Analog Science Fiction and Fact - Aprli 2014
Page 22
From your reasoning, I take it, your profession of media purveyor has no effect at all on the direction society takes or the behavior of individuals within it? Interesting.
On to the stories in the September issue. I was shocked with "The Whale God." As far as I can tell, it isn't science fiction. It is concerned with saving beached whales and the pleasing of some nebulous entity which we never meet and are given no idea as to exactly what it is. This story might have belonged in Fantasy and Science Fiction, although even that magazine might not have seen it as either fantasy or science fiction.
The second story, "Full Fathom Five," gives absolutely no explanation of the discovery of a male penis on the bottom of a Europan ocean, or any reason whatsoever for the fact that it manufactures chemicals that are needed by the protagonist. We are left, presumably, with a "sense of wonder" and nothing else, and a vain hope that her coming rescuers will be able to figure out (a) where it came from, (b) what it is, (c) why it looks disgustingly like a male penis, (d) why it makes chemicals we want, (e) what the heck it is doing there, and (f) why there aren't any others like it. You know, I definitely would like to see a return of a "sense of wonder" to modern science fiction, but as an Analog reader I also like to see questions answered and problems solved... especially if they leave me with an even greater sense of wonder. It seems the author needed to read the special feature "Why High Concept Is Only The Beginning"—assuming a male penis at the bottom of a Europan ocean is indeed a "high concept."
You mentioned when you announced that you would be the new editor that you were going to take us in new directions. I really hope these two stories are not examples of the "new directions" you are going, because, like one of your predecessors, Ben Bova, you will find you can only take your readership so far.
We just aren't going to go in the direction of science fiction stories that aren't science fiction, or "sense of wonder" stories that are unfulfilling and leave us more with a sense of disgust.
The rest of the stories in the issue redeemed it, and hopefully, if they were your choices and not Stanley Schmidts', are an indication that at least you know what good Analog genre Science Fiction is.
Sincerely, John Young
Mr. Young,
Thanks for the congratulations.
I won't rehash my case from the editorials, but you're conflating quite a few disparate things—I've never heard a definition of "media" that included shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. Bottom line: there's simply no evidence that games or any other kind of media have the sort of insidious effect some would like to believe they do. Some people have a gut feeling that it should work that way, but disre-garding evidence in favor of a gut feeling is akin to trusting one's gut on the question of whether a bowling ball or a marble will hit the ground first when dropped from the same height. Guts can be wrong; evidence is what should guide us.
Anyway, I'm sorry you didn't like those pieces in the September issue. I did indeed pick all of the stories that month, so make of that what you will. I can tell, though, that you didn't finish "The Whale God," because you'd most certainly have understood it to be science fiction of the most realistic sort if you had. As much as I'd love to lay claim to being the first to publish Alec, he's had a number of stories with a similarly realistic science fictional bent appear in Analog over the years, and I'd be curious to know why this one, in particular, seems to exemplify a "new direction."
Dear Mr. Quachri,
I'm writing in hopes that something can be done about a major irritation every time I read the "Brass Tacks" section (for the last 55 years or so). I enjoy readers' comments on stories, but by the time I'm reading Brass Tacks, the stories being referred to are usually several months in the past, and I'll be darned if I can remember what the story was about, especially if the writer doesn't include the title of the story being commented on. I know you have to keep the issues to a certain number of pages to keep down printing costs, but if there were any way to insert the title of the story and a very brief plot description of some kind ("recently arrived colonists have to learn how to cope with mycorrhizoid spores that periodically rain down on the planet") it would greatly help my appreciation of the ideas expressed in the letters.
John C. Fortelka
Mr. Fortelka,
It's pretty unlikely that we'll be able to run a short synopsis every time someone refers to a story in Brass Tacks, but we'll do our best to make sure that the story's title, author, and issue of appearance is inserted in the letter that's discussing it.
* * *
UPCOMING EVENTS
Anthony Lewis | 360 words
NOTE: Membership rates and other details often change after we have gone to press. Check the websites for the most recent information.
25-28 April 2014
COSTUME-CON 32 (SF/Fsy costuming conference) at Toronto Sheraton Hotel, Toronto, ON, Canada. Membership: 18+ C$75 until 31 December 2013, C$85 until 31 March 2014; Youth/Student C$25; supporting C$25. Info: http://costumecon32.com/; Box 15042, 1507 Yonge Street, Toronto ON Canada M4T 1Z0.
2-4 May 2014
EERIECON 16 (Niagara Frontier area SF Conference) at Byblos Niagara Resort and Spa, Grand Island, NY. Guests of Honor: David B. Coe & Mark Leslie. Membership: 13+ $40 until 15 April 2014, $45 thereafter and at the door; 12 and under $10 until 15 April 2014, $15 thereafter and at the door. Info: http://www.eeriecon.org/; eeriecon@juno.com; Buffalo Fantasy League, PO Box 412,Amherst Branch, Buffalo, NY 14226.
2-4 May 2014
GAYLAXICON 2014/OUTLANTACON (GLBT & friends SF conference) at Marriott Century Center, Altanta, GA. Membership: $25 until 1January 2014. Info: http://outlantacon.org/;info@outlantacon.org.
23-26 May 2014
BALTICON 48 (Baltimore area SF conference) at Hunt Valley Inn, Hunt Valley, MD. Guest of Honor: Brandon Sanderson; Artist Guest of Honor: Halo Jankowski; Music Guest of Honor: Kenneth Anders. Membership: $65 adult; $33 child (6-12). Info: http://www.balticon.org/index.html; PO Box 686, Baltimore MD 212030686.
23-26 May 2014
WISCON 38 (Wisconsin are SF conference) at The Concourse Hotel, Madison, WI. Guests of Honor: Hiromi Goto and N.K. Jemisin. Membership: 18+ $50; 7-17 $20. Membership is capped at 1,000; there is no guarantee of at the door memberships. Info: http://www.wiscon.info/index.php.
30 May-1 June 2014
CONCAROLINAS (North/South Carolina area SF conference) at Charlotte Hilton University Place, Charlotte, NC. Guest of Honor: George R.R. Martin. Membership: 13+ $35; under 13 free with paying member. Info: http://www.concarolinas.org/; PO Box 26336, Charlotte NC 29221-6336.
14-18 August 2014
LONCON 3 (72nd World Science Fiction Convention) at International Conference Centre, ExCel, London Docklands, U.K. Guests of Honour: Iain M. Banks, John Clute, Chris Foss, Malcolm Edwards, Jeanne Gomoll, Robin Hobb, Bryan Talbot. Membership: until 30 April 2013. Attending: $160/£95 (adult); $110/£65 (young adult); $50/£30 (child); $3/£2 (infant); family $390/£230. Supporting: $40/£25. This is the SF universe's annual get-together. Professionals and readers from all over the world will be in attendance. Talks, panels, films, fancy dress competition—the works. Nominate and vote for the Hugos. Info: http://www.loncon3.org/; Loncon 3, 379 Myrtle Road, Sheffield S2 3QH, United Kingdom.
* * *
INFORMATION
364 words
TREVOR QUACHRI........................................ Editor
EMILY HOCKADAY......................... Editorial Assistant
MARY GRANT................................ Editorial Assistant
DEANNA MCLAFFERTY...... Editorial Admin Assistant
JAYNE KEISER............................ Typesetting Director
SUZANNE LEMKE......... Assistant Typesetting Manager
KEVIN DORIS.................................. Senior Typesetter
VICTORIA GREEN........................ Senior Art Director
CINDY TIBERI.................................. Production Artist
LAURA TULLEY.
............... Senior Production Manager
JENNIFER CONE....................... Production Associate
ABIGAIL BROWNING................................ Manager, Subsidiary Rights and Marketing
TERRIE POLY..................... Digital Publishing Manager
SANDY MARLOWE...................... Circulation Services
PETER KANTER
Publisher
BRUCE SHERBOW
Senior Vice President Sales, Marketing, and IT
CHRISTINE BEGLEY
Vice President, Editorial and Product Development
SUSAN MANGAN
Vice President, Design and Production
Published since 1930
First issue of Astounding
January 1930 ©
ADVERTISING SALES DEPARTMENT
Tel: (203) 866-6688 ext.442 ■ Fax: (203) 854-5962 ■ printadvertising@dellmagazines.com
Subscriber Services: 203-866-6688 Option #2
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE ONLY analog@dellmagazines.com
Cover design by Victoria Green Cover Art by Julie Dillon
Analog Science Fiction and Fact (Astounding), Vol. CXXXIV, No. 4, April 2014. ISSN 1059-2113, USPS 488-910, GST#123054108. Published monthly except for combined January/February and July/August double issues by Dell Magazines, a division of Crosstown Publications. One-year subscription $55.90 in the United States and possessions, in all other countries $65.90 (GST included in Canada), payable in advance in U.S. funds. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within eight weeks of receipt of order. When reporting change of address allow 6 to 8 weeks and give new address as well as the old address as it appears on the last label. Periodical postage paid at Norwalk, CT and additional mailing offices. Canadian postage paid at Montreal, Quebec, Canada Post International Publications Mail, Product Sales Agreement No. 40012460. (c) 2013 by Dell Magazines, a division of Crosstown Publications, all rights reserved. Dell is a trademark registered in the U.S. Patent Office. Protection secured under the Universal Copyright Convention. Reproduction or use of editorial or pictorial content in any manner without express permission is prohibited. All stories in this magazine are fiction. No actual persons are designated by name or character. Any similarity is coincidental. All submissions must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope, the publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.
POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: ANALOG SCIENCE FICTION AND FACT
6 Prowitt Street, Norwalk, CT 06855.
IN CANADA RETURN TO: Quad/Graphics Joncas, 4380 Garand, Saint-Laurent, Quebec H4R 2A3
Executive Office: Penny Press, 6 Prowitt St., Norwalk, CT 06855
Editorial: Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 267 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10007
Advertising and Subscriptions: Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 6 Prowitt Street, Norwalk, CT 06855.
Printed by Quad/Graphics, Taunton, MA U.S.A. (12/30/13)
* * *