by Rosemary Benton Andre Norton (a common name for me now) released her new book into the wild of the science-fiction section of local book stores earlier this month! Being October and therefore the prime time to read anything horror or fantasy related, I didn't spend much time dithering about adding Witch World to my … Continue reading [October 22, 1963] A Whole New Fantasy (Andre Norton's Witch World)
by Gideon Marcus New York. Gateway to America. Home of Broadway, the Empire State Building, Times Square, etc. etc. Big deal. This week, my wife and I took a United 707 from LAX to Newark for a mini-vacation. A good friend of ours, whom we met in fandom, lives in Morristown, New Jersey. We stayed … Continue reading [October 8, 1963] The Big Lemon (November 1963 IF)
by Gideon Marcus A few years ago, I began trying to write fiction. I'd been reading science fiction regularly for eight years at that point. I figured if all those other guys and gals could do it, surely I, with hundreds of published pieces under my belt would find the transition an easy one. So … Continue reading [Sep. 1, 1963] How to Fail at Writing by not Really Trying (September 1963 Analog)
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 … Continue reading [August 27, 1963] Ups and Downs #2 New Worlds, September 1963
[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 … Continue reading [July 26, 1963] Ups and Downs… New Worlds, August 1963]
by Gideon Marcus Time travel. It's been a fixture of science fiction ever since H.G. Wells wrote the seminal work, The Time Machine. And what could be a more seductive topic? Instead of being confined to our plodding day-by-day, one-way march to the future, one could take great leaps in any direction — forward and … Continue reading [Apr. 19, 1963] One way Via (Wallace West's book, River of Time)
by Victoria Silverwolf It's déjà vu all over again. — attributed to Yogi Berra A couple of months ago the first issue of Worlds of Tomorrow offered half of an enjoyable, if juvenile, novel by Arthur C. Clarke, half a dozen poor-to-fair stories as filler, and one excellent work of literature. The second issue is … Continue reading [April 15, 1963] Second Time Around (June 1963 Worlds of Tomorrow)
by Gideon Marcus Every month, science fiction stories come out in little digest-sized magazines. It used to be that this was pretty much the only way one got their SF fix, and in the early '50s, there were some forty magazines jostling for newsstand space. Nowadays, SF is increasingly sold in book form, and the … Continue reading [April 9, 1963] IFfy… (May 1963 IF Science Fiction)
by Gideon Marcus What a tumultuous year this has been. War scares, pitched congressional fights, escalating civil rights conflicts, celebrity deaths…yes, I definitely can't wait to see the back-side of 1962. It is easy to get caught up in the unceasing drone of bad news. That's why, at times like these, it's helpful to look … Continue reading [December 16, 1962] See! The Stars…
[if you’re new to the Journey, read this to see what we’re all about!] by Gideon Marcus Ah F&SF. What happened to one of my very favorite mags? That's a rhetorical question; Avram Davidson happened. The new editor has doubled down on the magazine's predilection for whimsical fantasy with disastrous (to me) results. Not only … Continue reading [Oct. 17, 1962] It's Always Darkest… (The November 1962 Fantasy and Science Fiction)
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