Vector 65 Edwards 1973-05

VKCZOft 6S X? AN INTERVIEW WK eENE Wfr£FE 30fi VECTOR 65 VECTOR 65 ;; May - June 1973 VECTOR is the official journal of the Contents; British Science Fiction Association Ltd. Lead-In 3 Chairman; John Brunner Gene Wolfe; An Interview 7 Vice-Chairman & Acting Executive Secret ary; Keith Freeman, 128 Fairford Rd., Lost Peoples 17 Tilehurst, Reading, RQ3 6QP. Panels Sargent Treasurer; Mrs G.T. Adam«, 54 Cobden The Fannish Inquisition 20 Ave, Bitterne Park, Southampton, Peter Roberts S02 4FT The Man Who Could Work Miracles 23 Company Secretary; Graham Baola Brian W. Aldiss The Infinity Box; Book Rerviaws 33 Malcolm Edwards VECTOR costs 30p. Membership of the Christopher Priest British Science Fiction Association is George Zebrowski £1.50 per year, which sum normally in Ad Astra? 38 cludes six issues of VECTOR. Bob Shaw In the U.S.A., B.S.F»A. membership is Notes on Contributors 41 ^3.00 per year; it is ths same in Australia, only in Australian money. Author's Choice 42 Membership enquiries should go to Keith Roger Zelasny Freeman. The Mail Response; Letters 47 Readers outside the U.K. can subscribe B.S.F.A. News 54 to VECTOR separately. In the U.S.A. the rate is 2 for jil.OO and pro rata surface mail; $1.00 each airmail. Same in Cover art by Andrew Stephenson, suggest Australia, in local dollars. Subscrip ed by "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" by tion money should go to Mrs Adams. Gene Wolfe. Overseas subscribers; please send VECTOR is edited^ assembled, and et cash if possible; cheques are subject to ceteraed by someone who knows no better; heavy surcharging. Malcolm Edwards _0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0_ 75A Harrow View Harrow Copyright (c) Malcolm Edwards, 1973. Middx HA1 1RF All rights assigned to the individual authors. Except for the News Column, edited by; Archie Mercer Copy deadline for VECTOR 66 is July 1st. 21 Trenethick Parc This is a final deadline ■— please try Helston, Cornwall to get the stuff to me earlier, fellas. LEAD-IN Having largely been typed beforehand, Oh well. That’s enough of com thia issue is being completed in oppo plaints. Onoe settled in I had a sition to an insidious but strong great time, which unfortunately seemed feeling of post-convention lethargy. to flash by at about two hours per It is less than two days since we left minute. I'd been looking forward to Bristol, as I type this, and I'n not this convention for a long time, it sure that it would be wise to attempt being the first we'd been able to get any sort of full convention report so to since the 1971 Novaoon, and eventual soon after the event) at the moment ly I enjoyed it as much as I had anti the events of the three days are still cipated doing, so that oome Monday mor jumbled and unsorted in my memory. ning I was just ready for another week or so of convention. And I think But it was, yes, a good Con. Up Christine enjoyed it much more than she until late Saturday afternoon I was not was really expecting to. The first at all sure it would be: everything vaguely familiar face I encountered was seemed disjointed; the convention had Newcastle fan Thom Penman, who seemed not settled into any kind of pattern to have grown up since I last saw him or rhythm (for me, at least). In my two years previously — but this init admittedly limited experience every con ial impression soon proved wrong. vention has its own very distinct Thom, who had surely set some kind of personality, but in each case the moment record by issuing a long report on the you really begin to enjoy yourself, 1972 Easteroon in the week before this though hard to pin down, oomes when you one, had brought his water—pistol with atop feeling like a visitor and start him in order to give himself something feeling at home. If OMPAcon had a major to write about next year. Worse, he fault it was in the way it bcgen on was not alone, having been accompanied Friday. The programme began too early, by the well-known, sensitive, pre-adol- presumably in response to the increasing esoent poet Ritchie Smith. Anyway, I'm number of people who arrive on the not going to go into that side of the Thursday evening. I think this was a convention very much, although it pro bad misjudgment, and I hope future con vided intermittent entertainment (i.e. ventions should learn from it (are when it was aimed at someone other you listening, Ian?). I would think a than me); in any case, I preferred 3 p.m. opening would be quite early Penman's (I think it was his) other enough (perhaps 4 p.m. when, as will strange device — a small pink object happen next year, many attendees will be which did a marvellous cackling imper faced with very long journeys). We sonation of John Piggott, right down arrived at lunchtime, having come down to the battery you had to insert before on a train which didn't involve getting it worked. No, I'll devote most of up too early and rushing; although we this to the more formal, or at least were there at what I expected to be the normal aspects of the weekend, because start, everything was apparently under I wouldn't want to give any of you who way already. Another mistake was in may never have visited a convention the not having any proper opening item. The impression that it's somewhere where programme drifted from some films silly things happen. Gosh, no. straight into the opening panel. The net result of all this was a feeling of In the important area of making the dislocation which persisted through much Edwards family more famous, the Con of the next day. was a reasonable success — in fact, a striking one. We were sitting in the Sentences, and staggered back to the lounge on Saturday morning when I was lounge, my coffee was cold. approached by a reporter and photo grapher from the Bristol Evening Post. The formal programme was only inter As it turned out, they didn't want to mittently interesting; there seemed to interview me on the Significance of be too many panel discussions which Science Fiction in the Modern World were there solely because, what the and maybe put a photo on the front hell, you gotta have panel discussions. page — they were more interested in The best of those I attended was that Christine, but instead of going through on time-travel on Saturday afternoon, any of this modern nonsense about equa with lightning attendee Hiilip Strick lity of the sexes they wanted to ask me in the chair and James Blish, Ken if they could borrow her to take some Bulmer and Bob Shaw on the panel. photos in the Art Room. Once they had Even so, this was far from being a total success: too much of the hour was received my assent, they dragged her off without further ado. Apparently spent talking around different aspocta of the subject without finding a really they were rather nonplussed when they profitable area for discussion. This asked her a few questions and discovered is a fault inevitable in panel discus she ditty't read science fiction. What sions unless they are both well-moder was she doing there then? Christine ated (which this one was) and either explained about me, and Vector, and the rehearsed to some degree or very B.S.F.A. Later that day we picked up clearly defined and directed (which it a copy of the paper, which carried one wasn't). Nevertheless, many of the of the photos, plus two articles — one things which were Baid were very inter done from an interview with Brian esting, and I wished it had gone on Aldiss, and one of the usual ho-ho sf longer. convention things ... "Time warps, interplanetary travel, monsters and Later on Saturday, Guest of Honour invasions are likely to be among the Chip Delany spoke, largely about the casual chat at the Grand Hotel, Bristol, academic acceptance of sf. He spoke over the next few days Part of well, although not saying anything the general article referred to "Mrs really new. One rather disturbing Christine Edwards, a publisher's wife item came up in the ensuing discussion: from Harrow"J Well, I always believe there has been a lot of talk lately what I read in the newspapers, so about holding more 'fannish* conven henceforth don't try referring to me as tions, and this had given the impression, a librarian, or a fanzine editor, or to James Blish at least, that pros were any of that stuff. I'm a publisher not welcome at these gatherings. Not now -- it's official. so, not so. All that's meant, I think, is more emphasis on talk and less on the For my own part, I was approached by formal programming at the Novacons — Gerald Bishop on the Friday, asking if much like many American regional conven I' d mind being interviewed by Radio tions, I believe. I suppose I should Bristol. About what?, I asked. Oh, mention the Fancy Dress Parade in the just the B.S.F.A., you know, said he. evening. Normally I dislike these even I agreed, but nothing seemed to come of ts more than I can tell you, though it so I'd put it out of my mind by mid some masochistic urge always drags me morning Saturday, and was just settling down with some extortionate (17p each) away from the bar to watch.

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