By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

In 1889, Oscar Wilde wrote “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”. This month, London has proved that.

In the 1949 film Passport to Pimlico, a small area of London declares independence and it ends with the British government forced to negotiate to get them back. Actual negotiations for reintegration of the Isle of Dogs concluded on Monday.

Post-War Reconstruction taking place in Isle of Dogs

The Isle of Dogs is not a true island, but rather a low-lying peninsula that marks a massive bend in the Thames. As such in the Victorian era it became a part of the London Docklands. However, as ship size increased more ships were moved further down the river. The railway lines were closed and the area was devastated in the blitz.

In the last decade a large project of council flat building took place in the region, with 97% of the population in government housing. However, amenities did not keep up with the rise in the population Schools, hospitals and shopping areas were not included in the plans, yet only one bus route services the entire region.

Joint Prime Ministers of the new republic, Ray Padgett and John Westfallen

In order to bring awareness to their situation, on the 1st March around 1,000 residents of the Isle of Dogs, led by Fred Johns (their representative on the borough council), blocked the swing bridges to the rest of London. They announced that a Unilteral Declaration of Independence would be forthcoming if their demands were not met and taxes would not be paid.

Area map of the short-lived republic (orange are those buildings owned by Port of London Authority)

On the 9th March the official declaration of independence came with the setting up of a citizen’s council and two Prime Ministers to run each side of the island. They issued a demand to return taxes that they said belonged to the islanders, and started on plans to setup their own street market and turn a disused building into a school. This drove headlines all over the world, with even Pravda from the USSR sending in a reporter.

After meeting with the Prime Minister, a plan was announced by Tower Hamlets Council for resolving the issues raised by the Islanders with a full consultation. The council, however, denied that this protest had anything to do with the timing of this announcement. Whatever the cause, the Republic of the Isle of Dogs has achieved its goals, so it seems that entry permits will no longer be required to travel in and out of the region.

Back in the world of SF publishing, we have our own odd little affair. That of Orbit 6, which contains some good, some bad and many just plain confusing tales:

Orbit 6

Cover illustration by Paul Lehr

The Second Inquisition by Joanna Russ

In 1925, Bess’ family play host to an unusual guest. A coloured woman who is unusually tall, does not appear to have the social propriety of the era and is more than happy to share secrets with Bess. Is she a time traveller? Or just a teller of tall-tales from the circus?

Like many of these ambiguous tales that touch on the new-wave, this can be read in multiple ways. As such it is not the easiest story to get through or understand but one well worth exploring.

Four Stars

Remembrance to Come by Gene Wolfe

I am often not a huge fan of Wolfe’s style, but even putting that aside I am confused by this whole story. It seems to have something to do with a commentary on academic life, riffing on Proust and some kind of hooded figure haunting campuses that may be the lead character as well.

If it has a point, it is lost on me.

One Star

How the Whip Came Back by Gene Wolfe

I guess Wolfes really do travel in packs as we get a second story from him straight afterwards.

Miss Bushnan is an observer at the United Nations Conference on Human Value along with her robot servant Sal. She suddenly finds herself wined and dined by various delegates, as they wish to reinforce their proposition by having delegates vote on the motion: that of allowing the international buying and selling of imprisoned humans as slaves. Bushnan finds herself in discussion with The Pope on what she should do.

Scene from I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

Anyone who has watched American cinema is probably familiar with how the Thirteenth Amendment in the United States has been used to allow for unpaid penal labour. Even though it seems to be in decline at the moment, there is no reason why it could not rise again. The idea that the widespread use of robots could allow people to get comfortable with slavery again is an interesting one.

Unfortunately, I feel that the idea is all this story has going for it. It is pages of long didactic conversations that are so boring I considered giving up halfway through. Add on to that Wolfe’s habit of putting in disparaging remarks about women for no apparent reason (such as that the Soviet delegate only got to her position by sleeping with the party secretary) and this was another swing and a miss from Wolfe.

A Low Two Stars

Goslin Day by Avram Davidson

I am afraid this is another story where I cannot explain the plot. It has something to do with terrible nature of today’s youth and the Kabbalah, with run-on-sentences so verbose and confusing it would make James Joyce blush. Per example:

In the agglutantive obscenities which interrupted the bang-crashes of the yuckels emptying eggshells orangerinds coffeegrounds there was (this morning, different from all other mornings) something unlike their mere brute pleasure in waking the dead.

One Star until someone can explain it to me.

Maybe Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck, Was a Little Bit Right by Robin S. Scott

After the end of the world, a Moon Ship of three people returns to the desolate Earth to rebuild humanity. They are led by a Lamarckian biologist called Calder who is determined to ensure the widest genetic diversity possible.

A disturbing tale of sex and violence, with discussion of murder, familial rape and pedophilia. It is all supposed to have something to do with the Lamarckism but seems to me to be a story trying to just be shocking for the sake of it. I don’t consider myself a prude, but I was truly disgusted by the experience of reading it. 

One Star

The Chosen by Kate Wilhelm

What is an Orbit without a Wilhelm story?

Lorin and Jan are sent into the empty Earth of the future to see what minerals and food production could be used to help the resource poor present. However, Lorin doesn’t want to go back.

This is a tough one to review for two inter-connected reasons. Firstly, there is a massive shift in the final third that changes your perspective on the story. Secondly, there seems like there is meant to be some point to it all, but I am not sure what it is. The only thing I can devise from it is that maybe modern life is cruel, but even that doesn’t feel right.

Still Wilhelm style is good, and I enjoyed whilst reading it, even if I am still left scratching my head.

A Low Three stars

Entire and Perfect Chrysolite by R. A. Lafferty

There is only one World-Island, the Ecumene. All rumours of islands and other continents have been conclusively proven to be false. Sailing on the True Believer, six people, led by Shackleton and Boyle, conduct a séance, to see if they conjure up the legendary continent of Africa that exists below Libya.

17th Century Greek Map resembling the description of Ecumene

People that are familiar with my reviews know I am not Lafferty’s biggest fan (although given how often he appears in this series, I suspect Knight might be) so I may not be the best person to give my review on this. It is a reasonable yarn except I cannot see the point of it.

There are a bunch of curious touches: The leaders of the expedition are (presumably) named after famous Anglo-Irish people, and therefore from a country that cannot exist; the description of the world resembles some old maps; the suggestion they may just be a group of white people in our world on holiday in Africa that are high on dope. But it all seems to just come down to oddness for oddness’ sake.

Two Stars

Sunburst by Roderick Thorp

Johnny Loughlin is woken by his wife Cynthia to tell him that all television programmes have been replaced by the news. A wave of violence seems to be spreading around the world without an obvious cause.

This is a new author, at least to me, which is always nice to see. Unfortunately, this isn’t an auspicious start. It seems to just be another case of random violence for the sake of shock value. I am also miffed it equated an uprising against apartheid with someone committing arson for fun.

One Star

The Creation of Bennie Good by James Sallis

A surreal vignette involving a man offering a woman his foot.

Sallis has been one of the most reliable of Knight’s regular crew up until now. There is some delightful imagery, but it just feels like a subpar New Worlds reject to me.

Two Stars

The End by Ursula K. Le Guin

Lif was a bricklayer, but with the end of the world coming, no one wants anything built or repaired. What is he to do with all his old stock? How about building an underwater road?

Le Guin is one of the most exciting authors writing today, and this further cements her reputation. It still has the surreality of much of the rest of this anthology, but she mixes it with heart and melancholy to build something special.

A solidly constructed four stars

A Cold Dark Night with Snow by Kate Wilhelm

To answer my previous question “What is an Orbit without a Wilhelm story?”, it turns out to be an Orbit with two!

This is an experiment in fragmented narrative, telling the story of Maiya and her social ambitions, intersecting with former hippy Hank and his desire to concentrate on building something great.

The content is middling and only barely SFnal but the style is interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Three Stars

Fame by Jean Cox

Major Ralph Cargill travels out on the first solo interstellar voyage. By the time he returns to Earth over 100 years have passed. However, fame is a fickle thing, and his return may not be what he expected.

It has been 3 years since we saw Cox in an Science Fiction publication and here he delivers another solid story. Particularly good is the sense of isolation we get during Gilbert’s travels. The ending feels a little weak to me, but the journey is a good one.

A High Three Stars

Debut by Carol Emshwiller

A princess, kept blind by a mask, is led around by her sisters.

This is a another barely SFnal piece (there are mentions of fantastic elements, but they don’t seem to be key to the story) and I am not convinced by much of it. Some nice descriptions going on but that is all I can say it has going for it.

Two Stars

Where No Sun Shines by Gardner Dozois

Robinson drives across a US in the midst of a civil war. He sees scenes of horrible brutality as society breaks down.

Dozois was an If First four years ago but I haven’t seen him since. Much like Cox, this represents a solid return. The concepts in this story are hardly new but it is evocatively told.

A High Three Stars

The Asian Shore by Thomas M. Disch

John Benedict Harris is an American visiting Istanbul, to explore his thesis on the arbitrary nature of life. However, he keeps being mistaken for a Turkish man named Yavuz.

It is a curious tale that I am still not sure entirely how I feel about. At first it seems like it is going to be similar to Zoline’s The Holland of the Mind exploring the nature of a marital breakdown against a foreign city. But then it takes a darker turn towards transformation, as a person with prejudice finds himself becoming what he dislikes. I am still not sure how effective it really is. Perhaps one I need to chew on for longer.

A High Three Stars

It’s All Gone To The Dogs

In the 60s it seemed like anthologies were going to be the solution to the problem of magazines filled with mediocre short fiction. However, as their number has increased Sturgeon’s Law has come into play and we are already seeing many of these hardcovers filled with 90% crud.

Of all the original anthologies over the last 12 months, I would say only New Writings 15 and The New SF are better than the median issue of F&SF and so justify the higher price tag. However, as my old nan always says, Where There’s Muck, There’s Brass, and it's also true there are still those 10% of good stories to dig out.

A similar logic can also be applied to the Republic of the Isle of Dogs. Some may have considered the protest all a big joke, but if it made a difference to the residents does it matter. As former Prime Minister Ray Padget said:

I don’t care if people think I am silly. I’ll wear a red nose and a clown’s hat providing that the message about our complaints gets over.

If what you want is the higher average score per penny spent, then anthologies are generally not better than magazines. But if you are looking for that one story that makes you sit up and think, then maybe all the silliness around it is worthwhile?

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[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

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