by Gideon Marcus
Inside the Modern Home
Interior decorating has always been a passion of mine, and few times have been as exciting to be a fan of home interiors than today. Gone are the pastels and pillows of the 1950s; the mid 1960s are a time of bold colors, Space Age shapes, and stark contrasts.
Dig this brightly hued dining and living space, vivid in primary colors but also subdued with its Japanese influence and pink walls. This is a pad screaming for a party.
If you want something more intimate, how about this shaggy, flame-themed family room?
(just don't tell these happy folks that their Albers painting is hung sideways…)
Of course, not all innovation is beautiful. Concrete has foundationed the New Brutalism, and I hate it. I understand the new La Jolla campus of the University of San Diego is going to be done up in this shelter chic, which is a pity. It's a good thing I'll never have to attend classes there (Lorelei, on the other hand, might well).
Inside the Modern Magazine
The changing vista of science fiction offers its beauties and eyesores, as well. Thankfully, the latest issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction offers a suite of worlds that, though I may not want to live in all of them, most of them were worth a visit.
by Gray Morrow
Angels Unawares, by Zenna Henderson
Is there anything more eagerly awaited than a new story of The People? In this case, as always, Henderson delivers. I believe this is the earliest story in the series, chronologically, taking place as it does some time in the 19th Century. A young woman and her mining engineer husband are heading West to the bustling copper town of Margin when they come across the burned remains of a home in the wilderness. Four charred bodies are inside, incinerated by zealots as witches. But a child survives, shocked into muteness but possessed of extraordinary powers. The settlers adopt her, and thus ensues a tale of pain, maturity, and rebirth like only this author can tell.
Stories of The People feature a set group of ingredients, and yet somehow Henderson manages to make a delicious new recipe every time. Five stars. Bon appetit.
I Remember Oblivion, by Henry Slesar
In an effort to replace brutality with mercy in our penal system, a young murderer is taken off Death Row and given new memories. Harsh, abuse-filled past is swapped for bright sunny days and love in the hopes of creating a well-adjusted psyche.
But the widower of the killer's last victim has other plans…
There's a kernel of a good idea here: are we the sum of our memories, or is there more to the human soul? Unfortunately, Slesar, a screenwriter who has yet to really impress me, goes for the cheap gimmick. The result is the least satisfying piece of the issue.
Two stars.
by Gahan Wilson
Tomlinson, by Rudyard Kipling
The author of The Jungle Book has been dead for thirty years, long enough (Editor Ed Ferman suggests) for a poem of his to be uncontroversially reprinted. A story of life after death, it's Tomlinson this and Tomlinson that, and Tomlinson go away, as he is rejected by both Heaven and Hell for being a fellow who neither sinned nor achieved good deeds.
Pleasant enough. Three stars.
Lil, Rorrity, and A Foamin' Sea of Steam Beer, by Richard Olin
"Daniel Rorrity was a short, stubby…fisherman," begins the tale, and so it ends as well. In between, from his well-worn stool 'Roarey' regales Lil, the B-girl, of the adventures he'd had and the places he'd visited before his back was lamed. And one day, he swore (when the beers were many and the mood was high), he'd buy his own boat and sail the world with his lady love. Karl, the disdainful barkeep, inadvertently provides the impetus to transform a boastful sot into a captain of fantastic seas.
It's a lot more style than substance, but the style is lovely. Four stars.
White Night, by John Tomerlin
In the South of France, a lost hiker takes refuge in a battered auberge. The serving girl takes a shine to him, and they spend the night together. But the morning reveals a hideous transformation.
A reasonable piece of trivial horror, though if the protagonist doesn't get eaten, I'm honestly not sure what the fuss is. It's not as if he didn't have fun, regardless of what she looks like now…
Three stars.
Grow Old Along with Me, by Julius Fast
In a twist on the Deal with the Devil cliché, Fast's tale is of a young man who declines the offered gifts of Old Nick, and in turn gains something better — a friend.
Lucifer ain't such a bad guy after all!
Three stars.
The Rocks of Damocles, by Isaac Asimov
If Mariner 4 taught us anything, it's that sizable planets are just as prone to being blasted by asteroids and meteorites as moons. In his latest article, the Good Doctor explains why it's only a matter of time before humanity gets walloped by an extraterrestrial bullet.
Sleep well! Four stars.
The Blind God's Eye by Kathleen James
It's our world, but in a bleaker, poorer future, and Alice, living a bleak, poor life, is just trying to muddle through widow-hood as a bar dishwasher. Then she meets Red, a burly young man with an iron liver…and a curious resonance of fate with Hugh Veron, an up-and-coming dictator who will be making a speech right in front of the bar in a few days.
A tale of love and tragedy, it's told in a sort of breathless, diary-like fashion that could have been grating, but for me was riveting.
Four stars.
Mickey Finn, by Doris Pitkin Buck
Lastly, another poem about the afterlife. A man goes to Heaven when he's ready for it, and not before, and when he gets there, it's as dingy as he expects.
Oddly placed and somehow trivial, it is not helped by the typo in the last line.
Three stars.
Digging the Decor
It's not often that a magazine manages to crack the 3.5 star barrier, but F&SF has done it twice in four months. Plus, Zenna Henderson makes any issue worthwhile (though I can't say I'm a fan of the lurid cover — I believe it's Gray Morrow's first for the mag). In any event, if you're looking for a clutch of science fiction to go with your mod decor, the March 1966 F&SF is a safe bet.
The Journey is once again up for a Best Fanzine Hugo nomination — and its founder is up for several other awards as well! If you've got a Worldcon membership, or if you just want to see what Gideon's done that's Hugo-worthy, please read his Hugo Eligibility article! Thank you for your continued support.
Henderson is amazing as almost always. I'm not sure about the dating though. The earliest one is obviously the one set on the People's homeworld, though this might be the earliest set on Earth. But don't read too much into the technology. It could be any time up to around the Great War, I figure. Did you know Jack Williamson migrated to New Mexico as a boy with his family in a covered wagon? And he's a year younger than I am.
I didn't care much for the Slesar, though maybe a tiny bit more than you. The ending was pretty obvious. Where else was he going to go? But there's the germ of a good story there. It would certainly ask more questions if the killer had spent a few years with his new personality and proven himself a good man before the victim's family caught up with him.
Kipling is one of the few poets I get along with. Possibly because I can't tell a short foot from a long or an iamb from an anapest, and he tends to fairly strong simple rhythms. Pleasant enough filler.
"Lil, et al." was definitely more style than substance. Unfortunately, the style didn't resonate as well with me. Still a solid three stars.
"White Night" was a decent pulpy read. Depending on the nature of the curse the protagonist (I hesitate to use the word for such an unpleasant fellow) may find it difficult to leave the auberge.
"Grow Old" was a nice twist on the old deal with the Devil. The second such this month, though the other was a reprint of a Mack Reynolds story.
Good article by Dr. A. One of his better of late. And it goes along nicely with the Heinlein serial over in IF.
"Blind God's Eye" was pretty good, though again the style didn't work quite so well for me. Another where I'd have said three stars.
I checked out of the final poem somewhere early in the second stanza (see my comments on Kipling).
As for the cover, I think illustrating "Skylark DuQuesne" broke Gray Morrow. His stuff has been all over the place ever since. And he's ridiculously hooked on these montages now.
"But don’t read too much into the technology. It could be any time up to around the Great War, I figure. "
She specifically says it's the 19th Century at one point, as does the editorial intro.
I actually like the lurid cover, though it doesn't really fit the wonderful Zenna Henderson story it's supposed to illustrate. Instead, it looks as if it should be on an old issue of Weird Tales, maybe on of those featuring Robert E. Howard's Puritan avenger Solomon Kane.
For me, the beginning and the end stories were the highlights of the issue. And, I actually rated the last one a little bit higher than the first one, amazingly. The stuff between was mostly just filler, although none of them were terrible.
We all know and appreciate Zenna Henderson, but Kathleen James is completely unknown to me. I'm assuming she's from somewhere in the British Isles, judging from the story itself. I'll have to watch for her name.
Finally got to read this a week late. Who knew having a baby would delay my SFF magazine reading?
I don't really have much to add to everyone else's comments. The Henderson was the highlight but none of the others really rose very high for me I am afriad.
I did, however, love Merrill's book column this month. Really interesting and insightful collection. Definitely need to pick up the Simak, which I missed last year (I think Gollancz is doing a UK edition soon so will keep my eyes peeled.