FSF, March 2009
Page 19
"For a lot of good reasons, probably."
The boy returned to the programs.
Shadow-Below asked, “So what did you do while I was gone?"
No answer.
"Did you study with the computer?"
Silence.
Outside, a robot was pulling away from the mailbox.
Shadow-Below stepped outside again, walking with slow deliberation. If somebody asked what he was thinking, he wouldn't have been able to answer. He felt empty and past deliberations—a piece of flotsam carried along by vast, unknowable currents—and when he opened the box and found the envelope with his name and barcode address, but no sender record, he felt nothing. He opened the envelope and peered inside long enough to be certain that the cash-card was inside, its memory recognizing his touch and scent and instantly disgorging its present balance.
Not a fortune, no. But quite a lot of money all the same.
Still numb and cold, he walked back inside the trailer and past the boy without looking at him, killing the LCD with his empty hand. Then into the silence, he said, “You need a shower."
"Okay."
Shadow-Below turned and said, “Now."
The boy stared at him with a hard, level expression. Were they going to come to blows over this?
"The world is on fire,” his uncle said.
Raven sat up a little straighter.
Shadow-Below paused to breathe, and then with a tone of helpless resignation, he said, “You and me, together ... and I don't know how ... but we're going to have to try to put out this fire...."
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Department: FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION MARKET PLACE
BOOKS-MAGAZINES
S-F FANTASY MAGAZINES, pulps, books, fanzines. 96 page catalog. $5.00. Robert Madle, 4406 Bestor Dr., Rockville, MD 20853
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20-time Hugo nominee. The New York Review of Science Fiction. www.nyrsf.com Reviews and essays. $4.00 or $40 for 12 issues, checks only. Dragon Press, PO Box 78, Pleasantville, NY 10570.
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Spiffy, jammy, deluxy, bouncy—subscribe to Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet. $20/4 issues. Small Beer Press, 176 Prospect Ave., Northampton, MA 01060.
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Discover a new sci-fi epic!
Constellation Chronicles
www.constellationchronicles.com
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Latest from RAMBLE HOUSE: The Triune Man by Richard A. Lupoff and Automaton, a 1928 essay on robotics. www.ramblehouse.com 318-455-6847
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For a taste of Harvey Jacobs’ new novel, Side Effects, check out www.celadonpress.com. Gahan Wilson's cover art looks a bit like the Mona Lisa's prom date the morning after, and hopefully, what's between the covers lives up its promise! Ask your doctor....
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Weaving a Way Home: A Personal Journey Exploring Place and Story from Univ. of Michigan Press. “No one with a working heart will fail to be moved.” -Patrick Curry
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ALL 11 ISSUES OF F&SF FROM 2008: Get the whole year's worth of F&SF in good condition w/o mailing labels for $24 + $4 p&h ($18 to Can., $31 overseas). Same offer for issues from 2007. F&SF, PO Box 3447, Hoboken, NJ 07030.
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Do you have Fourth Planet from the Sun yet? Signed hardcover copies are still available. Only $17.95 ppd from F&SF, PO Box 3447, Hoboken, NJ 07030.
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SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5, CATTLE 0. The first 58 F&SF contests are collected in Oi, Robot, edited by Edward L. Ferman and illustrated with cartoons. $11.95 postpaid from F&SF, PO Box 3447, Hoboken, NJ 07030.
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MISCELLANEOUS
If stress can change the brain, all experience can change the brain. www.undoingstress.com
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Support the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund. Visit www.carlbrandon.org for more information on how to contribute.
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The Jamie Bishop Scholarship in Graphic Arts was established to honor the memory of this artist. Help support it. Send donations to: Advancement Services, LaGrange College, 601 Broad Street, LaGrange, GA 30240
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Space Studies Masters degree. Accredited University program. Campus and distance classes. For details visit www.space.edu.
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Got Stikfas? Articulated, Customizable, Collectable Action Figures. Stop Motion, Artist's Reference, Hobby, Fun! www.orbscube.com
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For sale or donation: One sculpture by Severo Munoz. The first person who takes it away can have it. I just want it gone. 201-876-2551.
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Prisoner, ISO gamer penpals. Will answer all letters. Will never ask for money. Daniel Herbert, 310727; GRCC; 901 Corrections Way; Jarratt, VA 23870.
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F&SF classifieds work because the cost is low: only $2.00 per word (minimum of 10 words). 10% discount for 6 consecutive insertions, 15% for 12. You'll reach 100,000 high-income, highly educated readers each of whom spends hundreds of dollars a year on books, magazines, games, collectibles, audio and video tapes. Send copy and remittance to: F&SF Market Place, PO Box 3447, Hoboken, NJ 07030.
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Curiosities: Transfinite Man by Colin Kapp (1964)
Colin Kapp's first novel, also known as The Dark Mind, energetically pits super-antihero Dalroi against a vast corporation offering illicit pleasure in private dimensions where the law can't reach. This outfit evidently cares nothing for public relations: It's called Failway.
What's curious about Transfinite Man is the density of homage to Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination. Not actual plagiarism, but repeated echoes of sf motifs from the saga of Gully Foyle.
Like the transformed Foyle, Dalroi is “an indestructible and highly intelligent gutter-rat” with inhumanly fast reflexes. He's deliberately marooned in deep space (here, an empty dimension) but has an unprecedented ability to teleport. He's driven beyond his limits by vengeance and a personal Id Monster, though his “HATE! HATE! HATE!” is less memorable than Foyle's “Vorga, I kill you filthy."
Moreover: Dalroi experiences synaesthesia, with space-exposure tasting of lemons and feeling like raking talons just as in Stars, while colors become shouted gibberish. One foe is “blind” but sees via radar and infrared. Henchmen who spill secrets trip their “psychosomatic trigger” and die ... again as in Stars. Dalroi acquires a uniquely destructive explosive—antimatter rather than PyrE. Finally, peppered with sodium ions from a terror weapon, he erupts into flame in precise imitation of Foyle's Burning Man.
Both novels end on a note of mystic transcendence and uncertainty about what our antihero will do next. Kapp's writing is no match for Bester's, but he clearly worked hard to channel the pyrotechnic inspiration of Stars.
—David Langford
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Department: Coming Attractions
Next month Bruce Sterling follows in the footsteps of some classic Italian fantasists and takes us on a wild descent into “Esoteric City.”
We've also got a bit of a tribute to the late Tom Disch lined up, with a pair of columns and a classic reprint all honoring this extraordinary writer.
We have lots more in the works, including stories by familiar names like John Kessel and Ron Goulart as well as newcomers like Mike O'Driscoll and Sarah Thomas.
Next month will mark a big change in the magazine—check out this month's editorial for the news. Then send in the subscription card or go to www.fandsf.com to make sure you won't miss any issues in this anniversary year.
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Visit www.fsfmag.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.
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