The SHUTTLE June 2002 The Next NASFA Meeting is 22 June 2002 DeepSouthCon 40 in Huntsville 14Ð16 June 2002 at the Hilton DSC 40 is Upon Us { Oyez, Oyez { DeepSouthCon 40/FanHistoricon 12 will be held at the The next NASFA meeting will be 22 June 2002. Note that Hilton in downtown Huntsville AL 14Ð16 June 2002. Headlin- this is a week later than normal, due to DeepSouthCon 40/ ers include GoH Allen Steele, AGoH Vincent Di Fate, FGoHs FanHistoricon 12. The meeting will be at the regular time (6P) Nicki and Rich Lynch, and TM Connie Willis. There is a long and the regular location. Call BookMark at 256-881-3910 if and stellar list of pros and fans also expected to attend, that list you need directions. can be seen on the web site at <www.con-stellation.org/ The June program will a convention postmortem plus a dsc40>. You can also get further info by calling Sam at 256- group discussion on ÒWhy I got interested in science fiction 883-4493 (no collect calls please) or by emailing <dsc40@con- and fandom.Ó The after-the-meeting meeting will be at Mike stellation.org>. KennedyÕs house Ñ 7907 Charlotte Drive SW in Huntsville. Your $40 membership fee can be sent to DSC40/FHC12 Call him at 256-883-5922 for directions. P. O. Box 4857, Huntsville AL 35815-4857. Committee members should be aware that the final con committee meeting will be held at the hotel on the Thursday evening (13 June) before the con. There will be lots of move-in and setup details to take care of as well as last minute info. Stay tuned to Òradio DSCÓ for further details. Inside this issueÉ Star Trek TV Guide Special ............................................3 NASFA Calendar............................................................2 Book Review: Diplomatic Immunity ..............................4 Minutes of the May Meeting ..........................................2 Book Reviews: Two by Ringo........................................5 Arthur C. Clarke Award .................................................2 Fiction: No Need for a Dragon!, Part 17 ........................6 Labmda Awards..............................................................3 NASFA Receivables .......................................................6 Mythopoeic Award Nominations ...................................3 Letters of Comment ........................................................7 Deadline for the July 2002 issue of The NASFA Shuttle is Friday, 5 July 2002. 1 nearby convention being held that weekend Ñ in which case NASFA Calendar we usually hold the meeting on the second or fourth weekend.) The regular meeting location is the upstairs meeting room at JUNE BookMark on South Memorial Parkway. The Executive 01 BD: Glenn Valentine. Committee meeting (if scheduled) is at 5P. The business 01Ð02 ConCarolinas Ñ Charlotte NC. meeting is at 6P. The program is at 7P. Anyone is welcome to 02 BD: Lloyd Penney. attend any of the meetings. There is usually an after-the- 13 DeepSouthCon 40 ConCom meeting at hotel. meeting meeting with directions available at the program. 14 Flag Day. 14Ð16 DeepSouthCon 40 Ñ Huntsville AL. 16 FatherÕs Day. 19 BD: Julie Schwartz. May Minutes 21 First day of Summer. by Samuel A. Smith, Rushing In 22* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business, 7P Program, at BookMark. ATMM at Mike KennedyÕs house. The May meeting of the North Alabama Science Fiction NOTE: This is one week later than usual due to Association was called to order on Saturday, May 18, 2002 in DSC. the upstairs meeting room at BookMark at 6:23:23P by Presi- 28Ð30 Science Fiction Research Association Conference Ñ dent Mary Ortwerth, who once again G&Ced us. New Lanark, Scotland UK. OLD BUSINESS Are we still going to go to Southern Adventures tonight? JULY ItÕs cold. How about going to see Spiderman instead? 01 Canada Day. After some discussion, it was decided to table further 02 BD: Deb Stone. discussion until program time. 04 Independence Day. NEW BUSINESS 20* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business, 7P Program, at There was some discussion about how SamÕs tape re- BookMark. ATMM TBD. corder had stopped working (jiggling the switch got it going 24 BD: Jay Johns. again). 26Ð28 LibertyCon 16 Ñ CANCELLED. This yearÕs Liber- There was some discussion about how MarieÕs credit card tyCon was cancelled due to a hotel fire. They will be machine had stopped working (and a replacement unit was on back in 2003. the way). 28 ParentsÕ Day. Mike Cothran had a ÒCone PhoneÓ to give away. Whoever 29 BD: Mark Paulk. can be quiet the longest gets it. (The ÒIce Cream Cone of SilenceÓ?) AUGUST CONVENTION BUSINESS 08 BD: Jim Woosley. 599 visitors to the Con Stellation web site, 547 visitors to 09Ð11 Crescent City Con XVII Ñ New Orleans LA. the DeepSouthCon 40 web site, 94 visitors to the NASFA web 10* NASFA Meeting Ñ Annual Picnic. NOTE: This is site. one week earlier than the usual meeting date, stay The meeting was adjourned at 6:34:00P. The program and tuned for more details. After-The-Meeting Meeting were held at Southern Adven- 14 BD: Edward Kenny. tures. (I think. I decided it was Òtoo coldÓ after all.) [Only two 16 BD: Zachary Mitchell. people showed up at Southern Adventures, so the attempt was 16Ð18 Jophan Family Reunion Ñ Birmingham AL. abandoned. -ED] 19 BD: Ariane Mitchell. 21 BD: Deborah Denton. 29Ð02 ConJosŽ/Worldcon 60 Ñ San JosŽ CA. 30Ð02 Dragon*Con 2002 Ñ Atlanta GA. Arthur C. Clarke Award SEPTEMBER The 2002 Arthur C. Clarke Award (for the best sf novel 02 Labor Day. which received its first British publication in 2001) was pre- 07 Rosh Hashanah. sented in a ceremony at the Science Museum in London 08 GrandparentsÕ Day. Saturday 18 May. The prize was an engraved bookend and a 09 BD: Mike Cothran. check for £2002, and was presented by China MiŽville, last 11 BD: Ray Pietruszka. yearÕs winner. The winner was Gwyneth Jones, for Bold As 16 Yom Kippur. Love (Gollancz, 16 August, 2001, ISBN 0575070307; paper- 17 Citizenship Day. back ISBN 0575070315). 21* NASFA Meeting Ñ 6P Business at BookMark. ATMM The award is chosen by jury, which TBD. this year consisted of Paul Billinger and 23 First day of Autumn. Tony Cullen of the British Science 26 BD: Jenna Victoria Stone. Fiction Association, Doug Millard of 29 BD: Nelda Kathleen Kennedy. the Science Museum, Liz Sourbut and Lisa Tuttle of the Science Fiction Foun- OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO dation, and chairman Paul Kincaid For The North Alabama Science Fiction Association meets on more information check them out on the third Saturday of each month. (Unless there is a large the web at <www.clarkeaward.com>. Clarke Award winner Gwyneth Jones 2 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Lambda Awards Myth and Fantasy Studies Graham Anderson, Fairytale in the Ancient World (Routledge) Announced Elizabeth Wanning Harries, Twice Upon a Time: Women Writers and the History of the Fairy Tale (Princeton) The 14th Annual Lambda Literary Awards were presented G. Ronald Murphy, The Owl, the Raven & the Dove: The the evening of 2 May 2002 at a gala ceremony in New YorkÕs Religious Meaning of the GrimmsÕ Magic Fairy Tales Tribeca area. The awards are presented by the non-profit (Oxford University Press) Lambda Literary Foundation, the only national organization Christine Poulson, The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Legend dedicated to the recognition and promotion of gay- and les- in British Art 1840Ð1920 (Manchester University Press, bian-friendly literature. Awards were presented in 20 juried distributed by St. MartinÕs Press) categories (as well as some special awards). In the Science Fiction/Fantasy category the award went to Lisa A. Barnett and Melissa Scott for Point of Dreams (Tor Books, February 2001, ISBN 0312867824; trade paperback, December 2001, ISBN Star Trek at the Checkout 0312875894). reviewed by Jim Woosley More information about the Lambda Awards can be found at <www.lambdalit.org/events/LLA/Press.htm> or by con- TV Guide: Star Trek 35th Anniversary Tribute (On display tacting Jane Troxell, 202-682-0952. More info about the until July 22, 2002, $5.95) Lambda Literary Foundation can be found at <www.lambdalit.org> or by writing P. O. Box 73910, Wash- A well done, lovingly detailed, if Ògood newsÓ overview ington DC 20056-3910. of the Star Trek television franchise (in total, the five series have produced more television episodes than Gunsmoke, the longest-running single series on TV), with an honest overview of the movies, the producers, and the fans Ñ plus an excellent Mythopoeic Awards Noms advance article on Star Trek: Nemesis, the upcoming tenth movie (even number, supposed to be great, right). The Mythopoeic Awards are selected and presented by Features include articles about the major characters with The Mythopoeic Society, a non-profit international literary the editorÕs assessment of their best episodes, an interview and educational organization for the study, discussion, and with current creative team Rick Berman and Brannon Braga enjoyment of fantasy and mythic literature, especially the (including their reaction to fan criticisms of some of their works of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. decisions and, maybe, a subtle hint that their so-called Òhistori- Members of the Mythopoeic Society include scholars, writers, cal revisionismÓ and the anachronisms of technology may and readers of mythic and fantasy literature. Winners will be eventually be reconciled through changes in history as a result announced at the banquet during Mythcon XXXIII, to be held of the Temporal Cold War in Boulder CO 26Ð29 July 2002. and other meddling time More information can be found on the web at <www. travelers), and an excerpt mythsoc.org/awards.html> or by contacting the awards ad- from creator Gene Rod- ministrator: Eleanor M. Farrell, P. O. Box 320486, San Fran- denberryÕs published cisco CA 94132-0486, <[email protected]>. The nomi- statements. A poster of nees are: the thirty-five (35!) dif- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, Adult Literature ferent covers on their Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion (Morrow/Avon) April anniversary issue of Neil Gaiman, American Gods (William Morrow) the regular magazine is Sarah A.