Tag Archives: Bug Jack Barron

Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[June 16, 1968] More Scandal! New Worlds, July 1968

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by Mark Yon

Scenes from England

Hello again!

It’s been a while, but it’s good to be back.

Something I suspect Editor Mike Moorcock has been saying too, because since I last wrote THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.

Quick recap, then. You might remember that last issue I said that newsagents W. H. Smith and Sons, Britain’s biggest newspaper and magazine vendor, in collaboration with John Menzies, refused to distribute the March issue of the magazine on the grounds of ‘obscenity and libel’, and that the national newspapers here once they got hold of the story brought it to national attention?

Well, it got further. In May, questions about the magazine, as a consequence of being partly paid for by the national Arts Council, were raised in the House of Commons, no less.

With national coverage in the House of Commons a Tory asked a question of Jennie Lee, the Minister for the Arts, asking why public money was being used in this manner (since the Arts Council is funded by taxes).

So New Worlds is now part of the records of British government, forever!

From what I understand Miss Lee gave a spirited riposte to the criticism, but what impact this will have on the magazine, I must admit that I don’t know. I’m lucky in that I get my copy through a subscription, but as most copies are purchased by casual buyers off the shelves in the newsagents this can only be bad – especially as I’ve said in the past that sales have recently declined, and Moorcock is desperate to increase revenue. It also means that readers are unlikely to see a copy at their local library.

On to this month’s issue.

Cover by Stephen Dwoskin

These covers seem to have regressed, haven’t they? This is the latest that to me echoes the bad old days at the end of the Carnell era, when there was just no money for artwork. Sound familiar? If you’re looking to grab attention, this isn’t it.

Lead in by The Publishers

Some changes here too. Editor Mike Moorcock has brought readers (those of us who are left, anyway) up to date with what has been happening in the Lead In, even if some kind of strange time warp has happened as the Editor claims that his comments were made “last month” and not actually in the April issue. Readers with a good memory and less impacted by this may remember what Moorcock said back in April, when more pages and pictures in colour were promised – clearly now that isn’t going to happen.

The rest is just the usual descriptions of the authors and their explanations of their stories, for those of us too unintelligent to work it out for ourselves.

Scream by Giles Gordon

Giles’s second published effort, after his story Line-Up on the Shore in the December 1967 issue of New Worlds .

Scream is another of those Ballardian-like stories divided into sections and often filled with stream of consciousness adjectives so beloved of New Worlds of late. It describes the effects of a single scream – in a city, on the people who hear it. Some panic and run whilst others are just confused. Result – a tale that feels like it wants to be seen as new, but really isn’t. There are lots of pseudo-meaningful phrases clumped together in a manner it would be wrong of me to describe as a story, emphasised by the point that the text has printed prose running at different angles around the page, which does little to endear the story to me as a reader.


Scream can be summed up as being full of allegorical symbolism, combined with language determined to grab your attention but to increasingly meaningless effect. It is memorable, but not always for good reasons. I hope I never have to come across the words “love juice” in New Worlds again. 2 out of 5.

Drake-Man Route by Brian W. Aldiss

And now on to the return of another regular and much-loved writer. Bad news, though – Drake-Man Route is another Charteris story. These have had diminishing returns for me since the first, Just Passing Through in the February 1967 issue of SF Impulse. And this one soon degenerates into the gobbledegook last seen in Auto-Ancestral Fracture in the December 1967 issue. Charteris has returned to England from Europe and travels north from London to try and communicate what he has seen. Lots of strange events occur as a result, with Charteris travelling with people who lapse into gibberish as a consequence of PCA Bombs in the Acid War, and meeting Brasher, the leader of the People of the new Proceed, the religious group created after the war. There are details on how Brasher got to this point, before they all drive off into an inconclusive ending marked by poetry, song lyrics and, guess what – more text running in unusual directions around the page.

Some may like these stories for their use of imaginative language, strange poetry, and drug-related symbolism. Others (like me) may be less impressed. Almost makes me rather read Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land instead, of which I’m really not a fan. I really hope there’s not many more of these. 2 out of 5.

Bug Jack Barron (Part 5 of 6) by Norman Spinrad


This one seems to have gone on forever. I now realise that with next issue being the final part I have been reading this story for over six months. Such an extended space of time does not help keeping up with this, although the summary of what has gone before helps, even if it now extends over a whole page in small print.

Things take a turn this issue, finally! After what feels like months of incessant ranty dialogue, Jack is contacted by the wife of Teddy Hennering, the Senator who co-founded the Freezer Bill with Howards and who Jack took to task live on air back in the first part of this story. He has been killed because he was about to reveal something about the Foundation – murdered by Howards, according to the wife. Jack dismisses the call as one borne of hysteria, but then the next day she is killed by a hit-and-run driver.

On Jack’s TV show that night negro Henry George Franklin makes a drunken claim that he had sold his daughter to a white man for $50 000. After the show Howards demands that Franklin is kept off the air and threatens to kill Barron if he doesn’t. Barron’s response? Feeling that Howards is somehow involved, he goes to visit Franklin in the Mississippi.

After four parts of lengthy dialogue and debate we finally get something happening. Spinrad moves the plot along and clears the decks for presumably what will be a final showdown between Barron and Howards in the final part. For that reason, it is better, but still feels weary. 3 out of 5.

Instructions for Visiting Earth by Christopher Logue

Poetry time. This one is about how aliens should blend into the background by being predictable and conformist, but at the same time tells us of the things that make humans human. Despite it being rather unmemorable poetry, this one gains points for being both pleasingly short and – gasp! – understandable. 3 out of 5.

Plastitutes by John Sladek


Remember last month’s New Forms, Sladek’s story of a form that wasn’t a form? Here, Sladek’s at it again, producing a comic strip-style story that reminded me of the Charles Platt cut-up diatribes we’ve seen in recent issues. I quite liked the Platt versions, this one less so, a tale of satirical nonsense involving IBM, pictures of car parts and fake conversations between idealised figures of manhood and womanhood. Difficult to describe – this has to be seen rather than understood. The McLuhan is strong in this one. 3 out of 5.

Methapyrilene Hydrochloride Sometimes Helps by Carol Emshwiller

The latest in a number of recent stories by Carol in New Worlds, who seems to be blazing a trail for telling odd stories from a female perspective. This time it is a dialogue given by a woman/robot/alien (who knows?) about the strange relationship she has with a male Doctor and his daughter. Lots of biological comments and various body parts are involved. As predicted, it is odd, and I’m not sure I get it. 2 out of 5.

Two Voices by D. M. Thomas

I approached this one with caution after the awful “Head Rape” poem of the March issue. Thankfully this one is not quite as traumatic, although much longer than what we normally get – more of a poetic essay than a poem, involving two different perspectives. Unsurprisingly the story involves sex, birth and death (I think.) The accompanying artwork feels like something out of a psychedelic-Beatles creation. So – marks for style, ambition and intelligence, if not for literary quality. 3 out of 5.

The Definition by Bob Marsden

Another story obsessed with sex, though using deliberately florid and shocking language in an attempt to shock. It tells of the night (and the morning) after a rock concert party, with the associated sex, drugs and rock and roll. I suspect it is meant to be satirical, but rather than being innovative and interesting, this was just silly – the point where a drunken character is hit on the head with “an autopenis” was the limit for me.  2 out of 5.

A Landscape of Shallows by Christopher Finch

Art  by Francois Vasseur

A tale that in its dry observations and depiction of its settings, not to mention in its detailed descriptions of vehicles, feels like a Ballard-style tale. Set in an Arabian country, Drover works for Delta Studios, who create advertising campaigns created by computer that use all senses – sight, hearing, taste and smell. There he meets Amaryllis, who tests the machine used to create Drover’s experiences, and this leads to a one-night stand, although the focus of the story seems to be on Drover’s occupation.

I must admit that for much of this story I couldn’t work out what was real and what was imagined by Drover as he relates his dream-like descriptions back. I suspect that this uncertainty may be the point of the plot. Some interesting ideas though – as well as the idea of fully immersive art, I quite liked the idea of the car radio that adapts to the user and their moods. Despite its relatively linear structure, I found I was enjoying this more than I thought I would, probably because it followed the needlessly poetic and pseudo-intellectual style of the previous stories. Still Ballard-light, though. It actually reminded me a little of the last Langdon Jones story published here, in its determination to change form between sections. 4 out of 5.

The Circular Railway by John Calder


As the Lead-In tells us, John’s last work here was Signals in the September 1966 issue. The Circular Railway is a story that on the surface does little more than describe a dreamlike journey taken on a railway, in poetic tones. But of course, being allegorical, it probably means more than it suggests. Overall, it makes me think of a typical train journey for me – one that is putting me to sleep. 3 out of 5.

Book Reviews – Dr. Moreau and the Utopians by C. C. Shackleton

No poetry reviews this month – instead, C. C. Shackleton (also known as Brian Aldiss) points out that the writings of H. G. Wells seem to be back in favour once more, and then addresses the idea that H. G. Wells has often been considered as an optimist. This may be surprising when you consider Wells’ works such as The Island of Dr, Moreau, which told of the horrors created by genetic manipulation.

Nevertheless, Shackleton eventually gets to the point of the review – that a book by Mark R. Hillegas entitled The Future As Nightmare looks at Wells’s ideas of utopia and how such ideas are regarded by his contemporaries and successors. Annoyingly, just as it seems to be getting to a point, the review is then truncated, to be continued next issue (optimistically).

An interesting article – but then as Aldiss/Shackleton is also a huge admirer of H. G. Wells, I would expect nothing less.

Summing up New Worlds

Clearly the long lay-off has given the New Worlds team chance to catch up on some poetry. As we had none in the last issue, this month we have two. I suspect that this may be new Associate Editor James Sallis’s fault.

We also seem to have had a new typewriter installed in the printing works, as we have not just one but two stories that mess around with
T
H
E
TEXT a BiT.

Aldiss has been guilty of such experimental prose before, whilst I think back to Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination back in the 1950’s.

I always feel that such textual acrobatics are more about style than substance, sadly. It’s not really new, nor really clever. And whilst I can appreciate the idea of writers playing with form, is it really necessary to have two doing the same thing in the same issue? It feels a little like desperation to me. The fact that, as much as Brian has done to retrieve New Worlds from the brink of bankruptcy, his Charteris stories do little or nothing for me doesn’t help.

But then I could say that about some of the other stories in this issue as well. The issue generally is filled with material that is odd, unpleasant, or both!

Most of all, this issue feels again like New Worlds is in a holding pattern. There are lots of middling or low scores, suggesting that this issue feels a bit like it is treading water. At its worst this feels like an issue that actually seems desperate, where there’s a need to publish but it is an issue made up of what’s available, rather than the best that New Worlds can be. There’s nothing here that I found particularly memorable, and the emphasis on trying to shock the readers seems to have diminishing returns – for me, at least.

This is a little worrying. I expect to find at least one story or article or review each issue to keep my interest and my subscription paid. This issue didn’t really have anything, although it could be argued that that in itself is a point of discussion.

As frustrating as this issue was, I know that I should be grateful to see anything this month – it is good to have New Worlds back again, even if who knows for how long.

I did not notice an advertisment for the next issue, worryingly.

Nevertheless, until next time – whenever that is!



 

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Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[February 24, 1968] Sex, Mind-Rape, Sitars and Fun Palaces New Worlds, March 1968

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by Mark Yon

Scenes from England

Hello again!

And yes, I’m relieved that we have another monthly issue of New Worlds. As you may know publication has been a little erratic of late, but I’m pleased to see that we may be settling back into a monthly routine.

That’s not to say that the magazine hasn't changed in form. Not only have we gone big and glossy and increased the price per issue to 5/- to allow this, but the content has also changed. The magazine, as perhaps befitting its Arts Council sponsorship, has begun to incorporate more art, more non-fiction articles and less traditional science fiction, which has evoked protests that it is betraying its origins as “a science fiction magazine”. Now we get softer fiction, often allegorical, often nonlinear, with never a spaceship to be seen.

Similarly, another change has caused unease. Have you noticed that things have gotten a little more raunchy of late? Well, perhaps not raunchy – that would be very un-British! But let us say that there is more explicit content.

The last issue was a prime example of this. But what does that mean for this month’s issue?

Let’s go and have a look.

Cover by Vivienne Young

Lead in by The Publishers

For anyone wondering where once-Associate Editor Langdon Jones has been lately, the Lead In explains all. He is no longer working for New Worlds, but instead concentrating on his own writing. The Lead In is totally devoted to him, which is useful for readers to understand his story. 4 out of 5.

The Eye of the Lens by Langdon Jones

This tour de force takes up most of the issue. I’m not a huge fan of having to have an author explain his story, as Langdon Jones has in the Lead In. However, on this occasion it does help to make sense of what otherwise would be a group of random and meaningless elements.

Lyrical prose, poetry, visual imagery – Langdon Jones pulls out all the stops here to create a story made up of parts in different styles that’s difficult to describe, even with his handy notes given. The Hall of the Clock seems almost Gormenghast-ian in its description of allegorical machinery, whilst The Eye of the Lens seems reminiscent of Godard. We have narrative, film scripts and even prose diagrams that remind me of Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination.

Langdon Jones's plot by diagram

It is perhaps best to appreciate each section rather than try and make any sense of the overall plot – there doesn’t seem to be one. Instead, there’s lots of writing with dramatic and dynamic imagery, often religious as well as sexual, which may not be to everyone’s taste. (We really are trying to offend here, aren’t we?) Nevertheless, The Eye of the Lens is perhaps Langdon’s best work to date, if a tad befuddling – again, that may be the point. 4 out of 5.

Lib by Carol Emshwiller

A lyrical story that seems to involve the sexual encounters of Lib, yet as is typical of these stream-of-consciousness-type stories, is deliberately enigmatic. I wasn’t clear whether this was a casual fling or a description of Lib’s profession, although I suspect the latter. This ambiguity may be the point in these days of sexual liberation. 3 out of 5.

The Interrogation by David Lunde

Ah, poetry, about how torture leads to an inward-looking perspective. Short. Doesn’t outstay its welcome. But…dare I say it…surprisingly predictable. 3 out of 5.

Bug Jack Barron (Part 3 of 6) by Norman Spinrad

Quick recap: media celebrity Jack Barron is still embroiled in political machinations determined to force through the Senate the Freezer Utility Bill, a law which will allow Benedict Howards and his corporation The Foundation for Human Mortality a monopoly on cryogenics in the future. Jack, however is still pining for his ex-wife Sara Westerfeld, who unbeknownst to Jack has been covertly contracted by Howards to get to him.

The beginning of this part involves sex between Barron and his secretary Carrie. The next day Barron is contacted by Gregory Morris, Governor of California, who makes Jack an offer to be the next President of the United States. All Jack has to do is sign up to the Republican Party and be their figurehead. Jack laughs the offer away, and the call ends acrimoniously. Explaining this to his Negro friend Lukas Greene, Jack is made another offer by Greene – this time on behalf of the Social Justice Coalition. Whilst thinking this over, Jack meets Sara again and their love is rekindled.

If last month’s part was “style over substance”, this part feels more so. Much of it seems to be just sex, and even with the more adult material of late I feel that we’re pushing pretty close to boundaries here. Like the Brian Aldiss "Charteris" story a couple of issues ago, the author seems to want to use linguistic styles to do little more than see what sexual activity he can get away with. It all feels a little grubby, frankly. That’s not to say the story doesn't move on, but I can’t help feeling that the plot’s really more interested in other things at this point. 3 out of 5.

Article: Fun Palace, Not A Freak Out by Charles Platt


More cut-up-art shenanigans from Charles Platt. This month he seems to be ranting about overstimulation and sex. Seems to fit in with the general theme of the issue. 3 out of 5.

The Head Rape by D. M. Thomas

A poetical rumination on a rape whilst telepathically connected to the rapist. Not for the faint-hearted; it is purposefully shocking, and perhaps distasteful, meant to deliberately provoke. Memorable, but not in a pleasant way. 2 out of 5.

Article: Sex, Sitars and Superimposition by Stacy Waddy

Great title, so-so article. Stacy Waddy reports on the International Knokke Experimental Film Festival. As the name of the Festival suggests, it sounds like it was weird but fun – but I think that perhaps you had to be there to fully appreciate it. Stacy makes a point, though, that the organisers missed a trick by banning audience participation, a chance to bridge the gap between film-action and real-life-action. 3 out of 5.

Article: Book Reviews – Getting The Stuff – A Review of Norman Mailer’s Why Are We in Vietnam? by Douglas Hill and James Sallis

Douglas Hill reviews in detail Norman Mailer’s book Why Are We in Vietnam?. Generally the book is well received, although Douglas points out that because the narrator of this "exciting" book is seen as “foulmouthed” it is unlikely that Why Are We in Vietnam? will be published in Britain. However, if ever justification for the political goings-on in Bug Jack Barron were needed, this may be it.

Continuing the political theme, in the second half new-Associate Editor James Sallis reviews Jack Newfield’s A Prophetic Minority: The American New Left. I must admit that the reading of US events in “a British magazine”, or even reviewing a book that the British general public may not ever see, seems a little odd, yet understandable when you realise that the magazine is now being sold in the US. Such reviews and articles reflect Moorcock’s determination to reach an American audience. (Anyone else notice the 75c price on the cover in recent months as well?)

You may remember Sallis from his odd short story Kazoo in issue 174 back in August 1967. I wasn’t too impressed, myself, but he has an acceptable go as a reviewer here, discussing Hump: Or Bone by Bone Alive by David Benedictus, another book that I have never heard of. This review didn’t really persuade me to read it, either.

Summing up New Worlds

Another issue that seems to want to push boundaries whilst fitting the description of the new New Worlds I gave at the beginning of this review. The emphasis on sex and religion is noticeable – presumably it gains casual readers – although really this is more of the same from the ‘Brave New World’ that Moorcock, Platt and their associates are determined to create. Most of this issue is actually quite hard to describe, being nonlinear and at times nonsensical.

There’s a lot of introspective navel-gazing here, in both the articles and in the fiction. I suspect that your enjoyment of this issue will mainly be determined by how much you like the Langdon Jones and Jack Barron stories, as they dominate. Nice to see Carol Emshwiller's byline–women don't appear often in British mags, and it looks like Moorcock is trying to widen the field a little.

And that’s it, until next time.



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Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[January 26, 1968] Jack Barron Returns!New Worlds, February 1968

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by Mark Yon

Scenes from England

Hello again!

After a month or so, I’m back. It may be a little late, but a Happy 1968 to you.

Here in England the trials and tribulations of New Worlds magazine continue. If you remember, reduced subscriptions led to editor Mike Moorcock making the decision to go bi-monthly whilst finances were being sorted. Fellow traveller Kris also mentioned this last month.

Well, I’m pleased to say that things seem to be sorted, at least for now – which is why I was pleased to see this issue appear. I did have my worries that it might not. It is just labelled as “February 1968”, which means that we might be back to monthly publication again – but who knows?

Let’s go to the issue.

Cover by Eduardo Paolozzi, designed by Charles Platt and Christopher Finch

Lead in by "The Publishers"

Photos of the key writers this month. New feature.

We seem to have moved from the idea of an editorial or an article to a section that describes the contents of the current magazine through quotes and commentary in more detail. I get the point – it’s clearly designed to get casual readers to delve further, and I must admit that it was interesting – I learned something! I just don’t see why these details couldn’t be at the top of each story or article. 4 out of 5.

More sex from Jack Barron. Artist uncredited.

Bug Jack Barron (Part 2 of 6) by Norman Spinrad

And he’s back! Quick recap – readers may remember that Jack Barron is the media celebrity whose talk-show is widely watched across America.  In the last part he took on the political world with an attack on his TV show on the Freezer Utility Bill, a law which will allow Benedict Howards and his corporation The Foundation for Human Mortality a monopoly on cryogenics in the future.

This part of the story deals with what happened after the show. Barron goes and picks up a woman for sex. Taking her back to his penthouse, they make love, but Barron spends time thinking of his ex, Sara Westerfeld.

Barron is then visited by Howards in his office. Howards is angry that Barron has appeared on television to oppose his Bill. Nevertheless, Howards offers in return for Barron’s support a free Freeze contract and therefore near-immortality. Barron refuses to take the offer, and is so annoyed that he sets up an angry tirade against Howards to be on his next show. Howards arranges a meeting with Barron’s ex-wife Sara Westerfeld to try and find a weakness in Barron’s armour. Westerfeld agrees to a contract with Howards in order to get Jack back and also bring down Howards.

So: lots of political wrangling given as long lecture-like rants, with angry cut-up phrases as prose. None of the characters come out of this particularly well, generally giving the impression that politics in America is filled with vicious characters who make their way through life by being nasty, lying and scheming. Mr. Spinrad seems to be a very angry young writer.

And as entertaining as this is, I can’t help feeling that there is little actually of any importance here. When you take away all the fripperies and the prose-stylings, there’s not a great deal of plot. I’m starting to see what others have claimed to be style over substance. 4 out of 5.

First page of the article. More cut-up stylings!

Article: Barbarella and the Anxious Frenchman by Michael Moorcock and Charles Platt

Another article written by Moorcock but filled with more of that cut-up art so beloved of current artists (and in this case by Charles Platt.) It is most definitely opinionated, a rant against the decline in standards in French SF. Why French SF? Well, (the yet-unreleased) Barbarella movie of course, which also gives a chance for Messrs Moorcock and Platt to decry that things in French SF are not as good as they used to be. Things are far too safe, too diluted, too… normal. As rants go, it’s quite fun. It’ll be interesting to see if the article gets a response or not (And where is our late, lamented Letters page?) 4 out of 5.

The Serpent of Kundalini by Brian W. Aldiss and C. C. Shackleton

After last issue’s positively odd installment, we continue with the Colin Charteris story. After seeing much of Brussels burn last month, god-like deity Colin Charteris returns to England. The story is mainly about the strange visions Charteris experiences on his return, as England has been affected by the drug bombs unleashed across Europe, though only slightly.

Whilst the descriptions are imaginative, the extract just feels like what I imagine is one long psychedelic trip and does nothing to change my view that this is still style over substance. Not quite as bad as last issue’s effort, but still relentlessly self-conscious. 3 out of 5.

The Square Root of Brain by Fritz Leiber

Photo illustration. Does it help explain the story? Perhaps…perhaps not.

Now here’s a name I’ve not seen around for a while, in British magazines anyway. I know that Moorcock’s a fan of Leiber’s work, so I can’t imagine much persuading was required to take up this story.

Rather clever and thoroughly scandalous, The Square Root of Brain satirizes pop culture and the insanity of modern life, juxtaposing the slight plot with dictionary quotations (!)

I did wonder if this was another example of American writers trying to “write New Wave”. It is not entirely successful – what is its point? – and yet shows that despite not being seen around much lately, Fritz has not lost any of his satirical bite. There were several places where the story just made me grin. I could see this one in a new collection of Dangerous Visions stories. 4 out of 5.

Article: Under the Sea with Hubert Humphrey by Hubert Humphrey

I must admit that at first glance I thought this title was a parody – you know, an attempt to be a riff on something like something like The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau or Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color… but cynical old me, it wasn’t.

Instead, we get a political statement from the vice-president of the US dressed up as an article showing us the potential of oceanography and the need for international cooperation in future. Political angle aside, it is actually quite interesting, and shows that the seas have future potential. But it does feel a little at odds with the anti-establishment sentiment of much of the rest of the magazine. The gulf between this and Jack Barron could not be more apparent. 3 out of 5.

A Single Rose by John De Cles

Artist: James Cawthorn

Here's another name I’ve not seen here for a while, since Sanitarium in July 1966. I liked this allegorical one (unusually for me!), a story of a man whose attempts to create perfection involve an artificially created Unicorn, and a survey to determine what makes the perfect rose, only to find in the end that it is the idea of transience that makes things special. Quite well done, if a little introspective. 3 out of 5.

In Seclusion by Harvey Jacobs

Weird art for a weird story.

A story of two film stars who fall in love on-set and seeing a publicity campaign in the making are sent by their studio to a secluded abbey with no modern conveniences. The two enjoy the novelty at first but in the end they are attacked by a creature from the ocean. Lots of sexual talk and allegory, with what I assume is meant to be sparkling repartee, but in the end just feels grubby. Another example perhaps of the magazine trying to shock and show that it is more adult in nature than before. If you are engaged by talk of phalluses, seminal fluid and pubic hair you may like this one. Personally, I can’t see Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton doing this sort of thing. 2 out of 5.

Article: Book Review – Atrocities of the Love Slaves of Equanimity by John Sladek

This month’s Book Review seem to be another example of a writer more enamoured with their own writing than actually reviewing a book. There’s a review in there, to be honest, but it has to be deciphered from the writer’s love of his own voice. Sladek reviews Come Back, Dr. Caligari by Donald Barthelme (No, never heard of that one, either.) Despite all of the lyrical posturings, Sladek seems to quite like the book of fourteen stories, clever short stories “rich with references to Freud, high culture, pop culture, (and) existentialism.” All of which seem to fit nicely with the new New Worlds vision, even if I’m unlikely to ever think about this book again.

Summing up New Worlds

An issue that on balance I liked more than I disliked – I liked the Leiber, and thought the Moorcock & Platt article was an interesting touch – though there were elements that seemed a little overwrought. Nevertheless, it was good to have the magazine back, for all of its wayward meanderings.

And that’s it, until next time.



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Magazine, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Serial

[November 26, 1967] The Shock of the New – Part 3 New Worlds, December 1967 – January 1968

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by Mark Yon

Scenes from England

Hello again!

You might have realised that it’s nearly Christmas – again!

It has turned colder here but I’m pleased to say nothing like THAT Winter of four years ago, which has gone into the record books, I understand. Nevertheless, I do like the season, as it means I can sit at home, warm and cosy with (hopefully) a pile of good stuff to read.

Carnaby Street, London: where's the snow?

One little shock to finish this year, however. The arrival of the latest New Worlds brings with it the usual excitement in anticipation of what I am about to read – it is pretty much a mystery at the moment, with each issue’s content rarely being predictable.

And out of all of the un-predictability, one point I wasn’t really expecting was the announcement that this issue is for TWO months – December AND January.

There were no signs of this happening in last month’s issue (other than a price increase), although I did say that there were rumours – grumblings of the publisher being unhappy, sales figures being a lot lower than expected, and editor Mike Moorcock having to go cap-in-hand to beg for more money.

Well, I might have exaggerated that last part a little. But here’s what I know. As I understand it, the ‘new’ New Worlds since it reappeared in July has been financed with an agreement between Mike Moorcock, a business partner named David Warburton and the British Arts Council, brokered by Brian Aldiss.

Facts are unclear, but evidently the take-up of subscriptions has been less – a lot less – than hoped, and so the anticipated money has not appeared. Not only that, but with such news Mike’s business partner has decided not to continue with the venture and has left Mike pretty much to it.

The money from the Arts Council has helped, admittedly, but doesn’t go far enough. The Arts Grant covers most, but not all, of the printing costs. It now seems that Mike has been paying author’s fees out of his own pocket, hoping things will improve, which haven’t. The result? Well, the price of the magazine has already gone up.

I guess that in the future these difficulties mean fewer magazines published each year, or magazines with less content and fewer pages, perhaps? It seems that Mike’s solution, at least for now until he can find more funds, is to keep up the quality but reduce the quantity.

Anyway, let’s go to the issue.

Cover by Eduardo Paolozzi, designed by Charles Platt and Christopher Finch

Article: Free Agents and Divine Fools by Christopher Finch

A relatively short first article this month. In it Christopher looks at the year in art nearly gone and tries to point out trends and patterns. Finch’s summary is that the year’s been fairly uneventful on the surface. For Art to thrive, artistic freedom is important and is needed for art to survive, but deliberately avant garde activity seems obsolete and there is a risk of Culture becoming a sub-culture. Old class structures may be being broken down in society, but in Art in its place is a type of snobbery based on specialism. To rail against this there are a few artists, including Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton, both of whom have been in the magazine over the past few issues. There’s two pages of photos at the end to show some of their work.

Example of one of the pages of Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton art.

Really, this article is a rallying call for art in the future to be outside of the systems already in place, which is pretty much the point of the new New Worlds, I think. 3 out of 5.

Bug Jack Barron (Part 1 of 3) by Norman Spinrad

An American writer who may be new to us here in Britain, although he has been mentioned here at Galactic Journey lately with his recent script for Star Trek (The Doomsday Machine) and his story Carcinoma Angels in Harlan Ellison’s Dangerous Visions. He’s clearly a hot property at the moment, and I think this story will further add to his reputation.

Bug Jack Barron is meant to shock. It is full of expletives, overtly provocative, presenting a US in the 1980’s where the United States is often shown to be corrupt, prone to being un-democratic and riddled with corporate schemes.

This seems to follow a theme. From Ballard’s caricaturish depictions of John F Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mouse, to John Brunner’s cut-up depiction of a near future New York in Stand on Zanzibar last month, it is clear that Bug Jack Barron continues this trend of anti-utopian unrest. Jack Barron is a media star who encourages anger across the country. On his nightly video show “Bug Jack Barron” he asks for, and gets, people sounding off on the concerns of the day. Jack is seen as someone whose purpose is to bring these injustices to light to the public, and gain publicity and viewers at the same time, of course!

When a caller accuses the Foundation for Human Immortality of racial discrimination by negatively discriminating against black people on Barron’s show, Jack attempts to contact live and on air the CEO of the Foundation, Benedict Howards, for a comment. However, Howards is unreachable and as a result, Jack gives air-time to negro Mississippi Governor Lukas Greene who launches into an attack on the Foundation. In an attempt to give an alternate view similar to Howards, Jack also speaks to Senator Teddy Hennering, the co-sponsor of Howards’ Freezer Utility Bill, but the result is to suggest that the Freezer Utility Bill should be cancelled. By the end of this first part, Barron begins to suspect that he may have inadvertently made an enemy in Howards, for which we must read on in the next issue.

Why is this shocking? I have already mentioned the expletive-ridden language throughout this story, which may be a little too gauche for some readers. In particular, a familiar expletive associated with those of African descent is bandied about an awful lot. This is inflammatory, vivid writing rather in the style of William Burroughs, the author so beloved by Moorcock and his colleagues. This frank discussion of race and politics in America is something a universe away from us here in Britain, although I suspect that the issues it raises are universal.

Most striking of all though is the suggestion that the media could have such an influence over a country. Could this really be a future? Could we see media monsters like Jack Barron dominate our future? I’m not sure, and certainly not in Britain, although Spinrad’s version is quite convincing.

If this is editor Moorcock’s last-hurrah, a response to his monetary struggles, it seems that he is determined to go down fighting, albeit in flames. 4 out of 5.

The Line-Up on the Shore by Giles Gordon

By comparison, the next story is much milder. One of those short stories that seem to be more a stream of consciousness than a story with a literary narrative. 58 people who seem to be stood staring until they move – or as described in the story “they run, run, run, run, run, run, run…” etc. Rather creepy, but I’m not entirely sure of its point – other than to be creepy, I guess. 2 out of 5.

Auto-Ancestral Fracture by Brian W. Aldiss and C. C. Shackleton

The return of the seemingly ever-present Mr. Aldiss (see his serial later in the issue, finishing this month), but unusually this one appears to be cowritten. This is not as it seems, however as C. C. Shackleton is a pseudonym for… Mr Brian Aldiss!

Anyway, this one is another story – or extract, I’m never quite sure – involving Colin Charteris. New Worlds insists on publishing these – the last story was Still Trajectories in the September issue – although for me they have had diminishing returns.

This time around, Colin is in Brussels, which you might know of from previous stories as having been heavily bombed with psychotropic drugs in the Acid Head War, surrounded by his disciples with his new god-like status.

Hearing two followers, Angeline and Marta, fight for Charteris’s attention as waves of reality flood in and out is rather torturous, making them sound like cast-offs from Anthony Burgess’s Clockwork Orange or devotees of Mr. Stanley Unwin’s famous gobbledegook. This also gives Aldiss/Shackleton a great chance to write about sex covertly, with words like ‘friggerhuddle’ and ‘bushwanking’, all of which seem to have been written with great glee. Edward Lear it isn’t, but I suspect an homage to James Joyce.

The last part of the story describes what happens when Cass, Charteris’s agent, persuades Colin to see famous film director Nicholas Boreas and have a film made about him. The finished film reads like a cross between something from Ken Russell and J. G. Ballard, full of fractured images and cars crashing. Afterwards Charteris continues his pilgrimage in Brussels, but things get out of hand. There’s a fire and much of Brussels burns. The story ends with eight sets of lyrics from imaginary songs.

Really don’t know how to summarise this one. The story is to be admired for its deliberately diverse styles of writing, but really not a lot happens. Like most of these Charteris stories, to me it feels incomplete, a portion of a bigger story, and as a result feels a little unsatisfying. It is better than the last Charteris story, admittedly, but that may not be saying much. Style over substance, which may be beyond most readers. 3 out of 5.

Article: Movies by Ed Emshwiller

A bit left-of-field, this one. I was pleasantly surprised that this month’s artist I have heard of, for like you perhaps, I know Ed for his artwork on magazines such as Galaxy and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. However, here this article tries to distance itself from all that pulp fiction nonsense, as it says here that in England he is best known for his film work, such as his 38 minute film Relativity, “thought by many to be about the best short film ever made.”.

Philistine that I am, I’ve never heard of it – and I suspect fans of Godard may have something to say on the matter. Anyway, this is a little different, in that it is a “primarily non-verbal description, done as a film storyboard, of his interests and aims in making films.” 4 out of 5.

Linda & Daniel & Spike by Thomas M. Disch

After Thomas’s recent serial Camp Concentration, I’m quite interested to read what fiction he comes up with next. (He has been busy writing non-fiction articles and reviews as well, admittedly.)

Linda & Daniel & Spike begins by telling us that it is a story of sex. The fact that the title is written on the back of a naked lady on the magazine cover, and the banner picture (above) may also be a clue to this. However, it is more than that. Linda tells her imaginary friend Daniel that she is pregnant with his child. Daniel walks away. Linda goes to a gynaecologist, who tells her that she is not pregnant but has uterine cancer. She gives birth to the tumour and names it Spike. Over the next fifteen years she brings Spike up, until she is readmitted to hospital for the removal of more tumours.

I get the impression that this is meant to be darkly humorous, but I didn’t find it so–just sad. It is written well, but I can’t say I enjoyed the experience. But, New Worlds is attempting to shock, and this story does that. 3 out of 5.

An Age (Part 3 of 3) by Brian W. Aldiss

Last month Edward Bush had been recruited as part of a group of soldiers from the Wenlock Institute in 2093 whose purpose was to mind-travel using the overmind back to the Jurassic and find, or arrest, or kill Silverstone, a scientist seen as a traitor by the dictatorial regime of General Peregrine Bolt.

This part begins by saying that they have had to omit chapters here and are presenting the last part of the story in a condensed form. As the book of this serial is advertised in the issue, it does feel a little like an attempt to make any interested reader go and buy the novel. There is a summary of what has gone on so far at the beginning, though, which may suffice.

Nevertheless, the story limps to an inconclusive finish. We now find that Bolt has been overthrown to be replaced by Admiral Gleeson. Bush finds Silverstone and meets him. Bush, Silverstone and a group of others mind-travel back to the Cryptozoic to avoid assassins. Silverstone then reveals his idea – that time is back to front and the future is actually our past. Silverstone is shot and killed by an assassin. The identity of the Dark Woman is revealed as someone from Central Authority and she explains the future, or rather the past. Silverstone’s body is taken away to be buried by people from Central Authority. The creation of the universe and the purpose of God is explained.

Bush and others return to the present of 2093 to explain Silverstone’s idea about the overmind to Wenlock, owner of the mind-travelling institute. Bush is put in a mental institution, allegedly because of anomia, a breakdown caused by excessive mind travel. Bush’s father tries to see him but is rebuffed. A girl (The Dark Woman? Ann?) watches him as he leaves.

A fair bit happens here. The scale is certainly epic, but the pace is rather uneven. Too much of the middle part of the story spent trying to explain Silverstone’s ‘big idea’, whilst other events feel like they happen too conveniently or too quickly. I also found the downbeat ending rather contrived and unsatisfying, leaving the story without a good ending. 3 out of 5.

Article: Book Reviews – A Literature of Acceptance by James Colvin

This month’s Book Reviews seem to be another example of Mike Moorcock as James Colvin. He begins by examining a connection between literature – not just sf – and times of stress, postulating that the paranoia of the age is often reflected in popular writing of the time, not just now but in the past as well.

He then turns it around by claiming that change may be happening, and that – guess what! – stories like those in New Worlds may be a sign of the future and of mainstream acceptance, not just trying to entertain but to stretch and expand the genre.

The actual book reviews are for J. G. Ballard’s new collection of stories, The Overloaded Man, a reissue of Alfred Bester’s Tiger! Tiger!, Kit Reed’s first story collection, Mister da V. and Other Stories, The Seedling Stars by James Blish, Robert Zelazny’s Lord of Light and Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr Rosewater.

Unusually, Ballard’s collection is not given the usual glowing recommendation his work seems to get in New Worlds as it is “a poor representation of some of his early work – some of it is clumsily written and consisting principally of raw subject material that is worked in only the simplest and most obvious ways.”

The rest are generally more favourable. Taking a chance to self-promote, Moorcock/Colvin finishes the review section with a list of books coming out in 1968, many of them having first appeared in New Worlds, of course!

Article: Mac the Naif by John Sladek

This article examines the work of Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian philosopher whose style of work seems to echo much of what is being printed in New Worlds these days, in that cut-up mosaic form that Ballard and others seem to like. Even this article is written in that style.

Sladek looks at four of McLuhan’s books – The Mechanical Bride, which introduces McLuhan’s ideas of global communication, The Gutenberg Galaxy, which suggests that it is the printed word that has influenced society and ways of thinking since the Renaissance but with a McLuhan perspective, which leads to Understanding Media and his latest, The Medium is the Message, which is a condensation of his previous work and in the words of Sladek, “hardly worth reviewing” for that reason. Nevertheless, I can see that phrase becoming a mantra for all those executive advertising types in the future.

It's an interesting article, but complex, and I found I had to reread it to understand. Even Sladek admits that he doesn’t quite understand it all; whilst grudgingly admitting that there’s enough good ideas in the books to make them a worthwhile read. 3 out of 5.

There's quite a few missing here!

Summing up New Worlds

We are again in a position where Moorcock seems to be determined to shake things up and is going all out to shock again this month. The Spinrad is a story I suspect would not be published in this form anywhere else. I am sure that its expletive-ridden prose, albeit with a purpose, may not go down well with the “Old Guard of Science Fiction”, but would have made an ideal choice for Harlan Ellison’s Dangerous Visions collection, had it been shorter and a story from Spinrad not already accepted. Like Ellison, I think Spinrad has an exciting future ahead.

It actually is quite a surprise to realise that this is the same writer who wrote the script for the Star Trek episode "Doomsday Machine" – they are very different and show that the writer has a range. Obviously, this is only the first part, but I think it shows that in the future Spinrad could be up there with Samuel R. Delany at his most impressive.

The Disch also seems determined to shock, but I don’t think that it is as good as his previous work. I am now feeling that, even with my reservations about it, the rest of his writing tends to pale in significance against Camp Concentration.

Both Aldiss stories disappointed. Although I enjoyed Auto-Ancestral Fracture more than most of the others of his Charteris stories, it still was as unsatisfying as I had feared. An Age finished weakly.

But all in all, a good issue that seems to defiantly tread the path in the new direction the magazine is taking. Whilst there were parts that left me feeling dissatisfied, it must be said that it made me think. There’s a lot of things here as in recent issues that definitely make you think beyond the confines of the magazine, which in my opinion is good, but may be the magazine’s downfall. Extra cerebral activity may alienate some of the readership the magazine hopes to acquire.

Certainly, based on what I’m reading here, there are few signs that this will be the last issue – after all, the magazine feels confident enough to start a new serial this month. Hopefully this means that things financially will be resolved soon, and the magazine will continue.

It was interesting that the magazine put this at the back:

And that’s it from me for this year. All the very best to you all, have a wonderful Christmas and I’ll get back to you in the New Year (hopefully!)



 

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