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Matrix 136 Odell & Le Blanc 1999-03 New Vice President for the BSFA Shortlists Announced - BSFA & Arthur C Clarke Awards Alien Spawned - It Was Twenty Years Ago Today.... The Wonders of the Web? + News, Views, John Wyndham and More! 6 )------~~- march/april 1999 ma;~;;Pril~jSSUe136 VECTOR • Tony Cullen CIiticaI&Review ~ 16 Weaver's Way Joumal CamdenTown LondonNW1QXE "J tony.CtIllen@<!fee.goY.uk Editors: CoUn Odell & Michelle Le Blanc 29, Sunnyside Close Features • AndrewM.Butler Chapelfields ~ 33BrookviewOrive Coventry CV5 8DJ K.""""NotIinghamNG125JN ~ [email protected] "J amblIt!er@enlerprise,net V (0115)9375549 Editorial Assistance: Paul & Elizabeth BilIinger 1, Long Row Close • GaryDalkin Everdon ~ 5 Lydford Road Northants Boom""",," ~ [email protected] DorsetBH118SN V (01202)579640 "J [email protected] Uncredited Text: Colin Odell, Milch Le Blanc Paul Billinger & Elizabeth Billinger. Reviews • SteveJeffery ~ 44 While Way Cover, Artwork & Design:Colin Odell Kidlington Oxon 0X5 2XA Next Deadline: 18th March 1999 V (01865)371734 "J [email protected] ISSN: 03073335 FOCUS • Carol Ann Keny-Green WritefS Forum ~ 278 Victoria Avenue Copyright: BSFA 1999 HuHHU530Z "J Metaphor@enterprise,net Individual copyrights are the property of the contributors and editors V (01482) 494G45 • JulieVenner Views expressed are not necessarily those of the BSFA. ~ 42 Walgrave Street NewlandAvenue Printed by: POG Copyprint HuHHU52LT 11, Jeffries Passage Guildford GU1 4AP BSFAAwards • ChrisHil1 ~ The Bungalow President SirArthurC.CI'rke,C.B.E. 27 Lower Evingar Road • Whitc:hurc:h Administrator MaureenKlncaldSpeller Hants.RG287EY • 60 BoumemoulhRoad [email protected] Folkestone V (01256)893253 KentCT195AZ [email protected],u~ .. London Meetings • Paul Hood .. (Ol303) 2529J9 ~ 112Meadowsl:le Ellham Treasurer ElizabeUlBilllnger LondonSE96BB • 1Long Row Close V (0181)3336670 Everdoo,DaventIy [email protected] Northants.NN113BE blllinqer@enlerprise,nel OrtlitersWriting • KalPatrlck .. (01327)361661 Groups ~ 44TicmeIlPiece Cha~bury Non-US Membership, • PaulBlllinger OxonOXJ3TW qveries,renewals, 1Long Row Close !lbf78@d~I,pjpeJ..com TJddressC!langes & Everdon, DavenlJy new member.; Nortnant:5,NN113BE Advertis,ing, • ClaireBrialey [email protected] Merc:handise, or: 26 Northampton Road .. (01327)361661 Publk;ily&Promotions Croydon SurreyCR07HA US Agenl • CyChauvln [email protected] US Subwiptions cost: 14248WmredStreet V (0181) 6551346 $37 surface orH7 eir payable/o: MI48213 "''''' • Mark Plummer CyCha~(BSFA) U.S.A 14 NorthwayRoad C~ All subscriptions to Member.;hipCos's non-US Surrey CRO 6JE • Paul Billinger at lhe Clddress above 'il' (0181)6560137 UK E19 perannumUK residents (£18 by standing order). £12unwaged Life Membefship£l90 E'""" ~ £24.50 per annum RestoflheWorld ~ £24.5Operannumsurfacema~ EJO.OO per annum aifmai Cheques payable to: BSFALtd. I ... ... ... The Committee of the British Science Fiction Association is pleased to announce that Stephen Baxter has agreed to take on the new role of Vice-President of the In This Issue of Matrix: BSFA. Sir Arthur C. Clarke is an excellent president of the BSFA and we are very proud John Wyndham Exhibition· to be associated with him. The Committee now feels it is time that the BSFA had Review by Maureen Kincaid Speller someone who might serve as a deputy to Sir Arthur in his role as an ambassador for Page 4 the organisation and we are delighted that Stephen Baxter has accepted our invitation to take up this position. Arthur C. Clarke Awards Stephen Baxter is well-known as one of Britain's leading contemporary science Shortlist . Paul Kincaid looks al this fiction writers. His novels, including Voyage, Titan and Moonseed, have won years nominees. considerable praise and critical acclaim, and he has received, among others, the Page 6 Phillp K. Dick Award, the John Campbell Memorial Award, the Kurd Lasswitz Award, the Seiun Award, and of course, several BSFA Awards, including Best Novel for BSFA Awards Shortlist The Time Ships. He's currently working on a collaboration with Sir Arthur himself, to Announced - Chris Hill, your BSFA be called The Light of Other Days. Awards Administrator, says "cast We are hoping to create a more active role for Council members in the coming your vole!" years, in areas where their experience and expertise can be most effectively Page 7 employed, particularly as advisors to the BSFA Committee, helping to promote greater public understanding and appreciation of science fiction, and the Alien Box Set· John Ashbrook goes beyond the Alien films. encouragement of writers, and in the wider promotion of the BSFA's aims. We feel PageS sure that Stephen's involvement with the BSFA will help us to accomplish this. - ---1Ii!III!miml.~.~ml~mlfm~~I==~-_1Letters Page - Your views and - comments After almost seven years, Carol Ann Kerry Green has decided to hand over the Page 10 baton for co-ordinating the Orbiter Writer's workshops. Although she has thoroughly enjoyed her time and is going to miss it like hell, feels that life moves on and she Obituaries: Naomi Mitchison, may even get to complete her next novel in less than two years. Brian Moore- by Paul Kincaid Or Kat Patrick has taken over and describes herself as a "fool/martyr/type-A­ Page 11 personality" for doing so. She likes to use her PhD title of Or., not because she is being stuffy, but because when people meet her "they think I'm in the 6th form if I Book News - all the latest book don't". releases. Originally from Texas, she moved to England in 1991 when she married Page 12 mathematician Robert Leese (they met in 1987 while Kat was studying for a MA in 17th-c. studies at Durham). She then did the obligatory stint as a teacher before Surfing On Mars - Colin and realising it wasn't for her and since February 1998 has been a full-time writer and Mitchsurftheweb (very) part-time theology student. Page 14 She has had lots of magazine articles published in places like Birdkeeper and International Railway Traveller and has now finished an sf novel (for which she is Events - what's on where Md who now trying to find a publisher. plug, plug). to contact If anyone wants more information on the Orbiter Groups contact Kat at 44 Ticknell Page 16 Piece, Charlbury, Oxon, OX7 3TW, e-mail [email protected] - --ltmlft!llmllll!llmlllll!lI!lml;m-lBabYlon.. ..... ... ... ... • .. • Colin and Mitch5: A reviewCall TotheArms-latest 85 spin-off. Page 19 After five years producing Matrix, during which time he took it to new heights of excellence, Chris Terran is no longer Editor of Matrix. Leonard Fell - Introducing a new We're now looking for a new team to write, edit and produce Matrix. We need diary column by science fiction writer someone to oversee the magazine's production, and we're looking for people LeonardFeU interested in commissioning and editing work. We're also looking for people with a Page 20 particular interest in media, publishing and fannish activities. If you'd like to be part of the new Matrix team, especially if you have writing, editing or production skills, please contact Maureen Kincaid Speller (Administrator, BSFA, 60 Bournemouth Road, Folkestone, Kent, CT19 SAZ, email: News and comment: [email protected]) as soon as possible, outlining your interests and/or Media news starts on page 4. relevant experience. General news starts here. As a consequence you are now reading Matrix:lnterstitiallssue #1, a temporary measure in order to fill the (hopefully brief) period whilst the new Editorial team is 1.lm~~lDl.11 forged. For the time being any letters, information, news, reviews, should be sent to Colin Odell & Mitch Le Blanc (address on page 2). It would greatly help if this could be sent bye-mail, on disc (plain text file) or clearly typed. The deadline for the next issue is March 18th. When I was a teenager, I brought home a house plant which developed the engaging but ultimately irritating habit "~·GoOOUI.I"..,lO:i·fu'OI,I,;j,"·, O::oI"W·i11I-'am ~~9r~~o~s~:S~~;~~f:O~;~: ~~~~e~f ~~n~s~v~~, :::r:~~i' ,~~ i~~d~~~b~~~~~~U~~la~eo~~~l~~~~ Hartrrelrs incarnation of our favourite what this might actually mean. I'm happy to report that the plants never took to walking round the house but the Time lO«! - the BBC have confirmed careless familiarity with which my mother christened this plant, disapproving of scierlce fiction as she did, goes that the first episode 01 season two's some way to showing how John Wyndham's best-known work has penetrated the British psyche. Indeed, as Andy The Ctusades, entitled The Lion, has Sawyer. Librarian of the Science Fiction Collections at the University of Livell'Ool, noted in a receflt talk he gave in cropped up in New Zealand, continuing the University's Art Gallery, for many people, Wyndham's The Day of/he Triffids was their introduction to science the painfulty slow restorabon 01 fICtion, while for many others who don~ read the genre, Wyndham's is the one name they do know, It's fitting, episodes 'Iost" (read dumped) by therefore, that the University's acquisition of the Estate Collection of John Wyndham, should be celebrated by an Auntie Beeb fol!O'Ning their transfer to exhibition entitled 'The Return of the Triffids' featuring material to do with his most famous WOlt as well as other colour broadcasting in the late 60's archive material ~By the time you read this you are The Day of the Trifflds acttJally first appeared in Colliers Weekly in 1951, under the perhaps misleading title Revolt ~~~~ .:7en: s~~:~:.a~h:: of the Trifflds, although this underlines that ambiguity inherent in the convenient juxtaposition of events, namely the goes anyway: the trailer shOWn with discovery of the triffids, and later, the meteor shower which blinded so many and made them vulnerable to the the swashbucklingty good Mask of triffids.
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