SCIENCE NUMBER 33 $1.75 FICTION REVIEW Interview CHARLES SHEFFIELD A WRITER'S NATURAL ENEMY EDITORS BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN NOISE LEVEL By John Brunner YOU GOT NO FRIENDS IN THIS WORLD BY ORSON SCOTT CARD Darrell Schweitzer Elton T. Elliott NEWS CARTOONS SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW ISSN “ Formerly THE ALIEN CRITIC P.O. BOX 11408 NOVEMBER 1979 -- VOL.8 NO.5 WHOLE NUMBER 33 PORTLAND, OR 97211 PHONE: (503) 282-0381 RICHARD E. GEIS., editor & publisher PAULETTE, SPECIAL ASSISTANT COVER BY STEPHEN FABIAN PUBLISHED QUARTERLY FEB., MAY, AUG., NOV. ALIEN THOUGHTS by the editor........... 4 REVIEWS— SINGLE COPY --- $1.75 WAR OF THE WORLDS (RECORD)........19 INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES SHEFFIELD. .10 ONCE UPON A TIME (RECORD)......... 19 CONDUCTED BY KARL T. PFLOCK SCREAMS OF A WINTER NIGHT (MOVIE).20 THE OUTCASTS OF HEAVEN BELT (BOOK) BEYOND ATLANTIS (MOVIE)..........20 INSIDE—OUTSIDE (BOOK).... ...... QUEST OF THE THREE WORLDS (BOOK).. HE HEARS.... HALLOWEEN (MOVIE)................ 20 THE BROOD (MOVIE)................ 20 THE WORLD IS ROUND (BOOK)....... RECORD REVIEWS THE INTELLIGENCE AGENTS (BOOK).... BY STEVEN E. MCDONALD............. 19 SUPERMAN (MOVIE)................. 20 CIRCLE OF IRON (MOVIE)........... 20 ANALOG YEARBOOK (BOOK)............ THE MUPPET MOVIE (MOVIE).........21 ALIEN WORLDS (BOOK).............. BEASTS OF GOR (BOOK),............. AND THEN I SAW.... DRACULA (MOVIE).................. 21 MOVIE AND TELEVISION REVIEWS PHANTASM (MOVIE)................. 21 SPACE PIRATES QoOK)............. BY THE EDITOR......................20 THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (MOVIE).... 21 MACROLIFE (BOOK)................. PROPHESY (MOVIE)................. 21 THE CAVE OF TIME (BOOK)........... MOONRAKER (MOVIE)................ 22 THE TIME TRIP (BOOK)............. A WRITER'S NATURAL ENEMY: EDITORS JANISSARIES (BOOK),.............. BY GEORGE R.R. MARTIN............. 28 UP FROM THE DEPTHS (MOVIE)...... 72. THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (MOVI^22 ELECTRIC FOREST (BOOK)........... STARCRASH (MOVIE)................ 22 SUB-ZERO (BOOK).................. SABERS, LASERS AND STARSHIPS BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25lH CENTURY...22 A PLANET CALLED TREASON (BOOK)... AN INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF SUSPERIA (MOVIE)................. 22 THE MERMAN'S CHILDREN (BOOK).... THE WEB BETWEEN THE WORLDS (BOOK). SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY AMERICATHON (MOVIE)............ 22 WARGAMING, PART II TIME AFTER TIME (MOVIE).........22 THE ROAD OF AZRAEL (BOOK)........ BY MIKE GILBERT................... 32 THE VHJ.AIN (MOVIE)............. 23 hammer's slammers (book).............. THE DRAGON LORD (BOOK).......... oh god! (movie)...................23 PRETENDER (BOOK)................. THE MONSTER THAT ATE SHEBOYGAN! THE VIVISECTOR THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (RECORD).... A COLlTfl (gate).......................... 33 INVASION OF THE AIR EATERS (GAME).33 SURVIVAL SHIP (RECORD)........... BY DARRELL SCHWEITZER............. 36 THE BOOK OF MERLYN (RECORD).... .. HOLY WAR (GAME)...................33 COSMIC ENCOUNTER (GAME).......... 33 THE LAND OF OZ (RECORD)......... YOU GOT NO FRIENDS IN THIS WORLD JESUS ON MARS (BOOK).............. THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES (RECORD)... THE SWORD OF SHANNARA (RECORD).... A REVIEW OF SHORT FICTION NEW DIMENSIONS (BOOK)............ 36 BY ORSON SCOTT CARD............... 39 FUTURE DAY (BOOK)................. THE SCIENCE FICTION STORIES OF RIP OFF COMIX TO (SMALL PRESS).... WALTER M. MILLER (BOOK)....... 38 SMALL PRESS NOTES [See page 43 for complete list of BY THE EDITOR......................AO short fiction reviews.] FANTASY #3 (SMALL PRESS).........44 QUANTUM JUMP (SMALL PRESS)........44 OTHER VOICES EMPIRE SF (SMALL PRESS).......... 44 BOOK REVIEWS BY AN UNKNOWN, NEAL THRUST #13 (SMALL PRESS)......... 44 Copyright (c) 1979 by Richard E. WILGUS, WILLIAM GLASS, RONALD R. FRITZ LEIBER: A BIBLIOGRAPHY Geis. One-time rights only have LAMBERT, TOM STAICAR, MICHAEL (small press)................. 44 been acquired from signed or cred­ MAIDA, WILLIAM GIBSON, ROBERT FANTARAMA #10-11 (SMALL PRESS)...44 ited contributors, and all other FRAZIER, LEE WEINSTEIN, MARK TNFF, vol #45 small press 44 COFTA, TERRENCE M. GREEN.......... 46 .39, ( ).. rights are hereby assigned to the NEW WORLDS (SMALL PRESS)......... 45 contributors. A WEALTH OF FABLE (SMALL PRESS)...45 NOISE LEVEL THE FIFTH BOOK OF VIRGIL FINLAY THE ALIEN CRITIC A COLUMN BY JOHN BRUNNER........ 54 (small press)....................45 SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW THE AMERICAN MONOMYTH (BOOK)......46 Available in microform from: THE ULTIMATE ENEMY (BOOK).........47 OXFORD MICROFORM PUBLICATIONS, LTD AND THEN I READ.... CASTLE ROOGNA (BOOK).............. 47 BY THE EDITOR.................. .55 Wheatsheaf Yard, Blue Boar Street ALICIA II (BOOK)................. 48 Oxford OXI 4EY, United Kingdom DESTINATION:VOID (BOOK)........... 48 THE HUMAN HOTLINE THE EMPIRE OF TIME (BOOK)........48 SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW is published PUBLISHING AND WRITING NEWS JOURNEY (BOOK)................... 49 at 1525 NE Ainsworth, Portland, OR BY ELTON T. ELLIOTT...............58 SKINNERBALL (BOOK)............... 49 97211. DRACULA IN LOVE (BOOK)........... 49 SELECTED SCIENCE FICTION AND NO ADVERTISING WILL BE ACCEPTED AND THEN I HEARD.... FANTASY STORIES BY JACK LONDON Second Class Postage Paid RECORD REVIEWS BY THE EDITOR..... 61 (book).........................50 at Portland, OR 97208 LETTERS-------------------- IRWIN M. PROHLO..... MIKE GIRSDANSKY..... IAN WATSON.......... uJELLz 40 BACK ANb MICHAEL CONNER...... FRED FOWLER......... ■ROCCO TO STAY THE HEU- CHARLES PLATT....... 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(Thus ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS, NEW AND OLD, we become slaves to the needs of TIM KIRK—2,44,54,55,61 ARE HONORED AND FULFILLED ON AN the Machine.) ALEXIS GILLILAND—3,4,7,9., 11,12,16> ISSUES NUMBER BASIS. 1/719,21,23,24,26,27,2$, & 31, 36,59 UNITED KINGDOM: Send pound equiva­ 45,48,50,52,57,58 lent of US$6.50 One Year US$13.00 Two Years ALLEN KOSZOWSKI—6,10,32 Next Issue..... to agent WM. DAWSON 6 SONS mike gilbert—8,9,18,33 Cannon House, KURT ERI CHSEN—13,31 AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES Folkestone, Kent CT19 SEE ROBERT WHITAKER—14 SHEFFIELD PART II or write them for current quote paul chadwick—15,20,25,37,43,47 THAYER—16,18,45 AN INTERVIEW WITH CURRENT AND SOME BACK ISSUES OF UNCREDITED—34 DONALD A. WOLLHEIM TAC AND SFR ARE AVAILABLE FROM: BOB LEE—35 FANTAST (MEDWAY) LTD GRANT CANFIELD—40,41,42,51,56 "WHAT IS HARLAN ELLISON REALLY 39 West Street, BRUCE CONKLIN—62 LIKE? A PROFILE BY CHARLES Wisbech, Cambs., PEI3 2LX PLATT AUSTRALIA: Send A$ equivalent of PLUS REVIEWS, REVIEWS, RE­ US$6.50 One Year VIEWS. ...Bf THE EDITOR & US$13. Two Years MANY OTHER VOICES to agent SPACE AGE BOOKS 305-307 Swanston St. Melbourne, 3000 Vic. ALL OTHER FOREIGN: US$6.50 One Year US$13.00 Two Years All foreign subscriptions must be paid in US$ cheques or money orders except to agents. MAKE ALL CHEQUES, CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW SAVE A HASSLE AND EXTRA EXPENSE IF YOU MOVE WE NEED YOUR FORMER ZIPCODE AND YOUR NEW COMPLETE ADDRESS. I imagine that my personal ALIEN THOUGHTS journal will also suffer erosion, and maybe become a victim of the times as a separate entity. If Science fiction, sometimes com­ that journal sinks to under 200 bined with fantasy and horror and the subbers from the present stable occult, has become a recognized mon­ 500, I anticipate merging it (again) ey-maker, especially in the film in­ into SFR as a long column as was dustry. The space programs of the "Reports From Alternate Earth 666" USA and Russia have suffused the bas­ in SFR #25. ic elements of science fiction All this is speculation, of throughout the USA and the industrial­ course. I love it. I'm a hopeless ized world for a generation. Space predictor and viewer-of-trends. It's isn't strange anymore. Space tech­ a way of testing my view of reality nology isn't weird; it's prosaic, against the real thing. And I'm accepted. more and more willing to put my So science fiction is accepted money where my mouth is. as 'legitimate' entertainment and At present I'm hunkering down enterprise. With that solid base in for the long haul; cutting risk and cultural and social acclimatization, cutting expenses. I may go back to s-f will continue for generations at newsprint for SFR if the savings are its present acceptance level. But significant and necessary. it will rise and fall with the gener­ Well, enough of this fun; I've al economy. got to turn my fingers to REG and There will probably be cycles the behind-schedule segment of the within cycles—sword and sorcery may /sex-drenched serial, SPLTTING. flourish in the movies before long... BY THE EDITOR and hard s-f may languish... But the genre as a whole is part of the pub­ lishing-entertainment territory now, # LETTER FROM IRWIN M. PROHLO 7-31-79 I had been expecting a and will not fade away. POB 92893 call from Hank Stine, editor of GAL­ Milwaukee, WI 53202 AXY, asking me to get another book April 30, 1979 review column into the mail to him. (Yes, yes, with the collaboration The future of SFR is linked, ob­ 'TO YOUR READERS ON THE STATE OF and intrusion of Alter-Ego!), so viously to my future. And I expect SF SALES/READERS: when he called yesterday I expected to survive with SFR through at least 'The market had best realize that request...which didn't come. another four years, as a quarterly. where the money (fans) are --in We talked—err, he talked—about The worst-case scenario is a the 10-23 year-old range mostly.