The British International Comics Show will be held 3rd and 4th of October at the Thinktank, Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG. For more details go to the website http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/ Brum Group News The Free Monthly Newsletter of the OCTOCON, the annual Irish SF Convention will be held 10th and 11th of October 2009 at The Camden Court Hotel, Camden Street, Dublin 2. See BIRMINGHAM SCIENCE FICTION GROUP http://2009.octocon.com/ for further details July 2009 Issue 454 NOVACON 39 – the Birmingham SF Group’s own convention - will be Honorary Presidents: BRIAN W ALDISS, O.B.E. held at the Park Inn, Nottingham over the weekend of 13-15 & HARRY HARRISON November 2009. Guest of Honour is JUSTINA ROBSON. Full details from 379 Myrtle Road, Sheffield, S2 3HQ or email alice@altair- Committee: Vernon Brown (Chairman); Pat Brown (Treasurer); 4.co.uk Vicky Stock (Secretary); Rog Peyton (Newsletter Editor); Dave Corby (publicity Officer); William McCabe; FUTURE MEETINGS OF THE BSFG NOVACON 39 Chairman: Alice Lawson August 14th – SUMMER SOCIAL at the Black Eagle, Handsworth website: Email: September 11th – Novacon 39 Guest of Honour JUSTINA ROBSON www.birminghamsfgroup.org.uk/ [email protected] October 9th – SF author ALASTAIR REYNOLDS (provisional) November 6th – to be announced December 4th – CHRISTMAS SOCIAL – skittles, buffet, prizes, fun!!! th January 2010 – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING and AUCTION Friday 10 July February – QUIZ versus the B’ham University SF Group March – Gollancz editor JO FLETCHER returns with more amusing and VERNON BROWN vs ROG PEYTON interesting anecdotes of life in publishing April – Author and satirist ADAM ROBERTS As you are aware, Jo Fletcher was regrettably forced to cancel her talk BRUM GROUP NEWS #454 copyright 2009 for Birmingham SF Group. Designed by this month. Trying to get an outside speaker has proven extremely difficult due to Rog Peyton (19 Eves Croft, Bartley Green, Birmingham, B32 3QL – phone 0121 477 people being on holiday, going on holiday or just getting back. From holiday. Or 6901 or email [email protected]). Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily organising or going to a barbecue, or wedding. Or whatever. reflect those of the committee or the general membership or, for that matter, the person Rather than fall back on the old standards like quizzes, etc., we’ve come giving the ‘opinion’. up with a rather unique item this month. In the red corner is our Chairman Thanks to all the named contributors in this issue and to William McCabe who sends me Vernon Brown and in the blue corner is yours truly Rog Peyton. It won’t be a reams of news items every month which I sift through for the best/most entertaining items. fight to the death (sorry) but our memories will definitely be put to the test. We’re going to be talking, and arguing, about the Brum Group, Novacons, conventions Apologies to some reviewers – I have even more reviews and fandom in general and certain books will definitely come under fire. Are they – a further 4 pages (too many for 1 newsletter!). They will SF or fantasy? Are they ay good? be in next month’s issue. There’ll be plenty of chances for you to join in and have your say. Or just ask embarrassing questions that will get us arguing. Hopefully it will be an entertaining evening. RGP ABOUT US... The Birmingham Science Fiction Group meets on the second Friday of each month. Membership is £16 per year per person (or £21 for two members living at the same address). This includes the 12 free issues of August 14th – Summer Social. There are a few places left for the Newsletter plus reduced entrance fee at each meeting. Cheques should be our Summer Social. It’s a meal at the Black Eagle, made payable to ‘The Birmingham Science Fiction Group” and sent to our Handsworth. It’ll cost you whatever you want to spend as you Secretary, 10 Sylvan Avenue, Northfield, Birmingham, B31 2PG have the free choice of their extensive menu. A deposit of £10 is required – tickets available from our Secretary, Mrs Vicky Stock (address at foot of back page). But don’t leave it too late. 16 discover what is going on and how to demonstrate his innocence by laying the blame The meeting will take place in the conference room on the first floor of the Briar Rose Hotel, Bennetts Hill where it belongs. He does so, of course, but (also of course) it is a close thing at times and just off New Street. The entrance to the hotel is adjacent to Wetherspoon’s on the right. there is a satisfying amount of suspense involved. At the bottom of the ramp from New Street Station, turn left and walk up New Street. Bennetts Hill is the By the end of the story Frey and the members of his motley crew have each third road on the right. achieved some sort of apotheosis, if that is not too strong a word, having discovered The doors open at 7.30pm and the meeting will commence at 8.00pm so please arrive early, get your drinks mutual understanding of their own and each other’s problems and become a loyal and from the bar on the ground floor, and be seated in plenty of time. Members’ admission is £3.00; non- supportive band rather than a bunch of individuals interested only in themselves. It is members’ is £4.00. possible however to see that as the icing on the cake so to speak and read the book as a (fairly) cheerful adventure. It is very inventively written, the main characters are real, Congratulations to our secretary Vicky who has married since the rounded personalities, and it holds one’s interest from beginning to end, although it can be last newsletter. She married ex-committee member Tim Stock on hard at times to escape the feeling that things happen the way they do more to help the author out of a difficulty than to further the story in a reasonably plausible manner. (It also June 20th. We wish them every happiness for the future. helps that most of the opposition are, like the Imperial Stormtroopers in the Star Wars films, so useless with a gun that they couldn’t hit a building if they were standing inside it.) CHANGE OF EMAIL – in future please contact me on It makes for an entertaining read: all good knockabout stuff as the crew of the Ketty Jay [email protected] until further notice. lurch along from one predicament to another before coming to what I felt was a rather anti-climactic conclusion. LAST MONTH’S MEETING by Rog Peyton FINAL NOTE: RETRIBUTION FALLS is subtitled “A Tale of the Ketty Jay” Anyone who knows me well (Ok, and even those who don’t know me so well) and is the first volume in an open-ended series - not a serial or trilogy. I won’t be holding will be aware that I am not a fan of fantasy and, in particular, I have a strong dislike for my breath. MJ Tolkien and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, not to mention an even greater dislike for the hundreds of Tolkien clones that have sprouted up over the past 40 or so years. FORTHCOMING EVENTS Having stated publicly that I consider THE LORD OF THE RINGS the most All details are correct to the best of our knowledge, we advise contacting organisers before travelling. Always over-rated book ever, it was no surprise that I was not looking forward to Bob Blackham’s enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope when writing to any of the contact addresses. talk about this ‘load of tosh’. Any information about forthcoming SF / Fantasy / Horror events are always welcome - please send to me BUT, I was reliably informed that our speaker’s talk would be about the at [email protected] Birmingham associations with Tolkien rather than the dubious contents of the book and as someone who has a strong interest in Birmingham local history I decided that the meeting The Central Library SF and Fantasy Reading Group meets on Thursdays at was probably not going to be as bad as I feared. 5.45pm to 7pm monthly, in GP5 on the 5th Floor at the Central Library, Chamberlain Arline and I met up with Dave Corby and Bob Blackham for a meal before the Square, B3 3HQ. It’s a small friendly group meeting to discuss SF & fantasy books. meeting and on being introduced I immediately recognised the face as belonging to Contact person is Pam Gaffney on (0121) 303 3398. someone I had met in the past. During the meal, ANDROMEDA BOOKSHOP was Books to be discussed:- mentioned and Bob suddenly remembered how we’d met. When he was first proposing 16th July - FROM THE DUST RETURNED by Ray Bradbury the Tolkien walks and tours and even attempting to organise Tolkien weekends at hotels, he’d come into the shop and we’d discussed the whole idea, eventually having adverts in THE MiSFiTs are an informal group of local SF fans who meet regularly at 7pm at the Andromeda’s catalogues for the event. Wagon & Horses, Oldbury on the third Friday of each month. Real ale, good food, great Bob’s talk proved to be well presented, giving a fascinating look at early scenes in company. Next meeting is on 17th July. Hall Green and surrounding parts of Birmingham. His collection of photographs of this More details from Martin Tudor ([email protected]).