by David Levinson

Hope, according to Emily Dickinson, is “the thing with feathers” which sings and never stops. Perhaps, but there are times when it becomes very hard to hear its song. After the devastating murder of Dr. King, with the war in Indo-China seemingly going nowhere, and with unrest growing in the streets of the Western world (Germany is only one example; France, Belgium, and Italy are all seeing similar problems), hope does seem to have fallen silent.

A glimmer of hope

Just over a year ago, I reported on a military coup and counter-coup in Sierra Leone which prevented the first peaceful transition of power between rival political parties in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, the National Reform Council led by Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith has been overthrown in turn. Calling themselves the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement, a group of non-commissioned officers staged another coup, arresting Juxon-Smith and his deputy on April 19th and promptly named Colonel John Amadu Bangura Governor-General. He promised a quick return to civilian rule and followed through with the promise. Only three days later, Bangura stepped down, naming Siaka Stevens, who had been declared the winner of the election last year, as Prime Minister. At the same time, Banja Tejan Sie, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, became Governor-General. Stevens was sworn in (again) on April 26th. The restoration of civilian government is a promising sign.

l. New Governor-General Banja Tejan Sie. r. New Prime Minister Siaka Stevens.

Bleak House

While this month’s IF may not be the Slough of Despond, the two best stories in it are dark indeed. Perhaps to make up for the bleakness, Fred Pohl also goes looking for a bit of optimism. After running the ads for and against continuing participation in the war in Vietnam last seen in the March issue of F&SF (on facing pages, which is much more editorially balanced), Fred announces a contest looking for the best answers on what to do about Vietnam. They’re offering $100 each for the five best responses. That’s a nice chunk of change, but don’t hold out your hopes for solutions that won’t start World War III and/or are politically feasible.

No one has ever seen the prison of Brass from the outside. Art by Vaughn Bodé

Rogue Star (Part 1 of 3), by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson

Andreas Quamodian (Andy Quam to his friends) is a Monitor of the Companions of the Star. When his college crush Molly Zalvidar asks for his help, he rushes back to Earth, even though she chose Cliff Hawk over him nine years ago. Hawk and the Reefer (that is, someone from the Reefs of Space out beyond the orbit of Pluto) are attempting to create a rogue star, a sentient star which is not part of the galactic community. Shortly after Andy arrives in Wisdom Creek, the rogue star breaks free and begins to grow. To be continued.

A dangerous experiment goes awry. Art by Gaughan

I came to this sequel to The Reefs of Space and Starchild with some trepidation, because I didn’t much care for either of those. Both stories were incredibly pulpy, just weren’t all that enjoyable, and the second ended in a wave of mysticism. This story is set hundreds of years after the others, which at least gives it room to be its own thing. It’s still extremely pulpy, but at least it’s moderately interesting so far.

Three stars.

The Guerrilla Trees, by H.H. Hollis

Ace war correspondent Har-Gret “Haggie” Harker has come to planet B44(3) – known formally as La Selva and insultingly as YipYap – to cover Earth’s role in the civil war. Earth is backing the Yips as a strategic matter in the larger struggle against the bacterial empire of Betelgeuse and is throwing an increasing amount of money, materiel and men into the conflict, even though reports consistently claim the war is going well. The locals are dendroids, people resembling sentient, mobile trees. Haggie witnesses the burning of one of their groves (and some of the locals), banters with the boys in the press pool, and struggles with her growing feelings for commanding General Borgen Traven.

Art by Jeff Jones

This rather obvious Vietnam parallel is like nothing else Hollis has written. He’s been improving as a writer, but all his stories have been light in tone, especially those involving the scoundrel Gallegher. This, however, is deadly serious and very much on point. I have no doubt the Yips and Yaps are tree-like to comment the way the U. S. Army is using napalm and defoliants to destroy wide swaths of the jungle in Vietnam, and the bits with the press pool feel extremely realistic. I understand Hollis is a lawyer, but if you told me he’s been a war correspondent, I’d believe you. A couple of his tics from his lighter stories slip through here and there, but on the whole this is very good, though bleak.

Four dark stars.

Cage of Brass, by Samuel R. Delany

Former architecture student Jason Cage has been condemned to Brass, a prison for the worst offenders in the galaxy. Thanks to a quirk of architecture, he is able to converse with fellow inmates Hawk and Pig, telling them about his time in Venice and what brought him to his fate.

Cage about to commit his crime. Art by Gaughan

Another beautifully told tale by Delany. Apart from the opening and closing paragraphs, the entire story is dialogue, not even using tags like “he said,” and it works perfectly. Cage’s descriptions of Venice are appropriately poetic, and the voices of Hawk and Pig fit the characters wonderfully. Worth the price of the magazine all by itself.

Four stars.

The Mother Ship, by James Tiptree, Jr.

Max runs a small C.I.A. operation that fronts as a government ad agency. When Earth makes its first contact with aliens, the group will play a vital role. The aliens come from somewhere in the direction of Capella and look like attractive human women… eight and a half foot tall human women. But are they friendly or a threat?

What can frighten an eight foot tall woman? Art by Wehrle

This is a big improvement over Tiptree’s first effort. Max’s C.I.A. unit feels very real, much more George Smiley than James Bond. It makes me wonder if Tiptree has a background in intelligence, but see my earlier comments about H.H. Hollis. It’s a decent story, but – and it’s a big but – I’m not at all convinced by the sexual psychology that underlies the story. Still, it’s an improvement. If Tiptree stays out of John Campbell’s clutches, we might get a decent author out of it.

Three stars.

House of Ancestors, by Gene Wolfe

Joe is a construction worker on disability, with a nail lodged in his heart; stress or exertion could cause it to come loose and kill him. He won’t have surgery to have it removed, because if he dies during the operation his wife Bonnie and the child they’re expecting won’t be provided for. Or so he tells himself. The couple are on their way to the ‘91 World’s Fair to get a pre-opening look at The Thing, an enormous plastic model of a DNA molecule containing a series of exhibits on genetics. When their party can’t get in, the others leave Joe behind while they look for someone to open the building. Meanwhile, Joe makes his way inside and has several strange experiences while chasing a vandal who is wrecking the exhibits.

Joe in hot pursuit of the vandal. Art by Brand

Gene Wolfe makes his second appearance in IF with a much more straightforward tale than his first story. While I’m not entirely sure I believe the mechanisms in the The Thing that drive the story, it’s readable and fairly entertaining. What is lacks is the joy and pleasure in the use of language found in “Mountains Like Mice.”

Three stars.

Publish and Perish, by John Thomas

Gleason is an assistant professor at an unnamed university. An associate professorship has opened up, and he finds himself in competition with fellow assistant professor Farrington for the spot. Unfortunately, he was unaware of the university’s unorthodox method of determining who is best suited for promotion.

Both the title and artwork give much of the story away. Art by Brock

According to his bio, our new author is a film reviewer, so you’d expect his style to be much more visual than it is. It’s not a bad story, competently told, but I’d have gone running to the police.

A low three stars.

The Bird-Brained Navigator, by A. Bertram Chandler

Commodore John Grimes has been sent to the planet Tharn to resolve a problem that has grounded the Rim Griffon; the officers refuse to sail with each other or the captain, who has been abusive and insulting to all of them. He resolves the issue, but the navigator, whom the captain dubbed a bird-brain, deserts and joins a faction of local bad-guys. Grimes assists the authorities in tracking him down, but an untimely act of derring-do leaves him in the navigator’s clutches. He gives his parole, and will have to find a loophole in order to escape.

The other bird-brained navigator. Art by Vaughn Bodé

Grimes is becoming something of a staple in IF. Fortunately, Chandler is fairly adept at making the stories different enough to keep them interesting. How you feel about the other stories in the series should tell you if you’ll like this or not, and if you haven’t read one before, this is a fair entry point.

Three stars.

Summing up

All in all, this is a pretty good issue. A couple of stories may be forgettable, but none of them is really bad, and while two stories cast a pall over the issue, they are both very good. Which is better? I go back and forth. The Delany is beautiful and poetic as Delany often is; Hollis is saying something about a major issue of the day. Take your pick.

New Ellison is good, and at long last a new feature.

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