The Reluctant Famulus #116

The Reluctant Famulus 116 March-April 2017 Thomas D. Sadler, Editor/Publisher, etc. 305 Gill Branch Road, Owenton, KY 40359 E-mail: [email protected] Contents Introduction, Editor 3 Where The Media Go, Frederick Moe 8 The Off Center Viewpoint, Joe Napolitno 11 The Horror Master, Eric Barraclough 14 Mystery at Moundville, Alfred Byrd 19 The Crotchety Critic, Michaele Jordan 25 NAE, Part One, Gayle Perry 29 NAE, Part Two, Gayle Perry 35 Letters 40

Artwork/Photos

Steve Stiles, Front Cover Anna Byrd 19-24 Teddy Harvia 40 Locs header A. B. Kynock 41, 43, 45 Robert Limós (Internet) 6 Denny Marshall 7, 46, 47 Spore 40,42,44 Milt Stevens 44, bottom left Internet 7,14, 24 bottom right, 28, 49 Me (Ed.) back cover

The Reluctant Famulus is a product of Strange Dwarf Publications. Some of the comments expressed herein are solely those of the Editor/Publisher and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of any sane, rational persons who know what they are doing and have carefully thought out beforehand what they wanted to say. Material not written or produced by the Editor/Publisher is is printed by permission of the various writers and artists and is copyright by them and re- mains their sole property and reverts to them after publication. TRF maybe obtained for The Usual but, in return for written material and artwork, postage costs, The Meaning of Life, and Editorial Whim.

The Reluctant Famulus Entering its 29th year! Introduction: A Trip Down Fannish Memory Lane I hope no one was offended by Kurt’s front If my memory is correct the first convention I cover and my pathetic back one. They were attended was a World Fantasy Convention which meant as satire and nothing more. was brought to my attention by another aspiring Here, is my introduction to TRF 116 for what pro writer, Joan Vander Putten who had a story of little it’s worth. hers appear in a collection called Devils & De- This—I hope—is intended to be a continuing mons, collected by Marvin Kaye. Again, if my feature of The Reluctant Famulus aside from my recollection is accurate the convention was in usual introduction. My Introduction will serve as Nashville, TN. Some of you may be aware of the a sort of guide to let readers what to expect and World Fantasy Cons which are more or less the what I would liked to see. The guidelines are few equivalent to SF’s Worldcon but also more in a and to the point. What I hope to achieve are items pro manner. I didn’t know that at the time but I voluntarily written by any and all readers of this paid the necessary fee and attended it because it fanzine as a way of infusing fannishness in TRF was a chance to meet some big name writers with which has sadly been lacking. The subjects could whom I was familiar from having read some of be, for example, what was your first convention their works. And what a bunch of Pros were and how you felt being a newbie to Fandom cons. there! There was a mass autographing event I at- What was your most memorable or best conven- tended and where I got some autographs— tion. Who was the first well-known fan you met naturally. Ones such as Fritz Leiber and his son, and how you got along with him or her. Who was Justin, Park Godwin (along with a drawing of the first big name pro SF (And Fantasy) writer himself smoking a cigarette) Marvin Kaye, you met and how you got along with her or him. Charles Fontenay, Hugh B. Cave, Andre Norton, Were there any funny or memorable events that Connie Willis, and so on. Oh, there was also stand out. How you felt being among all those Gregory Benford. (I think that was where I met other SF fans. Did you feel awed or right at him and got his autograph. Oh cursed memory.) home. Did you restrict yourself solely to being an There is one more because it was by the first attendant or eagerly join in on panels or in other Pro writer whose works I eagerly read and the ways; i.e. help run a convention or as a dealer (or first one I met and actually had a conversation huckster as they’re often called). There may be with beyond “may I have your autograph”. When other aspects regarding fandom that I’ve missed I saw him I took a deep breath and nervously got but if anyone has a sample of such please feel to his attention and spoke with him briefly without contribute. The articles could be mere brief anec- saying something stupid. He is one of the recipi- dotes or two or three pages or whatever it takes to ents of this fanzine: Gene Wolfe. I doubt very tell your experience. much he remembers such a brief meeting because There. That’s enough of the preliminaries. he must have had many conversations with im-

portant people. But I sure do! I’ve met and talked SF fandom are the SF magazines we fans read to him a few times after that. There is an occasion almost religiously (does religion fit in with SF? which might be one he would remember. My Well, Out of the Silent Planet might. I’ll have to wife and I were at a convention in Detroit, I think re-read that along with a bunch of others I have- it was. We stopped at a restaurant adjacent to the n’t read in decades. Good grief! I’m talking about con for dinner. After giving the waitress our order decades. Am I really that old to think in such I looked around and there was Gene Wolfe in a terms? booth kitty-corner from our table. He had just fin- Back to the subject I started to expound on. ished dinner and paid for it. The he stood up and The history of SF magazines goes way back, at started walk away. It as then I saw something fall least as far as the pulps in the 20s, 30s, into the on the floor. It was his wallet. I swiftly picked it 40s and forward. There have been dozens of up, got his attention, and gave it to him. Just pulps at least and one major factor of them aside think. I could have had a souvenir of Gene Wolfe. from the fiction in them are the covers on them But I’m an honest man—mostly—and I wouldn’t designed to draw attention to the magazines. stoop to such a vile act. Ever since that first meet- Those born later than the era of the pulps likely ing with Mr. Wolfe, as I noted, I’ve seen him a know little or nothing about them or haven’t seen few other times and I’ve felt comfortable enough them. Now, thanks to the wonders of the digital to go up and chat with him. In my book he’s one age and the Internet or www, there are online of those good people who graciously puts up with sites what have collected and conserved digital a nut bird like me. May he live long and write images of those magazine covers. I know, be- many more novels for me to buy and read. Some- cause I recently found a couple of those sites. how, somewhere, I hope to meet him in person They are goldmine for any SF fans who might again. I promise I’ll do everything I can not to want reminders of those glorious days or would say something stupid to him. like to see such covers for the first time. That There. That’s one example to explain what providentially fits in with my plans for TRF. I’m looking for. There are some others but I’ll Some of you who have been around long enough save them for other issues. I want to show that will be able to relive those times with their old I’m striving not to write a one-time trip down friends, the SF—and other—pulp covers. And fannish memory lane. I hope that at least some of those who know little or nothing about them will you will be kind enough to help with my goal of have a chance to see some of them for the first injecting more fannishness in TRF. That’s some- time. thing I’ve grievously neglected in this fanzine. I The photo on the back of this issue should hope I can somehow atone for that. be self-explanatory. It’s the cover of a magazine If any of you have had the misfortune of en- I’ve owned for what seems like ages. I’ve had it countering me at a con you are absolved of hav- for so long I can’t remember when I got it or ing to recall the traumatic experience and reliving where from. I do recall an uncle on my mother’s it again to save your sanity. side had loaned me some SF magazines and I Here is another aspect of the changes I’d like think but can’t be certain, it might have been one to make in TRF and which you readers should of those. I don’t recall how old I was at the time quickly notice. One of the major factors involving but it was almost certainly when I was a young

teenager maybe around the legendary age of 12 diverges from his/her usual conceptions. Think of according to fandom claims many fans first be- the cover as revealing some sort of cultural prac- came familiar with such magazines. tice of the inhabitants of some distant planet From Wikipedia, naturally, here is the opening where it is accepted as normal though we humans excerpt of the article about Beyond may feel different. But then considering some of “Beyond Fantasy Fiction was a US fantasy the rituals or punishments we humans have com- fiction magazine edited by H. L. Gold, with only mitted over the centuries we’re in no position to ten issues published from 1953 to 1955. The last place judgment on what otherworld beings en- two issues carried the cover title of Beyond Fic- gage in. In fact, I recall a documentary of sorts tion, but the publication’s name for copyright titled Mondo Cane that was released back in purposes remained as before. Although not a 1962/3 (Translation, Dog’s World or some such.) commercial success, it included several short Quoting other sources, it is “A shockumen- stories by authors such as Isaac Asimov, Ray tary” consisting of a collection of mostly real ar- Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. The publication chive footage displaying mankind at its most de- has been described by critics as a successor to praved and perverse, displaying bizarre rites, the tradition of Unknown, a fantasy magazine that cruel behavior and bestial violence.” ceased publication in 1943. It was noted for Did the preceding make any sense? I seem to printing fantasy with a rational basis such as have taken off in another direction. Sorry about werewolf stories that included scientific expla- that. Now, where was I? Oh yes: striving to have nations. A selection of stories from Beyond was at least a little more SF and SF Fandom fannish- published in paperback form in 1963, also under ness. the title Beyond.” Little Willie made a slip During its short lifetime Beyond featured many While landing in his space ship. notable writers beside the ones mentioned in the See that bright actinic glare? opening. Theodore Sturgeon, Fredric Brown, L. That’s our little Willie there. There are my big plans for what they’re worth.1 I Sprague DeCamp, Zenna Henderson, and many could really use some help to make them come to others. That’s doing pretty good for magazine pass but subjecting you readers to this fanzine all that lasted a relatively short life. these years is punishment enough.2 Before I go any further, a note regarding the 1. Provided the new administration and its front cover which seems quite a departure from leader don’t cause the U. S. to become a radioac- Steve’s style (Not that I’m complaining; it’s tive wasteland. 2. Btw: that last half is meant to merely a personal observation.) Should anyone be humorous. have questions about Steve’s cover direct them to Having been an avid reader of SF and fantasy, among other genres there are some authors whose him. Although it seems a bid odd I have no prob- names are familiar but whose works I’ve never lem about it. Sometimes a bit of the unusual or read. I finally decided to do something about that. unexpected item is a good idea to challenge peo- Recently, thanks for a Christmas gift money ple’s complacency and, just possibly, give them card I purchased a collection of ” . . . And Other much to think about. We’re all science fiction Adventure Classics.” The main feature of the col- readers, among other things, and shouldn’t have a lection is King Solomon’s Mines by H[enry] problem with being confronted by something that Rider Haggard. I’ve seen his name and the title of that tale but have been interested in more current

SF and Fantasy fiction. Now I have remedied space aliens and seen their spacecraft. He even that and read the story. It’s typical of fiction of painted pictures of the aliens and their spaceship. that era, the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It This is what he painted. You be the judge. was an interesting tale but my feeling was that Quatermain spent more time doing other things before he and his companions had actually reached and explored the mines. It’s not a com- plaint, merely an observation. Now, thanks to good old Project Gutenberg I’ve acquired more of his works and will read them alternately among other writers’ works. Another writer of approximately the same general time period is Edgar Rice Burroughs. The closest I’ve been to his works was when watching the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan portrayal in mov- ies when they were shown on TV—at least I thought they were. The original Burroughs’ Tar- zan was noticeably different from Weissmuller’s Tarzan and in some ways scary. So far I’ve enjoyed Burroughs’ Tarzan stories fairly well. The ones I haven’t read yet will also alternate among other writers’ stories. Also, thanks to Project Gutenberg, I’ve acquired many of Burroughs’ non-Tarzan tales for future reading. I don’t know if any of you writers know what he and Haggard look like, so there are photos of each man on the next page if you don’t know. I also need to read more Robert E. Howard stories and hunt up the works of others of the same eras. So much to read and so little time. Oh, and what about Elmo Lin- coln? He was an early version of Tarzan. I have two old photos of him in that role. Maybe in the next issue if anyone is interested. Enough of that.

Since claims of the appearances of so-called flying saucers and little green or grey men have at least a tenuous link to SF and fandom, the follow- ing might be of some interest. A Spanish artist by the name of Robert Limós claims to have met

Six Science Fiction Haiku after death a billion galaxies

UFO lands gathered crowds easy meal dark gravity worms crawl between universes dream of galaxies fish have seen the stars deep trench creatures make their own glow like galaxies the entire time me the alien in a mirror galaxy

Aladdin stars three wishes maximum

7 Where Old Media Goes to Die Live By Frederick Moe

dent of 1987. After awhile, I was starting to come to some conclusions about what might’ve happened and was noticing that nobody was really bothering to try and tie all the stray bits of the narrative together and so on. So, I thought I’d just write an article on the matter— just for kicks. After writing an admittedly snarky piece on it, I sat back and tried to read it— and found that the humor wasn’t really translating to the written word. So, I figured I’d make some Oddity Archive is my favorite channel on sort of one-off audio podcast on it (why not? I YouTube. Ben Minnotte has produced over 100 had the recording gear!) but then I figured be- episodes of the archive, which I am still wading cause of the video component, maybe a video my way through, exploring everything from old would be a better option. Admittedly, I was pretty 70’s sound-alike rip-off records to betamax and much just aping the Nostalgia Critic that first laser disc formats to television dx-ing. His home- time out, but the reception was good enough that made production values are great & watching I figured maybe I should try my hand at this—I these episodes you feel like a) Ben is a real hu- had nothing better to do anyway. man being and b) we’re learning right along with Where do you dig up old television broad- him. Not to mention that his shows are fun to casts like the Eddie Korosa Polka Party and The watch! There’s always a fan (literally) on the set Ginny Tiu show and what intrigues you about of Oddity Archive … so this interview is going to them? (love the line “she stole that guitar from put the fan in fanzine. So let’s bring out Ben from the Shaggs” ) behind the curtain. I’ve been trying to spread the gospel accord- I am curious as to how your concept of The ing to The Shaggs for awhile, you know? Any- Oddity Archive developed and how did you way, the Chicago stuff all came from a friend by choose the Max Headroom pirate TV incident to the name of Rick Klein, who runs a website be your first topic? called Fuzzy Memories: The Museum of Classic Ben: I had lost my job in April of 2012 and Chicago Television (fuzzymemories.tv). He has kind of found myself unintentionally) retreating this absolutely amazing collection of TV stuff into my own little world of alternately obsolete from the ‘60’s to now from just about every video technology and things had that scared me as a kid format known to man (and the stuff is- (i.e. the Emergency Broadcast System and some n’t just from Chicago either). The Max Headroom other stuff). In the end, it was just dumb luck that footage was his as well (though I didn’t know it there was some degree of overlap between the at the time)—of course I generally, if not always, two. One of the things I had gotten interested in keep his watermark on it, so it’s easier for the cu- during this period was the Max Headroom Inci- rious to find it. Eddie Korosa’s Polka Party and Ginny Tiu were just lucky, early finds. Most of 8 the Denver stuff and a fair amount of the Western so to be fairly interesting. It certainly takes some U.S. footage is from my own collection. seriously (possibly deranged) dedication to keep As for my interest in it, I guess it just came it alive. from my watching too much (usually UHF) TV How did you discover conservative folk music as a kid and seeing all those goofy local ads and and who are some of the ... “artists” ... and re- shows (and a massive dose of reruns). You just cordings you have featured on those episodes of don’t really see stuff like that anymore. the Oddity Archive? When I was growing up, my dad was a radio/ I’ve had a sporadic interest in “outsider” mu- TV repair man and I remember staying up many sic since I was a teenager. At the time, I’d gotten nights until the stations signed off! So my next into it by way of a book called “Songs In The question is: how did you choose TV sign-offs for Key of Z” that discussed everyone from The an episode of Oddity Archive? It seems you had a Shaggs to Harry Partch to Wesley Willis, so lot of fun with that one. that’s how that ball got rolling. As for conserva- TV Sign-Offs fell into that “scared me as a tive folk music proper, somewhere down the line kid” category (see also the Emergency Broadcast I’d become a fan of the writings of a guy named System). The difference was that, by that point, it Bill Geerhart, who runs a Cold War website had mutated into a weird bit of warm, fuzzy called conelrad.com (named after the 50’s/early (if rather absurd) nostalgia for me. Going slightly 60’s CONELRAD civil defense communications off-topic, I’d been in a car wreck while edit- setup). Bill had an article on his website on the ing Emergency Broadcast Salute (which music of Janet Greene, plus he’d also tracked was about two weeks before the Max Headroom Greene down and interviewed her. Anyway, the episode got posted—regardless of the reception, I very notion of politically conservative folk music was going to do at least four episodes of Archive seemed so counter-intuitive to me. I mean, folk before ruling the whole project out). I was in a lot music (as we Americans stereotypically view it) of pain from the wreck and that caused the epi- was/is very much the domain of guys like Woody sode to be a lot more low-key than what I’d been Guthrie and Pete Seeger—very openly leftist art- doing up until that point—dumb luck ists. Of course, there was a certain artistic detach- again. Looking at it now, it kind of pointed the ment to a lot of the conservative folk stuff that way toward what the Archive would eventu- left it with a definite “outsider” flavor, so that ally become. was a big part of what piqued my interest. By the You did an episode on shortwave numbers time I started making Archive, it seemed like a stations & The Conet Project. What is your take good topic—though at the time of release, it went on these clandestine broadcasts, some of which over like a lead balloon. As for the second part of have been occurring since the 1950s? your question, the rest of the episode consisted of Given that radio (or espionage, for that mat- stuff that I was mostly already familiar with (the ter) isn’t really a strength of mine, I’m probably Sonny Bono album springs to mind). Other spe- not qualified to really speculate a whole lot on the cific names would include The Spokesmen, The significance of (for a convenient example) UVB- Goldwaters, Tony Dolan (who became Ronald 76, but I do find the idea of trying to keep a cer- Reagan’s speechwriter) and Vera Vanderlaan. tain frequency occupied and the methods of doing

What are your favorite media formats for, a) (becoming vocalist by default—of course, very listening to music or b) watching visuals / TV / poorly). I put out two EPs (one under an alias) films and two albums. Nothing ever sold and after I’ll probably burst a LOT of bubbles by say- spending too many years stubbornly going ing this, but I’d rather have a (well-mastered) CD against the pop-music current, I finally got the over most any other music format. If it’s done joke and called it a day. These days, I’ll pick up right, it can be about as close to sitting in the con- the guitar for the Archive maybe once or twice a trol room with the artist and hearing what they year, but that’s about it. did. Admittedly, I’ll download something on Did you write the theme music for your open- those odd occasions where it’s that one song from ing credits and what are some of the elements of that one artist that I wouldn’t otherwise give an the Oddity Archive opening credits? airing to. My problem with a lot of the older for- As of Episode 6, the regular theme song be- mats is that they tend to be unreliable (especially came an original piece called “Pavanned”. It was if not in good condition), not to mention prone to based on a little motive I’d had lying around from various analogisms (sibilance, flutter, etc). Occa- an unrealized acoustic instrumental project. I sionally, I’ll throw one of my good LPs on the played all in the instruments and engineered and turntable, but mostly, I reserve the older formats everything. It was recorded in an afternoon. It for either otherwise unavailable stuff or Oddity was supposed to be a bit more sparse, but it just Archive-isms (Record Ripoffs and so on). seemed to sound better and better when I kept With regard to video formats, I don’t know if doubling up things, so I ran with it. I fall into any particular camp. I have the flat- Over time, the opening sequence itself has screen TV and the streaming services and such, evolved into more or less a greatest hits of Ar- but still like having hard copies of everything, so chivedom in a pseudo-slideshow format. The cur- I’ll pick stuff up on DVD or Blue-Ray. Con- rent version has stills of a lot of the most remem- versely, I keep most of the old formats on hand bered stuff like Max Headroom and Emergency and still use them with some degree of regularity Broadcasting and so on. There’s still a couple of (both in and out of the context of the Ar- stills in there of stuff I haven’t gotten around chive). Long story short, I tend to pick and to. Basically, it’s meant to give the uninitiated an choose—no super-loyalty to any specific format. idea of the range of topics covered on the Tell me about your projects as an indie musi- show. I’ve taken some crap over how rudimen- cian tary it is, but Archive was never intended to be a In a (large) nutshell, I started playing guitar particularly slick show with slick topics, so, in (very poorly) as a kid, then got into recording in my mind it’s appropriate. my early teens (again, very poorly). At 15, I If you could have just one episode of Oddity started to try and write songs and stuff. Around Archive preserved in some format for generations that time, I hooked up with a friend and we had 5000 years from now to discover, which episode our little folk-rock duo during High School. The would it be? duo fell apart after a few years (I wanted to go Probably one of the Halloween episodes— more arty, he wanted to be the next John just to mess with everyone. Mayer). From there, I opted to carry on alone

The Off Center View Point by Joe Napolitano They Exist: The Next Lovecraft

Just recently some interesting Lovecraft’s writing talent measure up books about HPL have been written to Poe’s. In fact Lovecraft was an un- and I was lucky enough to live near a successful pulp writer. His stories library that has them. To me what contain so many defects there is no stood out the most in these books reason to spend too much time on wasn’t HPL’s writing but the man them except to say they were pass- himself. Here was a man sometimes able as pulp fiction. called a great literary figure. But he What I find remarkable is the way lived a sad, strange, twisted life. I he lived his life and why he lived it started to wonder, why did he live that way. Here was a man who spent the way he did? After doing some re- more money on postage writing end- search it turned out there were some less letters than he did on food! By reasons for his behavior. But none of one estimate he wrote about one this, let me hasten to add, makes me hundred thousand letters some of an expert on either the man or the which were up to a hundred pages literature. What follows are just my long! He ate stale bread and pasta. In observations and opinions. case anybody is wondering HPL died Obviously Lovecraft was a horror of bowel or stomach cancer although story writer although sometimes he it's usually not made clear, which one wrote sf or did revisionary work, and or both? Was there a connection? to the best of my knowledge that was Probably, but can I prove that? No. all he ever wrote as far as fiction It’s just my opinion. goes. He is sometimes referred to as Amazingly enough HPL was a child the Edgar Allen Poe of the 20th cen- prodigy. How did he happen to end tury. The comparison is at best inac- up living in abject poverty? Part of curate. Poe was a man with creative the reason for that was the great de- new ideas and who possessed real pression. So it wasn’t all his fault. writing talent. While it is true that But he was a man who seemingly Lovecraft was creative and imagina- never grew up, a man who was more tive he just wasn’t a very good writer, like an immature boy frightened of technically speaking. In no way does the outside world. In fact almost all

of his stories are about frightened It’s remarkable that so much at- males existing in what seems to be a tention is paid to the stories of such near dead state from which there was a person without reference to what is no possibility of escape. It seems to kind of a person that was. That’s like be the case that Lovecraft's life mir- separating a tree from the air, water rored to some extent the characters and soil and then claiming to under- he wrote about. I wonder, though, if stand its origin. The problem is that maybe he was just suffering from de- it’s done all the time these days by pression, or possibly, did at some people who are referred to as point in his life? “experts” or “scholars” and none of From a religious point of view that really makes any sense. In fact Lovecraft was an atheist. Philosophi- it’s done that way because most of cally speaking he was a nihilist. the writings in this field of Lovecraft HPL was also a racist. You might “scholarship” lacks outside peer re- think that was the way people view. For the most part whatever thought or wrote in those days. But peer review they get is done by the in his case Lovecraft went out of his same people who wrote the books. way to inject it into his writing. He But also I suspect that it’s done that wasn’t subtle about it. But on the way because these “experts” or other hand he may have mitigated his “scholars” would prefer not to go racist beliefs later on in life but into those aspects of HPL’s life. They there’s not a whole lot in his stories would rather just forget about it, just that would indicate that. gloss over it or maybe just mention it He held extreme Nazi like political in passing or in a footnote. Obviously views? For example his support for there are a few exceptions to this but eugenics was never tempered by sci- not many. entific evidence available in his time Judging by the way some writers that proved it false. This is hard to handle the Cthulhu Cycle of stories explain because Lovecraft was a sci- you would think they believe it or ence buff and should have been that they believe it is based to some aware that there was evidence which extent on reality. It is true that the refuted eugenics. Earth exists in a vast vacuum devoid HPL also seems to have been a mi- of life. And it is also true that there sogynist or possibly he changed his are many unknowns. But that is mind later on. But his treatment of probably where the reality of it ends. women in his stories is misogynistic. In other words beyond that there is His stories clearly demonstrate this. no reality to Lovecraft’s fictional uni-

verse beyond what was just written. This may seem like a strange question But even Lovecraft didn’t believe in but for sure there are others. In fact, Cthulhu. In other words the Cthulhu for all you know there may be hun- Cycle is completely fictional and was dreds just like him waiting to be dis- written to make money. To assert covered. One might even be reading that there is anything more to it is ri- this fanzine or maybe just this article. diculous. Chances are most of them will never Despite all this, with each passing come to light but they aren’t charac- generation Lovecraft seems to get ters in a horror story or phantoms of more and more attention. And more the mind or the subconscious. Proba- and more books are published. Al- bly most of them are “unpublished” most every month there’s a new book or maybe their stories exist some- in some way connected with the where on the Internet. They’re wait- Cthulhu Cycle or him personally. ing to be discovered. There is not Another fact usually not men- much chance they are as good as tioned in these books is that Love- Lovecraft who wasn’t a very good craft’s writings have earned millions writer to begin with. There are plenty but none of it went to his estate be- of venues for the “Cosmic Doom” cause his works were allowed to fall type of horror story that Lovecraft out of copyright. How ironic. Love- wrote. One can easily imagine them craft’s life was almost like some of scribbling away into the late hours of the characters he wrote about in his the night and then posting their work horror stories living in abject poverty on the Internet. But unlike Love- with little to eat and no way to es- craft's stories . . . they are real. They cape. While nothing can be done to exist. And they’re out there. help him at this extremely late date End we can at least warn some of the fu- Postscript. Oddly enough Lovecraft’s ture Lovecrafts and those who want fiction seems to have been a forerun- to join some of the cults that have ner or omen of the New Wave that sprung up around him or his Cthulhu hit science-fiction in the late 60’s. Cycle. Just what do these cults do? But the new wave was a literary Most of them operate like businesses movement that was later on rejected but others go way beyond that. They by many fans as being just an excuse take their religion seriously? It’s an for bad writing. open question.

Moving on, I begin to wonder about the other Lovecrafts out there.

13 The Horror Master who searched for Planet X Eric Barraclough

Mystery And Meaning At Moundville

Alfred D. Byrd

Before Europeans came to Before I discuss Moundville’s what’s now the eastern United unique traits, I’ll tell you of States, it held advanced cul- general traits of Mississippian tures—some were arguably sites and of weaknesses that civilizations—collectively made them short lived. The known as Mound Builders, Mississippians, ruled by he- ancestral to present-day East- reditary chieftains who ern Woodlands and Plains In- decked themselves in symbols dians. The Mound Builders of the sun and of the sky, built got their name from spectacu- their imposing platform lar mounds of earth or of stone built either as bur- mounds around a plaza used for a ceremonial ial sites for prestigious persons or as platforms for game called chunkey. In this, two contestants large wooden halls—temples, council halls, or threw feathered spears at a rolling disk while palaces. spectators wagered huge sums that, if lost, might The last and greatest Mound Builder culture force them to commit suicide to avoid poverty’s was the Mississippian, which rose shortly before shame. Naturally, nothing like chunkey goes on 1000 A. D. in Spiro, Oklahoma, and spread in America today. Ours is a truly advanced cul- thence up the Mississippi Valley and throughout ture, remember? the Deep South. The Mississippian Culture Around the ceremonial center stood an impos- peaked shortly after 1100 A. D. at the imposing ing wooden stockade with ramparts and bastions; ceremonial center of Cahokia, in what’s now the Mississippians were aggressively warlike, western Illinois, not far from St. Louis, Missouri. armed with the New World innovation of bow Someday, I must go there; then I can write my and arrow. Yes, dear reader, in the game of Civi- last, best article on Mound Builders. Did you lization, whoever has the deadliest toys wins. The cheer the word ‘last’? All right, I may just write siren wails, the nuke explodes, the screen shakes, more articles after the one on Cahokia. In any and your city is depopulated. I hate it when that case, Cahokia anchored a far-flung paramount happens. In any case, at each ceremonial center’s chiefdom that verged on empire. Sadly, Caho- heart stood a “woodhenge” for determining sea- kia’s glory was brief: it declined by 1250 A. D. sons for the Mississippians’ complex ceremonial Its prestige may’ve passed to the second-largest, life, centered on the sweat lodge and on ritual but longest-lasting Mississippian site, Mound- dances —at times, on human sacrifices. ville, on the banks of the Black Warrior River, Mississippian cultures depended on maize just south of what’s now Tuscaloosa, Alabama. agriculture. (We call maize ‘corn,’ but archaeologists call it ‘maize.’ Archaeologists use British

English because it sounds more from home. The Mississippians intelligent than American Eng- had no special ability to break lish sounds. At least, I’ve heard the law of diminishing returns, professors in faculty meetings any more than we Moderns say so, and don’t we pay profes- have. Within a few generations sors to know things?) To the of the rise of a Mississippian Mississippians, maize was both site, it used up its soil, its for- blessing and curse. Maize, pro- ests, and its game. Thus, the site ducing high yields from small fell, to be supplanted by a new plots, let them develop large, dense populations, ceremonial center in fertile land elsewhere. but, because maize lacks a key amino acid and is Now, we come to what made Moundville rich in simple sugars (the first ingredient in most unique: its ability to avoid what brought down forms of pop is corn syrup), Mississippians other Mississippian sites. The rich soil, extensive tended to suffer from nutritional deficiencies and wetlands and complex waterways of the Black from tooth decay, which together shortened their Warrior’s watershed gave Moundville a reliable lives. You were likely an old man at thirty-five, source of fish, freshwater shellfish, waterfowl, even if you were a paramount chieftain. A further and marsh plants to supplement the maize-and- shortcoming of maize agriculture was its tending venison diet of other Mississippian settlements. quickly to use up soil’s fertility, at least until the Too, central Alabama’s warm climate required later Iroquois of New York developed the “Three less firewood for heating than western Illinois’s Sisters” agriculture of growing maize, beans, and cold climate required. Yes, even in Mississippian squash together. The beans both supplied the times, the secret of real estate was “Location, lo- amino acid missing from maize and restored to cation, location!” Thus, Moundville, which rose the soil nitrogen that maize had taken from it. The shortly after Cahokia in the 1100’s, lasted nearly Iroquois Culture might actually have been sus- until first contact with Europeans in the 1500’s. If tainable. Sadly for the Iroquois, we Euro- Moundville had only hung on a few decades Americans came along before they could show more, De Soto could’ve included it in his ambi- what they could do. In Days of Salt and Rice, tious itinerary. Kim Stanley Robinson had high hopes for them. Proto-Mississippians had been living on the Let’s leave the Iroquois for their predeces- banks of the Black Warrior (“there’s a team that’s sors. Unsustainable agriculture was just one as- known by all!” — sorry, as an alumnus of Michi- pect of the Mississippians’ general weakness: began State University, I couldn’t let that opening ing badly out of balance with their environment. go by a second time) for around two centuries Their dense populations and complex ceremonial before they began to build their ceremonial center life required, besides massive amounts of maize, or city, depending on your school of archaeology. massive amounts of venison (sacred food for sa- You may’ve noticed that I’m plumping for the cred feasts) and firewood (you’ve got to cook that “city” school. As always, note an historian’s bi- sacred food and stay warm in the winter). Keep- ases, conscious or un-. For its first century, ing up a Mississippian site forced Mississippians Moundville was apparently peaceful, for it had no to hunt deer and to cut down trees ever farther fortifications. In the warlike Mississippian period,

Moundville became heavily for- mounds that they found in the tified around 1200 A. D. One Mississippi Valley. Unless you side of its three-hundred acre belong to a sect that believes site was guarded by bluffs that Native Americans came along the Black Warrior; the from the so-called Ten Lost other sides, by a roughly trian- Tribes of Israel, I needn’t tell gular wooden stockade with an you that Shiloh Mounds was by interior rampart and frequent no stretch of the imagination bastions, built from around the original name of the epony- 30,000 full-grown trees. Sadly, mous battlefield’s mounds. I we Euro-Americans weren’t the first to clear-cut see that smirk on your lips, dear reader. You’re forests in North America. We were also not the about to tell me that the mounds were really At- first to create a Military-Industrial Complex. lantean—no, Ancient Egyptian; no, Celtic; no, Wow, am I showing my age by mentioning that! Viking! Wait, what was I thinking? The builders From the ramparts and from the bastions, were aliens who came to the Deep South to Moundville’s warriors could rain arrows onto at- smoke the cheroots of the gods [Footnote One]. tackers. These may’ve been regular visitors to I’m back. Moundville’s heart was a set of Moundville, as archaeologists hypothesize twenty-nine platform mounds around a central Moundville’s fighting frequent wars with another plaza. Uniquely in Mississippian sites, the strong Mississippian site, Etowah, in northwest- mounds’ height decreases from fifty-eight-foot- ern Georgia. It’s easy to see Moundville and Eto- high Mound B in the north in a circle around the wah as rival city-states like Athens and Sparta in stockade’s old line. Archaeologists hypothesize Ancient Greece. Which had Demosthenes, and that Mound B held the hereditary chieftain’s pal- which had Leonidas? Sadly, we’ll never know. ace; that slightly smaller Mound A, offset to- Apparently, neither Moundville nor Etowah, wards the plaza’s center, held a temple or council unlike the contending Greek city-states, con- house; and that other mounds held residences of quered its rival. If we only had a Mississippian other clans in degree of prestige. In Moundville, Thucydides’ works to let us know for sure what you could tell how high in society you stood by happened! Who knows what epics were lost to how high was the mound on which your house history when influenza brought in by Spanish stood. If you wanted to move to a higher mound, hogs wiped out eighty per cent of Eastern Wood- you were a social climber. lands Indians? Where’s the Time Machine that H. On both of my trips to Moundville, I thought G. Wells promised us? of “The Columns,” by Jack Vance, in which trou- Etowah isn’t the site’s original name, but a blemaking Cugel the Clever comes across a vil- Cherokee name for the ancient ceremonial cen- lage where a man’s status depends on the height ter’s (read “city’s”) ruins. Sadly, as the Mississip- of the column on which he sits. After Cugel sub- pians never invented writing, we don’t know their verts the village’s social system in his typical original languages or their names for their cere- “too-clever-by-half” way, he leaves the village in monial centers. Similarly, Cahokia is a name of unplanned haste, much as Jesse James left North- the Illinois Indians for the site of spectacular field, Minnesota. I’ll say no more in hope that, if

21 you haven’t read the story, teeth yellow. What’s that that you’ll rush right out to buy you said? Black drink and Cugel’s Saga. (All right, now tobacco turn them yellow, that Amazon is here, you can too? Details! just rush to your laptop.) Archaeological evidence At Moundville, you may suggests that Moundville was wander the site and even ruled in its prime by a para- climb the mounds. (Mounds mount chieftain along with a are often off limits in Mound high priest of solar and sky Builder sites in Ohio.) Inter- gods from whom the chief- pretive signage lets you know tain was supposedly de- what was going on where you stand. You’ll sense scended. The paramount chieftain was marked by just how powerful Moundville’s chieftain was by ornate regalia involving eagles’ feather (birds of the approximately eighty steps that you must prey represented the Upper World from which the climb to reach his palace’s reconstruction. Sadly, chieftain’s divine ancestors had come) and pres- this is off limits to visitors. Maybe, the likes of tige goods such as native copper from the Mesabi you and me aren’t fit company for the paramount Range in what’s now Minnesota and conch shells chieftain. I bet that Cugel the Clever could get from the Gulf of Mexico. Just as it gives mem- in— bers of just about any other human society, pos- Maybe, he did, and he’s why no Mound session of luxury items from afar gave a Missis- Builders remain today. sippian bulge. The paramount chieftain evidently The staircase is modern, but represents what cemented his position by descent from royal the platform mound’s eastern ramp would’ve held women of Moundville and by marriage to royal in Mississippian times. If you were the chieftain’s woman of other Mississippian communities. The guest back then (maybe, he was more hospitable royal women wielded immense authority in their than archaeologists are), you’d likely have joined own right. him in smoking native tobacco and in drinking a If you’ve thought that the Mississippian soci- caffeine-laden brew of holly leaves called “black ety that I just described is much like that of An- drink.” These, in Mississippian thought, would cient Egypt, radical diffusionists of the kind that set you and him at peace with each other and with believes that refugees from Ancient Egypt taught the world. These would likely also have given the Mayans all that they knew think so, too, and you visions. Some maintain that the Mississip- that the Mayans taught the Mound Builders. If pians got these from magic mushrooms, but, you’re a conventional archaeologist, you’ll say given that black drink had to be drunk piping hot that Moundville and Memphis (Egypt, not Ten- to keep caffeine from crystallizing out of it, and nessee) represent convergent evolution of cul- that native tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) has seven tures. As a moderate diffusionist, I tend to duck times more nicotine than domestic tobacco the controversy between the two camps of ar- (Nicotiana tabacum) has, the Mississippians chaeologists lest I get hit with stones from both likely had no need of mushrooms. Besides, if Sa- sides. These aren’t the best of days for moderates, ruman the White is to be believed, they turn your

22 if you hadn’t noticed. Still, I distant creator spirit gives rise to side with the conventional an Upper World of solar and sky archaeologists this time out. gods who must be worshiped, a Besides imposing Mound Middle World in which nature B, Moundville’s centerpiece spirits can be befriended, and a is its museum, beautifully laid Lower World in which chthonic out to showcase the site’s dis- entities (“Cthulhu?” did you tinctive pottery and engraved say? Shame on you!) must be palette stones, works of art of placated lest they cause disas- which the Mississippians ters. When you’ve finished the could be proud. The museum holds a pair of quest with the shaman, you’ll be closer to under- splendid dioramas, one showing the site’s royal standing a people who lived once where you live family in striking ceremonial regalia; the other, a now. beautiful maiden, “The Bride of the Sun,” being That is, if you live near Tuscaloosa. There, a carried in a feather-canopied palanquin by four friend of mine once found loose tusks on a mam- strong warriors. At first, I suspected that the moth’s skull in the University of Alabama’s mu- beautiful maiden would be a human sacrifice, but seum. My story is true, I assure you, but one for she’d actually been sent to Moundville to seal a another time, if ever. We’re here to study Mound political marriage—maybe, a form of human sac- Builders, not my effort to channel Groucho Marx. rifice in itself. Accepting an arranged marriage Hey, I can still do so in the land of the spree and can be buying a pig in a poke, don’t you think? the home of the knave! Still, it’s perhaps lucky Some Mississippian communities, particularly for me that my blood wasn’t spilled in a crimson Cahokia, did practice blood human sacrifice, but tide. Moundville holds no evidence of it. I can also overlook things. On my first visit to If you’re lucky, you can watch a sound-and- Moundville, I was too dense to notice further light show (sadly, it was out of order on my sec- treasures outdoors. Luckily for me, Anna pointed ond visit, Anna’s first, to the site), with three- them out to me on my second visit. As you exit dimensional laser highlights, in which a Missis- the museum, turn right and head for the Black sippian shaman takes you Warrior. By its nearer on his vision quest bank, the park has built a through the Lower World model Mississippian vil- of water and earth and lage of wooden huts. the Upper World of the Three of these hold dio- sky for wisdom to guide ramas of everyday life at his people in Mound- Moundville. In contrast ville’s Middle World. to the royals and the What he teaches you is a priests atop the mounds, system of belief common Moundville’s ordinary throughout the historical citizens lived in large Eastern Woodlands: a wooden huts with

23 thatched roofs down by the Only mounds remain to tell us riverside. The huts housed of those who came before us. Bogdandovist communes. By Will we vanish as they van- that, I mean that a clan shar- ished? Will we give ourselves ing a hut made it a center of nutritional diseases from bad work, shelter, and recreation. diets, ruin our environment, Members of a clan slept, engage in endless wars, and cooked, made useful or lux- come down with novel dis- ury artifacts, and told stories eases to which we have no in a space where they were resistance? Nah, not us! We’re likely born and likely died. smarter than the Mississip- You didn’t leave the hut pians were, aren’t we? when you died; instead, you [Footnote One] After I’d writ- were buried under its floor. ten “cheroots of the gods,” I Could in-house burials have Googled this phrase to learn contributed to Mississippian whether it was original to me. sites’ brevity? I loved my Sad to say, it wasn’t. Still, I parents, but I wouldn’t want couldn’t resist using it. Could them underfoot, so to speak. I can hardly imagine you? what my mother, both a neat freak and a dedi- cated tender of family graves, would’ve thought Editor. The photo below is from the of the Mississippians’ burial customs. Moundville Archaeological Park Internet site. From the museum and the huts, you’d con- I thought it would make a nice contrast clude that the inhabitants of Moundville had seeing a view from the air. things well in hand, yet those inhabitants are gone, leaving no known descendants. What happened to Moundville and the Mississippians? Ac- cording to archaeologists, Moundville seems to have changed over the centuries from a political and military center to a religious center, maybe a site for pilgrimages and burials. Did the cemetery fill up and mourners have to move elsewhere? Did Clifford D. Simak answer these questions in Cemetery World? As for the Mississippians, they were still thriving when the Spanish explorer De Soto passed through what’s now the southeastern United States in the early Sixteenth Century. A century later, the Mound Builders, but for the Natchez Nation of Louisiana, were gone, likely wiped out by plagues brought over from Europe.

The Crotchety Critic By Michaele Jordan Connie Willis and the Book I Didn’t Read

Well, I’m back. In all my snarky, ill- Grandma bought me ice cream at the state fair.” tempered, literary elitist glory. I hope you weren’t Does that feel natural? It’s certainly not how I worried. With so many books in the world, why talk to myself and, I have to admit, I talk to my- can’t more of them be good? self a lot. It’s partly my own fault. I let myself be suck- In my experience, the only place anyone talks ered into a list. Despite my heartfelt vow to walk this way (not counting bad novels) is when away from the all the awards, I let myself be they’re talking into a microphone. A journalist tempted by the Locus List of Recommended broadcasting live or a police officer stalking a Reading. (They didn’t actually say they were bust. “I’m in the parking garage, at the north end. making Hugo recommendations, but it’s no coin- I see the suspects up ahead. Please have my back- cidence that the list came out at award season.) up ready.” Except in those cases the character is And I like Locus, and I am eligible to nominate talking to someone. for the Hugos, and so what would be the harm in Nonetheless, I persevered. The initial concept reading a few? was interesting enough to justify cutting Ms. Lam Which brings me to the book I didn’t read: some slack. Her protagonist was one of a pair of False Hearts by Laura Lam (Tom Doherty Asso- identical twins. And not just identical—the pair ciates, 2016). I swear, I gave this book a fair try. I had originally been conjoined. They were not read four chapters (45 pages). That’s as much separated until the age of sixteen. The separation time, if not more, as I usually give any book. It’s was grueling, as they had been conjoined at the told in first person, present tense, so already my chest, and shared a heart. The heart could not be hackles are up. I’ve debated the first person issue saved, and both twins were equipped with a metal in these pages before, so I’ll let that pass for now. breastplate/ribcage and an artificial (unnaturally But present tense?!? regular) heart. Hence the title. The authors who commit this faux-pas will The first scene in the book shows one twin assure you they do it to intensify immediacy and waking from the surgery, lost and alone. Her twin heighten identification. Sorry, it doesn’t work that has done the same and escaped from her ap- way. Just the opposite; it’s distant and awkward. pointed hospital bed to come find her. Only when If you don’t believe me, try walking around your they are back together in the same bed can either own home describing everything you see, and of them sleep. I liked the scene, even despite the analyzing your emotional responses. “There’s the style. But it was the last scene I liked. little china angel my grandmother gave me, sit- Let’s skip ahead. The twins were raised in a ting on top of the chest of drawers which has a cult that practiced some unusual mental disci- match book tucked under one leg to make it level. plines. (But denied them appropriate medical That always makes me remember the time care? Oh, boy, another crazed cult.) They escaped

25 and came to San Francisco, found jobs (very dis- apparently used mainly for interrogation. (Illegal similar jobs) and got an apartment together. Then interrogation, of course. You wouldn’t think a one moved out and they drifted apart. In fact, in crime-free society would have enough illegal in- only a few months, they drifted way, way apart, terrogation to support an entire cartel.) Persons astonishingly so considering that sad, ‘can’t sleep with certain mental skills can resist the drug— alone,’ initial image persons raised in a cult, for instance. That’s enough exposition—time for some ac- The cold-eyed police officer (did I mention tion! The estranged sister bursts suddenly into the he’s strangely fascinating? Our protagonist apartment, distraught and blood spattered. The spends most of her interrogation wondering how blood, she admits in passing, is not hers. “Hide old he is and how much plastic surgery went into me!” she gasps. But the police are already at the his good looks, and very little worrying about her door. Not the entrance door, the patio door. sister) thinks the estranged twin is involved in That’s the penthouse patio, up god-knows-how- Ratel. He wants the protagonist to pose as her many floors. They crash in through the glass, twin to infiltrate the syndicate. And she agrees to scattering dangerous shards (and water—it’s rain- this unworkable and ridiculously dangerous ing) all over the premises, drag the twin out of scheme because. . . she wants to understand what her sister’s arms, and charge her with murder her sister has become. And that’s when I dropped while bundling her into the hover-car. One cold- out. I had already been provided with all the stan- eyed officer stays behind to inform the protago- dard clues I needed to write out the complete im- nist she’s being detained for questioning. probable, yet clichéd plot outline. So why bother It is exciting. The SWAT team action is also a to read it? It has already been returned to the li- little bewildering, seeing as how the author has brary, leaving me to eye the stack of Locus rec- stressed that San Francisco of the future enjoys a ommendations still on my coffee tables with the completely crime free society. There hasn’t been gravest reservations. a murder in ten years. Even minor crimes are vir- I have several other novels I didn’t read, but tually unknown. But apparently the SFPD is pre- I’ll spare you since, as you see, I can go on at as- pared for anything. It’s also prepared to suppress tonishing length about books I didn’t even read, the news as, come morning, there is absolutely no and I promised you I’d get to Connie Willis’ lat- mention of the bloody murder of a super wealthy est, Cross Talk (Del Ray, New York, 2016). man in the middle of the glitziest nightclub in the And this book—as the poet says—“was the city. You really think that would make the papers, most unkindest cut of all.” Okay, I won’t go on in a crime free society. Perhaps crime-free is a about “Ingratitude, more strong than traitors’ euphemism for police state? arms” as I can’t pretend Ms. Willis owes me any Another interesting aspect of this crime-free gratitude, but still, “Et tu, Brute,” Connie Willis, society is the presence of Ratel, a monstrous “Et tu, Brute.” criminal drug syndicate. You would think it I trusted Connie Willis; she is an SF/F great. would be difficult to build a criminal drug syndi- The first book of hers I read was Domesday Book, cate in a world where medical drugs are plentiful, and it sank into my heart where I will cherish it and recreational drugs are legal, but Ratel went forever. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that the extra mile and invented a new drug, which is everything she writes is great.

Remake, for instance was not great. I’m not In 2001, Ms. Willis brought out the intricate denigrating it. It was gently good. But not memo- and thought provoking Passage, and I thought we rable. I had to look it up online to find out what it were friends again. In 2010 she brought out Black was about, and even then nearly didn’t realize I’d Out /All Clear and I was in love again. read it, until one detail triggered a faint memory. And now we have CrossTalk. And I’m angry Neither will Bellwether go down into the ages. again. I might not be so furious if she had not, in Amusing, but frothy, with too much romance and the opening of the book, deluded me into thinking not enough content. she had something to say. She starts out with her And while we’re on the subject of romance, protagonist Briddey (I spent half the book trying Uncharted Territory is just that: a romance novel to figure out if it were pronounced Bridey, as in that happens to be set on an off-world colony Bridey Murphy, or Briddy, as a derivative of planet. The great thing about setting a romance Bridget) rushing into work. And even as she runs, novel on another planet is that you can make up she’s fielding gossipy phone calls from her co- all manner of bullshit, and say, “Well, that's the workers about her date the previous night. It law there.” seems she’s seeing a wealthy senior manager, The laws of the colony in Uncharted Terri- who has been squiring her to all the most expen- tory are carefully constructed to trap the main sive places in town, and none of her colleagues characters in a legal connection long enough for are half (or even a quarter) as interested in their them to recognize that they are meant for each jobs as they are in the gooey details of a really other, despite the fact that they dislike each other high-priced romance. on sight, have highly disparate views on what Perhaps the immediate introduction of a ri- they want from life, and are separated by a sea of diculously rich boyfriend should have made me the usual misunderstandings and accidental dis- suspicious. It’s a commonplace in romance nov- honesties. Off-world colony or no, it was a paint- els. But Ms. Willis is nothing, if not skilled at by-numbers romance so formulaic that I could dialogue, and she weaves him smoothly into an have recited it in my sleep, without bothering to amusing scenario of office politics gone mad. read it first. It took me a long time to forgive Ms. Briddey works for Commspan, an aggressive, Willis for that book. state-of the-art communications company desper- But I did forgive her. I was lured back with ate to come up with a new and exciting phone the promise that in To Say Nothing of the Dog she service in time to knock the upcoming new Apple had returned to her extensive multi-temporal his- phone out of their market share. They’re all shal- tory. It’s not that I insist on time travel, or even low, perky, aggressive non-stop talkers. on SF/F, but I cannot abide formulaic romances. When she’s not fending off the curiosity of As doubtless most of you know, Ms. Willis didn’t her co-workers, she’s barring the door against her retreat from romance entirely in To Say Nothing large Irish family all of whom are even snoopier of the Dog, but she did interweave it with an in- and more intrusive than her work friends. We teresting supportive story, and laced it together come to see that Briddey is a weak, timid little with authentic historicity and delightful obscure pushover who coasts on her good looks and has literary references. So, despite the fluff, I enjoyed never told the truth in her life, because lying is To Say Nothing of the Dog. always easier than saying, “No.” It’s all very

27 funny, and a reader looking for substance sees posite—the protagonists go to some lengths to many opportunities for this yarn to skewer mod- conceal this dangerous truth from corporate bad- ern society and its values. dies. The rest of the book is spent prying Briddey There’s a tiny misstep when Ms. Willis intro- away from her demonstrably unworthy boyfriend duces the EED (which probably stands for an and attaching her to the greasy engineer, who’s Emotive/Empathic Enhancement Device). It’s a such a good person that he even consents to being tiny brain implant that allows two people who are washed at the end. already emotionally bonded to strengthen their The task would have been made easier, if not natural empathy. I call this a misstep for two rea- entirely unnecessary, if ever in the course of the sons; firstly although this book presents itself as book even one character had been honest with SF rather than fantasy, there is not a ghost of an any other character. But hey, the endless lies and explanation for how such a thing could possibly contrived misunderstandings are basic to the for- work. It’s just there—new and fashionable and mula of a romance novel. The world is saved expensive, but there. from the evils of telepathy by Briddey's preco- Secondly, even if some explanation (however cious and adorable nine-year-old niece, and eve- specious) were provided, the book presents the rything is wonderful, God bless us everyone. So EED as being out there right now. CrossTalk is unless you’re into 500 pages of predictable, for- not set in the future, not even the near (like day mulaic romance, don’t bother reading CrossTalk. after tomorrow) future. It’s set in the cutting edge Three of the mentioned novels. present. (There’s even a tiny mistake—probably caused by current events getting ahead of them while the book was still at press—in that Brad and Angelina have EEDs.) But this is relatively unimportant. It jarred me, and I tend to lose my willing suspension of disbelief when jarred, but I trusted Ms. Willis. Briddey’s expensive boyfriend wants the two of them to get EEDs. She’s utterly thrilled at the romantic proposal, but terrified of how her family will take the news. So, as usual, she doesn’t tell them, and the deed is done at astonishing speed. And there’s a glitch. Instead of becoming empathic, she becomes telepathic. And with the wrong man! Not her rich boyfriend but some greasy engineering nerd in the basement. It’s about here that Ms. Willis loses interest in social commentary, let alone reputable science in science fiction. (Spoiler alert! Telepathy is caused by being Irish! A telepath said so!) This unsup- ported assertion is never questioned. Just the op-

.From Sheryl having an in- Birkhead tense conversation with someone. With 25509 Jonnie Court all the various bluetooth appliances, I Gaithersburg, MD tend to give a phone the benefit of the (started) January 27, 2017- doubt and chalk the near miss up to sim- finished February 6, 2017 Dear ply not paying attention (probably both of us). the loud mumbling seems a bit Tom., more concerning- is that mumble aimed at an actual conversation or is someone I have now found some locs disappearing really in a heated self-discussion? I tend to and showing up elsewhere- no idea if this is a just ignore it and move on. Must be a lot of gen- glitch, or poor saving on my part. IF my sav- iuses out there! ing is correct, I have not sent a loc since August. That seems wrong, but knowing the Mystery Science Radio is new to me. When issues with my back that have kept me inca- I get a chance (read that as spare time, so no pacitated for months at a time, maybe it is need to think I'll be doing it any time soon!) I about right.. If it is right- please accept my abject need to do some research into it. I do enjoy apologies and I'll I try to move on. I am not at old radio programs and may need to add that home right now, but I have two issue of TRF station to my list. with me (#113, and #14). 1 will attempt to go Ah, another stroll down and look at Ken- with that for the time being and double check tucky. Every installment reminds me of just the stack sitting at home in case I am missing how long it actually has been since I visited yet another ish (very likely). family in Kentucky. The installment also remind Readers- don't forget that Hugo nomination me of just how much we never saw on those sev- season is now open. So, if you are eligible to eral visits. nominate start making that list now and fill in Helen E. Davis-- I have had two false all the slots in every category in which you feel alarms with mammograms in the past two qualified. years--each requiring a call back and wait it #113---Nice front and back cover! out since a small cyst was found each time-- Talking to one's self... these days it is too small for a biopsy. That meant wait and hard to tell. Far too often I am in a store see if it got any larger (i.e. big enough to bi- and not actually paying attention... almost opsy) or disappeared. Luckily, at each follow bump into someone (and instantly start to up (after the immediate re-check/ultrasound apologize when...) then realize said person is to verify an abnormality) results were nega-

40 tive. This year the lab actu- keeping on! ally wrote to remind me that Now on to #114 ... 4 I I am running late for the an- tend to say I collect nual check (because my GP collections. In one wants it done after my an- bureau and a closet, I nual visit and they forgot to have boxes and note- call me to schedule so.... as books of first day soon as the bloodwork is back and the.. ah you covers. When asked what topic I used to col- get the idea. lect- I reply any topic I found of interest (like ( Feb 2---well, this is embarrassing--I am the one of the stamp for the egg industry that is all set to keep going with the loc and appar- actually of a rooster). I have quite a few space ently left the zines at home- I am sitting here related, sciences, animal and veterinary top- with the laptop and ... sigh, will have to wait ics, and of course SF and fantasy. But, I gave until I get home and can find the stack-- all that up when the costs (due to numbers of sheesh, and here I have two hours all set to--- releases all over the globe) got prohibitive for well, be back RS/V)---well, it is now the 6th and I me. Oddly, I have never actually collected am going to...) stamps. I like First Day Covers in that there is Ah, more Gayle Perry tasty nuggets! Hmm, art to tie to the stamp. So, seeing your stamps it would appear that other biota will manage to collection representatives was interesting. My fill our niche if/when we self-destruct. Granted brother was the actual stamp collector. he had that is not much consolation. quit a collection and I recall hocking them over and over, helped out when his college Dave-as yes Steve (Stiles) finally got that costs got away from him. See, there is a rea- rocket! It only took mumble mumble years. son to collect stamps! He also collected coins John Purcell-see preceding comment to Dave. and as an adult even bought and sold...Those I need to se if I have an updated email for were the good old day$. Brad. I am going out on a limb here and pre- sume the colon at the start of the e-address I have some Leinster books on the shelf, actually belong at the end of the text, before but I don’t recall the one you show or that the address-but one never knows with varia- mine are that old, then again, I bought, read, tions used in email addresses. then shelved them so it has been a while. Nothing Egoboo- the currency of fandom...be be a Bhig like adding a smile to the mix with Foster. Spender I have not checked recently, but there was I'm trying to do better than a simple lick one class action suit filed against microchip and a promise, but less than a book. As usual, manufacturers for the veterinary chips- citing your fanartists came through like the champs the cancers etc, that have been engendered they are and your columnists continue to inter- by the foreign body implantation. Now, as est and entertain not to mention strolling though weird as cat physiology etc is, this action was the editorial. Please believe I read all of each made by a huge number of dog owners and one and every issue and hope all the loccers, art- cat owner, so cats seem to tolerate this foreign ists, writers (as distinct from loccers!) keep on body fairly well. I have no idea how many 41 humans have been chipped it-yourself hecto kit to see what (c’mon, someone(s) must have I could manage just to see; nifty done it) and have no idea if we little flimsy plastic tray and all. will fall into the canine or the fe- No way could I ever have gotten line camp for tolerating the chip. more than about 5-8 sheets and Byrd’s underground discussion is never would have been able to read terrific!! anything that was in print form! She Seeing the piece on Mary did a spectacular job! Reed and Eric Mayer’s books re- More ghreat Gayle Perry dinosaurs. minds me I ought to take a look Dave (Rowe, I never figured kids at the audio books now available to me via would fear Daleks, but the Dr Who information several iPad apps (and, no, I do not have a said the kids were terrified. new iPad. I do have a used one with a non full Brad’s bubbly hair for some reason -thickness crack I got in eBay that is Wi-Fi really made me laugh, not just grin! Then on only since I cannot use this old laptop on the to more great photos!! Thank YOU! Internet much anymore it’s old operating sys- Won't make the mail today but it will tomor- tem (but one I need) is no longer supported by row You betcha! pretty much all the browsers and there is not [You don’t have to apologize, abjectly or oth- much in the way of security. I wanted a way erwise. You have more important matters to deal to go online and this will do that, but I have with.// From what I’ve learned from various ac- not figured out much yet, no paperwork etc. counts filling out a Hugo ballot might be of little came with it. I have two apps linked to the use thanks to the Sad and Mad puppies who sup- local library systems to give access to more posedly hijacked the Hugos. But I don't know audio books. Unfortunately, I can’t listen to much about that.// I almost think that many of us them in the car, but... Just took a quick look talk to ourselves because then we don’t have to at Overdrive, Maryland’s Digital Library and deal with disagreements from others but agree- found three of their titles two of which are au- ments because have split personalities.// Regard- dio books. Unfortunately, I prefer to start any ing old radio programs—not surprisingly—thanks series at the beginning and the earliest one is to the Internet there are sites that provide #7.Now to check the actual libraries etc. Ah downloads of old radio programs for those who joy another way to spend time!! (I will spend want to enjoy the nostalgia of days gone by or more time trying to locate the first one. If that download programs out of curiosity. I’ve been to fails, I’ll take what I can get) Now that the pesky a couple of sites but I can’t recall the site names. I (read into that --I am also a surgery phobe etc) think a simple Google search of old radio pro- surgery is over, I await the radiation install- grams would provide results. // I imagine your ment. Just stay positive. mind was on more important things than issues of Ah Mae Strelkov. she came to visit the TRF. It would be nice to have recipients of TRF farm when she was in the States. I had sheets read everything in each issue but there are bound of her hecto stuff languishing on the summer to be articles in which they have no interest. bedrooms wall and bed. I even bought a do- That’s understandable. Think of that old Rick

Nelson song, “you can’t please every one . . .” Now From Milt Stevens there’s a bit of nostalgia.]] Dear Tom, In the letter column Re- From David Thayer luctant Famulus #115, For the editor in me, the you say we must change latest issue of TRF was a de- with the times or be for- light from start to finish. The distractingly narrow gotten. In all probability, we will be forgotten in gutter on page 3 immediately distracted me. Then all cases, so we can go with what we like. Unlike I noticed that you credited Alfred Byrd on the science, art/literature doesn’t progress. It just table of contents page, but Alfred D. Byrd in the changes. Some are that was produced a couple of body of the fanzine. And finally I took a double- thousand years ago is just as good as anything take on pages 45 and 46 because my copy had produced today. I’m reminded of a movie from two copies of them, but no missing pages. the early forties. The teenagers in the film turn up And I didn’t ignore the content. I never no- their noses at long hair music like Chopin. They ticed TRF being political before. Kurt Erichsen’s are hip and cool and really into the jitterbuggery caricatures of our fearless leader on the cover are of the period. The swing music they were digging really scary. doesn’t sound bad, but it does sound a little old The photograph of Bloody Pond accompany- fashioned by now. On the other hand, Chopin still ing Alfred D. Byrd’s Civil War article caught my sounds perfectly fine. eye. The Chickamauga battlefield has a similarly I notice the folks at KIPM seem to have ac- named spot. To the inexperienced civilian, how quired some cover art from the December 1946 serene and peaceful the parks seem. issue of Amazing Stories. Old pulp art shows up And I have a couple of questions, for the all over the place. I’ll try attaching a copy of the cover artist. Why did he sign both the third and Amazing Cover to this LoC. It’s about 1.6 megs. fourth pages of his cartoon, but not the first and Like Frederick Moe, I went through a period second? And what is the masked character doing of exploration on radio. My family had a Zenith with his hands deep in the pockets of his short- 24 tube radio which was top of the line for the short shorts? forties. You could listen to short wave, ham, and Feel free to relegate my comments to your police bands. I could also listen to merchant ship We-Also-Heard-From column in the invisible transmissions in Morse code. Since I didn’t know fifth dimension. Morse code, I didn’t listen to much of that. Since Beast wishes, I was doing this in the fifties, I felt almost sinful Teddy Harvia listening to news broadcasts on Radio Moscow. I [[It’s them damn gremlins, I tell ya. Yeah, That’s learned the Russian leaders name was pro- it! Them dadblasted gremlins is to blame. I’m nounced Krushov rather than Krushev. I also lis- stickin’ to that, so there. As for the character with tened to a variety of fairly strange evangelical his hands in his pockets—you don’t want to know. broadcasts from various parts of the US. The an- What would an issue of TRF without flaws in it nouncers on Radio Moscow were better at speak- for arm-chair editors to point out with glee?]] ing English.

I’ve never heard of an SF [[I have to admit you writer named John Twelve have a good point about Hawks. I know that I’ve being forgotten. I suspect never heard of many current there are at least a few SF writers. On File 770, who have forgotten about there is a guy named Carl me already. Oh well. It’s Slaughter who seems to be their loss. I’m sure they making a business of pro- would disagree with me. moting B list SF writers. For awhile, he was do- That is, if they do remember who I am. So, doing ing it at the rate of one a day. The pure volume what you suggest, that ”. . .we can go with what was counter productive. Had he introduced one we like” and the heck with them.// From what writer a week, I might have paid attention. As it I’ve noticed, what you say about literature just was, I just ignored the entire flood of information. changing. Sadly, in many cases it seems not for I couldn’t tell you the names of any of those B the better. Or is it just me?// Yes. Some music list writers. transcends the passing of time and still sounds I did learn one thing from Slaughter’s flood of fine. There’s Mozart, Bach, Haydn, Beethoven information. There are an awful lot of paperback and Handel, which I’m listening to as I type this. covers featuring young women with big weapons. Much of Mozart resonates with me in particular. I don’t even want to think about what that might Other people may disagree. That’s their right and mean. privilege/ I’m certain pulp art is widely available. Yours truly, Milt Stevens 6325 Keystone St Simi In fact there are online sites that show covers of Valley, CA 93063 [email protected] just about all the pulp are and magazines one can think of. some of which many of us might not have seen before. Captain Billy’s Whizbang. Interest- ingly, the reason I know about that is that there is—I think it’s still there—a restaurant in Toledo, Ohio by that name. My wife and I went there a couple of times at least. The next time we’re in Michigan, since Toledo’s only about 30 miles away I ought to check it out. Sadly, it seems to have closed down. Sorry for diversion.// As you will have seen I’ve included a couple in this issue and plan to feature more in subsequent issues.// I’m sure you are aware that back before TV radio programs were all over the place and all different kinds. Ah, that was in the past and we’re supposed to be looking forward to the future.// RE: John Twelve Hawks. You’re not alone. I’m one who’d never heard to the writer before and there are probably many other SF readers also.// Your

44 comment about then, could a recluse, shun- women and big weap- ning publicity, have the ons. We pretty much success that he’s had? Still, know about the there’s always J. D. Salin- meaning regarding ger to poke a hole in my big weapons which is model. that they’re phallic In this ish, I especially en- symbols. Since joyed Frederick Moe’s sec- women don’t have phalluses . . . Let’s not go fur- ond article on pirate short-wave broadcasting. It’s ther with that.]] fascinating to read about a hidden world existing From Al Byrd in parallel with this one. I hope that the hidden Thank you for TRF #115. In light of your world finds ways to go on. I also enjoyed Eric comments on fannish emphasis, it may cheer you Barraclough’s and Michaele Jordan’s book re- that I plan to move towards that in future articles. views, Helen’s further adventures with radiation After a pair of biographies that should round off therapy, and, as always, Gayle Perry’s New An- Kentuckiana for a while (at least until Anna and I cient Earthlings, which should count as a seminar make it to western Kentucky, which is as far from on how to design alien life forms. Can anything here in Lexington as Detroit is), I have several truly be stranger than what Earth has already sfnal ideas in mind. Life is more than just the given us? Civil War and underground cities. Maybe, life Lloyd Penney is a Byzantinist! I understand could be a civil war in an underground city... something of his addiction. I went through a pe- Your mention of a five-dimensional universe re- riod of reading Byzantine history and may be go- minded me of Academician Prokhor Zakharov’s ing through a renaissance of doing so. I just fin- comments on the concept of superstrings in Al- ished re-reading all of Lord John Julius Nor- pha Centauri: “A brave little theory, and quite wich’s trilogy on Byzantium and just started re- coherent for a universe of five or seven dimen- reading Sir Steven Runciman’s history of the sions, if only we lived in one.” (How many times Crusades. No writer of fiction could invent stories did I have to play the game to memorize those like those that occurred in real life in Constantin- lines?) Now, the University of Planet must eat its ople. words. Sometimes, I wish that I could get back all In the “no writer of fiction could come up of the time that I’ve spent playing Alpha Cen- with stories like those” category, a high place tauri. I wonder whether a review of it would work must also go to T. Lobsang Rampa. “O brave new for TRF. It’s packed with seeds of sf stories. world that has such people in’t!” Would that I’d quit the game and write them! Thank you again for TRF #115. I look for- Reading about John Twelve Hawks made me ward to #116 Best wishes, Al (Alfred D. Byrd) think that the likeliest explanation of his success [[Good. As you will have seen I have already is that he’s a construct of a cabal of very talented started that in this issue. I very much hope I can and successful authors. I say so because I know a keep it up for a long time. As the old saying goes, number of aspiring authors (including me) who “If the good Lord’s willin’ and the crick don’t long and strive for publicity, but can't get it. How, rise.” // A civil war in an underground city would

45 be a crowded one—for a while until Pence and his cronies voted to do there are few or none left.// It’s diffi- away with the position of Secretary cult enough coping with four dimen- of Education and thus thwart democ- sions much less five, seven or more. racy when they didn't like it. Eleven dimensions, anyone? The mind But what everybody in Indiana re- boggles or cowers in a corner of the members Pence for was gross piece brain.// John Twelve Hawks may be a of Gay Bashing legislation which he hoax or maybe, as you said, a cabal of coated with the thin venire of Reli- some sort. There are a great many gious Freedom and "couldn't wait to writers striving for publicity or pro- sign into law." However when it was viding submissions in the hope of their about to become law, a lot of large acceptance. There may be millions (or companies in Indiana said 'if you it seems that way) of writers competing for publi- pass that, we’re passing out of the state, which cation (and money, of course). The competition is had Pence doing a 180 degree turn and shouting tremendous. Many editors have stringent require- from the podium “I want this fixed now!” ments for what they want to publish. That’s un- Not long before Pence was chosen as derstandable with those who pay for the submis- Trump’s Robin he was campaigning for reelec- sions. That’s the way it is.// It’s not just Salinger tion as Indiana Governor. That lead to a “Pence but also Thomas Pynchon who also tries to keep Must Go!” campaign. As one friend noted “The a low profile though not to the extent of Twelve next time Hoosiers tell a bum politician he’s got Hawks whoever he or she is.// “Anything truly be to go we need to be more specific. Otherwise the stranger . . .” could be applied to us humans.]] world will hate on us!” It’s also noticeable that the present Governor From Dave ROWE and State Congress (which has a conservative- 8288 W Shelby State Road 44 Republican super-majority) are never-the-less FRANKLIN IN46131-9211 undoing several of Pence’s decrees and belatedly 2017-February-16 overriding two of his vetoes. Dear Tom, That article on Wormhole Travel is almost certainly a hoax. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity Re: TRF 115 never mentioned black holes. The cover was a biting piece of sarcastic sat- Thought that there was probably a licensed ire by Kurt. In Europe people are talking about radio station with the call sign KIPM and there is. "the inevitable impeachment of Trump." Would It’s the Public Radio Station in Wailuku, Maui, be great if it happens but that would put Pence in Hawai’i. Have listened to that station while in charge. Not a good idea. Pence believes the Tea Maui and am embarrassed to admit to forgetting Party is "cool" and evolution is "just a theory." the call sign. During the Indiana State elections the person Certainly there are many more radio stations who received more votes than anyone else was that would make interesting articles, the Border Glenda Ritz for Secretary of Education which Blasters, the pop pirate stations and Radio Lux- made her the only democrat on the "team" so embourg whose nighttime service was entirely

46 bought by an English-speaking “yuge” target for satire. Whether he company so they could broadcast likes it or not, he brought it all on commercial radio to London. h i m s e l f . With regard to British Double I think I read somewhere that British Summer Time: Arthur Crutten- bookmakers may be taking bets on den, who was a TAFF candidate how long he’ll be in office. There is ten years ago, told a tale of being much talk about impeachment but as in London under a blue sky dur- far as I can tell there hasn’t been any ing Double Summer Time and actual action toward that. Yes, Pence asking a policeman what time it is in the mix, as you Hoosiers are was. He was told “Midnight.” well aware of what he is like. I won- Have checked and Double der if there is some way to impeach Summer Time was used from him as well. I hope no one will be 1940 to 1945, and again in 1947 because of “a offended by the comments and I don’t lose read- severe fuel shortage.” ers.// It well may be that the wormhole article is a Helen should be congratulated for making so hoax; there are plenty of hoaxes going around light of such a deadly time in her life . That says a these days. It shows what sorts of outrageous lot about the human spirit. Here’s wishing you a theories people can dream up. Well no one is per- full and happy recovery, Helen. fect, no matter what they claim. Even Einstein Next time you get a single-subject long loc had his flaws. I don’t want to thing about how from Taral, you should request printing it as an many I have; it would take up too much time.// article, where it would be better placed. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. We Told Maia Cowan the tale of Whistler’s The can’t remember everything all the time.// Day- Falling Rocket when she mentioned that she was light Savings time is bad enough. Enduring Dou- going to an exhibition that included some of ble had to be worse.// Helen may make light of Whistler’s paintings. She then replied that what she went through but I’m certain she took it “Rocket” (Which bankrupted Whistler) is now seriously. That’s humans for you. We can find owned by Detroit’s Art Museum. Detroit, of humor in even the worst circumstances. course, is also bankrupt. There must be a curse “Gallows humor.” It’s what keeps us (mostly) that comes with that painting. sane. There’s nothing I can add to that last part.]] [[Taral’s loc took me by surprise. The next time he sends me one like that I’ll treat it as an article 1706-24 Eva Rd. without asking him and it won’t be in the letters Etobicoke, ON column. If he doesn’t like that he’ll either quit CANADA M9C 2B2 sending locs or give me hell for not letting him March 5, 2017 know in advance. Or think twice before writing Dear Thomas: another loc like that. A bit of a preface or apol- ogy to all about the political opening to my re- Thank you for issue 115 of The Reluctant Famu- sponse] In spite of his grandiose attitude about lus. Slowly but surely getting caught up. I will himself Trump is, to use one of his words a

47 happily avoid that space cadet on the front cover leader. Some of these people sound like they’d be (sorry, Kurt), and have a look further inside. right at home in Trump’s cabinet, for they are I agree with the editorial…remember The Simp- racist and sexist, and one fancies himself a Trump sons, when they wanted to explore what’s the -like businessman, with character to match. Ugh! worst that could happen to America, came up I cannot see Canada electing any of them as with the horrific idea of President Donald Trump. Prime Minister, so we have to keep leaning on the They asked, hey, what’s the worst that could hap- current Prime Minister to keep to his promises. pen? The worst did happen, and we are all finding As far as work goes…nothing full-time, but I out. I also keep reading more about how the end have gotten on with a company who provides oc- of his tenure as President may be coming to the casional staff to trade shows and conferences, and end soon. Enough of him, he’s a waste of type. I am being recalled for some voicework. Things Wormholes are both scientific models and ideas, are looking up. No drugs for me, either. I lived on and fun SF tropes. Author pseudonyms have a street in my childhood where four men, all with their uses, and the authors have their rea- families, killed themselves with too much alco- sons. Stephen King and J.K. Rowling have used hol, so I can certainly see what drugs could do. I them, often to find out if their writing is selling have my doubts it will ever happen, unless I get itself, or if their names are doing the ultimate the fabulous job with fabulous pay, but we would marketing. We all know that a pseudonym can very much like to return to England, to see more also conceal how many people are actually doing of that spectacular country. the writing, and definitely can conceal the gender (Just to let you know…Taral and I have a of the writer. common friend, Steve Baldassarra, who let us I have read about European pirate radio, and know that Taral’s had a stroke, so he’s in for how adventurous it was to broadcast as you saw some recovery as he gets back abilities, like the fit, the hell with the regulations, and put out what use of a telephone, and soon, the use of his com- you see fit. Often, it was good music and good puter. I hope this stroke won’t affect the produc- times, and many pirate broadcasters found lucra- tion of those great cartoons, and other artworks.) tive careers waiting for them when they finally Indeed, SF and its fandom will, must change. went legit. One can think of is Johnnie Walker, Either keep up, easier said than done, or reinvent who left pirate radio behind to become one of the yourself. Once I left conrunning, I needed to do most honoured BBC broadcasters of the past 50 that. Some thought I was gafiating, or gone. Be- years. In my days before fandom, I was a short- fore my fanzine days, Yvonne and I were cos- wave/AM/FM DXer, and I still have my collec- tumers, and we competed in some of the World- tion of radio station promotionals, and of course, con masquerades in the early 80s. Steampunk got all my QSL cards and letters. us back into costuming, but not to compete, but The best of luck to Helen E. Davis in her merely take part, and have some fun. journey from cancer. We all know people who TAFF!...we have voted and paid what we have recovered, and some who haven’t. could afford. And, with some luck, we will be My letter…we also have a Conservative Party sending John and Valerie Purcell to Finland! We here, and right now, they are going through a might even bring him back! Who knows? leadership sequence, trying to find their new

Eric and Mary’s John the Eunuch books radio to enjoy. Maybe I will.// It’s good news to hear could be made into a series…I suspect the BBC you’re getting at least some work. If all goes well you might have a look long before the CBC here might get something steady somewhere and keep it might, but the CBC does rely on Canadian writ- until you feel able to retire.// The last I heard, Taral ing to make Canadian series. John the Eunuch wad making progress.]] probably wouldn’t satisfy Canadian content regu- Here are two other pulp covers. Bug-eyed mon- lations. sters! Enjoy them A page and a half on a Sunday night isn’t bad at all, better than my attempt last time. I will wind it up, say my thanks, and fire it into the æther. See you with the next issue.

Yours, Lloyd Penney. [[You’re not the only one avoiding that Space Cadet and his sidekick Robin-type, a duo of dis- aster.// I’ve never watched the Simpsons—don’t ask me why—so I’ve never seen that episode. But it would seem the Simpsons forecast the future and what actually occurred. I don’t think even Nostradamus forecast that. Or did he? Has anyone checked to see?// Indeed that person is a waste of type and ink. We must concentrate on better things.// Wormholes and black holes are popular subjects for written and movie /TV SF as possible shortcuts through the universe.// Yes there are writers who publish under a pseudonym for various personal reasons. Others will use a different name because they’re writing in a different genre than their usual one. If the writing is truly good that’s all that matters. But readers have differences of opinion as to what is good writing. What one group of writers think is good, others disagree. But we’ve been through that before. I haven’t listened to radio programs in a long time and I sort of miss that. I have one of those radio/ CD combos and could use the radio part. But since there are online sites that offer down- loadable old radio programs I could download ones that interest me, especially those which have an SF, mystery, or eerie focus and have a lot of