some quality. and Fred Durant. a past director and old quire that we reinspect oUJ assumptions. Well edited (and there's the rub), 1 proje,c1 friend of Arthur's. We began to speculate on They could help us all understand where this can employ divcne talents at their best. My how spacecraft could change in the really fast-moving genre is taking us. We, above all, first experience WIS with Heroes in Hell, long tenn. That led to wondering how far one must consider change with an open mind. which got two award mminations that I re­ could plausibly extrapolate into the future And I, for one, don't think our destination is call, and one Hugo.