ANSIBLE 231
OCTOBER 2006

From DAVE LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AU. Web
ansible.co.uk. Fax 0705 080 1534. ISSN 0265-9816 (print) 1740-942X
(online). Available for SAE or working Rhennius machine.

[NET NOTE. See http://news.ansible.co.uk/a231.html for the nice HTML
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### TINY BUT HOSTILE ###

J.G. BALLARD's latest is not for the likes of us cowering, timorous fans:
`_Kingdom Come_ goes far beyond the stockades of conventional science
fiction,' explains Ian Thomson in _The Scotsman_ (9 September). [HB] 

VIKRAM CHANDRA, author of the mainstream _Sacred Games_, declares his
literary roots: `I had always been a big fan of Isaac Asimov, and was
writing sci-fi stories by 11.' (_Financial Times_, 9 Sep) [MMW]

JON COURTENAY GRIMWOOD has gone all stale: `After five years the
_Guardian_ Review section has called time on the SF column (at least in
its current guise and by its current writer). While remaining "absolutely
committed to genre," the _Guardian_ feels it needs time to bring
freshness to its current coverage. Expect such "freshness" to be
unleashed on the _Guardian_ reading public sometime next year! / Everyone
bet, when the column started, that it would be killed within a year. In
fact it lasted 5 times as long, and will undoubtedly rise again from the
grave, albeit with another spirit riding. / (And I know you were there
before me ...!)'

HARLAN ELLISON has launched further exciting litigation. One suit is
against Gary Groth and Kim Thompson of Fantagraphics for (a) using his
trademarked name with the unwise subtitle `Famous comics dilettante' on
the cover of _Comics Journal Library 8: The Writers_, reprinting an old
HE interview; and (b) alleged defamation in their book _Comics as Art (We
Told You So)_. The hand of the master can be detected in the statement
of complaint, which describes Fantagraphics as `a tiny but hostile
publishing outfit', Groth as `a scheming pathological liar ... an
obsessively vindictive and petty man', and Ellison as famous, fearless,
magnanimous, scrupulous, etc. Lawsuit number two is against Pocket Books,
for allowing the use of Ellison's `City on the Edge of Forever' character
Edith Keeler in _Star Trek_ novelizations by other hands.

URSULA LE GUIN was dismayed by her listing in the `Highbrow/Despicable'
quadrant of a silly graphic feature in _New York_ magazine. Being short
of shelf space, she donates surplus books to the library, which in turn
holds sales of stock ... and in due course the author John McNally, who'd
sent her an inscribed novel, grumbled in his weblog that this `pristine
copy' had shockingly been offered on eBay. Moral: if you are a famous
writer deluged with books, the only safe course is to burn them. (Which
reminds me that a US small-town twit called Alton Verm is striking a blow
for decency by demanding that his local school reading list be purged of
licentious `filth': that is, of _Fahrenheit 451_.)

CHRIS PRIEST found that the studio which filmed _The Prestige_ has become
infected by the novel's theme of obsessive, demented secrecy. His
cautious commendation of the film (which they hadn't trusted him to see
-- he might give away the plot!) appeared in _Empire_ alongside an
interview with director Christopher Nolan, who endeared himself by urging
fans _not_ to read the book: `It spoils everything.' Even the usual
author perk of a film tie-in edition was vetoed in the USA. Though the
movie has a different ending, the studio folk don't want anyone reading
that 1995 novel for fear of ruining `their' surprise. (Gollancz, however,
acquired film artwork for a UK tie-in by dint of savage persistence.)
_Ansible_ dares not reveal that the character `Rosebud' is actually ...

ROBERT ANTON WILSON, co-author of the _Illuminatus!_ trilogy and guru of
offbeat thinking, has only months to live and is broke. He faced eviction
from his apartment until a fund-raising call brought help with the rent.
Donations to the cause of allowing RAW to die peacefully at home can be
sent c/o Futique Trust, PO Box 3561, Santa Cruz, CA 95063, USA (dollar
checks payable to him), or Paypal to olgaceline at gmail dot com. He
writes: `I am dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and totally stunned by the
charity and compassion that has poured in here the last three days. To
steal from Jack Benny, "I do not deserve this, but I also have severe leg
problems and I don't deserve them either."' [BB]


### CONDY ###

14-15 Oct [] OCTOCON, Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Ireland. Euro30 reg,
student Euro25, under-18 Euro15, supp Euro10. Contact Octocon c/o
Electric Dragon, 19a Main St, Blackrock, Co. Dublin. Sterling payments
to `Dave Lally #2 A/C', 64 Richborne Terrace, London, SW8 1AX.

25 Oct [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, The Star pub, West Halkin Mews, London, SW1.
6pm on; fans present from 5pm. With Rhiannon Lassiter.

30 Oct [] DAVID GEMMELL (1948-2006): thanksgiving service in celebration
of his life. St James's Church, Piccadilly, London, W1. 3pm.

10-12 Nov [] ARMADACON 18, Novotel, Plymouth. GoH Richard Bonehill,
Trevor Truran. Pounds25 reg, Pounds22 concessions. Contact 4 Gleneagle
Avenue, Mannamead, Plymouth, PL3 5HL.

10-12 Nov [] NOVACON 36, Walsall. GoH Ken MacLeod. Pounds36 reg; Pounds40
at door. Contact 379 Myrtle Rd, Sheffield, S2 3HQ.

20-22 Jul 07 [] YEAR OF THE TELEDU, Stage Hotel, Leicester. Pounds35 reg.
_Hotel B&B rates:_ single Pounds55, double/twin Pounds65 ordinary or
Pounds70 `premium'. Contact 14 Endsleigh Gdns, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9
2HJ.

3-5 Aug 07 [] MECON 10, Queen's Elms Centre, Elms Village, Malone Rd,
Belfast. GoH Iain M. Banks. Details TBA.

31 Aug - 2 Sep 07 [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Manchester.
Pounds70 reg. Contact 95 Meadowgate Rd, Salford, Manchester, M6 8EN.

2-4 Nov 07 [] NOVACON 37, Walsall (again). Details TBA.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS SEE US. On Cormac McCarthy's _The Road_: `This marks a
significant departure for McCarthy, but it's hardly a departure for
apocalyptic fiction and film, which have trafficked in these dark visions
for decades. Of course, McCarthy has borrowed from lowbrow forms before.'
(_Washington Post_ review, 1 Oct) Our reporter _Chris Lawson_ adds: `Ah,
yes, the lowbrow apocalyptic subgenre, with typical schlock like _Lord
of the Flies_, _Riddley Walker_, and _Alas Babylon_.'

R.I.P. _John M. Ford_ (1957-2006), unnervingly talented and versatile US
sf author, poet and wit, died unexpectedly _c_24 September; he was 49.
Mike Ford, as everyone knew him, won World Fantasy Awards for _The Dragon
Waiting_ as novel and `Winter Solstice, Camelot Station' as short story,
though it's actually a poem. I can't add much to the flood of tributes
on line. We shared a birthday -- though he was four years younger -- and
swapped silly greetings every year. His were always funnier. I'll miss
him.
     _Charles L. Grant_ (1942-2006), prolific US author and anthologist
who was best known for horror and dark fantasy but also wrote sf, died
on 15 September. He was 62. His many awards included the Nebula (twice)
and World Fantasy Award, plus Stoker, World Horror and International
Horror Guild life achievement honours. [SFWA]
     _Peter Ling_ (1926-2006), prolific UK tv scriptwriter who wrote for
_The Avengers_ and _Dr Who_, died on 14 September aged 80. [JE]
     _Sara Purdom_ (1930-2006) died on 14 September after long illness.
Michael Swanwick writes: `The wife of writer Tom Purdom, Sara was for
many decades one of the social lights of the Philadelphia sf scene. She
was known for her grace and intelligence, and as the creator of the sf
lightbulb joke: _Q. How many science fiction characters does it take to
change a lightbulb? A. Two. One to change the bulb and one to say, "As
you know, Fred, the lightbulb was invented by Thomas Edison and operates
by the principle of ..."_ I've worked this joke into I forget how many
public presentations, and the audience always thought me terribly witty.
Well, no. But I knew somebody who was. Rest well, Sara.'
     _Tetsuro Tamba_ (1922-2006), Japanese actor who played Tiger Tanaka
in _You Only Live Twice_, died on 25 September aged 84. Other genre work
included the popular anime movie _The Cat Returns_ and the original
_Nihon Chimbotsu_ (_Japan Sinks_). [PM]
     _Liese van Santen_ (1952-2006), active in UK fanzines and con-
running while married to Martin Hoare in the 1970s, died in September:
she was 54. [MH]

DEPT OF SF PROPHECY. Prime Minister Blair's grim determination to impose
ID cards on us all was anticipated over 50 years ago: `... Blair dug down
into the breast pocket of his tunic and came up with the pink
identification card, carried compulsorily by all members of the Hundred
Suns Federation ...' (A.J. Merak, _Dark Andromeda_, 1954) [BA]

GLITTERING PRIZES. Recipients of the latest $500,000 MacArthur Foundation
grants include George Saunders, a current World Fantasy Award short-story
finalist for `CommComm', and David Macaulay, the author and illustrator
of _Motel of the Mysteries_ (1979). [SFWA]

MARKET NEWS. _Emil Fortune_ writes: `I'm looking for short SF stories of
around 5K-7K words, to appear in an anthology for young adults. The book
is to be published by Walker Books around the end of 2007. The only real
restrictions on content are that the main character should be a teenager
(or similar; if we're doing talking squid in outer space, they should be
callow calamari) and that the story should be reasonably age appropriate
(not too much in the way of sex and violence).' Email for more details:
emil.fortune at walker co uk. Deadline: end February.

AS OTHERS SEE US II. Simon Hoggart, reporting on the UK Liberal Democrat
party conference, has a theory that writing sf is a sublimation of what
could have been so much worse: `One thing that hasn't changed is the
sense that, with the Lib Dems, we are dealing with a rather lonely boy
in his bedroom. Some such have model railways, some invent new planets
and go on to become bestselling science fiction writers. Others, like the
Lib Dems, create masterplans for the management of an entire society and
nation.' (_Guardian_, 23 September) [SB/GS]

RANDOM FANDOM. _Jim Benford_ is staying in London until 1 December, and
hopes to meet fans: 69B Elizabeth St, London, SW1W 9PJ; 0207 823 4211.
     _Flick & Dr Plokta_ were married on 15 September, an event described
by ace reporter Claire Brialey as `Flick's upgrading to Mrs Mike Scott
version 2.0.' Kilted `junior bridesmaid' James Bacon made a speech: `When
Flick was seven, she took a great interest in acrobatic gymnastics. And
when Flick was seven, Mike was on his first honeymoon, where he took a
great interest ...'
     _Joe Gordon_ told the world: `The next [Forbidden Planet] catalogue
will not now carry the Dave Langford Action Figure -- it was planned to
come with a range of accessories but we simply couldn't fit all the
little plastic awards replicas into the package.'
     _Peter Coleborn & Jan Edwards_ were married on 15 September in Leek:
`As a wedding present, they are the new editors of the British Fantasy
Society's magazine, _Dark Horizons_.' [PC]
     _Debby & Mike Moir_ were deeply frustrated to miss L.A.con IV -- the
one year they were Hugo nominees: `Four days before we were due to fly,
some doctors surprised us by deciding Debby needed urgent heart surgery.
We had a rather scary few weeks, but nearly one month post operation;
Debby has a repaired valve and is almost back to 100%.'

BRITISH FANTASY AWARDS. NOVEL (August Derleth Award): Neil Gaiman,
_Anansi Boys_. NOVELLA Stuart Young, `The Mask Behind the Face' (_The
Mask Behind the Face & Other Stories_). ANTHOLOGY Allen Ashley, _The
Elastic Book of Numbers_. COLLECTION Joe Hill, _20th Century Ghosts_.
SHORT Joe Hill, `Best New Horror' (_Postscripts_ #3). ARTIST Les Edwards.
SMALL PRESS Peter Crowther, PS Publishing.
     SPECIAL (Karl Edward Wagner Award): Stephen Jones. BFS COMMITTEE
FOUNDERS AWARD Keith Walker, Rosemary Pardoe, Phil Spencer, David Sutton.

FANTASYCON. _Marion Pitman_ was there: `Fantasycon in Nottingham was
good, with a turnout of well over 300. Usual problems with new hotel like
they ran out of beer ("no, honestly, they really will drink that much"),
but it seemed to me that the management was showing willing. Apparently
when Graham Joyce complained about the red wine, the bar manager tasted
it, said, "It is awful, isn't it," and instructed some decent stuff to
be produced. The quality definitely improved. All the guests were very
entertaining; most programme items started not too late; the panels were
interesting, some even keeping to the subject. The auction was a mess;
improvement was promised next year. None of the plaques fell off the
awards. Clive Barker's trousers looked like someone had thrown up over
them; as someone else said, "You have to be very rich to wear trousers
like that." He spoke very well as always, passionate, visionary, and
completely filthy.'

FANFUNDERY. _TAFF:_ the latest ballot has at last been finalized with
just two candidates for the 2007 eastbound trip, Chris Garcia and Mary
Kay Kare.
     _JETS_, the one-off fund to take a European fan to Nippon 2007, has
aroused `expressions of interest' but no formal nominations as yet.
Deadline is 13 November 2006 (www.astralpole.org).

C.O.A. _Merv & Helena Binns_, #1 Plymouth St, East Bentleigh, Vic 3165,
Australia (parcels still to PO Box 315, Carnegie 3163).
     _John Jarrold_, Flat 31, Park Lane Mansions, Eversfield Place, St
Leonard's-on-Sea, E Sussex, TN37 6DB (NB: unsolicited MSS thrown away
unread).
 
OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Brian Ameringen_ admires the faint praise of Ziesing
Books salesmanship, as applied to Diana Wynne Jones's _Year of the
Griffin_: `Jones sells reasonably well for us. I've deduced from this
fact alone -- that she's not a total hack. Here's a humorous fantasy ...'
     _Paul Beardsley_ spotted a deeply subtle John Norman allusion on
ITV: `Did you happen to see _Wire In The Blood_ last Wednesday [20 Sep]?
It featured a villain who lured young women to his dungeon where they
were obliged to wear handcuffs, undergo humiliation and so on. The
investigating psychologist found a poster by Boris Vallejo (or someone
similar) in one of the victims' bedrooms. He recognised the poster as an
illustration from the series of Vor _[sic]_ books, and concluded that the
villain was drawing inspiration from them.' (I don't remember much of
that kind of thing in Lois McMaster Bujold -- Ed.)
     _Paul Cornell:_ `I'm usually, mostly, onside for your war against
the makers of _Space Station Spacey_, who insist that their show is "not
SF" because it has people and jokes in it. But I think your quoting of
Russell Davies the other month confuses two different things. Russell's
never said the new _Who_ isn't SF. He's said that he's consciously trying
to make it less SFnal. And, as he says elsewhere in that interview, that
that is actually against his own inclinations. The dividing line is
hypocrisy. There's a difference between insisting, usually through
ignorance, sometimes through panic at the niche that's opening up in
front of you, that your very SF show is not SF, and deliberately reducing
the SF elements in an SF show. The latter may not be to our taste, but
it's an honourable strategy.' (Not all `As Others See Us' quotes are
presented as examples of hypocrisy. We've even been known to include
people who openly admit to liking sf -- Ed.)
     _Cuddles_ writes: `Electrical Eggs UK is supporting one of our
members to produce a fanzine reflecting on how the sf community provides
a safe haven for persons suffering from mental illness. We believe this
will help people understand how difficult ordinary activities become for
fans with a mental illness or handicap such as depression or dyslexia.
We are recruiting helpers prepared to spend 1/2 hour on the phone to assist
with this fanzine.' Volunteers: email eggsuk.access4sf at ntlworld com;
phone 0141 587 1461.
     _Greg Egan_ was `gobsmacked by the level of scientific illiteracy'
in _New Scientist_'s uncritical report (9 Sep) on the Roger Shawyer space
drive proposal, which magically defies conservation of momentum. Full
polemic and discussion at tinyurl.com/n3c7a.

SMALL PRESS. _Science Fiction Chronicle_ 267 (September 2006, numbered
266 but following two issues both numbered 265) has Octavia Butler's
death in February as its lead news story. The `current issue' on the
website -- which still claims monthly publication -- is February 2005.

CULTURAL PENETRATION. _Simo_ has been reading, as one does, _Postman
Pat's Summer Storybook_ (John Cunliffe, 1987): `"Would you like a book
to read on the train?" said Katy. / "Mmmm ... that sounds like a good
idea," said Pat. "What have you got?" / "This looks good," said Katy.
"'The Hobbit'. It's about dragons and magic." / "Yes," said Pat. "Thanks.
It'll make a change from parcels and letters."'

HIDEOUS GAFFES. _A230:_ Thog and his researcher were taunted with extreme
prejudice for failing to imagine a cube balanced on its corner. _A229:_
Patrick Nielsen Hayden corrects `a subtle error ... _The Incompleat Terry
Carr_ wasn't a "memorial" fanzine, given that it was published a good
fifteen or sixteen years before Terry actually died.'

GROUP GROPES. _London:_ The cellar bar of the Melton Mowbray pub (First
Thursday venue) is already booked for the Xmas meeting date of 21 Dec:
using the smaller upstairs bar seems the easiest option. [PT]

THE DEAD PAST. Inspired by the on-line _Checkpoint_, Greg Pickersgill and
others have created a searchable archive of the previous UK newszine, Ron
Bennett's _Skyrack_ (1959-1971): www.gostak.co.uk/skyrack.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Breathing Exercises Dept._ `Faraday, eighteen-year-
old daughter of Earl Isend of Skarabost, sat soaking up the atmosphere
with her intelligent green eyes.' (Sarah Douglass, _The Wayfarer
Redemption_, 1997) [NR]
     _Dept of Facial Contortion._ `Pym returned him a fixed smile over
eyes blazing with fury.' (Lois McMaster Bujold, _A Civil Campaign_, 1999)
[CB]
     _Light of Other Days Dept._ `She saw through its "eyes", which were
packets of specialized nerves designed to collect information from a
spectrum far exceeding human comprehension, from light waves now unseen
but which were common when the planet was young and newly cooled.'
(William R. Trotter, _Warrener's Beastie_, 2006) [DL]
     _Dept of Teleporting Sweat, Crossed Eyes and X-Ray Vision._ `Sweat
rolled down the woman's face as she spoke, and beaded on the narrow face
of the other man present.' `His eyes popped open, and for a moment they
stared at each other almost nose to nose.' `Perhaps it was the hangdog
way they sat, shoulders slumped, eyes on the ground under their boots.'
(all Robert Jordan, _The Fires of Heaven_, 1993) [CL] []_ Serious
Mainstream Dept, or My Vegetable Love Should Grow ..._ `He felt his
cashew become a banana, and then a rippled yam, bursting with weight.'
(John Updike, _Brazil_, 1994) [ADH]


### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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CONVENTION LONGLIST
Details at http://news.ansible.co.uk/ansilink.html#cons
London meetings -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/london.html
Overseas -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/conlisti.html
[] 2006
15-16 Oct 06, Octocon, Maynooth, Ireland
20-23 Oct 06, Cult TV 2006, Great Yarmouth
10-12 Nov 06, Armadacon 18, Plymouth
10-12 Nov 06, Novacon 36, Walsall
[] 2007
?? Feb 07, Picocon 24, London
2-4 Feb 07, D'Zenove Convention (filk), Basingstoke
23-25 Feb 07, Redemption (multimedia SF), Hinckley, Leics
10-11 Mar 07, P-Con 4, Dublin
6-9 Apr 07, Convoy (Eastercon), Liverpool
25-27 May 07, Confounding Tales! (crime/sf/horror pulp), Glasgow
20-22 Jul 07,Year of the Teledu, Leicester
10-12 Aug 07, Recombination/HarmUni III (Unicon/RPG/filk), Cambridge
30 Aug - 3 Sep 07, Nippon 2007 (Worldcon), Yokohama, Japan
21-23 Sep 07, Eurocon 2007, Copenhagen, Denmark
2-4 Nov 07, Novacon 37, Walsall
[] 2008
21-24 Mar 08, Orbital (Eastercon), Heathrow
Spring 08, Distraction, Newbury
6-10 Aug 08, Denvention 3 (Worldcon), Denver, USA


### ENDNOTES ###

APPARITIONS.
[] 13 October: Brum Group, Britannia Hotel, New St, Birmingham.
7.45pm. Pounds3 members, Pounds4 non-members. Contact bhamsfgroup at
yahoo co uk.
[] 2 November: Heffers (Cambridge) 2nd SF & Fantasy Evening, 6.30pm
on. Tickets Pounds2.00 redeemable against purchase. Contact Heffers
Bookshop, The Grafton Centre, Cambridge; 01223 568573; email
sarah.whyley at heffers co uk.
[] 3 November: Brum Group, as above. Speaker TBA.

RANDOM LINKS. Rather than save them up for _Ansible_ each month, I now
add topical links to a sidebar column on the links page:
 http://news.ansible.co.uk/ansilink.html

PAYPAL DONATION. Support _Ansible_ and keep the editor happy! Or just
buy his books ...
 http://ansible.co.uk/paypal.html
 http://ansible.co.uk/biblio.html
 http://ansible.co.uk/books/sexcol.html

STOP PRESS OBITUARY. After the paper version of this _Ansible_ had
been printed and posted, more bad news arrived. _Wilson `Bob' Tucker_
(1914-2006), much-honoured US sf author and unquestioned dean of
fandom as we know it, died on 6 October aged 91. Here's the initial
SFWA notice:
 http://www.sfwa.org/news/2006/wtucker.htm


Ansible 231 Copyright (c) Dave Langford, 2006. Thanks to Brian
Ameringen, Barbara Barrett, Steve Baxter, Chris Bell, Hamish Bruce,
Peter Coleborn, John Eggeling, Arthur D. Hlavaty, Martin Hoare, Duncan
Lawie, Christodoulos Litharis, Petrea Mitchell, Nonie Rider, David L.
Russell, Graham Sleight, Paul Treadaway, Martin Morse Wooster, and our
Hero Distributors: Rog Peyton (Brum Group), Janice Murray (NA), SCIS,
and Alan Stewart (Australia).  

7 Oct 06
-- 
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/
Latest nonfiction: =The SEX Column and other misprints= (Cosmos, 2005)
Latest fiction: =Different Kinds of Darkness= (Cosmos, 2004)