Strange Horizons ForumApril to June, 2003
I loved M. Thomas' 'Sock Heroes' - excellent tale. She's also a regular at Deep Magic (www.deep-magic.net) - excellent stuff!
Jeff <jwheeler@amberlin.com> Thanks for publishing M. Thomas's "Sock Heroes"; I liked it a lot and I'm glad to know, now, where the odd socks go.
SarahP <sprineasatmsn.com> "Sock Heroes" was beautiful. I never thought I'd be saddened by the death of a sock.
Simon <SimonOwens@comcast.net> Here is a point to consider concerning the recent editorial on sexuality. At the present time, there is an argument as to whether alternate lifestyles are dictated by personal choice, or by biological default (meaning, the genes have you locked into the behaviorial preference). I'm inclined to believe that it is biology that dictates whether a person is straight or not, but that issue is still up in the air insofar as the recent scientific work on the matter is concerned. If it isn't a matter of choice at present, what if it were possible to chose at a future point in time? What if you could subject yourself to a medical procedure that would change your orientation? Why would said character do this? What would be the benefits? What could be driving someone to say, switch from straight to a gay preference? Of course, the issue I've raised is based on the premise that at present, people don't really have a choice. Biology predetermines their preferences. Something to think about, I suppose. Respects, S. F. Murphy http://sfmurphy.journalspace.com
Steven Francis Murphy <colgenmurphy@yahoo.com> And not to undercut Jed's points, which I generally agree with, but the field has a surprisingly large mass of queer spec fic at this point; I stopped actively updating that list some years ago because I just couldn't keep up. Which I suppose makes the all-white, all-straight, etc. stories stand out even more as just plain odd.
Mary Anne <editor@strangehorizons.com> Thanks for all the thoughtful comments about my editorial about sexuality. I wanted to respond to the notion that we shouldn't expect there to be more people in the future who are other than straight and monogamous. I'd be happy to argue that question in a different forum, but it seems to me that in this context, it's beside the point. The fictional futures I'm talking about all presuppose that everything else is going to tend in the direction of greater personal freedom and choice. People in these societies can do anything they want; their opportunities and options are limitless. These futures almost never portray women being relegated to subservient roles, for example, without some sort of explanation of why things have gone backwards. There's almost never a taboo in such fiction against interracial romance. There's even sometimes interspecies romance. The cultures portrayed are open, tolerant in the extreme of individual quirks and diversity, and completely egalitarian. And yet, in this one respect, they're less diverse than modern Western societies. If the author made that an intentional choice, it's totally legitimate. Without trying hard, I can think of a dozen scenarios that would result in a straight future. But I've never seen an author make such a scenario explicit. So my conclusion tends to be that the author simply didn't think about it. The unmarked state is straight and monogamous (among other things); my guess is that it never occurs to most authors to think about including other types of characters. Definitely a good point about potential consequences, Kasi. But I think this is an area where the more common such things become, the less noticeable they'll be. For example, it's become practically de rigueur for the female lead in romantic comedy movies to have a gay best friend; mainstream audiences aren't surprised by that any more. Perhaps if there were (for example) more gay characters in speculative fiction, readers wouldn't be surprised by that either.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> While I do appreciate the concern over a lack of alternate sexual lifestyles in much of the fiction being written right now, particularly given that historically there have always been a wide range of sexual preferences (public and otherwise), I think that there are certain challenges that authors must face when they choose to include 'gay, lesbian, and kinky.' While the world is becoming more open to alternate desires, many sexual orientations (particularly the 'kinky' ones) are something of a novelty and an author including them, even in the background, risks having their true plot overshadowed by the social and political consequences of the persuasion of a bit character. This becomes even more important when a main character is chosen as the focal point for the introduction of something new and risque. I'm certainly not saying it can't be done - John Varley did an exceptional job in Steel Beach - but that it's a tall order for a new author who's simply trying to tell a story. Too many people are far too willing to read too much into the inclusion of a gay or lesbian character. It's often assumed that by that inclusion, the author is somehow trying to make a statement or to pass judgement. On the other hand, very few people seem to notice, letalone comment on, a lack of such characters. I truly would applaud authors who choose to include such diversity in their novels as it does add to the overall picture they're painting. I just don't want to minimize the potential consequences of the undertaking. For another well-done example of alternate sexuality in a science fiction environment, read The Metamorphosis Of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams. It's only available online at this time and can be downloaded for free. Just do a search for the title. Be advised: the author has put a content warning at the beginning. Heed it. Williams deals with extreme sexuality as a significant character development tool and he doesn't mince words or thoughts. If you have a squeamish streak, think twice. If you don't, be prepared for a potentially very good read.
Kasi <rob@digitalgenesis.ca> I just read Alexei Panshin's Masque World, and I admit to being a bit disappointed. There seemed to be no real plot, conflict, complications, any of that. I read Star Well some years ago, and I recall there being more to it than that, but then I was a teenager... As far as sex in the future, I think that it will probably swing back and forth. I always liked Howe & Strauss's generational cycle theory, which suggests a cycle of generation types and eras which cover roughly a human lifetime...so in any one person's life, they see what may look like linear trends, but are just part of the sine wave. Anyone who thinks that sexual mores are getting freer all the time might be just looking at their own, highly urbanized, corner of the world. Here in Alberta, the premier is still fighting(with, presumably, some support)against legalizing gay marriage. And we're still way ahead(in that respect)of, say, Morocco. Some things do progress in at least a monotonic fashion(technology, for instance), if not at a constant speed. But even if "progress" remains a constant, its definition constantly changes.
Alfvaen About the whole sex issue: why the assumption that "alternative lifestyles" will continue to grow? Sure, they're on the rise now; but they certainly haven't been throughout all of human history, and I see no reason to assume that the trend is permanent. On the matter of books, the (so to speak) most alternative book I've read is Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee, where everyone (including the main character) changes sex several times. On the other hand, the novel seems to actually repudiate that lifestyle, so I don't know if that would count.
Rose I loved "5 Things of Beauty." I thought the plot (a man moving through the stages of grief following a breakup) was subtle but beautifully done, and I found the story very moving and coherent in the manner of all the best short-shorts--satisfying without over-explanation. Just my 2 cents! -Liz
Liz F. <lizfremont99@yahoo.com> "Five things of beauty" would have made a better poem rather than a story. Mostly because it didn't have a very concrete plot, or a very evident conflict (except the elusive man vs. his own memories). Written in a random shot of scenes which is common with stories these days, I don't think it pulled together in the end. If someone was asked to summarize this story s/he would be hard pressed to do so: "Well...um...it's about these things this man finds on his doorstep that relate to his past." To which the other would say: "And...?" Leaving the summarizer with "Well, that was basically it." So to boil it down: Good imagery, bad plot and structure. Writer Critic.
Writer Critic <writercritic@aemail4u.com> Many thanks to Jed Hartman for his spot-on article, "The Future of Sex." I too have noticed that plausible and honest "if this goes on" approaches to human sexuality are conspicuous by their absence in otherwise forward-looking sf. As unreasonable taboos and preconceptions continue to drop away (however slowly), sexuality in the future is bound to be as openly diverse -- and celebrated, we can hope -- as any other sfnal social or technological advance. If bod-modding technology really does become commonplace, who among us believes that among the very first ways it will be employed won't be to enhance/diversify/custom-tune individual and group sexuality? While sexual issues weren't the purpose of the telling, my December '93 Asimov's story "Being Human" still generates friendly letters from readers who ask if I've written other stories that touch on healthy polyamory or "post-human" physical sexual diversities. (The answer: wait a bit, I'm working on it.) For anyone interested, it's online at my web site: http://www.sff.net/people/MBourne/Beinghuman.htm. Thanks again, Jed and Mary Anne. --Mark Bourne
Mark Bourne <mbourne@sff.net> "Anyway, human-future-in-space stories almost always postulate some variation on a certain set of technological and social advances. They're not just mirroring today's society; they're extrapolating various trends in today's society. If anything, such extrapolation should result in those futures being more sexually diverse rather than less." True and not true; characters and settings in SF must still be recognizable to the reader, or you'll alienate readers. The better writers in SF move beyond this easily; you just don't notice. John Varley did that pretty well, and I've read some shorts with really alien, yet human characters I could relate to. At worst, you get ... Star Trek with the Klingons standing in for Soviet Russia.
Brian Dunbar <economic_refugee@yahoo.com> Thanks for the comments, Brian. I have two responses: 1. You're right that we can't assume that today's sexual diversity will continue into the future, which is why I said "unless there's a good reason." If the author postulates that genetic engineering, a mysterious plague, or social persecution has eliminated everyone who isn't straight or monogamous, that's valid, but I'd like to see it mentioned in the story if that's what the author had in mind. 2. If SF is a mirror of today's society, then all the more reason that it should reflect the diversity of today's society. Anyway, human-future-in-space stories almost always postulate some variation on a certain set of technological and social advances. They're not just mirroring today's society; they're extrapolating various trends in today's society. If anything, such extrapolation should result in those futures being more sexually diverse rather than less. Thanks for the mention of Midnight Robber, Susan! Good example; I'm embarrassed not to have thought of it.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> Hi folks, I really like the layout of your site, simple but elegant. I also think you post an interesting selection of fiction and poetry. I've caught most of the stories over the last few months, and my only request is thus: I'd love to see a few more traditional adventure stories tossed into the mix, the kind where the characters are fun and the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. Thanks for listening, and keep up the great site!
Jason Pepper Lost and Found by Sandra McDonald. I really enjoyed this story. I wouldn't have posted, but to address the idea that it is fantasy. It isn't fantasy, nor is it 'hard' science fiction. Because the narrator of the story does not understand 'how' the device works, doesn't make the story fantasy. In a S.F. masterpiece, "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells, the narrator of the story has no clue as to how 'The Traveler's' device worked, nor does Wells feel the need to explain it to us, yet it is considered science fiction of the best kind. Thank you for writing your wonderful story, Sandra McDonald!
smirc <smirc@excite.com> I enjoyed Bruce Boston's poem "Origami Rockets." It captures the wonder and hope of childhood perfectly.
Catherine A. Callaghan <cac@ling.ohio-state.edu> "I feel that societies portrayed in fictional future worlds should be at least as sexually diverse as modern American society, unless there's a good reason for them not to be." Two thoughts, Jed. -Trends and attitudes towards sex tend to yo-yo across the spectrum, over time. There is no reason to assume that what is happening in our culture here-now will be happening in the future. -SF (I've always felt) is not there to predict the future .. it fails rather badly if so (where _are_ my flying cars?) It is a mirror held up to present day society. Which is a fancy way of saying SF is a game of 'What If'.
Brian Dunbar <economic_refugee@yahoo.com> Hi -- In response to "The Future of Sex," I'd like to bring up Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson. There is a committed sexual relationship between three characters -- two men and a woman -- that was beautifully, simply there.
Susan Stinson HI -- I am impressed with the "future" series you are running. Very interesting. I would like to refer Strange Horizons readers to an article by Bill Joy, CEO of Sun Microsystems called (1993-99): "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us" The Conde Nast Publications . A warning about bio-tech and robotics from a man who runs a company in the business of tech. L.
Lezlie <lezlielioness@bytewright.com> "The Island of Varos" was beautifully written, but the end left me going "huh?" Snd the evil nuns were rather annoying.
a reader Vonda McIntyre has been known to have characters with broader sexual orientations in her science fiction from time to time. William Gibson in his Locus interview mentions that in 1975 you couldn't have sold a novel that accurately predicted the world in 2000, because too many major themes happened all at once. (AIDS, fall of communism, the internet, etc.) Any writer who makes the future as different - in as many ways - as it will undoubtedly be, will face considerable resistance to publication, and risk leaving his readers without an anchor. This is one reason why a "radically different" future world might look like an idealized 1950's suburban America just under the skin. Not a justification, clearly, but a reason.
Jonathan Laden <bookladen@aol.com> This was great to see (the discussion of Alexei Panshin's Anthony Villiers books). I have been awaiting the release of the Universal Pantograph for over 30 years now. Dedicated readers will recall the teaser for it on the back page of Masque World. It would be great if some publisher saw fit to put it out there. It would have been great if Panshin had managed to continue the series.
Rhys Wade <gwydion@vom.com> Maybe there's just a lull in alternative sexuality stories at the moment. I know that I have two stories coming out in anthologies this summer that include some of the themes Jed discussed in his editorial: "Walking Contradiction" will appear in Imaginings, from Pocket, and "Nohow Permanent" will appear in Imagination Fully Dilated: Science Fiction" from Fairwood Press and Electric Story. But I doubt that I'm the only person playing with these subjects. I notice a lot of alternative sexuality in Liz Williams's work. It's very clear in Ghost Sister, for example.
Nancy Jane Moore <nancyjane@earthlink.net> Thanks for the comments, Cliff! Funny you should mention Banks, though, because Excession was one of the books that sparked my editorial. The guy I saw as the primary human protagonist is male and aggressively heterosexual; there's an important sequence in which he's temporarily female (to say more would be a major spoiler for his character arc), but it felt to me like a male character putting on a temporary disguise for a very practical purpose, and he changes back as soon as possible. (The whole sequence seemed to me to indirectly support the binary and essentialist ideas of gender that I mentioned in the editorial.) His promiscuity seems to me to be portrayed as immaturity (another character wants him to grow up and be monogamous). And iIrc, no other high-profile human characters in the book exhibit much in the way of unusual sexuality, other than the fact that some of them have many short-term sexual partners (of the opposite gender). So I'm glad to hear that other Culture novels provide more variety; I've quite liked the two I've read, and I'm hoping to read the rest of them eventually.
Jed <fiction@strangehorizons.com> I enjoyed Jed's thoughtful piece about the future of alternative sexuality. I too have found few islands in the sea of SF literature showing what I would consider realistically broad spectra, or portraying societies based on different centers of the sexuality bell curve than that of current Western society. One good series that presumes a very different sexuality from current Western society is Iain M. Banks's Culture novels. In the Culture, the most common practice is for people to have whatever liaisons they wish with whomever they wish (a few are serially monogamous, but most seem to be some variant of bi/poly), and because sex change can be self-initiated with special genetically engineered glands, the cultural expectation is that most people will father one child and give birth to one child. That said, Banks points out that the Culture is not monolithic by any means, and its social norms change over time. The Player of Games (in print only in the UK, sadly) includes some of this detail as background to the story, although the protagonist is a bit retro (his friends bug him about it too). That book also takes our hero to an alien society with three genders, so it's an interesting read for that reason as well. Readers new to Banks should be warned that he can be brutal, insofar as very nasty things often happen to his characters.
Cliff Winnig <cwinnig-at-yahoo-dot-com> I'd suggest looking at the collective works of Spider Robinson and Robert Silverberg as a place to start. Perhaps Spider would consent to writing for cheese sandwiches again?
Kingu <kingu@yahoo.com> Thanks for all the comments about my editorial! I think, though, that the breadth of topics I was touching on may have partly obscured my primary point, so I figured I'd restate that point more succinctly here: I feel that societies portrayed in fictional future worlds should be at least as sexually diverse as modern American society, unless there's a good reason for them not to be.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> I suspect that a lot of writers shy away from unusual sexual themes because they can be difficult to market. There seems to have been a significant broadening of strange sexual horizons in our society just in the past ten years alone, but it might take some time before publishers feel comfortable with it. I look forward to the coming changes!
Stephanie Dray <stephdray@msn.com> I really enjoyed Severna Park's "The Island of Varos", especially the setting-induced style. Very beautifully written. And the illustration by Janet Chui is stunning (though I may be a bit biased since I'm now engaged to her). I was actually with Janet in Singapore the last last weeks while she was working on it, and am glad to see that it looks so good on the screen.
Jason Erik Lundberg <jlundberg@mindspring.com> "Fear succeeds where courage fails," said Luz. This was a very interesting quote. I enjoyed this story immensely. A kind of new-age first person style of writing and soft fantasy. The characterization was exceptional and let the reader feel for the characters The man, I found myself liking. He was kind in a more human way, which means that he had his crudeness and he wasn't a saint, but past all this, I think there was something good in him. The deadliness in the main character's innocence added an especially nice touch, her talons coming up in a sweep of violence and taking all the man's confidence away and proving that he, like everyone else, was still mortal. Enjoyable, good work.
writercritic <writercritic@aemail4u.com> Ben's story "Droplet" in F&SF I think had some mature themes that had to do with reversal of sexes. If I remember correctly, his main characters could change their sex as they pleased and continually interacted with each other.
Simon Owens <nowhoofnit@aol.com> Thanks for an interesting editorial, Jed. I was glad to see the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards mentioned. I'll also point out two other resources for GLBT content lists/recommendations: Wavelengths, an online review magazine focused on genre works with GLBT content; and the Lambda Sci-Fi Recommended Reading List at http://www.lambdasf.org/lsf/books/. Ten years ago, it was close to impossible to find alternative sexualities in the genre, and what you could find was usually fantasy written by women. That's been changing slowly and steadily. For 2003, we have 29 Best Novel nominations for the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards - still I think a less than representational number, but very obvious progress. Interestingly and unsurprisingly enough, only 1/3 of those are by men - and only about 40% of them are what I would identify as science fiction as opposed to fantasy. It's still, mostly, an area being explored by women writers, and through the fantastical. I think the limited number of men exploring these issues has more to do with the baggage of our current society and the unfortunate fear that it will be assumed that to explore GLBT issues as a male writer you must *be* GLBT yourself and that this is somehow a thing to be avoided. Again, this is changing. I look at things like the Bending the Landscape anthologies where "mainstream" genre authors were given an opportunity to explore the other and where some fantastic stories resulted. Give it 5-10 more years and I think much of the baggage will be gone and we'll see more work dealing with GLBT human characters. - Rob Gates Director, Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
Rob Gates <rgates@wavelengthsonline.com> "For example, how come we so rarely see human characters in extreme-body-mod worlds who've cast off all physical signs of gender, who've turned off the hormones and gotten rid of the secondary sexual characteristics?" Greg Egan's already been mentioned once, but since you asked specifically about asexuality, I thought I'd mention that a central character in Distress is asexual. In what I thought a nice note, Egan separates sexual desire from the desire for physical contact and affection; the asexual character is by no means unloving or contact-averse.
Dan Percival <dan_percival@yahoo.com> On Sex and Sci Fi.... I've written a story with a gay, black, main character-- I'll send it into this site, to see if it passes the grade. But, more to the point, I wrote this character gay not because I said to myself "why don't I have a gay character" but because the CHARACTER was GAY. It was necessary. Gayness has a culture and blackness has a culture-- those things make it necessary for a story to NEED these characters, for those traits to shine. Same for white characters, asian, and kinky. For the record, I'm a kinky black male.
D. Patterson <Absolut_calm@yahoo.com> Re: 'The Future of Sex' "So if you have suggestions of titles and authors that seem relevant to what I'm looking for, please post a note in our forum." R.A. Heinlein; all of his fiction from the 60s and up had mature themes. John Varley's '8 Worlds' series. I'm pretty happy when an author _doesn't_ make a big deal of sex/gender/race/preference; it just comes out (or not) in the narrative. In Heinlein's 'I Will Fear No Evil' one of the (female) characters is black .. maybe. V.M. Smith ('Stranger') is sometimes depicted in cover art as a blonde Aryan but his ancestory doesn't really allow that. In Varley's '8 Worlds' gender changing (and body modification) is so common-place it's not remarked on unless the story centers on the issue.
Brian Dunbar <economic_refugee@yahoo.com> Regarding Jed Hartman's request for non-het SF, have you read "Schild's Ladder" by Greg Egan? This may be the most radical answer to the gender/orientation question yet written.
Ron Midthun I loved "Lost and Found"! Hit the spot - funny, thoughtful, imaginative, and lots of fun. Keep up the good work, Sandra!!!
Stephanie <stephanie1209@aol.com> Whatever its category, I enjoyed "Lost and Found." I can see where a reader wanting an edgier treatment could be disappointed, but I felt it did a fine job on its own terms - I was entertained by the range of reactions it depicted within the family to both the existence of the machine and the kinds of questions/answers it elicited/offered.
Peg Duthie <plduthie@hotmail.com> writercritic: For what it's worth, I'd label "Lost and Found" as fantasy rather than science fiction; but people often disagree about such classifications. To answer your other question: alas, we don't currently have any Brian Hopkins stories scheduled to appear in SH.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> The interview with Brian Hopkins was pretty neat. I got a chance to read his latest publication, El Dias Los Muertos, a month or two ago and it was very good. Brian doesn't have any stories scheduled to appear in this magazine, does he?
writercritic <writercritic@aemail4u.com> Are there other articles which may address the Magnetotactic Bacteria dominating areas with hydrocarbon seepage?
Ted Breaux <tbreaux@algxmail.com> Sandra McDonald's story, Lost and Found, is one of the finest short stories I have read in quite a while. And as the fiction editor for Brushing Magazine, I read quite a few! Write on, Sandra.
Darlyn Finch I'd label this story as extremely soft SF, almost on the brink of being modern fantasy. An interesting tale with an interesting idea. There was nothing particularly spectacular about it that sparked my sense of wonder but at the same time I didn't find myself annoyed with it either. There were parts of it I found a bit corny, but it could have been worse. Incidentally, Sci Fiction is also running a story this week that has to do with God and his motives and Heaven and all that, "The Book of Martha". That story is quite horrible and I'd say that even though "Lost and Found" isn't top notch, it's definitely better.
writer critic <writercritic@aemail4u.com> To Leah Bobet: Loved your poem -- {Mama's boy} - just perfect!
Katrina Kidder <kkkidder@commkey.net> TRAVEL BY JARGON--I wonder if FTL is such a staple to SF because it takes the incomprehensible hugeness of the universe and shrinks it down so that history might repeat itself. That, I think, is a mistake.
Andy Miller <kidscroll@hotmail.com> Ben, that was exactly what I was going to say! "Fetch" is a lovely story; thank you for publishing it and Dave Moles for writing it.
Heather Shaw <gryffyn@there.net> "Fetch" made me cry. At work.
Benjamin Rosenbaum <ben@digitaladdiction.com> Hey Writer Critic: Of course you didn't! I really must read that. I did have a poem in "Weird Tales" about a hundred years ago called "Abduction." I am glad you responded to "Dead Letter."
Samantha Henderson <shenderson01@earthlink.net> Hope I didn't offend you Samantha. I think I remember reading a story of yours in weird tales that was quite good, or maybe your bio just triggered a memory that doesn't exist. Your name does ring a bell though. Your story was a neat idea, but if you read King's "Everything's Eventual" I'm pretty certain you'll see the similarities.
writer critic Writer Critic: always nice to be compared to Steven King, although for the record I haven't read "Everything's Eventual."
Samantha Henderson <shenderson01@earthlink.net> Jennifer Pelland's "For the Plague Thereof Was Exceeding Great" provided a despairing glimpse into a future very much possible in the wake of recent scares over Anthrax, West Nile and SARS. In America since 9-11, we are all part of the cult of fear which Jen so eloquently portrays in her story. It would do us all good to remember to reach out to someone, no matter how scared we are, as Kathleen finally does in the end of the story. I found this to be a very moving piece and look forward to seeing more of Jen's work in the future.
Misha A wonderful poem by Leah Bobet and wonderful fiction by Jay Lake and Jennifer Pelland!
marymary The short story "dead letter" wasn't all that bad. It reminded me too much of Stephen King's "Everything's Eventual" though, if King hadn't published that story I would be giving this one a much higher rating. Unfortunately, though, there were just too many similarities.
writer critic Father Moran? or Father Moron? First of all, the Christian religion contradicts itself but since the anti-critic could point out that the history of Christianity is littered with contradictions we'll skip this (I'm not bashing on Christians. I am a Christian.) Too much time was spent on the setting. And the setting was not believable. Resorting to logic: The "crazies" were not even crazy. They were normal people who were sprayed. So why would these normal people who feared the sprayers be drawn to their religion-based cult? Why would they go and join the people who caused their death? What was the logic behind the cult that everyone would be "saved"? Why did they assume that when the people were sprayed they would turn themselves over to the cult? The offenders are not sneaky in any way. They walk out in the open and spray people and we aren't given any evidence that the authorities are involved in arresting them. Evidently they walk up and spray a person. The person accepts his/her doom and the perpetrator walks away, soon followed by the newly infected person. And then the end. Obviously meant to be heartwarming. Sadly, it fell short of this and only reached the stage of being corny and improbable. I'm sorry, but this story didn't work for me.
writer critic Abby, Greg and Dan: Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it.
Samantha <shenderson01@earthlink.net> "Dead Letter" - The subject matter of this story really appealed to me, and it was well written. Reminiscent of Stephen King's short story "Everything's Eventual." Nice job!
Abby Thanks, Ken -- glad it worked for you.
David Moles <dm@chrononaut.org> David... Fetch is awesome. You did a fabulous job making me feel for your characters. -Ken
Kenneth Brady <ken@wordos.com> Nice story! I wish I could make a living from my dreams.
Greg Clifford <cysavant@aol.com> "Short and Stylish April" has been fascinating, and Samantha Henderson's "Dead Letter" was a lovely way to round it out. To my eye, it gracefully visited a classic theme -- no small feat!
Dan Percival <dan underscore percival at yahoo> Re:Beguines By Lezlie Kinyon I truly enjoyed this article. Interesting and very well written. Lezlie Kinyon is a tremendously talented writer as proven by her published works in many genres. Thank you, Lezlie, and thank you "Strange Horizons" for publishing her work. Dorothy Paula Freda editor/publisher The Pink Chameleon On Line & E-books by Paula Freda
Dorothy Paula Freda <dpfreda@juno.com> Re: Journaling editorial. I wanted to thank you for posting this as it was interested to see from a SF writing perspective. I kept a journal long ago (back in 96 and 97) that was off of my clan (Gaming) page, but only my close friends knew about it and read it. But they liked it. I stopped updating for various reasons. When I found G-blog (see link) I was very impressed with the site and joined up. I think it is an interesting community and found it before LJ. LJ is okay, and I have an account there too, mainly just for being on friends list (for filters that people use) and to put entries that are filtered. I personally prefer G-Blog, for the comments tracker for other people's blogs. I encourage anyone looking for a welcoming community to check out G-Blog. Most of the users are gamers and fans of Speculative Fiction. There is an international community and the admin is approachable. And besides, I'm hoping for discussion on this editorial and blogs in general. Dawn B. (Zhaneel, Zhaneel69 on LJ)
Dawn B Thank you, Richard, for your kind comments about my article "Manhole Covers in Space". I certainly found doing the research for it enlightening -- I'd swallowed all that Sputnik propaganda hook, line and sinker ;). Interestingly, SH were emailed recently by someone who may have a memory of the same (or a similar) article. They think they may have read it in a Chicago newspaper, if that helps, some time after Sputnik was launched -- although their recollection is of ball bearings being blasted out in all directions by the detonation of an artillery shell. I'd be very interested in any further information.
Debbie <debbie_moorhouse@yahoo.co.uk> I very much enjoyed Gavin Grant's new story, "You and Me". Parts of it reminded me a lot of The Matrix, and others of how it might feel to be senile or have Alzheimer's. A really interesting look at perception, and the Uncertainty Principle (that you alter from the simple act of observing). Cool, thought-provoking fiction.
Jason Erik Lundberg <jlundberg@mindspring.com> Hello, I am Hank Smith, Assistant in Publicity with Torcon3, The World Science Fiction Convention to be held August 28th-September 1st, 2003 in Toronto. Torcon will have a Movie Room, an Anime Room, an Art Show, 1 or more Game Rooms, 1 or more LARPS, a Masquerade, and more! Please check out www.torcon3.on.ca. Come one, come all!
HankSmith <hankscifi@hotmail.com> Ditto Tim and M.! What a nice surprise to be on the list with y'all... (Also, may I remark that it was very kind of the SH potentates to list "Other Cities" as one medium-sized piece instead of twelve tiny ones...) Ben
Benjamin Rosenbaum <ben@digitaladdiction.com> Concerning the 10/21/02 article "Manhole Covers in Space", here's a web page about the Bumper-WAC rocket combination (a WAC corporal mounted on a V2) that achieved an altitude of 244 miles in 1949: http://www.spaceline.org/rocketsum/bumper-wac.html The page says that the upper stage (the WAC corporal) was the first manmade object in space. It fell back to Earth, so of course the claim depends on what altitude you accept as in space. Author Debbie Moorhouse does a nice job of pointing out the ambiguity in the phrase "first manmade object in space". I'd guess that many people mean the first object to go "permanently" into space, since Sputnik I is often cited. But that satellite long ago re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. I believe the oldest object STILL in space is the first Vanguard satellite, which had an unusually high perigee. Maybe "permanent" should be replaced by "orbited the Earth at least once or escaped". But I began researching this subject today because I've been bothered for years by a memory from the early 50's. I got interested in space in 1952, when I was 8. I have a clear memory of an article which described the launch of a research rocket, which near its peak altitude, exploded one or more shaped charges, which MAY have propelled some aluminum disks into space. I further recall that the purpose of the research was actually to fire the disks back into the atmosphere, to test re-entry problems. But the scientists "accidentally" aimed the shaped charges up, just so they would have the pleasure of launching the first manmade objects off the Earth. I believe this article was in Time Magazine of 1955 or 1956, but I'm not positive. My information sources at that time were limited to Life, Time, and three daily newspapers - the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Kankakee Daily Journal. I guess this is the usual way internet rumors get started - sorry. I'll try to find the article in Time and let you know my findings. MSN Search for "shaped charge" and "aluminum disk" yielded nothing relevant
Richard Carroll <Richard_Carroll@ci.sf.ca.us> No, Randall, thank you, for allowing us to feature your beautiful work! :-)
Mary Anne <editor@strangehorizons.com> I have to second Tim. I am honored, and in such good company! :) Thanks, everyone.
M. Hogarth <mcah@stardancer.org> Thank you to all who voted for "The Science Fiction Art of Randall Ensley" as the best gallery for 2002! Good luck to all in 2003! Mary Anne, a special thanks to you for allowing me to be featured in Strange Horizons.
Randall Ensley <randallensley@hotmail.com> Good heavens! And I didn't even campaign! :) Thanks to all the readers, and to the hard-working staff at Strange Horizons. I'm honored.
Tim Pratt <timpratt@sff.net> Congrats to Tim Pratt for winning the readers' choice for best story! "Little Gods" is extraordinary, even for Tim, and I'm glad I'm not the only one to think so.
Jason Erik Lundberg <jlundberg@mindspring.com> Excellent interview by Katherine Macdonald with Cory Doctorow. He's an interesting guy, and she sidestepped the usual stupid questions to put together a dynamite interview. Thanks to everyone involved!
Sherwood Smith <Sherwood@sff.net> Jed, Mary Anne, I think you (and Susan) should put together that Clarion for editors. You can be the Editors-in-Residence and put aspiring editors go through an intense, grueling several weeks of writing guidelines, reading slush, writing acceptances and rejections, dealing with recalcitrant authors and would-be contract lawyers, and so on. I volunteer to be the Guest Writer and also help provide slush.
David Moles <dm@chrononaut.org> Yeah, the Friends list at LJ is mighty convenient. For those unfamiliar with it, the idea is that it lets you see all the recent entries by all the journalers whose journals you read, all at once on one page. So instead of having to load ten different journals, one at a time (or 200 if you're Nick), and discover that most of them haven't updated since last time you checked, you can load one page that shows all of them. And, as others have noted, you can choose from a wide variety of looks (even if you don't have a paid account); I'm very pleased with the fairly elegant minimalist look I've chosen for mine. For my own journal, though, I like the amount of control that my homebrewed system provides. (Though if I'd known about Movable Type, I'd almost certainly have just used that instead.) And I like having my entries hosted on my own site. And I get most of the advantages of having a LiveJournal by providing an RSS feed of my journal, which LJ (thanks to Josh) picks up as syndicated content; that way people can read my journal on their own LJ Friends pages. A substantial percentage of the SH authors who have journals are hosted at JournalScape; another fine option for someone wanting to start a journal. And then there are old standbys like blogspot and blogger.
Jed Hartman <fiction@strangehorizons.com> Funny; as a control freak, I particularly like LiveJournal, because it allows me to control and standardize the layout of my friends' journal entries (as they appear on my friends page). Becoming an LJ paid user reportedly eliminates the lag problems because you gain access to their limited-to-subscribers faster servers; you also gain lots more customization options. So while having a non-LJ journal allows more (or total) control of one's personal journal, I find reading others' journals much easier on LJ. Plus, it's only one page to load to read all of them at once. On the downside, I don't get to see what aesthetic style, layout, and format choices each of my friends makes, but I've never considered that nearly so important as the content. Perhaps RSS feeds will someday make this a moot point and make everyone happy?
Will Quale <webmaster@strangehorizons.com> I'd like to add that I don't really care for LiveJournal either -- it's slow, unwieldy, and not easy to use (unless a paid user). I've been really happy with JournalScape. 200 journals a day, Nick? Damn...
Mike Jasper <mjasper@nc.rr.com> I guess I don't really get the whole 'friends' list concept. I read maybe two dozen journals, and only about six or so regularly, and I'm pretty much at my limit. So I'm hardly ever looking for other journals to read. Clearly some people get a lot out of livejournal, but my own site does everything I want it to do. Sorry, Josh. There's also that control freak aspect... :-)
Mary Anne <editor@strangehorizons.com> Livejournal templates are ugly. However, members with paid accounts can make their own designs or integrate their journals into their own pages, while retaining the friends list and other goodies. I read about 200 ljs or so, according to the size of my friends list (a misnomer -- I'd shove about half of the people on it into a woodchipper if I could get away with it) and thanks to that friends list feature, never actually see their templates anyway. I only see the list as I want it.
Nick Mamatas <nillo@agoron.com> January to March, 2003, Comments October to December, 2002, Comments July to September, 2002, Comments January to March, 2002, Comments October to December, 2001, Comments July to September, 2001, Comments
January to March, 2001, Comments
September to December, 2000, Comments
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