by Gideon Marcus
At the Ballot Box
If you plunked down your $2 for a Worldcon membership (Pacificon II in San Francisco this year), then you probably sent in your nominations for the Hugo Awards, honoring the best works of 1963. Last month, you got the finalists ballot. Maybe, like me, you were surprised.
I'm happy to say that the Journey has covered every one of those nominations. However, with the exception of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and Anderson's No Truce with Kings, none of the fiction entries made this year's Galactic Stars list. Also, I'm dismayed to find that neither Worlds of Tomorrow nor Gamma made the list of best magazines, though I suppose their being new precludes wide distribution as yet.
Anyway, they've made my choices very easy this year:
Best novel: Cat's Cradle (based on the review by Victoria Lucas – I haven't had the chance to read it yet, myself!)
Best story: No Truce with Kings
Best magazine: Galaxy
Best artist: Schoenherr (I've been liking his stuff more and more lately — don't get me wrong; I still like Emsh and Finlay, and Krenkel's done great stuff for the Burroughs books, but it's good to spread these things around)
Best amateur magazine: Starspinkle, which is really a fun mag, and good for keeping up on the latest Breendoggle mishigas (I note that Galactic Journey isn't on this list — surely a mistake. Please don't forget to vote for us!)
F&SF appears to be lobbying heavily for your Hugo vote, too, if the back cover of their latest issue be any indication. They've replaced the usual suite of pointy headed admirers in favor of a photo of one of their trophies (last one in the dimly remembered year of 1960).
So does this issue support their claim of being "the best"? Let's read and find out!
The Issue at Hand
The Triumph of Pegasus, by F. A. Javor
Now that Watson and Crick (and the tragically unsung Rosalind Franklin) have cracked the code of the DNA double helix, I am seeing more stories involving the precise engineering of genetics at a microscopic level. Javor's intriguing tale features the pair of scientists who run the shoestring operation "Animals to Order." After they showcase a fantastically fast, quick-grown horse, they are browbeaten by a powerfully rich bully of a woman into producing a winged version.
Here, the story loses its footing, as the new creature is made in an implausibly short time, and the grisly, if morally satisfying, end is thoroughly predictable.
Still, this may be the first story I've read that (to some degree) realistically portrays the art of genes manipulation. Three stars.
The Master of Altamira, by Stephen Barr
Not so much science fiction as historical extrapolation, author Barr depicts the sudden end of one of the world's first artists, the cave painter of Altamira. The piece is, at once, vivid and utterly forgettable.
Three stars.
The Peace Watchers, by Bryce Walton
In the future, murder is a forgotten crime. Literally — murderers are destroyed, and the memories of their crimes are erased from the minds of all affected, even the police! But when the grisly crime is committed, however rarely, how can it be dealt with when even law enforcement knows nothing about it?
I don't necessarily buy this piece, but it is interesting. Three stars.
Trade-In, by Jack Sharkey
Sharkey has been my whipping boy for a while, but he's recently shown a bit of promise. Sadly, while this story, about a prematurely aging husband and his unusually youthful wife, is well-written and properly horrific, it is also needlessly anti-woman.
Three stars for quality, but two stars after demerits applied.
Time-Bomb, by Arthur Porges
I cannot fathom the point of this short poem. One star.
Medical Radiotracers, by Theodore L. Thomas
Once again, Thomas serves up a mildly educational tidbit (this time on ingested radioactives that allow doctors to map certain organs) followed by a ridiculous SF story seed (we'll all be tracked by the Orwell-state via said radioactives).
I want Feghoot back. And I don't even like Feghoot. Two stars.
Cynosure, by Kit Reed
Ahh, now here's the highlight of the issue. Norma Thayer, newly divorced housewife, so desperately wants to impress her neighbors, especially the queen-like Clarise Brainerd. But whether her sink is too blotchy, her carpet too soiled with cat hairs, or her daughter too messy, Norma can't seem to win Mrs. Brainerd's heart and, more importantly, the right to invite the neighborhood wives over for coffee and cake.
That is, until she heeds the ad that states, simply:
END HOUSEHOLD DRUDGERY
YOUR HOUSE CAN BE THE CYNOSURE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD
The product she purchases, and its results, both foreseen and otherwise, I shall leave for the reader. Suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this delicious little satire, and I am freshly aggrieved that I do not have Ms. Reed's forwarding address since her latest move. I did so enjoy our correspondence.
Four stars.
The Third Bubble, by G. C. Edmondson
G.C. Edmondson lives in Mexico, like F&SF's editor, Avram Davidson (I wonder if he hand delivers his manuscripts), so it's no wonder that he has a series of stories set south of the border. This one involves a crazy time traveler who believes that space is a dream, that worlds are hollow, and that aliens kidnap our astronauts.
All of that takes up about one page of this eleven-page story, the other ten pages of which comprise a kind of travelogue. While there are a few bits of good writing and some genuinely clever lines, Edmonson makes the mistake of trying to make a meal composed solely of spice.
Two stars, and perhaps it's time to try something new.
The Search, by Bruce Simonds
Fourteen year-old newcomer, Bruce Simonds, has a prose-poem about how robots were evolved over time to be made perfectly in human image. I've read over the end a half-dozen times, and I still can't figure out what happened. Help a dumb reviewer out?
Two stars.
The Thing from Outer Space and the Prairie Dogs, by Gahan Wilson
tiny piece in which we learn:
That prairie dogs are far more hazardous and organized a force than we could have imagined. The punchline isn't worth the half-page the story takes up.
Two stars.
The Heavenly Zoo, by Isaac Asimov
Dr. A is back in form with this fine piece on the origin of the zodiac, in particular, and celestial calendars, in general. I learned several interesting tidbits to share at the next cocktail party (so as to appear far more intelligent and knowledgeable than I actually am.)
Four stars.
Forwarding Service, by Willard Marsh
This touching tale involves a kidney-stone afflicted man with a bad heart and the kindly nurse who also moonlights as a special kind of messenger. Pretty good stuff. Three stars.
The Unknown Law, by Avram Davidson
Last up, a tale from the near future, set in the Oval Office. A newly elected President, youngest in the nation's history, learns that he has a special, unwritten executive power. Since the days of Washington, three minor major (or major minor) federal officers have been entrusted with a sacred trust: once per term, they can be ordered to eliminate a foe to the Republic. This execution is strictly off the books, for the good of the Union.
Of course, having introduced Chekhov's Gunslingers, there is no doubt that they will be employed. And while it is somewhat cleverly laid out who will be the President's target, I felt as if the setup came far too quickly, chronologically, to be satisfying. That said, it is a well-written piece (all too rare for Davidson these days!) and I appreciated the oblique way he established the time setting of the story.
Three stars.
Summing Up
And so we have here a surprisingly decent issue of a magazine that has been in a downward spiral for some time. This installment of F&SF might not be Hugo-worthy, but it's definitely not bad. Then again, it's always brightest before dusk…
Fingers crossed for next month.
[Come join us at Portal 55, Galactic Journey's real-time lounge! Talk about your favorite SFF, chat with the Traveler and co., relax, sit a spell…]
Definitely one of the best all-round issues we've seen in quite some time. They've had better individual stories, but not such a consistent issue as this month. Dare we hope Davidson is getting better?
The Hugo ballot isn't bad. I do wish they'd go back to several categories short fiction. We're presented with a real apples and oranges situation otherwise. Definitely agree with you on the novel. The only real competition is Dune World, but that felt incomplete. Short fiction has to go to "Rose" though. Not your cuppa and all that, I know, but very moving for just about everybody else at the journey.
"Pegasus" was pretty good. This is a largely unexplored field in science fiction. I agree that the ending was a bit rushed, but overall a rather satisfying story.
"Vivid and utterly forgettable." That's a very apt summary. Well-written, though, and I'd say stories looking at our very early ancestors should fit the genre's brief. Maybe something a little longer with better exploration of everyone's motives.
"The Peace Watchers" was an odd duck. The world was very difficult to accept, perhaps even a little — dare I say it — Bradburian. But quite interesting within the world given.
Sharkey is getting better. This is the second or third time you've found yourself forced to say something nice about one of his stories. Overall general agreement here, though I wonder what he thought the underlying meaning of his tale is (if indeed he thinks it has one)?
I have no idea what Porges (generally a decent writer) thought he was doing. I suspect it ran because it was exactly long enough to fill a gap.
Ted Thomas needs to realize there's a reason he hasn't written any stories using these premises he's been offering us. It's not him, it's the ideas. Honest, Ted! This one was the worst of the lot, too.
"Cynosure" was deeply disturbing and incredibly powerful. Of course, those two often go together. Excellent, excellent story.
So, I'm now convinced that Edmondson's "mad friend" is based on Avram Davidson. That's probably why Davidson buys them. I can't, for the life of me, see any other reason.
I think the point of that long poem was that the guy spent all that time and money to create a robot that was simply just a person. He realized it at the end and chucked it all. Maybe? I don't know. The author is only 14. Give him a couple of years. Robert Rohrer started putting out some decent stuff at 16.
I kind of liked the Gahan Wilson story. Leave off the moral, though.
This month it's my turn to say, "I already knew all that" about Dr. A's article. But it was nevertheless as entertaining as it usually is.
"Forwarding Service" was pretty good. A different title might have kept from giving the game away so soon, but a nice little piece.
And finally something that looks rather like the old Avram Davidson. I agree that the whole thing seemed a little rushed, but you tend to get that in a short story, and there's definitely not enough for a novel here. Nice to see that Davidson can still write. Perhaps Mexico agrees with him. Anyway, more of this and less of the dreck he's been writing.
General agreement that this was a solid, if not spectacular, issue.
Javor was, as said, predictable from the introduction of the unpleasant woman, who was certain to get her punishment for her hubris, although maybe she didn't deserve quite such a fate.
Barr was quite interesting and evocative.
I liked the Walton quite a bit, so much so that it was my favorite story in the issue, by a very narrow margin. I guess I'm a sucker for that kind of psychological speculation.
The Sharkey story is definitely paranoid and chauvinist, although I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume he doesn't really believe all women are ghouls; he just got married to one. Otherwise, it's an effective horror story.
The Reed, probably just by coincidence, comes as a breath of fresh air after the Sharkey; turnabout is fair play, afgter all, and it was nice to see something written from the distaff side. I won't argue with your choice of it as the best; it was a very close choice for me.
The Edmondson is 99% local color and 1% plot. Enough said.
I agree with the above interpretation of the Simonds. No real reason to tell this simple fable in the form of a poem, as far as I could see.
The Marsh was quite interesting, and was my third very close contender for the best story.
The Davidson was OK, but I didn't see much need for the science fiction trappings. At least he took a step away from his usual baroque style.
The articles, poem, and cartoon/fable are not as easy for me to judge.
As far as the Hugo Awards go, I'd have to go with Cat's Cradle, although it's a dark horse, Vonnegut being somewhat outside the SF world, then Way Station.
Another vote her for the Zelazny.
I'll skip the other categories, except to say that it's a shame that there's no Dramatic Presentation in a year that brought us The Haunting and Jason and the Argonauts, as well as powerful episodes of The Outer Limits like O.B.I.T. and Nightmare.