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[November 27, 1963] … Death, Doctors and Mythology ( New Worlds, November 1963)

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by Mark Yon

Hello again.

It is difficult to write about things fictional after world events of the last few days. Whilst I look on with horror at some of the observations of fellow travelers, the assassination has been noted here in Britain with a surreal quiet. The news, and indeed political commentary generally, has been oddly muted and yet remarkably acute. If comments at work and on my daily commute are anything to go by, the man on the street here has reacted with both revulsion and sadness. The world is a different place since last we spoke. Whatever your political persuasion, the event is a sobering one for us all.

Our BBC correspondent Mr. Alastair Cook, who writes a Letter from America every week for our radio summed it up for us so well. I cannot say it better than this master of the English language, so I leave his radio broadcast as an effective response via the spoken word

The surreal events of November 22nd have managed to alter what I was hoping to spend more time talking about this month. The debut of the BBC television science fiction series Doctor Who was made the day after the assassination.

Despite the grim news preceding the programme, I really liked it. I think the series has potential, so much so that I think that it is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen on British television recently, despite being mainly for a family audience, which limits its depth. The actor portraying the Doctor, Mr. William Hartnell, is by turns wonderfully enigmatic and impressively grumpy. I look forward to seeing where this series goes.

To the magazine, then.

This month’s cover is a surprisingly lurid shade of purple, which undoubtedly stands out, even if it makes the title print difficult to read. 

s-f and mythology, by Ms. Roberta Rambelli

Another factual piece this month for the Editorial, in the form of a transcribed lecture given at the recent Trieste S-F Film Festival.  It’s undoubtedly informative and educational, one for those who want to know the difference between their teratomorphical, their theriomorphical and their anthropomorphical categories of s-f. But it does seem to be an easy way out to writing an editorial – there’s no argument, no debate, no attempt to generate discussion here. As interesting as the article is, it doesn’t feel like an editorial. 

To the still annoying lower-cased-titled stories!

relative genius, by Mr. Philip E. High

And here we have the return of Mr. High, last seen in May 1963 with the underwhelming point of no return. By comparison, this story of penal reform is better. The story begins with a bit of a “Prisoner of Zenda/Count of Monte Cristo” situation, with a man in a luxury prison with no memory of who he is and why he is there. Our man plots his escape and the tale turns into an entertaining jailbreak story. It’s not a patch on other similar stories, but it was entertaining, though the twist at the end didn’t really work for me.  3 out of 5.

when I come back, by Mr. Jonathan Burke

This is a creepy tale of people seemingly being possessed by things from somewhere else through their dreams, and the consequences of what happens as a result. On first reading I thought it was OK, but this is one I keep coming back to afterwards, because of its unyielding bleakness. It’s not particularly new – I’m reminded of Jack Finney’s American version of identity theft, The Body Snatchers , for example – but it does prey on the reader’s imagination rather well. Consequently my favourite story of the month.  4 out of 5.

the cliff-hangers, by Mr. R. W. Mackelworth

Mr. Mackelworth’s latest is a tale of future corporate shenanigans as one big business tries to outdo another. It’s a little like Mr. High’s story this month in that it reads as a tale of one group of people trying to get one up on another, though this story is rather on the side of the nasty people, at least at first. All get their come-uppance in the end. This is the latest of Mr Mackelworth’s rather bleak visions of the future, which rests easily alongside his previous stories of future justice and personal freedoms. I don’t think it is one of his strongest, however.  3 out of 5.

no brother of mine, by Mr. Robert Presslie

Another returning writer. Mr. Presslie’s story this month is about something youngster Davey finds in the family’s nuclear fallout shelter, a creature which, despite its strange alien appearance, may have more in common with humans than we, at first, believe. I think it is meant to be sad, but I was strangely unaffected by it.  3 out of 5.

Tee Vee Man, by R. A. Hargreaves.

In a month that seems appropriate with Doctor Who beginning and the death of a man widely regarded as the first President of ‘the television age,’ here’s a story that shows how pervasive the box in our front room may become. It reminded me of Mr. Robert Heinlein’s Future History stories, in that it’s a story of proficient people getting on with their jobs in a bright new future. Here our capable hero is in charge of maintaining a global network of television signals via satellite and the consequences of what happens when a developing African country loses their connection. The feel is a little less positive than Mr. Heinlein’s “can-do” version, but it reads well, and I could see more stories from this scenario in the future.  3 out of 5.

The Dark Mind (Part 2 of 3), by Mr. Colin Kapp

The second part of Mr. Kapp’s serial continues in the same fast paced, relentless manner of the first. Our hero, Ivan Dalroi, was left last issue in a dilemma – that he was being put into transfinite space by Failway without any means of support. Unsurprisingly, the cliffhanger plot point is quickly resolved in a rather psychedelic manner and what should have been a disaster ends up as a triumph. Dalroi returns from transfinite space a different man to unleash vengeance on his enemies, as a weapon and not a victim. Trains derail, lorries crash and buildings explode as Dalroi travels between worlds and vanquishes his enemies. It all gets rather frantic as Dalroi’s power is described with increasingly purple prose worthy of 1930’s pulp fiction.  At one point his actions are shown by a series of words in bigger and bigger print, often with exclamation marks for emphasis, which seems a little unnecessary. Despite this, it’s still a fun read, even if some of the deathless dialogue is wince-inducing. 3 out of 5.

Lastly, we have the return of Mr. Leslie Flood’s Book Review page. This month Mr Flood comments on a number of novels and collections new to us but not to you: Mr. Walter M. Miller’s “very well observed” story collection Conditionally Human, Mr. James Gunn’s “brilliantly executed and conceived” The Joy Makers, Mr. Isaac Asimov’s story collection Nine Tomorrows (“Good stuff”) and two from Mr. Robert Heinlein: Methuselah’s Children (“Superlative science fiction of the grand scale”) and his juvenile Time for the Stars.

Of the books new to print here, Mr. Michael Moorcock’s fantasy hero Elric is given faint praise (Elric is “given an individual touch by deepening the purpleness of his prose and double-dyeing his mighty warrior with a dabbling of sorcery and insatiable blood-lust”), and even less positive is the review of Messer’s Greg and Geoffrey Hoyle’s The Fifth Planet, “a heavy-handed attempt to achieve topicality and neo-realism with a creaking plot.” Has Mr. Flood read any of the stories in New Worlds lately, I wonder?

In summary, this month’s New Worlds is a solid one, using the talents of a regular coterie of writers. The general feel is of standard work often well done but rarely outstanding, although this issue feels less erratic than some of the issues of late. The Editorial was an interesting one, even if it feels that something rushed out to fill a space. Nevertheless, in a time of uncertainty for sf magazines generally here, I guess that I should be glad that New Worlds has made it to the end of the year. There have been concerns over the year that, like some of its contemporaries, New Worlds may not do so.

And with that more positive note I will wish you a Merry Christmas from here in the UK.  Here’s hoping that 1964, despite the events of recent days, may turn out to be an optimistic one.  On a more positive note, The Beatles are doing a Christmas tour – 100 000 tickets over 30 shows, all sold out. Their pop dominance reigns supreme. Despite everything, some things still endure.

Until next month – and next year.




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Fashion, music, politics, sports

[November 24, 1963 cont.] Oswald dead, shot by Jack Ruby

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Just two hours ago, at 11:21 CST, Presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner.  Oswald was being transferred from the Dallas police department, where he had been charged for the murder of the President and a local law enforcement officer, to a nearby county jail when the attack occurred.

Ruby was immediately subdued and arrested.  Oswald died just a few minutes ago.

It is hard to imagine the drama of this national crisis rising any higher. Our new UK correspondent, Jessica Holmes, is having similar trouble…]


By Jessica Holmes

I'm having a lot of difficulty putting my thoughts into words today. I'm not even an American, but the recent news knocked the wind out of me. It'd be silly to say, what with the world being the way it is, that I could never have imagined something like this. However, there's a difference between being able to imagine a horrible thing happening and actually believing that it may. We take normality for granted, that we go to sleep in a world unchanged from the world we woke up in.

Sadly, that's not how the world works. A horrible thing happened the other day.

I don't know what more I can say that hasn't already been said by people far more eloquent and knowledgeable than myself. I'll keep it simple: I liked President Kennedy, and to have him be gone so soon is a horrible thing. My thoughts are with his family and with the American people.


President Kennedy with UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in June 1963

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Magazine

[September 27, 1963] Beatles, Birds and Brunner (New Worlds, October 1963)

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by Mark Yon

Hello again. September means that we get to Autumn, which is perhaps my favourite time of the year. The nights are getting colder and darker and the lure of a warm home with a good book or magazine grows ever more favorable.

Outside the house (when I do venture outside!) those mop-top-lets, The Beatles, are still taking the pop music world by storm. They are on tour in Britain and filling their venues as they go. Their latest recording is an EP of their hits so far –  From Me to You, Please Please Me and Love Me Do, with a B-side track, Thank You Girl.

Even though this is really a re-release, “by popular demand,” as they say, like all their other releases I suspect that this one will go to the top of the British pop charts. Their upbeat energy and enthusiasm is quite infectious.

Movie-wise, I have been to see Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, which finally got to Britain this month. I thought it was good. There are some chilling scenes in the movie, although on the whole I felt that it’s more of a slow burn of a movie than Psycho ever was. The creepiest thing, that I realised after seeing the film, was that there is no reason given for the bird’s unusual behaviour. It just happens, which means that it could happen to you or me: anytime, anywhere.

Perhaps the most exciting news to me is the announcement made by Mr. Kennedy a couple of days ago that there should be a joint Soviet-US mission to the Moon. Being a positively minded sort of chap, I’m thinking, “Wouldn’t that be a wonderful development?” I find it hard to imagine that such a positive comment for exploration could be made less than a year after the Cuban Crisis. I guess the opposite view is that the US government may be worried about how much progress the Russians seem to be making?

On science-fictional matters, last month I did say that I would pass comment on the Hugo Awards. It sounds like it was a good time with the Good Doctor Asimov in charge of proceedings. I’ll mention him again later.

My Hugo predictions were, as I rather expected, a little off.  I was disappointed, though not surprised, that the novel The Man in the High Castle won, though I have yet to actually read it myself. Well done also to Galaxy and Mr. Jack Vance for The Dragon Masters which I was pleased with. It was one of my favourite novellas last year. I was very surprised on there being “No Award” for Dramatic Presentation. Was The Twilight Zone, my prediction for winning, really that bad?

I’ll try again next year.

Right – to this month’s New Worlds.

After a couple of variable, though stronger issues, this month we seem to be back to our usual standard.

s.x, s-f and c_________p, by Mr. G.H. Doherty

No, that title’s not a misprint- that’s how it’s written. This month’s Guest Editor is someone unknown to me. However, the matter he discusses is a topical one – how does and should science fiction tackle sex in its fiction? There is a long history of the topic in s-f  being avoided or ignored, partly because the fiction has grown up from the pulps and partly because its typical matters of science and technology do not lend themselves easily to the issue.

Mr. Doherty’s Editorial is part Convention Report and part-thought-experiment, in that the issue was raised by a presentation from Mr. Harry Harrison at this year’s BSFA Convention. What was meant to be a slightly humorous talk ended up as something more serious. There’s some very interesting comments made by the participants and this leads Mr. Doherty to conclude that if the genre is to make progress then it needs a more grown-up attitude. It’s not quite a return to the ranty tirades of old Editorials, but it is more anecdotal than analytical.   

To the lower-cased-titled stories! (Yes, it’s still annoying.)

man-hunt , by Mr. John Rackham

This month’s Rackham story is more traditional than his recent “X-person” stories, a Galactic Police detective tale that wouldn’t be that amiss from the 1940’s pulps. Combining a man-hunt adventure with a healthy dose of Galactic Empire order, it is a story of a competent cop who meets and is tested by senior management. It is good fun. There’s a bit of ruminating about the characteristics you need to be a person with great powers and responsibility, and how sometimes meeting your heroes is not always a good thing, but nothing really new here. 3 out of 5.

breakdown , by Ms. Hilary Bailey

This story is written by – gasp – a woman! It is good to see a change in this male-dominated magazine. A sign of the times, perhaps. It’s not really a coincidence, though. Ms. Bailey is a friend of Mr. Michael Moorcock, which might explain the connection. As a social-science story, it is OK. The characters visit Neurodram Park, a place where visitors can watch others placed there for cathartic therapy by the Welfare State. This story is really about the voyeuristic attractiveness of watching other’s lives (I’m sure television scratches the same itch) and the need for people to let off steam. Shows us that perhaps we’ve not come that far from Bedlam Asylum of the 1800’s, where members of the public could watch patients. As stories based around an idea go, its OK. It made me think of the dystopian tales that Mr. J. G. Ballard does well, but without the cutting bite of his prose.  3 out of 5.

forty years on , by E. R. James

A time travel story of sorts, although really it is the sort of time travel tale typified by stories like Mr. H. G. Wells’ The Sleeper Wakes. Space miner Greg Dormer finds himself waking from cryogenic sleep forty years on than he expected to be. Seen by some as a hero, with his own Fan Club, in hospital he discovers that he is actually a suspect being investigated for the destruction of his original spaceship and the loss of the rest of the crew. This is a solid enough tale of wish-fulfilment and space piracy. It reads well enough, though the motive for the crime at the end I found a little unconvincing. 3 out of 5.

project 13013 , by Mr. Bill Spencer

Last seen in the July 1963 edition of New Worlds, with The Nothing, Mr. Spencer’s story this month is a run-of-the-mill laboratory tale. This time the drug being trialled is an attempt to achieve life longevity, with (surprise surprise!) its testing having unfortunate side effects. Ho-hum. 3 out of 5.

yutsy brown , by Mr. Pino Puggioni

Here’s something we haven’t seen for a while in New Worlds: a reprint, from a story first published in the author’s native Italian in August of this year. It is clearly part of Mr. Carnell’s commitment to publishing s-f beyond the traditional British and US markets. Others might say, uncharitably, that it is a money-saving effort. Nevertheless, the story is a jaunty tale of the eponymous author of the future meeting one of his harshest literary critics – a publishing machine!  yutsy brown is entertaining and not-too-serious, which brought a certain degree of lighter relief to the issue. At the same time it also raises the sobering point that literary criticism is entirely subjective, something I must always bear in mind! In the end it was one of the issue’s stronger stories for me, which, considering my usual low opinion of ‘funny stories’, was a surprise. I must be mellowing. 4 out of 5.

To Conquer Chaos (Part 3 of 3), by Mr. John Brunner.

In the final third part of this serial we find things pretty much tied up. Much of this portion is about the joining-up of the two halves of the plot, when Idle Conrad and Jervis Yanderman meet Nestermay and her grandfather inside the dome of the barrenland. The purpose of the dome is revealed, as is the cause of Conrad’s visions.  The general feel is that the story’s a little unbalanced, with a lot being revealed through information-dump in the last few pages. Much of the dialogue goes along the lines of “I don’t know why, you’ll just have to trust me,” which is rather depressingly convenient. Nevertheless, the novel’s been worth a read and it is still one of the most memorable serials of late. It shows what you can get when you get work from an experienced writer.  4 out of 5.

book reviews , by Mr Leslie Flood.

Most highly recommended this month is Mr. Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, which I guess should not be a surprise judging by the comments from your side of the Atlantic. Plaudits also for Mr. Brian Aldiss’s “qualitatively erratic and erotic” The Airs of Earth but Mr. Frederik Pohl’s “failed experiment” The Expert Dreamers is less successful. Worst of all, Mr. Derek Ingrey’s Pig on a Lead is reviewed as “the strangest and most sickeningly desolate (novel), both physically and spiritually” read recently by Mr. Flood. A reason to rush out to your nearest bookshop if ever you needed one.

Personally, I really want a copy of Mr. Isaac Asimov’s anthology of The Hugo Winners, all the novelette and short story winners from Mr. Walter M. Miller’s The Darfsteller in 1955 to Mr. Poul Anderson’s The Longest Voyage in 1961. I have read most of them already, but it is great value.

***

In summary, I’m pleased that this was a fairly solid issue of New Worlds this month. The serial was good, and the reprint of a non-English story has given life to an issue that otherwise would be a little mundane, even with an editorial that discusses the ever-controversial issue of sex in s-f.

Until next month.




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Book

[September 3, 1963] An unspoken Bond (Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)

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By Ashley R. Pollard

Last month I talked about spies. Spies that were cool, and those who betrayed their country. With the Profumo affair still rattling around the news, I opined that spies and spying would sweep into the public consciousness. Scandals have a habit of doing that.

So, please excuse me, while I take the time to talk about another spy-centric non-SF book for this month's episode on Galactic Journey.

With the success of last year's film adaptation of Ian Fleming's Dr. No., I continue to predict that the next James Bond film, From Russia With Love, which is coming this October, will further raise the public's interest in the heady delights of techno-thrillers featuring spies. So far all I’ve seen are a couple of stills from the set, so it’s hard to make any judgment on the adaptation of the story by the filmmakers.

But until the film arrives on the big screen we have a new Bond novel to sate our appetites.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the tenth James Bond novel, a sequel to the previous novel (once removed), Thunderball. I was lucky to get hold of a copy of OHMSS when it came out at the beginning of April, because both the first and second print runs, totaling over 60,000 copies, sold out in the first month. This should give readers some insight into how popular James Bond has become in Britain.

Since OHMSS is a sequel to Thunderball, a quick reprise of the former novel's plot is in order.

Thunderball centred on the theft of two atomic bombs stolen by a shadowy organization called SPECTRE: SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion.  SPECTRE is the replacement for SMERSH, MI-6's nemesis organization that appears in the earlier novels. These villains were originally loosely based on the real life Soviet counterintelligence organization SMERSH.

The name is a Russian portmanteau, created by Stalin from the words SMERt and SHpionam. Translated it means "Death to Spies."

Why the change? My understanding is that the film producers and Fleming decided to make the villains apolitical. In an interview Fleming said that he wanted to show that the cold war had thawed and changed the name to reflect this.

This criminal organization is led by the nefarious villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who returns in OHMSS to cause our hero more pain and suffering. This time round Fleming fleshes out his hero with some fascinating revelations about Bond's character. For example, he discloses that Bond visits the grave of Vesper Lynd every year.  Lynd was a character that appeared in Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, where she kills herself rather than betray Bond.

James Bond's relationship with women also breaks new ground, but I don't want to spoil the plot by giving anything away. All I'll say is that OHMSS deals with grief and loss. And most affecting it is too.

As is usual in an Ian Fleming novel, real places are used to add verisimilitude to the narrative, though some of the names are changed. In this case, the description of Piz Gloria makes clear that it is based on the Nazi German eugenic research facility Schloss Mittersill.

Its inclusion as a setting for the plot therefore adds a certain emotional darkness to the story. It's a chilling foreshadowing of the reveal about the purpose of the centre. We later discover that the villain is brainwashing young women he's treating for food allergies. Blofield's plan is to send them home to Britain where they will release a bioweapon to destroy our crops.

Cue loud cackling.

OK. That was probably a tad unfair of me, but the plan strained my credulity to its limits. James Bond stories are not subtle. However, OHMSS is a lot of fun to read. Once I started I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened next. OHMSS demonstrates Fleming's increasingly assured touch and storytelling confidence.

I will freely admit that the SF trappings are not strongly in evidence in this novel. However, the machinations of the plot are driven by technological developments driven by science. Had this novel been written before the war, it would have been derided for its fanciful SF trappings. Ideas that SF fans take as a given, like rockets, robots, and ray-guns, are now taken for granted.

All right, perhaps not ray-guns, but the terms that used to mark out the genre are now increasingly appearing in everyday usage. In a few short years, SF ideas have moved from the pages of the Pulps and post-war magazines into everyday life. Therefore, in the wake of the success of Ian Fleming's "Bond", what I predict we will see is more techno-thrillers, spy stories with futuristic trappings.

After all, why should Ian Fleming have all the fun?


The Jamaica home where Fleming wrote OHMSS during the filming of Dr. No

[Want to talk to the Journey crew and fellow fans in real-time?  Come join us at Portal 55! (Ed.)]

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Magazine

[August 27, 1963] Ups and Downs #2 New Worlds, September 1963

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by Mark Yon

The hot summer (well, hot for England!) of 1963 now seems to be turning to things autumnal, all too soon. I have, since we last spoke, had a wonderful summer break from work, being able to rest a bit and catch up with some much-delayed reading. For the record, I have read and enjoyed Something Wicked This Way Comes by Mr. Ray Bradbury, which only came out here in Britain this year. It had a brilliantly scary evocation of evil in Mr. Dark, and will make a great Hallowe’en read. I’m usually more a fan of Mr. Bradbury’s short stories than his longer work, but I really liked this one.

On a different level of complexity, I also spent some time last week trying to decipher Mr. Anthony Burgess’ made-up polyglot language in A Clockwork Orange. Not an easy read! It’s a book that is undoubtedly clever, but seems to parade it's intelligence rather than actually focus on telling a story. I preferred the more-subtle literary tones of Mr. J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World last year, which was easier to read, more nuanced and just as effective in my opinion.

As I type this, we’re on the way to a Worldcon, which, as ever, is something I look forward to. So, let’s have a go at some predictions. Personally, I would like Mr. Arthur C. Clarke’s to win myself, but I guess for regular readers of Galactic Journey that will not be a surprise. I haven’t read it myself, but Mr. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle seems to be well regarded, so I expect that to be a popular choice. I’d also like to see Mr. Jack Vance’s The Dragon Masters get an award – it was one of my favourites last year.

If I were a gambling person (and I’m not, usually) I would bet that the Award for Dramatic Presentation will go to The Twilight Zone, even though we’ve not seen any episodes over here in Britain. (Mind you, some of my fellow travelers have said that the latest season has been a little bit ‘hit and miss’, so you never know.)

Expect to see me with egg on my face next month when we will know how right (or wrong!) my predictions were. And now – to this month’s New Worlds.

If you remember, last month saw a number of changes to the magazine, not all of which I felt were successful. This month we have continued with the ‘generic Luna’ background, in a not so fetching shade of brown. But at least the cover font is now readable, if only to make obvious a price rise, from two-shillings and sixpence to three shillings. Either this is a sign of trying to increase income due to the increased difficulties of the magazine, or, trying to remain positive, possibly an attempt to generate more income to spend on better stories.

the ragnarok theme, by Mr. I.F. Clarke

This month’s Guest Editorial is one from an author known in British fan circles but perhaps less elsewhere. Often confused with Arthur (no relation), Mr. I.F. Clarke has been around the British s-f scene a while. His editorial is adapted from a longer version, due for publication.

Mr. Clarke looks at the current general interest in apocalyptic ‘end-of-the-world’ stories through The Ragnarok Theme. He proposes that the interest is because the idea deals with the universal myths of death and destruction in both general literature and science fiction. As Editorials go, I quite liked this one. It is different in tone from those of late, uses lots of examples to explain itself and made its main point (that a rise in interest in such themes is often related to the anxiety of the time we live in) effectively, without becoming rhetoric or rant.

Onward the stories! (and please notice, all the titles are still annoyingly written in lower case.)

lack of experience , by Mr. John Garfield

It is tempting fate, surely, to begin this month’s list with a story titled lack of experience. But, actually, this one is OK. It is, after all, a story of a bored librarian. Or rather, a bored robotic librarian, who has the intelligence to want to get out of its rut and takes a journey of discovery to find itself. This tale of frustration and loneliness could become a little mawkish, but it is made livelier with added sex. It’s not without humour, either. I did like the line one of the librarian’s colleagues gave: ”I may not have imagination….but I have flashing coloured lights.” 4 out of 5.

not by mind alone , by Mr. Michael Moorcock

This story feels like it should start with the old adage, “So, this man went to the doctors….” not by mind alone is the latest story by Mr. Michael Moorcock, who since the demise of Science Fiction Adventures seems to be spending a lot of time here in New Worlds. This time it’s the story of a physician who, when asked to examine a patient, discovers new worlds through different experiences of time, with the idea that differences in perception and understanding occur because of where a person is in his/her own space-time continuum as well as the one we all share. Much of the story is about the results of this discovery. It’s an ‘interesting idea’ sort of story, a developed thought-experiment, but ultimately seems to be little more than a not-so-disguised allegory for a drug culture. The ending is rather weak. 3 out of 5.

deep freeze , by Mr. John Rackham

Looking just at the title, I thought that this month’s story by Mr. Rackham was going to be about cryogenics. Of course, being British, I should have realised that deep freeze is actually a story about that most central of British social concerns, climate change. It is also the latest story in Mr. Rackham’s ongoing ‘X-people’ series. I’ve not been greatly enamoured with this series so far about human computers, and this one is very silly. It is the first time that I’ve ever read – or will read – a story of how modelling clay could lead to global destruction. I’m sure Mr. Ian Fleming could use this in his next James Bond novel!

Allowing for the silliness of the initial problem, the point about how easily the Gulf Stream Drift affects climate is a good one and gives this story a slightly more down-to-earth element. Allowing for my grumpiness, in the end, deep freeze is fun, if you don’t take it seriously in any way.  3 out of 5.

the rotten borough , by Mr. R.W. Mackelworth

Here’s another author returning to New Worlds. As the strapline suggests Mr. Mackelworth’s stories so far have looked at the ideas of justice and freedom. In this latest story he looks at a future British Parliament where voting is taking place to bring subliminal messaging to all. The idea that such messaging could be misused is an intriguing one, and there’s an appropriately Orwellian take on how the media can be manipulated, but the idea of having just one objector in opposition, and him because fewer people in Cornwall watch television, felt false. Another story that falls apart at the end, based on a dodgy premise to begin with. 2 out of 5.

the game , by Mr. James Inglish

As much as we readers love reading about outer space, it has been pointed out by a number of writers, such as Mr. Arthur C. Clarke, that there is much to discover on our own planet as well. the game is an interesting story in the near-future where dolphins have been trained by humans to take part in warfare, albeit explained to the dolphins as a game. The story is mainly from the perspective of Cetus, the leader of a pod of dolphins who realises that the humans may have an ulterior motive to this promised bit of fun. It’s a little let down by suggesting that dolphins can empathise to such an extent that they can experience things through other animals – in this case, an angel fish and a shark – which was a step too far for me. Nevertheless, there’s a nice moral in conclusion, if a tad dour: humans are not to be trusted. My favourite story of the issue.  4 out of 5.

to conquer chaos (Part 2 of 3) , by Mr. John Brunner

And so to the second part of our serial, which started well last month. Part Two of the story begins where we left it, in this medieval-esque environment, although there are increasing hints that the cause of the barrenland may be science-fictional. We discover more about Jervis Yanderman’s travels in the barrenlands and the consequences of the locals realising that they can communicate with outsiders. Yanderman teams up with local yokel ‘Idle Conrad’, and together they travel further towards the interior, Yanderman to determine what exists there and Conrad to seek the source of his mysterious visions (I suspect the two things are connected.) Generally it’s engaging and well written, with some nice characterisation developing beyond the clichés. One of the strongest serials of late, and I’m looking forward to next month’s final part.  4 out of 5.

trieste film festival report , by Mr John Carnell

After my barbed comments last month, Mr. Carnell has clearly been stirred to write a report on this festival. Covering a mere two pages, it’s not much, to be frank. Entitled the mystery of the ‘mare trieste’Mr. Carnell’s report is more about what didn’t happen than did. He bemoans the lack of presence of many of the guests – for example, Mr. Ray Bradbury, Mr. Frederik Pohl, Mr. Sprague de Camp and film star Mr. Ray Milland – with the British film entries being so terrible that many of the judges escaped to watch King Kong being shown in a nearby local cinema instead!  Mr. Carnell lets us faithful readers know that, despite this, the British maintained a presence at the festival with himself, Mr. Harry Harrison and Mr. Brian Aldiss all doing their bit. The rest seems hardly worth reporting on.

So – another month of hits and misses in the seemingly ever-variable New Worlds. Continuing the shipping analogy, generally the good ship S.S. New Worlds seems to have stayed afloat, but only just, limping its way towards harbour once again. The good news is that this issue did seem a little more consistent, and a tad more readable, though Mr. Brunner’s serial is carrying the rest somewhat.

Until next month.




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Magazine

[July 26, 1963] Ups and Downs… New Worlds, August 1963]

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[P.S.  Did you take our super short survey yet?  There could be free beer/coffee in it for you!]


by Mark Yon

The coldness of Winter now seems a long way off. Can it be that I was almost up to my neck in snow a mere five months ago? Looking at my small garden, in full bloom, it is hard to believe the weather heralded a possible New Ice Age, and now we’re sweltering.

Such warmer weather (and an impending summer vacation!) leads me to more positive thoughts. This may also help with the reading of a new issue of New Worlds!

There seem to be some changes this month, beginning with the cover.

While a new cover is to be appreciated, it seems to be a change for expediency rather than for any artistic merit, though, at least you can tell from this that New Worlds is a science-fiction magazine, I found the new style made the type difficult to read, which rather defeats the cover’s purpose of attracting readers.

This attempt at change is also reflected in the story titles, which are now, annoyingly, all written in lower case letters.

Speaking For Myself, by Mr. Robert Presslie

In his attempt to discuss “What is wrong with Science Fiction today?” , regular New Worlds writer and now guest editor Mr. Presslie tries to relate to s-f from the perspective of the world-outside-genre by looking at a current British newspaper. His point? There the most heated debate of the day is not the importance of Telstar’s satellite successor, Relay; instead many pages are dedicated to an injury sustained by an English cricketer.

This then leads to the conclusion that the wonders of science are of little interest to the layperson when given more mundane, more human things to relate to, and further ,that the same can be said for Science Fiction. It’s a fair point, but nothing really new. I’m still of the view that, for many s-f readers, it is exactly because the genre does not appeal to the masses that makes s-f attractive.

To the stories themselves.

To Conquer Chaos (Part 1 of 3) , by Mr. John Brunner

The return of a New Worlds stalwart after a gap (at least under his own name) is to be heralded, particularly as Mr. Brunner seems to be making waves across the Atlantic and, like his contemporaries Mr. Aldiss and Mr. J.G. Ballard, is appearing less over here in Britain.

In Chaos, Mr. Brunner describes life on the edge of the ‘Barrenland’, some sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland that seems to be the border between Order and Chaos. Though the plot reads like a Fantasy, the account made me think it was rather Analog-esque, with all the trappings of a once-technological civilization in decay. 

To Conquer Chaos is a good solid tale, a bit slow to start but likable in its execution, competent without being flashy or deliberately obtuse. One of the more memorable serials of late, even if it is really nothing particularly new. Mr. Michael Moorcock has trod similar ground recently with his Elric Fantasy stories and across the pond Mr. Poul Anderson and others have been telling such stories for a while now.  4 out of 5 so far.

The Lonely City, by Mr. Lee Harding

This is predominantly a mood piece about the passage of time and the consequential technological obsolescence. Whilst the story is full of implausibilities (why does the main character bother turning up on a boat, for example?) it does create a certain mood. Reminded me a little of Mr. J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World, which I suspect Mr. Harding was trying to emulate. Here the title tells us all we need to know, really. 

I think I quite liked this one by the end. 3 out of 5.

Foreign Body, by Mr. David Rome

I see that Mr. Rome is appearing in the US magazines this month as well, as fellow Traveller John Boston has pointed out in his review of this month’s Amazing. This one’s an attempt at a lighter story, but clearly still trying to curry favour with a known (ie: science-fiction-loving) audience – it's about an author whose royalty cheques are put into his letter box, yet they never seem to arrive. It’s a nice idea but the story doesn’t know how to end. Any tale that ends with an editor commenting on the crummyness of a submitted story is asking for trouble. I much preferred the story in Amazing .

3 out of 5.

Natural Defense, by Mr. P.F. Woods

Here’s another author who seems to have spent his time in the other magazines recently. This is Mr. P.F. Woods’s first publication in New Worlds since July last year. Natural Defense starts well as a First Contact story, but the solution to the problem that this unusual meeting creates is, frankly, laughable. 2 out of 5.

The Disposal Unit Man, by Mr. David Alexander

Another dud. Mr. Alexander’s story is an overexcited piece based on a flimsy idea, namely that in the future city residents are often culled by, you guessed it, The Disposal Unit Man. Future social mobility in action, but uncompellingly presented.  2 out of 5.

The Shtarman, by Mr. John Ashcroft.

Just reading the title of this novelette made me grimace at what I expected would be another weak attempt at humour. I was pleased to find that it wasn’t. Admittedly, the beginning wasn’t great – the first few pages made me believe that I’d wandered into some grotesque James Joyce-ian stereotype – but once the plot settled, this tale of alien telepathy did well to place a science-fictional theme logically within a modern setting. For that reason, it reminded me of those recent bestsellers by Mr. John Wyndham. That title needs changing, though!  4 out of 5.

Book Reviews, by Mr. Leslie Flood and Mr John Carnell.

The section seems to be much bigger this month. In this issue’s selection, short story collections The 4th Dimensional Nightmare by Mr. J.G. Ballard, Best SF 5 edited by Mr. Edmund Crispin, and the ‘remarkable’ Tales of Ten Worlds by Mr. Arthur C. Clarke are all reviewed by Mr. Flood.

American paperbacks of Mr. Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust, Star Surgeon by Mr. James White and a slew of books by Mr. Sam Moskowitz are reviewed by Mr. Carnell.

The book reviews, both for the British and the International releases, show me that there’s much out there to enjoy, even when the actual contents of this magazine pale by comparison.

Despite comments in last month’s issue saying that there would be a report of The First International S-F Film Festival , by Mr. John Carnell this month, clearly it was not written in time. Perhaps Mr. Carnell was too busy writing book reviews or having too good a time in Trieste to bother to write a report – or it was felt that it wasn’t worth the effort. 

On balance, the August issue of New Worlds is more good than bad – I liked the Brunner serial, and the Ashcroft novelette was a pleasant surprise – but some of the other material was dire.

As much as the magazine is to be applauded for pushing the boundaries of the genre, there is still too much new material that fails to be both original and good. Mr. Carnell has lofty ambitions but seems to lack the money or the quality of material to meet the challenge. I do feel that without significant revenue (in other words, subscriptions), the magazine is struggling to purchase quality stories that would make a new reader curious or maintain the interest of an old regular.

How much longer can this go on?




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Book

[July 21, 1963] Ice Cold Spies

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[Did you meet us at Comic Con?  Read this to see what we’re all about!]


By Ashley R. Pollard

I like to think I keep my finger on the pulse of society. For instance, despite being in my advanced youth, I've kept up on the popular music trends.

A new four piece beat combo calling themselves The Beatles, broke out onto the music scene late last year, and they've been making musical waves ever since. Their latest song, From Me To You, reached number one on the BBCs official singles chart in May.

A first for this new band, which seems to be a sign that they'll have legs. Whether they're significant in the greater scheme of things is hard for me to assess. If time travel were possible, I could no doubt confidently answer that question.

In real life, The Beatles are a reflection of the way society is changing and that previous standards of what's considered moral are being challenged. Now, just for a moment, imagine the members of this band as protagonists in a fiction novel. Their music might well be the center of a deliberate plot to undermine society and loosen its moral underpinnings.

It makes for an interesting thriller; however, I believe the real challenge will come not from those who seek to entertain, but from those who hold Western values in contempt.

It came as a shock when Kim Philby was revealed to be the third man of the notorious Burgess and Maclean spy ring, the group that passed state secrets from the UK to the USSR throughout World War 2 and into the early 1950s.

How many more spies are yet to be uncovered?  I suspect at least a couple more.  Hence the theme of spies for this month's column.

From the post war peace we have seen rumbles of cloak and dagger espionage develop into scandals that are rocking the assumptions of British society. Which is probably why I prefer reading science fiction. It feeds my imagination, rather than destroying my faith in my fellow human beings.

The latest revelations that began in March, of what's being called the Profumo affair, all center around a young woman called Christine Keeler. Her relationship with Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, and John, 5th Baron Profumo lie at the center of the scandal.

As a result, Profumo resigned from his post as the Secretary of State for War over allegations of the impropriety being a risk to national security. Then as I said, at the beginning of July, Kim Philby was revealed to be a Soviet spy.

The web of deceit that surrounds these events is unbelievable, as in you couldn't make this up in a story and have the reader believe you. It seems to me to that the world has become a much more complicated place to be alive in.

I marvel at how quickly SF concepts have gone mainstream. With so many SF ideas transitioning into mainstream fiction, one of the current trends I see is the fascination with the Cold War and spies. Who as I've alluded to earlier, are it seems to be found everywhere.

The result is the creation of a new genre that blend SF with contemporary thriller to create what is being called a "techno-thriller." A techno-thriller will use many of the ideas that were once purely science fictional, but set them within a conventional world that's recognizable as our own.

A new novel by Allister MacLean called Ice Station Zebra has caught the public's imagination. Whether this is as a result of all the stories of spies in the news I don't know. MacLean is well known as a writer of action-adventure stories, but this new novel sees him move into a new genre.

Maclean is not the first author to do so. Fellow Scottish writer Ian Stuart wrote a similar techno-thriller, which came out last year called, The Satan Bug.

Having read both books, I can say they share a lot stylistically. One would almost think that the authors know or corresponded with each other while they were writing their books.

Both pile on exciting incidents one after the other. Both have at their core a premise that would've been seen twenty-years ago as unbelievable science fictional nonsense. In The Satan Bug it's germ warfare and spies. In Ice Station Zebra it's reconnaissance footage from a space satellite, and spies.

Apart from the SF trappings ofThe Satan Bug, the story itself is a heady mix of action leading to a heist, and in and of itself not very science fictional. Ice Station Zebra on the other hand, manages to not only exploit its SF trappings, but do what all memorable SF stories do – open the reader's mind to the effects of technological change.

On this basis, I'd say MacLean is ahead of Stuart in exploiting what the new genre has to offer. For example, all of the key events in Ice Station Zebra have real world analogues:

The United States Navy's use of nuclear power submarines and their ability to travel under the Polar ice, and in particular the voyage under the ice by USS Skate to visit Ice Station Alpha in 1958.

The United States loss of the Corona satellite, Discoverer II in 1959, when it landed in neutral Spitzbergen. Possibly retrieved by the Soviet agents. Who knows?

Then there's Project Coldfeet, which saw American agents parachuting from a B17 Flying Fortress onto an abandoned Soviet ice station. And finally, MacLean mentions the atomic powered ice-breaker Lenin too. The first nuclear powered surface ship, and civilian vessel to see service.

MacLean uses these technological advances to weave a convincing picture of a world changing from the effects of technology and science. We can do things today that were once purely in the realm. of SF. Whether we like it or not, a lot of SF themes are going to become fodder for mainstream authors.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that techno-thrillers involving SF ideas and spies are going to become a big thing. We saw a hint of it in the film adaptation of Ian Fleming's Dr. No. I predict that the next James Bond film, From Russia With Love, coming this October, will further raise the public's interest in the melange of SF, thrillers, and spies.

[P.S.  Did you take our super short survey yet?  There could be free beer/coffee in it for you!]

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Magazine

[June 28, 1963] Here Comes Summer… (New Worlds, July 1963)

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by Mark Yon


British heartthrob, Cliff Richards, sings "Here Comes Summer"

The coldness of the now classified as ‘record-breaking Winter’ (record-breaking for all the wrong reasons!) has given way to lighter and warmer things weather-wise here, which is good, bearing in mind what seems to be happening in British SF circles this month. Let's dive right in to the July 1963 New Worlds, shall we?

And we’re back to the no-picture, dayglo colours of earlier New Worlds covers.  The bilious green is certainly…eye-catching. 

Let’s Build A Bridge, by Mr. E.C. Tubb

Following the completion of his serial in June, this month Mr. E.C. Tubb points out that most s-f alienates itself from readers by the language it uses. In an attempt to bridge the gulf between “the outsider and the addict,” he suggests that, if s-f is to survive, it must entertain, communicate, educate and (most essentially for s-f) enchant.  Nothing wrong with this point of view, in my opinion. After some of the aggressive views exhibited of late, it’s nice to read a conciliatory piece, but I do feel that this need to make the genre accessible to ‘outsiders’ may be out of date. My impression is that most s-f readers like their use of special genre terminology, psi-beams and all, which makes them part of a select group who ‘get it.’

Refuge, by Mr. Joseph Green

As heralded last month, we begin with what is being touted as the last story in Mr. Green’s ‘Loafers’ series. Refuge is a so-so story of how humans and the Loafers continue to get along for planetary unity and mutual benefit. Here we see the consequences of this interaction, as one of the young Loafers decides to go ‘walkabout’ to determine the effects of such mutual co-habitation. Whilst many authors would try to use this to tell a story of communal compromise and future progress through social integration, here the ending is, instead, a rather typically British dystopian view. I’m sure that someone could make a connection between this and the current Race Riots going on in the USA, or Native American/American relations or even Australian/Aborigine relationships but, really, that would be pushing a simile too far. Nevertheless, it’s one of the better efforts in the series, if rather bleak, but nothing particularly ground-breaking.  3 out of 5.

The Last Salamander, by Mr. John Rackham

The return of another series, Mr. Rackham’s tale is another of his ‘X-men’ stories, those people with special powers last seen in Confession in New Worlds in May 1963. Surprisingly, for superhero stories, they’ve all been pretty mundane up to now, but The Last Salamander is a more interesting, if unoriginal, prospect. It’s basically an alien monster story where the creature is inconveniently found feeding off the energy generated in a power station. It all seems rather Twilight Zone-esque to me, but made depressing by the point that the automatic reaction of the humans is to decide how to kill it. 3 out of 5.

The Nothing, by Mr. Bill Spencer

Mr. Spencer last appeared in May 1962, although I remember nothing of the story myself. Ironically, The Nothing is another story of interstellar instantaneous travel (see also Mr. David Rome’s story, Moonbeam, back in the September 1962 issue) and the intrepid guinea-pigs who risk travelling into the unknown in doing so. Dare I say it, for a story about facing the unknown it’s nothing special – nothing of importance!  2 out of 5.

Pattern of Risk, by Mr. R.W. Mackelworth

You may have noticed that I’ve liked a lot of this recent author’s work in New Worlds, so I had high hopes of this story. Pattern of Risk is a story of what happens when the insurance risk of spaceships can be accurately predicted. Like Mr. Asimov’s psychohistory it’s a bit dodgy in its logic, and in the end, ironically, it lacks risk!  2 out of 5.

Point of No Return, by Mr. Philip E. High

Mr. High’s work has varied enormously of late, but this is a better one. It’s an unsurprising story of what happens when a new bioweapon is created on a planet to deal with insurgents. There’s a nice take on how machines and humans could one day be symbiotically combined in warfare – I’m sure it could happen one day – and it does raise ethical questions about such actions. Machines may one day take over the world! Not a new idea (Ms. Anne McCaffrey did something similar in a story a couple of years ago, for example) but done well. 3 out of 5.

Flux, by Mr. Michael Moorcock

And that leads me to the story that indicates the return of Mr. Michael Moorcock. Last time Mr. Moorcock appeared in New Worlds I was pleasantly surprised, and this time Flux also entertains. It is a time-travel story, but written with enough style and panache to make the tired old cliché seem new – the sort of entertainment which Mr. E. C. Tubb was suggesting s-f should be aiming for in his Editorial, I think. At times, the language is a little over-worked in purple prose – “What did it mean, he wondered, this Gargantua which sat perpetually bellowing athwart the whole content?” for example – but I liked the story’s energy and its take on travelling the timelines, even if it is rather similar to Mr. Spencer’s story in the same issue! Whilst it is not Mr Moorcock’s best – he may be best suited to continuing writing Fantasy rather than s-f – it is an intriguing advance on the linear nature of Mr. H.G. Wells’ time travels.  3 out of 5.

Book ~Reviews, by Mr. Leslie Flood

In this month’s selection, Mr. Robert Sheckley’s Immortality Inc. is ‘slickly written’, we see the reprint of Mr. Robert Heinlein’s Red Planet, another in the current trend of ‘catastrophe novels’, this time Mr. Robert Bateman’s When The Whites Went and Mr. Clifford Simak’s ‘also-ran’ They Walked Like Men. Readers of Galactic Journey will probably recognise most of the stories in a ‘superb assortment’ from The Best from Fantasy & SF – 10th Series. There’s a brief review of a controversial book, The Dawn of Magic.which gets a brief mention, that its study of scientific unorthodoxy should generate discussion, but seems to be here more because its authors are at the film festival mentioned next.

ARTICLE: The First International S-F Film Festival, by Mr. John Carnell.

After the film review last month (The Day of the Triffids is being shown here, coincidentally) we now have an advance notice of this cross-genre event in Trieste, even though it is actually over by the time we’re reading this.

There’s nothing much to get excited about here, although the event itself looks like fun, and I am pleased that the event celebrates the international nature of s-f. It is so easy to become parochial in such matters, if you are not careful. There will be a report next month, evidently.

In summary, the July issue of New Worlds is odd, frankly. There’s a combination of old and new, but overall it’s a bit of a mess. Strangely, the stories I hoped would like have underwhelmed, whilst some of the more mundane offerings have been better than I was expecting. It really does seem to reflect that transition of the genre, from the old to the new, but I’m not sure that it’s entirely successful.

Until next month..




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Movies

[June 22, 1963] Damned if they do (the movie, The Damned)

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By Ashley R. Pollard

The Cold War is never far from our thoughts, but in the darkness there is light.  The light that is the Russian space programme, leading the way with the first woman in space.

On June the fourteenth Valentina Tereshkova was launched aboard Vostok Six.  She ascended on a pillar of flame to join fellow cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky in orbit.

Together they mark the first time two spaceships have been in orbit at the same time, and of course the first time a woman has been sent into space.

If only all the Cold War news was as exciting and optimistic as this.

By contrast our entertainment industry seeks to promote fear.  And what generates the most fear in these days of the Cold War is atomic radiation.  It is the snake oil of plot devices that can be used to justify any idea.

When in doubt, radiation can be relied upon to supply the right McGuffin, be it to make things large or small, to drive the story.  For example, the enormous monster in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the giant ants in Them, or Godzilla, to the other extreme shown in The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Radiation also figures in The Damned aka these are The Damned, this new movie, made by Hammer Film Productions. It was shot in Britain last year, but has only now been released.

Before I go further, The Damned should not be mistaken as a sequel to the 1960 movie, Village of the Damned, based on the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham.  Despite the similarity of the titles they're two entirely different stories.

The Damned is an adaptation of H. L. Lawrence's story The Children of Light.  This novel came out in 1960 and it passed me by without impinging on my consciousness.

Having hunted down a friend who has read the book, I can say The Children of Light is about as far from a Wyndham cozy catastrophe as one can get.  It's quite grim.

The novel tells the story of Simon who has murdered his wife after he discovered she was having an affair with another man.  He's on the run when he encounters a vicious gang, whose leader has a half-sister, who falls for Simon.  She helps him escape the gang, and they hide in a farmhouse, still on the run from the law.

Up to here the story is quite mundane.  There's no real hint that it's set in the future, as the setting feels very contemporary.

Then the secret is revealed.

Radiation from atomic fallout has lowered the birthrate over the last couple of generations.  Ultimately, everyone will become sterile, which is being hidden from the people by the government.

From here we get to meeting the children at a secret school, one of whom is named, George Orwell.  They're described as having platinum hair that sparkles.  Shades of Wyndham here though.

The plot then evolves by introducing a reporter who is searching for Simon because he believes the government reporting his death, while trying to escape in a mine accident, is a cover-up.

It is.  It's to cover-up the truth about the existence of children who are all radioactive.  The government has a plan.  The children are being groomed to become the next generation after the human race dies out.

And the government will go to any length to protect the plan, and the ending of the book is deeply dark, cynical, and paints a black picture of the establishment who will commit any crime to further their agenda.

It's a pretty bleak book.

The film is in many ways better than the book.  As in it's bleak, but entertainingly so because of the actors performances.

The Damned starts on an upbeat note, with Simon enjoying a boating holiday off the south coast of Britain, played by American actor Macdonald Carey.  Whom I'm told is known as "The King of the Bs."

Simon is recently divorced, and he meets a young woman called Joan while walking around Weymouth.  She's played by Shirley Anne Field, who has been associated with John F. Kennedy, and starred in various comedies, including Man in the Moon.

Then the story takes a left turn into darkness.

Her brother, called King, is played by Oliver Reed who has starred in another Hammer film, Curse of the Werewolf.  He's known as a bit of a bad boy, which means his portrayal projects a convincing amount of menace.  He also steals every scene he's in with a totally magnetic performance.

King is the leader of a Teddy Boy gang who mug Simon for his wallet.  After being mugged, Simon goes back to his boat.

The next day Joan appears and explains to him that her brother is insanely jealous of her being with other men.  I understand that the implication of "incest" was one of the reasons for the film's release being delayed.  The other being the portrayal of gang culture.

Simon and Joan start a relationship, but their movements are being monitored by the gang.  So when they visit a house owned by Freya, a women who Simon previously met in a cafe while exploring the delights of sunny Weymouth, they're horrified to discover that the gang has come and surrounded the place.

But they manage to escape and end up in a nearby military base run by a sinister scientist called Bernard.  After being questioned as to what brought them to the base they're allowed to leave.

Unfortunately, King doesn't give up that easily.  He's lain in wait.

When Simon and Joan leave, King pursues them.  During the chase they descend a cliff where they stumble upon a cave.  There they find nine children all aged eleven.  Named I noticed after the Kings and Queens of Britain.  King has followed them and the story unfolds.

The caves are part of a network that leads back to the military base.  The children use the cave because they think it's unknown to the military.  It's not, and things deteriorate when men turn up in radiation suits to remove Simon, Joan, and King.

The reveal is that all the children are radioactive, and the three of them have been exposed to a lethal dose of radiation.  Though they escape, it doesn't end well.

With the closing of the film, we learn that the children were all born radioactive after a nuclear accident.  The government is holding them because they're immune to nuclear fallout, and they'll be able to survive when the inevitable nuclear war comes.

All a bit horrifying.

And, just to rub it in that Bernard is "evil," we have a scene where he kills Freya after she discovers his plan for the children.

This is what I would call a watch once movie.  It rattles along, and the performances by the cast are good.  Especially Oliver Reed's, who is able to project a real sense of menace.  But, it's not what you would call a hopeful story, and might not be to everyone's taste.

Far better to look to the stars, and live in hope of a brighter, better future than one where the Earth has been destroyed by a nuclear war.  So, to end on a positive note, congratulations to both Valentina Tereshkova and Valery Bykovsky for setting a new double space record.

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Magazine

[May 27, 1963] A Clang of Doom?  (New Worlds, June 1963)

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by Mark Yon

One sad piece of news to start with this month. I have just found out that Science Fiction Adventures has published its last, with the May 1963 issue. I understand that sales were not what they used to be in its heyday. It is hoped that this may be a temporary measure, but previous history suggests to me that, sadly, this may be the end. [The latest Science Fiction Times seems to indicate that the cancellation is permanent (ed.)]

If this is part of a general trend, then it may explain some of the recent changes with New Worlds, including this month’s cover:

Well, at least this month’s cover doesn’t have the egregious spelling error last month’s issue had. We also have one large photo on the cover, which is an improvement on those of recent months without one.

However, it does raise issues – are things that bad that New Worlds needs the lure of a movie on its cover to raise sales? I think Editor John Carnell has tried to improve sales this month by putting a movie review head and shoulders above the fiction. (This also happened with the July 1962 issue as well, when the cover showed television programme Out of This World.)

More worryingly, with Mr. Carnell being distracted by such events away from New Worlds has he lost his focus on the magazine? I have, in recent months, raised worries about some of the recent changes, which now make sense. The use of Guest Editors over the last year may have given Mr Carnell space and time to sort things out, but I am still concerned that whilst this issue is full of experienced writers and magazine regulars, it the magazine is becoming less about the fiction and more about what is going on outside its pages. 

Beer In The Wine Bottle, by Mr. John Ashcroft

This month’s guest editor is another unusual choice. Like Mr. Michael Moorcock, back in March, he is better known for his fiction outside of New Worlds. As the magazine profile suggests, Mr. John Ashcroft has had stories published in sister magazines Science Fantasy and Science Fiction Adventures, but is relatively unknown here.

That’s a pretty big claim at the end of the profile, but the Editorial made a point that many s-f readers will appreciate: "Contemporary science fiction is generally more competently written; but it is more complacent." Mr. Ashcroft advocates that that old "sense-of-wonder" is important and that current writers need to raise their game. 

From The-Old-Man-In-The-Mountain, by Mr. Joseph Green

I must admit I was not looking forward to Mr. Joseph Green’s novelette this month. As the third story of an unimpressive series (so far), albeit in a longer form, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. However, it is a pleasant enough tale of the increasingly mutual interaction between colonising humans and the hirsute aliens named Loafers, even if the Loafers remind me of Mr. H. Beam Piper’s Little Fuzzies, with added telepathy. In this tale it all turns a bit Midwich Cuckoo with a young Loafer abducted by an embittered human outsider, but, with teamwork from the humans and the aliens, unsurprisingly ends with all being well. A better effort than Mr. Green’s others in the series, if still rather unmemorable. Evidently the last in the series is in next month’s issue. 3 out of 5.

To the other stories.

End-Game by Mr. J. G. Ballard

By contrast, and like Mr. Brian Aldiss last month, this is a welcome return to New Worlds of an author who had moved on to a wider literary field. This is even better than Mr. Ballard’s last tale of consumer stress (The Subliminal Man, January 1963). End-Game is another typically Ballardian tale of isolation and emotional anguish, featuring an imprisoned man to be executed but at a time unknown to him. It becomes a psychological battle of wills between the condemned and his executioner, masked by a series of chess games that imply a fight between a police state and the individual. As with the best of Ballard, it is complex and intelligent, making me believe something that could happen behind the Iron Curtain. It even self-knowingly references Kafka! Not surprisingly, the best story in the issue. 4 out of 5.

Occupation Force, by Mr. David Rome

From another returning regular, Mr. Rome’s tale is quite different to his last (Meaning, December 1962).  Occupation Force is a war story, telling of the uneasy relationship between a nuclear-weapon-wielding occupying army and the seemingly innocent oppressed "natives." In these times of campaigns for nuclear disarmament, it is a thought-experiment of a possibility that could also be relevant in 1963. Sadly, it is also short, predictable and, even with the attempt to shock through a downbeat ending, surprisingly forgettable. A lesser effort. 2 out of 5.

Dipso Facto, by Mr. Robert Presslie

Mr. Presslie’s return to New Worlds is also a disappointing effort. Even if I ignored the "poor, dumb natives" angle, this attempt to be humorous in a story of competitive eating and drinking is a long, long way away from the intelligence of similar stories, such as Mr. Poul Anderson’s Nicholas van Rijn tales.  It fails pretty quickly. Also 2 out of 5.

Window On The Moon, by Mr. E. C. Tubb

And so to the last of this serial. Last month’s part ended with a couple of shocks – an explosion that destroyed the Royal Commission sent to the British Base, and the Americans who visited the Brits also mysteriously killed on their journey back to their base. This issue deals with the aftermath and gives us a cause for the strange happenings. I’m pleased to say that the US and British bases did not declare war on each other, and it is left to our hero, Felix Larsen, to resolve things. I did predict the villain of the piece a couple of issues ago, but this didn’t stop me enjoying this last part of "Brits in Space." Window on the Moon is a tale told with energy and enthusiasm, even though I felt that it didn’t know how to draw it all together at the end convincingly.  Not quite as good at the end as in the earlier parts. It made me wonder what someone like Mr. Arthur C. Clarke would do with it. 3 out of 5.

Film Review: The Day of the Triffids, by Mr John Carnell,

The last part of the magazine is given over to stills and a commentary of this film I looked forward to seeing, back in July 1962, so it is odd to just now get to read a review. The good news is that, I understand, it has recently been released in the USA, so you will be able to see it yourselves. Fellow Traveller Ashley described it in detail back in July. Like her, I was a little disappointed at the differences between the film and Mr. John Wyndham’s fantastic novel, but here Mr. Carnell is more glowing in its fulsome praise, despite the concerns over its delay and production issues. According to the editor, even the author, Mr. John Wyndham, was rather impressed, despite the changes.

In summary, the June issue is, thankfully, another generally solid issue, but with the odd misstep. Not quite as strong as last month’s, but worthy of a read. Despite my concerns mentioned earlier over Mr. Carnell’s editorship, it must be said that the last couple of months have produced issues that have been both memorable and thought-provoking. For all of its faults, there is nothing else quite like New Worlds. I am rather feeling that I must make the most of magazines such as this, whilst I can. I fear that the writing might be on the wall…




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