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************************************************************** * * * R E A D I N G F O R P L E A S U R E * * * * Issue #8 * * * * January 1990 * * * * * * Editor: Cindy Bartorillo * * * * * * HAPPY NEW YEAR! * ************************************************************** CONTACT US AT: Reading For Pleasure, c/o Cindy Bartorillo, 1819 Millstream Drive, Frederick, MD 21701; or on CompuServe leave a message to 74766,1206; or on GEnie leave mail to C.BARTORILLO; or call our BBS, the BAUDLINE II at 301-694-7108, 1200/2400 8N1. NOTICE: Reading For Pleasure is not copyrighted. You may copy freely, but please give us credit if you extract portions to use somewhere else. Sample copies of our print edition are available upon request. We ask for a donation of $1.50 each to cover the printing and mailing costs. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: DISTRIBUTION DIRECTORY Here are a few bulletin boards where you should be able to pick up the latest issue of READING FOR PLEASURE. See masthead for where to send additions and corrections to this list. Accolade! BBS Round Rock,TX Jack Moore 512-388-1445 Ad Lib Monroeville,PA John Williams 412-327-9209 The Annex Dayton,OH John Cooper 513-274-0821 Beginnings BBS Levittown,NY Mike Coticchio 516-796-7296 S Billboard Bartlett,IL Gary Watson 708-289-9808 P Blcksbg Info Serv Blacksburg,VA Fred Drake 703-951-2920 Boardello Los Angeles,CA Bryan Tsunoda 213-820-4527 P Bruce's Bar&Grill Hartford,CT Bruce 203-236-3761 P Byrd's Nest Arlington,VA Debbie&Alan Byrd 703-671-8923 P CC-BBS ManhattanBchCA Chuck Crayne 213-379-8817 P Center Point PCB Salt Lake,UT Kelvin Hyatt 801-359-6014 P Chevy Chase Board Chevy Chase,MD Larkins/Carlson 301-549-5574 P CompuNet Venice,CA Karen Zinda 213-306-1447 P Computer Co-Op Voorhees,NJ Ted Hare 609-784-9404 Daily Planet Owosso,MI Jay Stark 517-723-4613 Death Star Oxon Hill,MD Lee Pollard 301-839-0705 P Del Ches Systems Exton,PA Peter Rucci 215-363-6625 Diversified Prog PacPalisadesCA Jean-Pierre Denis 213-459-6053 P Farmington Valley Hartford,CT John Walko 203-676-8920 P Future Tech Boston,MA Napier & Moran 617-720-3600 P Futzer Avenue Issaquah,WA Stan Symms 206-391-2339 P Gentleman Loser Laurel,MD Robert West 301-776-0226 P HeavenSoft Dayton,OH John Wampler 513-836-4288 House of Illusions Louisville,KY Pittman/Schardein 502-458-7666 IBMNew CompuServe Library #0 Inn on the Park Scottsdale,AZ Jim Jusko 602-957-0631 P Invention Factory New York,NY Mike Sussell 212-431-1273 P Ivory Tower Manchester,CT Karl Hakmiller 203-649-5611 PS JETS Philadelphia T.A. Hare 215-928-7503 P JForum CompuServe Library #8 KCSS BBS Seattle,WA Bob Neddo 206-296-5277 P ()Lensman() BBS Denver,CO Greg Bradt 303-979-8953 P Litforum CompuServe Library #12 Lost Paradise Washington,DC 202-370-7795 P Magpie HQ New York,NY Steve Manes 212-420-0527 P NiCK at NiTE Salt Lake,UT Nick Zahner 801-964-1889 P Nostradamus Los Angeles,CA Al Menache 213-473-4119 P Oak Lawn Oak Lawn,IL Vince & Chris 708-599-8089 P Poverty Rock PCB Mercer Is.,WA Rick Kunz 206-232-1763 PS Quantum Connec. PacPalisadesCA Richard W. Gross 213-459-6748 P Riverside Premium Lyons,IL Don Marquardt 312-447-8073 P Science Fiction GEnie Library #3 SF & Fantasy CIS Hom-9 Library #1 Suburban Software Chicago,IL Chuck Valecek 312-636-6694 P Sunwise Sun City W.,AZ Keith Slater 602-584-7395 Technoids Anon. Chandler,AZ David Cantere 602-899-4876 P Writers Happy Hr Seattle,WA Walter Scott 206-364-2139 P Writers' RT GEnie Library #1 Your Place Fairfax,VA Ken Goosens 703-978-6360 P RFP Home Board: Baudline II Frederick,MD the Bartorillo's 301-694-7108 Any board that participates in the RelayNet (tm) email system can request RFP from NetNode. P = PC Pursuit-able S = StarLink-able NOTE: Back issues on CompuServe may have been moved to a different library (or removed). :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 What's News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Recent New Age Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 Important Dates in January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 News Release From UMI Research Press . . . . . . . . . . 616 Amazing Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706 True Crime In Paperback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871 Steve Gerber Talks Back to RFP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085 Bluffers Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139 Fiction Into Film: The Onion Field . . . . . . . . . . . 1213 New Heinlein Material Coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1298 January Releases From Mysterious Press . . . . . . . . . 1360 Lizzie Borden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1410 From Meadowbrook Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1493 Keeping Up With: John E. Stith . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1554 Random Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1598 Who Is Darryl Kenning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2129 New From Wiley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2175 All-Time Bestselling Children's Books . . . . . . . . . . 2229 1989 World Fantasy Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2285 Bestsellers 1980-1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2311 More Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2336 New From Carroll & Graf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2407 The Strange Luck of Walter Jon Williams . . . . . . . . . 2491 Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2553 Great Beginnings Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Great Beginnings Trivia Quiz Answers . . . . . . . . . . 2612 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: A man is a small thing, and the night is very large and full of wonders. --Lord Dunsany :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: EDITORIAL I don't know why so many people enjoy reading True Crime, but I suspect the reasons are as varied as the readers. The genre might tap your latent Sherlock Holmes tendencies, or it might feed the kind of voyeuristic sadism that makes people stop and stare at car accidents. Whatever the attraction may be, True Crime seems to sell well, as even the smaller bookstores in my town manage to reserve several shelves for it. What I can talk about are my own motivations and reactions, and the first thing I notice is my unease when the subject of True Crime gets closer to my here-and-now. I can spend many happy hours reading about Lizzie Borden, Jack the Ripper, the Halls-Mills Case, or the murder of Desmond Taylor, but reading about Ted Bundy doesn't sound like much fun to me. It doesn't take Sigmund Freud to realize that my attraction to crime increases with its distance from me. How about you? Another deep psychological insight: If death has to come, let it come for a reason. Most of yesteryear's murders were for some specific REASON. I'm not saying the crime was justified, only that there was some relatively sane motivation. Today's typical murder has no intelligible reason at all, and is therefore all the more upsetting. Living a good life and being the very best person you can possibly be is no defense. You could be next, and for NO REASON AT ALL. For this reason, one of my favorite Jack the Ripper books is Stephen Knight's JACK THE RIPPER: THE FINAL SOLUTION, for in Mr. Knight's theory there was a real REASON for all of it: the murders themselves, the types of victims, the brutality of the murders, and, most importantly, there was a reason for the atrocities to stop when they did. I'm not at all convinced that Mr. Knight has proved his theory, but it is certainly one of the most intellectually and psychologically satisfying explanations of the Ripper murders. Also, you must notice that we have two new contributors this month: Fred Drake and Robert A. Pittman. I thank both of them for their generosity and hope that they will send us more material very soon. You can contact Mr. Pittman through Reading For Pleasure, and the best place to find Mr. Drake is on the BIS (Blacksburg Information Service) BBS in Blacksburg, VA (703- 951-2920). Fred is the SYSOP of the literary section of the BIS, so next time you and your computer are out trolling the phone lines, be sure to give him a call. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: So-called genre fiction is the one place where heroes survive. So-called "literary" fiction has become simply an exercise in style. The idea, so far as I can tell, is to write better and better about less and less until one is writing perfectly about nothing. --William L. DeAndrea :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: WHAT'S NEWS * As I'm sure many of you have heard by now, Stephen King's novel THE STAND was substantially longer in its original incarnation, having been subjected to massive editorial cuts prior to publication. The original version is still tentatively scheduled to be released by Doubleday this May, and is being called, at least so far, THE COMPLETE STAND. It will be a hardcover of 1136 pages, restoring over 30,000 words of excised material, including a wholly new ending. Berni Wrightson illustrations will grace the limited edition and possibly the trade edition. Tentative price is $30 (for the regular edition) and the initial print run, I hear, will be 100,000 (which is mighty small). I don't mean to start a stampede, but the first edition of this book (and of course the limited edition) might really be worth something. * Last year publisher Stein & Day finally went bankrupt. You can find out what happened in Sol Stein's book, A FEAST FOR LAWYERS: Inside Chapter 11 (Evans, $18.95, ISBN 0-87131-598-0). His perspective is not without bias, but it's a fascinating business story and particularly recommended to all CEOs. * If you'd like to read a book by a man who loves reading as much as you do, try MEMOIRS OF A BOOKMAN by Jack Matthews (Swallow/ Ohio University, $21.95, ISBN 0-8214-0937-9). He's a professor of English at Ohio University and collects old books and manuscripts. In this volume (he also wrote BOOKING IN THE HEARTLAND) he talks about subjects as varied as Mark Twain, Calvin Coolidge, Johnny Appleseed, and hound dogs. * Here's a book that sounds interesting--> THE DAME IN THE KIMONO: Hollywood, Censorship and the Production Code from the 1920s to the 1960s by Leonard J. Leff & Jerold L. Simmons. It's new from Grove Weidenfeld, $22.50, ISBN 1-55584-224-0. * And here's another good-looking book--> HENRY JAMES AND EDITH WHARTON: Letters 1900-1915 edited by Lyall H. Powers. It's new from Scribners, $29.95, ISBN 0-684-19146-6. * Warren Adler must have made a deal with the Devil. A movie version of his novel THE WAR OF THE ROSES was released in December. Another of his books, RANDOM HEARTS (about the romance that evolves between the spouses of two secret lovers killed in a plane crash), is under development at Tri-Star. Another Adler book, THE SUNSET GANG (interrelated stories set in a Florida retirement community), is being prepared for public television's American Playhouse by Big Deal Productions, Linda Lavin's company. Adler's latest novel, MADELINE'S MIRACLES (a self- proclaimed psychic who gains control of a trusting California family), has been optioned by Warner Bros. as a vehicle for Goldie Hawn. * A book I'm willing to bet on--> THE BRIDESHEAD GENERATION: Evelyn Waugh and His Friends by Humphrey Carpenter (Houghton Mifflin, $24.95, ISBN 0-395-44142-0). I'm not a big Evelyn Waugh reader, but I am a fan of Humphrey Carpenter. He wrote a book a few years ago called THE INKLINGS: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams & Their Friends, which was riveting--check your library. * For a controversial biography of a semi-classic writer, try RUDYARD KIPLING by Martin Seymour-Smith (St. Martin's, January, $18.95, ISBN 0-312-03925-5). Kipling is portrayed as a man driven by repressed homosexuality and self-hate who yet managed to become one of the greatest writers of all time. * If you've been thinking of trying a horror novel to see what all the fuss is about, you might want to head on over to your local store now and pick up a copy of Dean R. Koontz's new novel, THE BAD PLACE. I haven't seen it yet (it's not out as I write this), but the early reviews are raves. Sounds like it could be a big cross-over book, popular with general readers as well as horror fans. Ask for: THE BAD PLACE by Dean R. Koontz, Putnam, $19.95, ISBN 0-399-13498-0. /HARD2/LIB/PROG/R:=:=:=:=:=:=: BY BIZARRE HANDS: Stories by Joe R. Lansdale Do you know what FEAR is? TRUE fear? Stoker Award-winning author Joe Lansdale does---and he shares that knowledge in his first short story collection, BY BIZARRE HANDS. Featuring 14 excursions into terror, this deluxe hardcover edition also includes an introduction by Lewis Shiner; jacket, endpaper, and title page art by J.K. Potter; and interior illustrations by ALIENS artist Mark Nelson. $25 Trade Edition $65 Slipcased Limited Edition Signed by All Participants Please add $2 to your order for shipping and handling. Mark V. Ziesing, P.O. Box 76, Shingletown, CA 96088 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: GREAT BEGINNINGS QUIZ As we begin a new decade, can you remember how these books began? Match up the first lines and the book titles, if you can. The Books: 1. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams 2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 3. Cabal by Clive Barker 4. Weaveworld by Clive Barker 5. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney 8. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 9. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 10. Fear of Flying by Erica Jong 11. "The Body" by Stephen King 12. The Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale 13. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 14. Moby Dick by Herman Melville 15. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley 16. 1984 by George Orwell 17. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth 18. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 19. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons 20. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy The first lines: (A) She was so deeply imbedded in my consciousness that for the first year of school I seem to have believed that each of my teachers was my mother in disguise. (B) Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. (C) The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. (D) Nothing ever begins. There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any other story springs. (E) The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them--words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. (F) I warn you that what you're starting to read is full of loose ends and unanswered questions. It will not be neatly tied up at the end, everything resolved and satisfactorily explained. (G) Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. (H) If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap... (I) Call me Ishmael. (J) It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. (K) There were 117 psychoanalysts on the Pan Am flight to Vienna and I'd been treated by at least six of them. (L) Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (M) It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. (N) No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. (O) Some places are too evil to be allowed to exist. (P) I wonder if there isn't a lot of bunkum in higher education? (Q) Of all the rash and midnight promises made in the name of love, none, Boone now knew, was more certain to be broken than "I'll never leave you." (R) It was love at first sight. (S) It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. (T) I suppose, ultimately, this will read like a diseased version of those stupid essays you're asked to write in school each fall after summer break. You know, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: RECENT NEW AGE BOOKS DREAMSCAPE by Bruce Vance; Quest, $8.95, ISBN 0-8356-0648-1 (Describes this alternate reality to acquaint you with your dreaming self and teach you dimensions of dreamscapes.) WHISPERS OF THE MIND by Elaine Stephens; Harper & Row; $8.95 (For the first time, a book on past-life regression provides step-by-step exercises that show readers how to use self- hypnosis to understand their previous lives.) OPEN MIND, DISCRIMINATING MIND by Charles T. Tart; Harper & Row; $18.95 (A world-renowned researcher unites the spiritual and the scientific, exploring ways to expand the boundaries of awareness without losing our grip on reality.) SEXUAL SECRETS: Special Limited Edition by Nik Douglas & Penny Slinger; Inner Traditions; $18.95; ISBN 0-89281-266-4 (The undisputed classic in its field, this definitive study of sex and mysticism is now available in a one-time-only anniversary edition that includes eight pages of Oriental erotic art, in full color.) EARTH HONORING: The New Male Sexuality by Robert Lawlor Inner Traditions; $16.95; ISBN 0-89281-254-0 ("One of today's theorists of sacred architecture" (Omni) here turns his attention to man's relationship with the earth, seeing our current environmental crisis as stemming from the unhealthy excess of male sexual energy found in our Western patriarchal society. As he explores the male identity through myth, ritual, and culture from ancient times to the present, Lawlor shows how we can learn from the earth-honoring, tribal cultures to help us restore meaning and sanity to the expression of male sexuality.) THE WAY TO INNER FREEDOM: A Practical Guide to Personal Development by Erik Blumenthal; Oneworld; $7.50; ISBN 1-85168-011-X (This warm, down-to-earth book from the President of the Swiss Society for Individual Psychology is for everyone seeking to develop their inner potential and a clearer sense of purpose in their lives.) THE NATIONAL NEW AGE YELLOW PAGES: 2nd Edition edited by Marcia Gervase Ingenito; Highgate House; $12.95; ISBN 0-943083-08-7 (Offers access to metaphysical, holistic and spiritual services, products and organizations in the U.S. Easy-to-use, contains thought-provoking articles, money-saving coupons, a glossary, and a traveler's directory. Indexed and cross- referenced.) MALE & FEMALE REALITIES: Understanding the Opposite Sex by Joe Tanenbaum; Candle; $12.95; ISBN 0-942523-37-7 (In the boardroom or bedroom; at the kitchen table or global peace tables, the neuropsychology of sex differences will impact your life! An amazing exploration of the differences in male and female approaches to communication, sex, emotions, decisions, priorities, commitment, learning and much more.) MEDITATION: An Invitation to Inner Growth by Swami Chetanananda; Rudra Press; $15.95; ISBN 0-915801-14-0 (90 min. audio tape with practice guide. Learn to meditate with this exceptional audio program by Swami Chetanananda, a highly respected American master of kundalini yoga. Explore the subtle energy centers in the body called chakras and experience the flow of your vital creative energy. Includes 40-minute guided meditation, motivational talk, and practice guide.) MYSTICS, MAGICIANS AND MEDICINE PEOPLE: Tales of a Wanderer by Doug Boyd; Paragon House; $17.95; ISBN 1-55778-127-3 (From the author of the highly acclaimed and bestselling ROLLING THUNDER, this is Doug Boyd's personal story of his spiritual experiences. "In my fieldwork and travels," he writes, "...I have come to learn of that cosmological arrangement that accounts for the magnificent works and ways of mystics, magicians, and medicine people. I have learned the simple secret of the shaman, the sorcerer, the seer--and I have come to see that it is, in fact, no secret at all. It is that all things are alive and all life is related." SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis edited by Stanislav Grof, M.D. & Christina Grof; Jeremy P. Tarcher; $10.95; ISBN 0-87477-538-8 (Leading experts explore the relationship between psychosis, mental disease, spiritual development and mystical states of consciousness. This groundbreaking work reveals that within the crisis of Spiritual Emergency lies the promise of spiritual emergence and renewal.) IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHAMAN: Connecting with Self, Nature & Spirit by Amber Wolfe; Llewellyn; $12.95; ISBN 0-87542-888-6 (Learn how to use natural objects to deepen your personal connection with Earth energies and connect with the center of your own power. The author studied with the Wolf Clan Mother of the Seneca Nation, and she shares tested, ancient formulas and personal methods.) THE GALDRABOK: An Icelandic Grimoire by Stephen Flowers; Samuel Weiser; $8.95; ISBN 0-87728-685-X (Faithfully translated from the original, this work is the single most important document for understanding the practice of magic in late medieval Iceland. Includes the history of magic in Iceland, as well as old gods, daemons, runes and magical signs, theory and practice of magic, and provides instructions for making magical staves and talismans.) PAGAN RITUALS III edited by Herman Slater; Magickal Childe; $9.95; ISBN 0-939-708-27-2 (These papers, never publicly available before, are the actual training material of a Northeastern coven. Also included are the elementary rites and the outer court Book of Shadows training coven. This book also answers the ten most frequently asked questions by cowans, non witches. This is Wicca in the raw.) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: "I read in the paper that in the U.S., I think it was just this country, a woman is beaten or physically abused something like every eighteen seconds." "You don't tell me." "Somebody made a study." "You wouldn't think that many women would get out of line would you?" --from BANDITS by Elmore Leonard :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: BIRTHS AND OTHER IMPORTANT DATES IN JANUARY 01 1854 Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist, author of THE GOLDEN BOUGH 01 1879 E.M. Forster, English writer 01 1919 Jerome David Salinger, American writer 01 1933 Joe Orton, English dramatist 02 1752 Philip Freneau, American poet 02 1920 Isaac Asimov, Russian-born American-educated writer & scientist 03 106 B.C. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman and author 03 1870 Henry Handel Richardson, Anglo-Australian novelist 03 1892 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, English philologist, writer, and professor of medieval literature 04 1785 Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm 04 1878 A.E. Coppard, English writer 05 1921 Friedrich Duerrenmatt, Swiss playwright 06 1854 Sherlock Holmes was born at Mycroft 06 1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet 06 1931 Edgar Lawrence Doctorow, American novelist 07 1714 The typewriter is patented 07 1873 Charles Peguy, French poet and essayist 07 1925 Gerald Durrell, English zoologist and writer 08 1824 Wilkie Collins, English novelist 08 1862 Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher 09 1857 Henry B. Fuller, American writer 09 1881 Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and critic 09 1901 Chic Young, creator of the "Blondie" comic strip 09 1908 Simone de Beauvoir, French novelist and essayist 10 1776 "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine is published 10 1814 Aubrey de Vere, Irish writer 10 1887 Robinson Jeffers, American poet 11 1842 William James, American philosopher 11 1903 Alan Paton, South African novelist 11 1905 Manfred B. Lee, one-half of Ellery Queen 12 1729 Edmund Burke, English statesman and author 12 1876 Jack London, American writer 13 1628 Charles Perrault, French critic and writer 13 1832 Horatio Alger, Jr., American writer 13 1898 The French newspaper l'Aurore publishes Emile Zola's famous letter "J'Accuse", addressed to the President of France and accusing the war ministry of injustices in the Dreyfus case. 13 1933 Ron Goulart, American writer 14 1886 Hugh Lofting, English/American writer & illustrator 14 1896 John Dos Passos, American writer 14 1913 Tillie Olsen, American writer 14 1919 Andy Rooney, American TV personality and essayist 14 1925 Yukio Mishima, Japanese writer Kimitake Hiraoka 14 1926 Thomas Tryon, American actor and writer 15 1622 Moliere, French dramatist Jean Baptiste Poquelin 15 1891 Osip Mandelshtam, Russian poet 16 1874 Robert Service, English-born Canadian poet 16 1930 Norman Podhoretz, American editor, critic, essayist 16 1933 Susan Sontag, American writer and filmmaker 17 1706 Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, author, diplomat, inventor, publisher, scientist 17 1771 Charles Brockden Brown, American novelist and editor, known as the father of the American novel 17 1820 Anne Bronte, English novelist 17 1899 Nevil Shute, English novelist Nevil Shute Norway 18 1689 Charles Montesquieu, French philosopher and writer 18 1779 Peter Roget, who created a (the?) thesaurus, invented the slide rule?, invented the pocket chessboard? 18 1882 A.A. Milne, English writer 18 1912 William Sansom, English writer 19 1809 Edgar Allan Poe, American poet, critic, writer 19 1921 Patricia Highsmith, American writer 20 1866 Richard Le Gallienne, English writer 21 1904 R.P. Blackmur, American critic and poet 22 1561 Sir Francis Bacon, English philosopher and essayist 22 1788 George Gordon Noel Byron (Lord Byron), English poet 22 1849 August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet 22 1937 Joseph Wambaugh, American writer 23 1783 Stendhal, French writer and critic Marie Henri Beyle 24 1732 Pierre Beaumarchais, French dramatist 24 1862 Edith Wharton, American writer 25 1759 Robert Burns, Scottish poet 25 1874 W. Somerset Maugham, English writer 25 1882 Virginia Woolf, English critic and writer 26 1804 Eugene Sue, French novelist Marie Joseph Sue 26 1929 Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist and writer 27 1775 Friedrich von Schelling, German philosopher 27 1832 Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), English writer, mathematician, photographer 27 1957 Frank Miller, American comics writer 28 1873 Colette, French novelist Sidonie Gabrielle Colette 28 1933 Susan Sontag, writer & film director; New York City 29 1688 Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish philosopher and scientist 29 1737 Thomas Paine, English pamphleteer 29 1860 Anton Chekhov, Russian dramatist and short-story writer 30 1775 Walter Savage Landor, English critic and writer 30 1912 Barbara Tuchman, American historian 31 1872 Zane Gray, American western novelist 31 1905 John O'Hara, American writer 31 1915 Thomas Merton, American poet, essayist, religious writer 31 1923 Norman Mailer, American writer :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: It is, to me, a distressing thought that in nine-tenths of the detective stories of the world murderers are continually effecting egresses when they might just as easily go out. --A.A. Milne :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 (313) 761-4700 NEWS RELEASE O'Keeffe, Stieglitz and the Critics, 1916-1929 by Barbara Buhler Lynes Explores the readings and misreadings of O'Keeffe's art by the critics and her husband, renowned photographer Alfred Stieglitz. This new book by UMI Research Press focuses on one of the most dynamic periods in Georgia O'Keeffe's personal and professional life -- a time marked by a flurry of critical attention which both shaped and worked against the artist's emerging self- definition. In this first full analysis of that critical response, author and art historian Barbara Buhler Lynes presents and interprets more than 85 reviews by such noted critics as Marsden Hartley, Paul Rosenfeld, Henry Tyrrell, Katherine Dreier, Edmund Wilson, Henry McBride, and Lewis Mumford. From 1916 when O'Keeffe was virtually unknown in America, to 1929 when she had gained a good deal of fame, Georgia O'Keeffe's imagery captured the attention of many prestigious critics. Lynes demonstrates that although the critics often spoke favorably about O'Keeffe's work, their words also worked to undercut its meaning and significance. By relating the biases implicit in their writing to sources in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century patterns of thought about the nature and role of women and women artists, Lynes clarifies how language has been imposed upon O'Keeffe's art rather than deriving from it directly. In addition, she discusses O'Keeffe's objections to aspects of this criticism and defines the role she played in trying to redirect the criticism. Lynes argues that Alfred Stieglitz unwittingly contributed to the continuing critical misreading of the artist's work during this vital period of her life, in spite of his faith in and commitment to O'Keeffe and her work. This 400-page illustrated book with dustjacket will be available in August both in hardcover (for $44.95) and in paperback (for $14.95) from UMI Research Press, 300 North Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 (1-800-345-9084 or 313-973-9821), ISBN 8357-1930-8 (hard); 8357-1962-6 (paper). Series: Studies in the Fine Arts: Criticism. Series Editor: Donald B. Kuspit, Professor of Art History, The State University of New York at Stony Brook. UMI Research Press is a publisher of books in the arts and humanities. More than 30 series, covering topics from contemporary are criticism to music and the performing arts, from material culture to literary criticism, are edited by recognized authorities from prominent universities. Founded in 1978, UMI Research Press is a division of University Microfilms International. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: You've read the books, now play the game! Yes, folks, you've read at least one or two of the WILD CARDS series edited by George R. R. Martin, haven't you? It's a multi-book series of shared- universe stories set on an alternate Earth after the release of the Wild Card virus. The series was originally based on role- playing games, with a very heavy comic book influence, and it's a lot of fun. The core of WILD CARDS are the characters. Here is a small sampling: Bagabond, who can communicate with and control animals. Doctor Tachyon, an alien with amazing mental powers. Fortunato, who uses tantric sex to acquire his powers of mind control, astral projection, and time distortion. Modular Man, the android. Peregrine, the beautiful woman who can fly. Puppetman, the Senator with mind control abilities. The Sleeper, who is different every time he awakes. and, almost everyone's favorite: Thomas Tudbury, otherwise known as The Great and Powerful Turtle, the greatest telekineticist in the world. Anyway, as I started to say a ways back, WILD CARDS has come full circle and is now a role-playing game. It's a supplement available from Steve Jackson Games and it uses the GURPS Supers system. The ISBN of the WILD CARDS supplement is 1-55634-151-2, and it is used with the GURPS Basic Set (Third Edition) and with GURPS Supers, all from Steve Jackson Games. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: AMAZING STORIES Date: 2 Nov 89 17:30:08 GMT From: djo@pacbell.com (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Subject: A Gentle Plea Ladies and Gentlemen, I, your humble servant and itinerant net.roach, come before you today, not to bitch about someone else's postings, but to beg and beseech you all to join a worthy and important crusade, that being the salvation of AMAZING STORIES, of which you may have heard. The importance of this cause may not be immediately obvious to some of you out there. Those of you reasonably familiar with the generic history of SF, and who, therefore, understand what makes AMAZING so important, can comfortably skip from the end of this paragraph to the line that appears below. For the rest of you: You've probably at least heard of Hugo Gernsback, probably with some vague idea that the Hugo award (more properly the Science Fiction Achievement Award, presented by the membership of the annual Worldcon, a gathering of trekkies, v-jerks, and various other media fans used as a smoke-screen by those of us dedicated to the One True Science Fiction, behind the cover of which we hold our nefarious conclaves, give out coveted awards (such as the aforementioned "Hugo"), and generally party down) draws its appellation from his. This is correct. Gernsback, in fact, is considered in some sense "the Father of Science Fiction". He was certainly responsible for its separate existence as a "genre" or market category of commercial fiction. This for two reasons that come easily to mind: First, because he gave science fiction its name -- though he originally wanted to call it by the jawbreaking neologism "scienti-fiction," "stf" (pronounced "steff") for short -- and second, because, in the Year of Our Ford and Manufacturer Nineteen Ought Twenty and Six, he did, with malice aforethought, bring forth upon the unsuspecting newsstands of America a new magazine, entitled AMAZING STORIES, the which selfsame magazine was the first ever, in the history of the Universe, to publish scientifiction -- and *only* scientifiction. This magazine is still being published after sixty-three years. It's been in and out of red ink a few times, passed through any number of editors and publishers, and been a very good and a very bad magazine at various times. Also, it has a tradition of being low-paying and low-budget. A few years ago, it passed into the hands of TSR, the manufacturers of AD&D and other games, and owners of the trademark Buck Rogers. AMAZING'S editor under TSR has been the eminently talented Patrick Price. TSR is currently on a big Buck Rogers push. That's the background. ------------------------------ A few months ago, Pat Price started sending out very polite rejections to all contributors in which he explained that the returned manuscripts were not necessarily rejected on grounds of quality; nay, Price was, for reasons not explained in the text of the letter, unable to accept any contributions of new material at the present time -- at least until next spring. Naturally, rumors began to flit about the SF community. Had TSR decided that AMAZING was not making enough money? Was Price being fired? Were they going to nuke AMAZING entirely? One extremely persistent rumor, which as of this writing is not confirmed to my satisfaction, has been that TSR had decided to convert AMAZING, that it is slated to become a vehicle for graphic stories (translation: comic) about one Buck Rogers. There was a certain horrible logic to this; TSR *is* exploiting the hell out of the Rogers trademark, and converting an existing magazine has the accounting-logic of forcing itself on an existing subscriber base, which gives them numbers to show potential advertisers for the first year or so, or until the subscribers revolt and demand the balance of their subscriptions be refunded, whichever comes first. That is all just rumor. What is *not* rumor, however, is this: in the current issue of LOCUS ("The Newspaper of Science Fiction..."), you can read that TSR has announced the cancellation of AMAZING STORIES. I don't know whether they just mean "in its current form," and I don't really care; that isn't even relevant, to be quite honest. What matters is that a piece of the field's heritage is about to be destroyed by the bean-counters. I object to this, just as I object to the colorization of Woody Allen movies; just as I object to the logging of national forests (if you didn't know, most of the national forests are available for logging); just as I object to folks who take hammers to the sculpture of Michelangelo and razors to the paintings of Rembrandt. No, I'm not suggesting that AMAZING is the equal of a Rembrandt or a Michelangelo. But similar objections apply to, say, the cannon displays at Gettysburg and Brandywine. How would you feel if, say, Arlington National Cemetery were being plowed under for a new shopping mall? It's like that. So... what can we do about it? Maybe nothing. Maybe something. Once upon a time, STAR TREK got a third season after the network decided they were canceling it. Admittedly, it was a *rotten* season: but it proved once and for all that *YOU* can do something to change corporate minds. When was the last time you saw a can of that wretched New Coke? What to do: Write a letter to TSR. Write more than one, if you're inspired. Write three a day. Mail them to TSR. DON'T mail them to AMAZING STORIES or Pat Price. DON'T mention either Amazing or Price, or even Buck Rogers, on the envelope. The idea is that TSR's main office has to open every single one of these damn letters *themselves*. It'll cost them money, keep them busy, and drive them *crazy*. Make it clear that you *resent* their decision to cancel AMAZING, a piece of sf's valued heritage, and you'll never buy a TSR book, game, or magazine as long as you live unless they change their minds, at least to the extent of selling the title to someone who'll keep publishing it. The address is: TSR, Inc. Post Office Box 756 Lake Geneva, WI 53147 If you're feeling *really* inspired, you can call them at (415) 248-3625, but for most people that'll cost more than a 25-cent letter. (Oh, yeah. *Don't* send post cards. They're cheaper, but TSR can see at one glance what they're about and forward them to Pat Price or discard them. Remember, the idea is to make things as hard on them as possible.) Thank you for your indulgence. Together, we can beat the corporate Blue Meanies. Dan'l :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: No writer, except maybe Bill Buckley, likes to exclude anyone from understanding what he's written but it is always wrong for a writer, or for that matter a parent or a teacher, to talk down or write down to anyone. --Andrew A. Rooney :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: TRUE CRIME IN PAPERBACK The following titles should still be available, but act quick-- paperbacks can disappear in the blink of an eye. NUTCRACKER by Shana Alexander The story of Frances Schreuder, the New York balletomane whose manipulations brought about the murder of her father by her own son. Dell ISBN 0-440-16512-1 $3.95 VERY MUCH A LADY: The Untold Story of Jean Harris & Dr. Herman Tarnower by Shana Alexander A sympathetic account of Jean Harris, the prim schoolmistress imprisoned for killing her lover, a prominent physician and author. Dell ISBN 0-440-19270-6 $4.95 EVIL ANGELS by John Bryson A fascinating account of the most sensational criminal case in recent Australian history: a woman accused of killing her baby while vacationing at a backwoods campground. The case inspired the film A CRY IN THE DARK, starring Meryl Streep. Bantam ISBN 0-553-27207-1 $4.95 HELTER SKELTER by Vincent Bugliosi & Curt Gentry A harrowing account of the Manson family's 1969 murder spree. Recommended. Bantam ISBN 0-553-27829-0 $4.95 TILL DEATH US DO PART by Vincent Bugliosi & Ken Hurwitz A story of murder with a backdrop of singles bars and casual sex, written by Charles Manson's prosecutor. Bantam ISBN 0-553-27223-3 $4.95 CRIPPEN: The Mild Murderer by Tom Callen The seemingly mild-mannered Dr. Crippen was accused of dismembering his wife in the London of 1910. Penguin ISBN 0-14-010942-0 $6.95 IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote The now-classic "nonfiction novel" dealing with the murder of a well-to-do midwestern family and the subsequent trial of the murderers. Recommended. NAL ISBN 0-451-15446-0 $4.95 AT MOTHER'S REQUEST by Jonathan Coleman Another account of how New York socialite Frances Schreuder masterminded the murder of her father, one of the richest men in Utah, by her own son. Pocket ISBN 0-671-61106-2 $4.50 PRINCE OF THE CITY by Robert Daley The story of the New York City special investigations unit policeman who exposed corruption within his own department. Berkley ISBN 0-425-09789-7 $3.95 WHITE MISCHIEF: The Murder of Lord Erroll by James Fox Murder amid a set of decadent upper-class Englishmen in 1940s Kenya. Random House ISBN 0-394-75687-8 $4.95 MAFIA PRINCESS: Growing Up in Sam Giancana's Family by Antoinette Giancana & Thomas C. Renner Memoirs by the daughter of a mob honcho. Avon ISBN 0-380-69849-8 $4.50 THE CRIPPEN FILE by Jonathan Goodman News clippings and other memorabilia on the Crippen case. Schocken ISBN 0-8052-8244-0 $8.95 STRANGER IN TWO WORLDS by Jean Harris The convicted murderess tells her own story. Zebra ISBN 0-8217-2112-7 $4.50 THE MAUL AND THE PEAR TREE by P.D. James & T.A. Critchley The story of the Ratcliffe Highway murders, a series of crimes that shocked London in the early 19th century. (This book failed to maintain my interest. -Cindy) Mysterious ISBN 0-445-40562-7 $3.95 THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF TRUE CRIME edited by Richard Glyn Jones A collection of many of the most famous unsolved murders. Carroll & Graf ISBN 0-88184-411-X $8.95 UNSOLVED!: Classic True Murder Cases edited by Richard Glyn Jones Famous mystery writers examine unsolved crimes. Recommended. Peter Bedrick ISBN 0-87226-205-7 $7.95 OUR GANG: Jewish Crime and the New York Jewish Community, 1900-1940 by Jenna W. Joselit Indiana ISBN 0-253-20314-7 $9.95 A CAST OF KILLERS by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick Unearthing the story behind the murder of film director William Desmond Taylor in silent-era Hollywood. Especially recommended. Penguin ISBN 0-14-010086-5 $4.95 JACK THE RIPPER: The Final Solution by Stephen Knight Knight theorizes that the Ripper killings were the culmination of a top level coverup by the English government. Recommended. Academy Chicago ISBN 0-89733-209-1 $7.95 HONOURED SOCIETY: The Sicilian Mafia Observed by Norman Lewis The Sicilian roots of the Mafia. Hippocrene ISBN 0-907871-80-1 $9.95 A PRIVATE DISGRACE: Lizzie Borden by Daylight by Victoria Lincoln A look at the notorious 19th-century case of a young woman accused of the axe murder of her parents. Recommended. International Polygonics ISBN 0-930330-35-8 $5.95 FATAL FASCINATION: Where Fact Meets Fiction in Police Work by Phil & Karen McArdle A humorous contrast between the realities of police work and the treatment of police in fiction. Houghton Mifflin ISBN 0-395-46789-6 $8.95 NO DEADLY DRUG by John D. MacDonald The murder trial of Dr. Carl Coppolino. Fawcett ISBN 0-449-12809-1 $4.95 FATAL VISION by Joe McGinnis The story of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, the former Green Beret accused of killing his pregnant wife and two children, a crime he still denies committing. NAL ISBN 0-451-14422-8 $4.50 MONEY TO BURN by Michael Mewshaw The murder trial of Steven Benson, accused of killing his mother, millionaire tobacco heiress Margaret Benson, and her adopted son Scott. Pinnacle ISBN 1-55817-060-X $4.50 THE UNDERGROUND EMPIRE: Where Crime and Government Embrace by James Mills The international drug-smuggling network and its links with national governments. Dell ISBN 0-440-19206-4 $5.95 FAMOUS TRIALS edited by John Mortimer Some of England's most engrossing murder trials, selected from the Penguin Famous Trials series. Penguin ISBN 0-14-006924-0 $7.95 THE MAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY by William Norris An attempt to unravel the mystery behind the 1928 murder of tycoon Alfred Loewenstein. Penguin ISBN 0-451-82187-4 $4.50 WISEGUY: The Rise and Fall of a Mobster by Nicholas Pileggi Pocket ISBN 0-671-63392-9 $4.50 DISORGANIZED CRIME: Illegal Markets and the Mafia by Peter Reuter A study of the mob's penetration of such illegal activities as drug smuggling and pornography. MIT ISBN 0-262-68048-3 $8.95 SAVAGE GRACE by Natalie Robins & Steven M.L. Aronson "The true and harrowing story of an Upper East Side New York family, whose cultivation of taste, pursuit of social distinction, and fashionable expatriatism led its members to drugs, to apparent incest, to murder, and to suicide." --E.L. Doctorow Dell ISBN 0-440-17576-3 $4.95 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN CRIME by Carl Sifakis Comprehensive listings on crime in the United States throughout its history. Facts on File ISBN 0-87196-763-4 $19.95 THE MAFIA ENCYCLOPEDIA by Carl Sifakis More than 400 entries covering everything known about the Mafia. Facts on File ISBN 0-8160-1856-1 $17.95 HONOR THY FATHER by Gay Talese Acclaimed portrayal of the Bonanno Mafia dynasty. Dell ISBN 0-440-33468-3 $4.95 LADY COP: True Stories of Policewomen in America's Toughest City by Bryna Taubman Warner ISBN 0-446-34684-5 $3.95 SERPENTINE by Thomas Thompson The riveting account of a naive Canadian girl's involvement with a sociopathic international con man, and her subsequent life of crime and murder. Dell ISBN 0-440-17611-5 $3.50 ECHOES IN THE DARKNESS by Joseph Wambaugh A reconstruction of the 1979 murder of a Pennsylvania schoolteacher, a bizarre crime involving other faculty members at the slain woman's high school. Recommended. Bantam ISBN 0-553-26932-1 $4.95 THE ONION FIELD by Joseph Wambaugh A gripping account of the aftermath of a cop killing. Recommended. Dell ISBN 0-440-17350-7 $4.95 LIZZIE BORDEN: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce G. Williams et al The Borden case continues to yield a variety of conflicting interpretations. TIS ISBN 0-89917-302-0 $9.95 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: Sometimes I think it sounds like I walked out of the room and left the typewriter running. --Gene Fowler :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: STEVE GERBER TALKS BACK TO RFP In RFP#6 we had an article about Steve's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, published by Marvel Comics. This was a wonderful comic that had two issues released, then was cancelled. Our commentator speculated that the adult focus of the comic was possibly seen as a threat to Marvel's normally kiddie image. Steve posted the following letter to us on PCRelay (an international electronic mail network), an important letter that we ask you to read. Cindy, A note on READING FOR PLEASURE #6. First, thanks very much to you and Drew for the favorable review of the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET comic book. The kind words were very much appreciated. Second, a note on the why's and wherefore's of the magazine's cancellation (which, incidentally, was a major topic of discussion in the Comics relay a few months back). According to my best information, Marvel cancelled the book in anticipation of pressure from the various anti-violence advocate groups. A few weeks prior to the release of the first NIGHTMARE, there had been an article published in the New York Times decrying the level of violence in comic books. Apparently, that article -- along with the picketing that took place outside theatres showing NIGHTMARE 5 in Los Angeles and elsewhere -- was enough to make Marvel turn tail and run for cover. Please note that this is DESPITE the fact that the NIGHTMARE magazine carried a "suggested for mature readers" warning and that NO DIRECT PRESSURE had actually been applied on Marvel. The cancellation of NIGHTMARE is a textbook example of the "chilling effect" you hear so much about these days in discussions of free speech. The book was killed not because of it WAS criticized, but because the publishers FEARED it would be criticized. This won't be the last incident of its type, either. The impulse to censor -- led by groups on both the left and the right, and fed by the innate cowardice of American business -- is growing in this country. It's something that anyone who reads for pleasure or edification ought to be aware of, and prepared to combat. In one of the great ironies of history, we have a situation in which the totalitarian nations of the world are on an inexorable march toward freedom, while their very model, the United States, is moving slowly, but dangerously, in the opposite direction. --Steve :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: BLUFFER'S GUIDES (from Centennial Press) Great strides have been made recently in bluffing. Someone finally realized that the phrase "paying your dues" had little meaning in the intellectual world. Contrary to what many impersonation movies and people with advanced degrees would have you believe, virtually anyone can pass for literate in almost any subject in just an hour or two. AN INCOMPLETE EDUCATION covered a number of academic disciplines all in one volume (see RFP #6), and now we have BLUFFER'S GUIDES from Centennial Press that, for $3.95 each, cover a wide variety of socially popular subjects. They are written by different people, so you get coverage suited to the subject, not boilerplate books. THE BLUFFER'S GUIDE TO BLUFFING gives you an overview of the subject along with good general advice on the fine art of bluffing. BLUFF YOUR WAY IN COMPUTERS covered the subject surprisingly well in such a brief book. (I've been around computers for over 10 years and I still picked up a pointer or two from this book.) BLUFF YOUR WAY IN MUSIC was actually more interesting to me, since I know less about the subject, and now when I wander around a music store I can point to classical albums and say, "Oh, yes. That's the composer who..." etc. Reading MUSIC was time very well spent. Acquiring knowledge has never been easier, and Centennial's BLUFFER'S GUIDES make a perfect accompaniment to AN INCOMPLETE EDUCATION--for the person who wants to be comfortable in any subject. Being very inexpensive, the BLUFFER'S GUIDES also make a great gift item (hint, hint). Currently available: Bluffer's Guide to Bluffing Bluff Your Way in Computers Bluff Your Way in Music Bluff Your Way in Hollywood Bluff Your Way in Japan Bluff Your Way in Paris Bluff Your Way in Management Bluff Your Way in Public Speaking Bluff Your Way in Occult Bluff Your Way in British Theatre Coming soon: Bluff Your Way in Marketing Bluff Your Way in The Deep South Bluff Your Way in Baseball Bluff Your Way in Gourmet Cooking Bluff Your Way in Golf Bluff Your Way in New York Bluff Your Way in Wine Bluff Your Way in Football Bluff Your Way in Publishing See your local bookseller or write: Centennial Press PO Box 82087 Lincoln, NE 68501 Originally, AI was the theory that a computer could be developed that would effectively mimic human intelligence and develop its own identity and awareness. Why anyone would want to build a computer that would probably demand overtime pay for work in excess of eight hours isn't known. The general belief is that the idea originated with computer programmers desperate to have someone to talk to who wouldn't find them boring. --from BLUFF YOUR WAY IN COMPUTERS by Spence, Ainsley & Rae :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves. --Don Marquis :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: FICTION INTO FILM: THE ONION FIELD book by Joseph Wambaugh screenplay by Joseph Wambaugh movie directed by Harold Becker On March 9, 1963, police officers Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger crossed the path of Gregory Powell and Jimmy Smith. Powell and Smith kidnapped the two officers, taking them to a deserted Los Angeles field, a field from which Ian Campbell would never return. This is a true story, and Joseph Wambaugh turned it into a bestselling book and a highly acclaimed motion picture. The frightening story of the execution-style murder of a police officer one March night in an onion field is followed by the REAL horror story--the trial. The trial illustrates a system designed for criminals, not victims, a system that relegates guilt or innocence to an irrelevancy in a flood of hearings and motions. Actually, the most terrifying paragraph in the book occurs in a "Note to the Reader" in the front: "The courtroom dialogue was not re-created. It was taken verbatim from official court transcript." The transcript, by the way, fills 159 volumes (a total of 45,000 pages), the longest in California history. One can't help but compare the trial scenes in THE ONION FIELD with analogous ones in fictional novels, like PRESUMED INNOCENT. In fiction, court personnel may not be likable, but they're almost always intelligent and dignified, and the focus of everyone's attention is the guilt or innocence (or the provability thereof) of the defendant. This is all in stark contrast to the courtroom scenes in THE ONION FIELD, where lawyers are often ramblingly unintelligible, petty, and self- absorbed, and everyone is prone to shouting and temper tantrums. One of the defense attorneys, named Kanarek, can only be described as a clown. He is shown to be dull-witted, and with a very poor command of English. Kanarek is finally removed, gets himself reinstated, only to be removed again, and Mr. Wambaugh takes delight in telling us that the final removal date was April Fool's Day, 1969. Later, prosecutor Halpin was to say: "At the end, I would've made ANY deal with Powell and Smith if I'd had the power. I would've let them go. Dropped all charges. Released them. If only I could've put their two lawyers in the gas chamber." This may sound funny, but as you read THE ONION FIELD I bet you'll find yourself agreeing with him. The film version is straightforward, even artless. It's difficult to tell whether this lack of technique is deliberate or denotes an insufficiency of expertise. Whatever the case, the movie has many powerful moments, and is moving without being manipulative. The two key performances--John Savage as Karl Hettinger and James Woods as Greg Powell--are fine, and Woods displays the energy and submersion-in-role that will become his trademark. Franklyn Seales is also wonderfully slimy as Jimmy Smith, and Priscilla Pointer was a great choice to play Ian Campbell's mother Chrissie. Ted Danson plays Ian Campbell, but the role is brief and undemanding. You will also find a few now-well-known faces in cameo roles. What DIDN'T I like about the movie version? As usual, even a two hour movie can't do justice to a full-sized book. After reading the book, the film seems like a once-over-lightly, not lingering long enough on any one point. Movie versions of books are also susceptible to the "Where's my favorite scene?" complaint. I thought Karl Hettinger's frantic 4-mile run for survival was a highlight of the book, but it's given short shrift in the movie. He might have just jogged a couple hundred yards for all the movie viewers are shown. I also found the soundtrack to be intrusive and inappropriate at times--it seemed like a slapdash effort. The movie is still well worth seeing, though, especially for the performances; but because the book is so much more thorough, I'd recommend seeing the movie first. Once your interest in the story is aroused you can pick up the book to get more in-depth coverage. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: SARTOR RESARTUS is simply unreadable, and for me that always sort of spoils a book. --Will Cuppy :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: NEW HEINLEIN MATERIAL COMING Robert A. Heinlein was, and is, one of the most popular SF writers in the U.S., so you shouldn't be surprised that all of his books are still in print. Nor should it surprise you that Heinlein, like most writers, was edited on a regular basis, having chunks of his books removed prior to publication. Now, thanks to the American Copyright Act of 1978, we'll be seeing a lot of that "missing" material. By virtue of the 1978 copyright law, the widow or survivor of an author can renew the rights in the 28th year, reclaiming them (the rights that is, you're following this aren't you?) from the publisher regardless of the wording of the original contract. Virginia Heinlein has now resold STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND to Putnam, restoring 50,000 words that were previously edited out. The new, improved version will be released next year in hardcover. Virginia Heinlein has all the complete manuscripts and plans to restore as many as possible. This month Del Rey will be reprinting RED PLANET with several important scenes added, and THE PUPPET MASTERS which will be about 25% longer. The contract amount for STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND is not known at this time but it is rumored to be in the neighborhood of $1 million. Whatever the specific amount, it is sure to be the largest ever paid for reprint rights to a single book by a deceased author, a record that is likely to be unchallenged until 1993 when DUNE becomes eligible for reclaiming. One note: You can get a lot of inside details about Heinlein, like the stories behind a lot of this "missing" material, in GRUMBLES FROM THE GRAVE, a volume of his letters recently released by Del Rey ($19.95 ISBN 0-345-36246-2). :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: Books by Robert Ludlum: The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971) The Osterman Weekend (1972) Trevayne * (1973) The Matlock Paper (1973) The Cry of the Halidon * (1974) The Rhinemann Exchange (1974) The Road to Gandolfo ** (1975) The Gemini Contenders (1976) The Chancellor Manuscript (1977) The Holcroft Covenant (1978) The Matarese Circle (1979) The Bourne Identity (1980) The Parsifal Mosaic (1982) The Acquitaine Progression (1984) The Bourne Supremacy (1986) The Icarus Agenda (1988) * published under the pseudonym Jonathan Ryder ** published under the pseudonym Michael Shepherd :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: JANUARY RELEASES FROM MYSTERIOUS PRESS THE BEDSIDE COMPANION TO CRIME by H.R.F. Keating Keating gathers hundreds of facts and foibles into the most entertaining book on crime writing since MURDER INK. $19.95 BERTIE AND THE SEVEN BODIES by Peter Lovesey Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, enters into his second case as an amateur detective. A witty foray through Victorian manners, mores, and murder by the master of the period mystery. $16.95 ATROPOS by William L. DeAndrea The spy-with-many-names is back in action, battling a Soviet plan to manipulate the U.S. Presidential election. The latest in the acclaimed CRONUS espionage series. $18.95 ON THE EDGE by Peter Lovesey Two dissatisfied London housewives scheme to rid themselves of unpleasant husbands--sparking up the drab years following the Second World War. $4.50 MURDER ON TOUR by Dick Clark "The World's Oldest Teenager" presents a novel of murder among a touring rock band--with methods and motives unique to the world of live rock 'n' roll. $4.50 (Don't miss the RFP review in this issue.) THE BIG SILENCE by Bernard Schopen Reno PI Jack Ross is hired by a hooker to find her grandfather, who vanished into the desert forty years earlier--after murdering a man. $4.50 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: I have these wild moments. Charlie McGee, who was the little girl in that book [FIRESTARTER], is pyrokinetic, which means she can light fires by thinking about them. I wrote about another kid, Danny Torrance, who had the ability to shine or read thoughts and sense the future. What if they met and got married and then went to live in 'Salem's Lot?" --Stephen King :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: LIZZIE BORDEN "In school, I began to make friends of my own age, and observed with interest that one was supposed to shudder and giggle when Miss Borden's name was mentioned. I asked Mother why. 'Well, dear, she was very unkind to her father and mother.'" (from A PRIVATE DISGRACE by Victoria Lincoln, who knew Lizzie Borden) On August 14, 1892, Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby were beaten to death with an axe (or at least something very similar to an axe). Daughter Lizzie was tried for the crime, and acquitted, but the controversy rages on. Did Lizzie really kill her father and stepmother? If so, why? (And why at that point in time?) If not, then who did? Part of the fascination stems from the apparent contradictions. The crime was a very bad bet as far as getting away with it went: two messy, bloody murders committed at least an hour and a half apart, which meant the murderer had to wait around hoping not to get caught--in a house that was very small, and had two women stomping around it. On top of that, there were no hallways, which meant that to get from one place to another you had to go through all the rooms in between, taking a virtual tour of the entire house. Would YOU want to kill two people in such circumstances? And yet someone not only did, they also got away with it. Another of the contradictions is the character of Lizzie herself. A double axe murder is a violent crime, indicative of violent passions. And getting away with it would seem to necessitate a high degree of cunning. However, all the evidence that I've seen paints Lizzie as a very dull woman--dull in all senses of the term. Hardly the kind to fly into murderous rages or to practice deception of any kind. "Her honesty, like her sister's, was proverbial, and after the murders a loyal friend of Lizzie's quaintly told a reporter that she would be far less surprised to learn that Lizzie had killed someone than that she had lied about it afterwards." (from A PRIVATE DISGRACE by Victoria Lincoln) So if Lizzie was guilty, as most people assume, how can we explain the psychology of the crime? What an uncomfortable thought--that dull mousy types can suddenly wake up, commit an act of violence, then subside back into their normal semi-alert state, all without any warning. There's no doubt about it: the Borden murder still makes one of the very finest True Crime subjects. If you'd like to join the Lizzie Study Group, here are a few books to seek out: LIZZIE by Evan Hunter (AKA Ed McBain) (1984) One of my favorites. A PRIVATE DISGRACE: Lizzie Borden by Daylight by Victoria Lincoln (1967) A fascinating account by a woman with a contemporary perspective. LIZZIE BORDEN: A Case Book of Family and Crime in the 1890s by Joyce G. Williams & others THE TRIAL OF LIZZIE BORDEN edited by Edmund Pearson (1937) Mr. Pearson is often quite opinionated, but this was THE material to read for a very long time. MISS LIZZIE by Walter Satterthwait (St. Martin's, 1989, $17.95) I haven't seen this one, but I gather from what I've heard that it's fiction. It seems that 30 years after being acquitted of murder charges in the death of her parents, Lizzie Borden faces the threat of a frame-up. I've also heard that MISS LIZZIE is being made into a 2-hour TV movie produced by Andrew Adelson (I KNOW MY FIRST NAME IS STEVEN). Don't forget that most True Crime anthologies usually include a chapter on the Borden case. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: FROM MEADOWBROOK PRESS The Meadowbrook Press people were gracious enough to send me their Fall/Winter 1989-1990 Catalog, from which I'd like to pass along a few choice entries: ITALIAN WITHOUT WORDS by Don Cangelosi & Joseph Delli Carpini An ingenious invention that's a must for every Italian, traveler to Italy, or visitor to Little Italy: it's an Italian "phrase book" without words. It contains the most common gestures and body language that enable anyone to nonverbally communicate in Italian. $4.95 THE EAT A PET COOKBOOK by Russel Jones Finally, a cookbook for those who really mean it when they say, "I could eat a horse." So outrageous, 101 THINGS TO DO WITH A DEAD CAT seems tame by comparison. Jones' mouth-watering recipes include Goldfish Gumbo, Kitten Crunch, Bunny Burgers, Chihuahua Chili, and Rib of Rover. $6.95 PAPAL BULL by Dean Sullivan illustrated by Pete Bastiansen This witty dictionary redefines over 500 religious terms to reveal the funny side of being a Catholic. $4.95 WALL STREET BULL by Bruce Lansky The latest expose to rock Wall Street is a humorous lexicon of over 500 words commonly heard in Wall Street boardrooms and barrooms...and what they really mean. It exposes the gallows humor that lies at the heart of Wall Street lingo. $4.95 ** And stay tuned to RFP #9 for an incisive and incredibly perceptive review of THE OVER-THE-HILL SURVIVAL GUIDE by Bob Feigel and Malcolm Walker, another fine volume from Meadowbrook Press. See your bookseller for any and all Meadowbrook Press titles, but if worse comes to worse, you can always write to them at: Meadowbrook Press 18318 Minnetonka Blvd. Deephaven, MN 55391 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: Consider this: Horror writing is about God, the Devil, sin, blood, good, evil, life, death, decay, redemption, struggle, torment, and truth. What other kind of writing covers the bases like that? In what other field can you write with a hammer and a feather? I love writing, and I love writing horror novels and stories because that's my voice. That's how I speak, and I'm very proud to be associated with the field because I think horror writing is THE fundamental literature of humanity. --Robert R. McCammon :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: KEEPING UP WITH: JOHN E. STITH John Stith, author of DEEP QUARRY (see RFP #3), has been very busy lately. Most importantly, his next novel, REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS, is being published this June by Ace. It'll be a May selection from the SF Book Club, a 1990 release from Mondadori Editore in Italy, and a 1991 release from Hayakawa in Japan. Stay tuned for more about REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS next month in RFP. John's fans should also keep an eye out for a new novella called NAUGHT FOR HIRE that will be in the May, June, or July issue (I'm not sure which) of Analog magazine. John says it's a mixture of SF, mystery, and comedy, and is potentially offensive to creationists. NAUGHT FOR HIRE started out as a screenplay, and I hear that there is interest in filming not only NAUGHT, but DEEP QUARRY as well. What's John working on right now? All he'll tell me is that it's called REUNION ON NEVEREND and it's about this guy who goes to his 10th high school reunion and is NOT who he seems to be. I guess we'll just have to wait. Coming in future issues of RFP: More about John's new REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS. Also, coverage of his pre-DEEP QUARRY novels. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: HOLLYWOOD'S UNSOLVED MYSTERIES by John Austin (Shapolsky Publishers, Inc.) Marilyn Monroe, Vicky Morgan, William Holden, Natalie Wood, Bob Crane--all died mysteriously--why? Too many of our greatest movie stars played a reluctant final role in their own murder mystery. This is the definitive account of what really happened. ISBN 0-944007-49-X $18.95 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: RANDOM REVIEWS: THE MEZZANINE by Nicholson Baker (1988) You've absolutely GOT to get this book, if for no other reason than that you won't believe me unless you see it for yourself. This is fiction of a new kind (at least it's new to me). There are only 135 pages, and yet there are footnotes on nearly all of them; one footnote is about 8 regular pages long. The "plot" consists of the "protagonist's" trip from the lobby of an office building up the escalator to the mezzanine where he works. The major plot motivation is the astonishing fact that he broke both of his shoelaces within the space of 28 hours. Already I bet you can tell this is not your everyday novel. In 135 pages you're treated to ruminations about the following weighty issues: Are hot air blowers in public bathrooms REALLY more sanitary? What causes shoelaces to break anyway? Why are straw wrappers so hard to get off nowadays? Who invented Jiffy Pop and why doesn't he answer the phone? Isn't the milk carton spout an amazing invention? How do you apply deodorant after you've got your shirt on? How often do you think about things that you think about "all the time"? This book is wonderful! As with most revolutionary things, you won't be bored, and you just might find this is the best "novel" you've read all year. THE MEZZANINE is now a Vintage trade paperback ($7.95 ISBN 0-679-72576-8). TARGET by Janet Morris & David Drake Ace Edition published July, 1989 Review by Robert A. Pittman It is easy to find a bad Science Fiction book. I buy one from time to time and am resigned to that occasional disappointment. A less frequent occurrence, but one that is even more disappointing, is to find a book that is based on a unique or exciting concept, but fails in execution. That is just what happens in TARGET. The story begins with members of two different extra-terrestrial species in conflict; specifically fighting a space ship battle. The ship, belonging to the peaceable extra-terrestrials, is knocked out of the sky by the ship belonging to the aggressive extra-terrestrials, but fortunately, one of the crew manages to reach his escape capsule and ejects. Seeking to save its passenger, the capsule senses life signals as it approaches earthUs moon, so it proceeds to land. At the same time, the aggressive aliens have started a difficult, but technically interesting search to eliminate potential survivors. The life signals sensed by the escape capsule emanate from a UN moon station staffed with a substantial number of humans representing many of the national and cultural aspects of the world. After the capsule lands, the extra-terrestrial makes contact with these humans and immediately the novel begins its downhill trip. The remainder of the story is not worthy of an effort to summarize. There are, however, two major characteristics that run throughout the story which exemplify the way two authors have turned a good concept into a poor book. The first has to do with communication between the humans and the alien. With his superior intellect and interpretive abilities, the alien begins to understand and speak the human language (English). It is an agonizing task for the alien to advance and extend his capacity to communicate and never do the humans give him any help. No teaching, no coaching, nothing! In fact, the humans speak consistently in colloquial terms laced with vulgarities and profanity and regard any failure of the alien to understand as his own inherent deficiency. A second irritating characteristic exists in the relationships and attitudes among the humans that make up the UN exploration group. In dealing with each other, they are jealous, hateful, vindictive, and destructively competitive. They consistently function in an environment of pervasive hostility. These two characteristics in the story portray the select members of a UN mission as ignorant oafs with virtually no civil standards. It is just not a reasonable premise and makes for tiresome reading. After two hundred pages of dealing with humans, one wonders how the peaceable alien can forbear dumping the entire UN contingent and then self-sacrificing to his aggressive pursuer. One also wonders why it takes two authors to produce a piece of work so short on quality. INNUMERACY: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences by John Allen Paulos (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1988) There's good news and bad news here. The good news is that INNUMERACY is a very informative book. You're sure to learn at least half a dozen interesting and useful mathematical principles. For instance: assume that .5 percent of the population has some disease, and that the medical test to diagnose the disease is 98 percent accurate. If you were tested and your test came back positive, what is the likelihood that you really do have the disease? The probability that you have the disease is surprisingly only 20 percent. Paulos further points out that many tests (of various kinds) are far less accurate than the 98 percent assumed here and therefore prove even less. This is particularly interesting with regard to current controversies: drug testing, AIDS tests, lie detector tests, etc. In the course of reading INNUMERACY (which won't take too long, it's a short book) you'll find quite a number of useful discussions such as these. The bad news is that Paulos is a bit dry and humorless; the page-turning impetus of his book is the fascination of detail, not the charm of the writing. Even worse, at one point Paulos mentions three of his fellow mathematicians who also write for laymen: Martin Gardner, Douglas Hofstadter, and Raymond Smullyan, all of whom do a much better job of turning mathematics into a riveting and entertaining subject. If you're not familiar with any of these three, run right down to your local library or bookstore and look them up. It's just possible they could convince you to quit your job and become a mathematician. You run no such risk with Paulos. In the meantime, however, INNUMERACY will correct your thinking on several important issues, and is thereby recommended. Innumeracy in action, from INNUMERACY by John Allen Paulos: A summer visitor enters a hardware store in Maine and buys a large number of expensive items. The skeptical, reticent owner doesn't say a word as he adds the bill on the cash register. When he's finished, he points to the total and watches as the man counts out $1,528.47. He then methodically recounts the money once, twice, three times. The visitor finally asks if he's given him the right amount of money, to which the Mainer grudgingly responds, "Just barely." A man who travels a lot was concerned about the possibility of a bomb on board his plane. He determined the probability of this, found it to be low but not low enough for him, so now he always travels with a bomb in his suitcase. He reasons that the probability of two bombs being on board would be infinitesimal. There was once a state legislator in Wisconsin who objected to the introduction of daylight saving time despite all the good arguments for it. He maintained sagely that there is always a trade-off involved in the adoption of any policy, and that if daylight saving time were instituted, curtains and other fabrics would fade more quickly. INNUMERACY is now a trade paperback from Vintage ($7.95, ISBN 0-679-72601-2). THE LONG RUN by Daniel Keys Moran Bantam Spectra, 0-553-28144-5, 1989, $3.95 Review by Darryl Kenning This is Mr. Moran's third book. From the book inset, it appears that all three are part of a continuing story. The Long Run is a story of great adventure. It's antecedents are clearly in Cyberpunk and computers as a way of life are integral to the story. Yet, they are only a part of the grand vista painted by the author - one can sense the sweep and mass of history surrounding the story. In many ways this book has the same FEEL as the Foundation Series or the early Heinlein novels, and is frankly an amazingly well written story from so new an author (well, new to me anyway). This is one of the few books I have read where the computer story base works well. It is unobtrusive, and yet at the same time I developed a keen sense of empathy with the computer persona. Mr. Moran's first novel THE ARMAGEDDON BLUES won critical acclaim, the second EMERALD EYES was not as broadly reviewed. Based upon this book I, for one am going to my favorite bookseller this very afternoon and see if I can get them both. And then I'll try not to devour them at once, but savour the pleasure. This is a rare talent and a very enjoyable novel. I highly recommend it. rating ( 0 to 5) ***** - 5 - MURDER ON TOUR: A Rock-n-Roll Mystery presented by Dick Clark in association with Paul Francis (Mysterious, 1989) I didn't make up this byline--this is exactly the way it appears on the cover. The inside jacket tells us that Paul Francis is the pseudonym of "a well-known mystery author and rock 'n' roll fiend. The copyright tells us that the book has been copyrighted by Bill Adler Books, Inc. And we all know who Dick Clark is. It's obvious from the beginning that this book is more of a "product" than a novel, so the shortcomings of the mystery shouldn't surprise you too much. It's a fair mystery, though, and the music allusions, references, and metaphors are constant (you'll be reminded of songs you haven't thought of in a very long time). And that's the way to think of this book: as a very pleasant stroll down memory lane for people who think that the very best music was made in the 50s. MURDER ON TOUR is now available in paperback from Mysterious Press. HOMEGOING by Frederik Pohl Ballantine Del Rey, $16.95, ISBN 0-345-33975-4 Review by Fred L. Drake, Jr. Frederik Pohl has helped science fiction through many ordeals over the past several decades. Today, he is continuing in his tradition of crafting fine and readable volumes of prose in this interesting genre. With HOMEGOING, Pohl brings us another work worthy of space upon our shelves. Narrated by the main character, Sandy Washington, HOMEGOING is the tale of a young man, aged twenty-two, coming home to Earth after being raised on a starship by aliens, the Hakh'hli. Sandy's interests are reasonably ordinary, though rather diverse for a single individual. He and his alien friends engage in many of the typical activities young people participate in: sports, school, doing simple labor to be useful, and writing poetry. Sandy plans to spend his time on Earth, which he awaits eagerly, as many a young man awaits visiting a strange land heard of but never seen, traveling the land, socializing, and chasing human women. The aliens are more concerned with doing humanitarian deeds such as cleaning up the ecology and the upper atmosphere, so that mankind can use the land destroyed by nuclear holocaust and once more enter space. Or so they tell Sandy. The first quarter of the volume is dedicated to the final days of Sandy's education and preparation aboard the alien craft. He has spent all of his education preparing for one thing: to get to Earth and report on the climate for a meeting with an advanced extraterrestrial intelligence. The classes in "fast food" are rather interesting, indeed. There are a few aliens who will be coming to Earth with him, and his relationship with these individuals and the other aliens on board the ship is strongly emphasized. Sandy becomes a very real character, though his thought patterns are very simple, natural enough for someone who has not had many opportunities for truly natural interaction with children of his own species. Pohl is very effective in bringing this character to the reader through what and how he describes the various situations he gets into aboard the ship, and, more importantly, what he leaves out. When Sandy finally arrives on Earth, he does not find quite what he expects. He also finds many things about the aliens, whom he once understood and considered his friends, are not what they once seemed. After his rather confined education aboard the alien ship, it is difficult for Sandy to accept that not all things are as well-intentioned as they are presented, or even that anyone would willingly give him false information. During the largest portion of the book, about half of the volume, Sandy is presented with many opportunities to interact with both humans and his alien friends, and see what situations and priorities really are for both groups. There is much he must learn, mostly concerning matters of human nature, and we, as readers, witness a struggle of the young mind learning to associate actions with their consequences and to understand to distinction between what one wants and what must be done. In the final chapters of HOMEGOING, Sandy must make some choices whether he likes them or not. Here we see a man, still young, but more grown than before, discovering some startling things about himself. Pohl has shown us how a young person begins to make the transition to adulthood, and also how the human spirit will survive the changes in order to retain it's identity. While the story is not an adventure epoch, it does examine some aspects of the human experience often ignored in science fiction. MUSIC, MY LOVE by Jean-Pierre Rampal with Deborah Wise Random House, ISBN 0-394-56578-9, $18.95 Review by Fred L. Drake, Jr. Jean-Pierre Rampal is often acclaimed as the master of the classical flute, and with good reason. Listen to any of his recordings, of which he has made many, and you can hear the passion of his playing. There are few if, indeed, any soloists who have made more recordings than this master. Rampal has done more than anyone else to make the flute a solo instrument, and no one could have done it better. In this book, his autobiography, he tells of how music became his life's love and how he worked to make the flute a respectable solo instrument. In the introduction, as throughout the book, Rampal speaks of many of the people with whom he has performed and recorded during his career, and he has recorded with most of the influential classical musicians of this century. There are many anecdotes of events at performances, showing his wonderful way with people. His style is very conversational, almost surprisingly so, but his prose does not become either simple or trite. The book is very well written, though how much of the writing is Wise's effort is really not clear. The book is organized chronologically on the whole, but each chapter emphasizes one aspect or another, and there is a great deal of overlap in the material, as he moves from discussing one group of people to another. In the first chapters, he talks about how his relationship with his father brought him not only to learn to play the flute, but to demand so much of his performance, and not settle for doing things only halfway. Rampal tells about his father not allowing him to take up an instrument when he was very young, even taking an instrument away from him, even though the younger Rampal wanted little else, and his mother's insistence that he study medicine is a continuing theme through the first half of the volume. He then moves into the period when he actually was studying medicine, since there were so few jobs for musicians outside Paris, before the second world war. During Germany's occupation of France, however, he switched into music primarily to avoid being shipped to Germany as a part of a work gang, and this became his life's profession when he was extended an invitation to the Paris Conservatory, the most important school for musicians in all of France. His tales of living in Paris during the remainder of the war, without official sanction, are quite interesting, and show several important aspects of Rampal as a person, outside of his strictly musical side. After the war, Rampal was a member in several small ensembles and chamber orchestras, trying to make ends meet. He tells how his friends, whom he met mainly during his years at the Conservatory, and himself advanced their careers and ambitions, and became known throughout Paris as important new talent. There are many anecdotes here of failed and successful performances. He tells how he and the pianist he worked with for many years, Robert Veyron-Lacroix, met and started working with each other at the last minute before a recital, and continued to work together giving recitals all over the world. There are also several stories about how conflicts between his steady job at the Paris Opera and his more and more numerous solo and duet appearances were worked out, and the things that could happen as a result of the double role. The final chapters of MUSIC, MY LOVE are dedicated to the more recent years and aspects of Rampal's career, including how he came to make so many recordings and work with some of the most illustrious conductors and soloists in the world, including an interesting first meeting with Isaac Stern, the violinist. He tells much of his travels over the world, and all the restaurants he frequented: dining was his second love, following music quite closely. The United States and his concerts in this country figure quite strongly in these closing chapters as well. The volume is not a biography that will give the scholars much to work with, but is an excellent book for music aficionados; well written, it shows Rampal to have an excellent sense of humor. I cannot recommend this book too highly. CYBERBOOKS by Ben Bova (TOR, 1989) This satire is wisely set in the near future, obviously to protect Mr. Bova from the slings and arrows of outraged publishers. In fact, the TOR people must be pretty good sports to have printed this delightful novel, for Ben Bova uses CYBERBOOKS to show us the slimy underbelly of New York publishing, a sight most readers never get to see. Carl Lewis has invented an electronic book. It's the size of a paperback book, holds entire books on small optical disks, displays the text and the color pictures with better resolution than paper, and has a small keyboard to manipulate the text. The optical disks are very cheap to produce and the contents can be distributed by phone, cutting out most of a publisher's costs and making the books available to consumers for pennies. All of which makes WAY to much sense--Cyberbooks have to be suppressed. There are extra complications along the way, like a murderer on the loose. And don't miss the victims: Mrs. Agatha Marple, Rex Wolfe (walking his dog Archie), John Watson, Nora Charleston, Miles Archer, and even the homicide detective who's investigating the Retiree Murders, Lieutenant Jack Moriarty. If you're up on your classic detective fiction, bells should be ringing. It's ridiculous (editors aren't allowed to read on the job, editors of children's books can't ever have even seen a child), it's infuriating (don't miss the explanation of "the strategy of minimal success"), but it's all so much fun that you don't have time to wonder how much of it is realistic. Until you've finished CYBERBOOKS--then you wonder, a lot, a WHOLE lot. CYBERBOOKS is now a Tor paperback! ISBN 0-8125-0319-8 $4.50 PRINCE OF MERCENARIES by Jerry Pournelle Baen Books, ISBN 671-69811-7, 1989, $3.95 Review by Darryl Kenning Jerry Pournelle is one of the few authors whose books I will buy automatically - no questions asked. His combat SF is legendary, and the world view he created in the FALKENBERG LEGION series is so believable that it is almost frightening. His characters have real depth, and his research is becoming legendary - and that shows in his stories. I think I like the Spartan images of Honor, Courage, and Faithfulness best of all the ideas he presents so eloquently in his books. PRINCE OF MERCENARIES will stand on its own quite nicely, but it is clearly meant to fill in one of the gaps in the life and times of the Falkenbergs Mercenary Legion. Even though parts of the novel have been previously published (fair warning now), I found the story to hang together rather well. There is nothing subtle about the story or its message, but I confess to enjoying it immensely. It is just a good rousing adventure story with characters with depth and life. My only complaint is that so much time goes by between books. Dig this one out. It should still be on the booksellers shelves. This novel more firmly entrenches JP as one of the giants of our day. rating (0 to 5) ***** -5- THE ENIGMA VARIATIONS by John Maddox Roberts Ace ISBN 0-441-18056-6, 1989, $3.50 This is an adventure tale set in the near future, on earth. An earth that is largely recognizable but that has veered towards the "California weird" though not so much as to make it largely incomprehensible as are so many of the new wave or cyberpunk stories. I don't think it will spoil the story if I tell you that the hero wakes up with a missing memory and some strange compulsions that set an odyssey into motion. In the end of course, he saves the day and gets the girl. But...getting there is the fun of it. I rather enjoyed this book. It was fun to watch the society and the hero unfold. It's not great literature, but it was a nicely written, well thought-out story that was fun to read. If you are looking for something light and adventurous, then I would recommend it. I hope JMR keeps at it because I think each book is getting better and better. rating 3 *** (a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being a ZOWEEEE!) AMERICAN APPETITES by Joyce Carol Oates (Dutton, 1989) As the dust jacket says: "AMERICAN APPETITES takes us into affluent, upper-class suburbia in the late American 1980s, where a close-knit group of friends draw closer, and apart, when scandal and tragedy erupt among them." As I see it, this is another novel of The Shallowness of the American Dream; maybe better written and with more interesting characters than is usual, but breaking no new ground. To all appearances, Ian and Glynnis McCullough have perfect lives. They have lots of money, lots of things, lots of friends, rewarding careers, a grown daughter, and a successful 26-year marriage. Everything is just perfect, right? Wrong. Exactly what goes wrong is the crux of this story, so I won't spoil it, but take my word for it that Ian and Glynnis are permanently affected. Their own loneliness and insecurity moves from unnoticed background to unmistakeable foreground. Joyce Carol Oates is a masterful writer, and she does a great job here in her nineteenth novel, weaving a story of social ties formed, broken, and reformed in new and unexpected ways. That said, I do have a couple of criticisms: The plot was just, ever so slightly, improbable; but that's only a criticism if you were expecting the Evening News. And the characters were not recognizable to me, but then I don't travel in quite such classy circles, so maybe I'm out of touch with the lifestyles and behavior of the wealthy. On the whole, though, the book kept me turning the pages. I just hope Ms. Oates picks a better theme next time. The inadequacies of the cliched American definition of success (money, power, BMW, Perrier, Rolex, and other appearances) are, at least to me, obvious. And I'm just a bit tired of belaboring the point. AMERICAN APPETITES is now available as an $8.95 trade paperback from Perennial. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: There is a limit to what you can tell people because there is a limit to what they can hear. Beyond that point you're only talking to yourself....It's a lonely predicament. --from AMERICAN APPETITES by Joyce Carol Oates :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: Joseph Wambaugh In Paperback ---------------------------- The Black Marble (Dell 0-440-10644-3 $4.95) The Blooding (Bantam 0-553-28281-6 $5.95) The Blue Knight (Dell 0-440-10607-9 $4.95) The Choirboys (Dell 0-440-11188-9 $4.95) The Delta Star (Bantam 0-553-27386-8 $4.95) Echoes in the Darkness (Bantam 0-553-26932-1 $4.95) The Glitter Dome (Bantam 0-553-27529-4 $4.95) Lines and Shadows (Bantam 0-553-27148-2 $4.95) The New Centurions (Dell 0-440-16417-6 $4.95) The Onion Field (Dell 0-440-17350-7 $4.95) The Secrets of Harry Bright (Bantam 0-553-27430-9 $4.95) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: WHO IS DARRYL KENNING? Darryl Kenning was born 1 month before the attack on Pearl Harbor on a cold blustery day in Chicago. A black leather jacketed motorcycle rider in the glory days of Rock 'n' Roll (the 50's), it seems a bit incongruous that in his mundane life he is now a City Manager overseeing the operations of a city of over 20,000 in Southeastern Ohio. After roaming the world from Antarctica to Iceland, and from Athens, Greece to Oahu (courtesy of Uncle Sammy), he settled into Ohio University (Athens, Ohio), later living in Detroit during the riots of the 60's, then on to the Chicago metro area, then back to Ohio. Introduced to SF in high school, it has become a life-long hobby, with over 2,000 paperbacks and other assorted SF-related items (mostly fanzines) sagging the floors everywhere in the house. Other interests include: computers, stained glass, and motorhome traveling in a venerable 1972 Winnebago. "Until the last couple of years I was really a closet Science Fiction fan, then I discovered Con's and Fandom - it's amazing how many of us there are around". Darryl can be contacted through RFP, on CompuServe (76337,740), on the ANNEX Bulletin Board (513-274-0821 -- J 3 to join the Science Fiction conference), or by writing to him directly at: 6331 Marshall Rd., Centerville, Ohio 45459. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: MISCELLANEOUS BOX SCORES by Darryl Kenning The Armageddon Blues, D. Moran,.........2 Mona Lisa Overdrive, W. Gibson..........1 A Fearful Symmetry, J. Luceno...........2 The Mountain Walks, R. Green............4 Squadron Alert, R. Green................4 Borders of Infinity, L. McMaster Bujold.5 (scale is 0 to 5, with 5 highest) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: NEW FROM WILEY SCIENCE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS BIOLOGY FOR EVERY KID: 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work by Janice Pratt VanCleave (paper: 0-471-50381-9 $10.95; hardcover: 0-471-51048-3 $24.95) THE HOUSE OF SCIENCE by Philip R. Holzinger (paper: 0-471-50061-5 $12.95; hardcover: 0-471-51052-1 $24.95) SLEUTHING FOSSILS: The Art of Investigating Past Life by Alan M. Cvancara (paper: 0-471-62077-7 $12.95; hardcover: 0-471-51046-7 $22.95) THE NATURALIST'S YEAR: 24 Outdoor Explorations by Scott Camazine (paper: 0-471-84845-X $14.95) THE THOMAS EDISON BOOK OF EASY AND INCREDIBLE EXPERIMENTS: Activities, Projects and Science Fun for All Ages by the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation (paper: 0-471-62090-4 $11.95; hardcover: 0-471-62089-0 $22.95) THE OCEAN BOOK: Aquarium and Seaside Activities and Ideas for All Ages by The Center for Environmental Education (paper: 0-471-62078-5 $11.95; hardcover: 0-471-50973-6 $22.95) CHEMISTRY FOR EVERY KID: 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work by Janice Pratt VanCleave (paper: 0-471-62085-8 $10.95; hardcover: 0-471-50974-4 $22.95) NATURE FOR THE VERY YOUNG: A Handbook of Indoor and Outdoor Activities by Marcia Bowden (paper: 0-471-62084-X $11.95; hardcover: 0-471-50975-2 $22.95) THE OCEANS: A Book of Questions and Answers by Don Groves (paper: 0-471-60712-6 $12.95) THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HOLOGRAMS: How They Work and How to Make Them by Joseph E. Kasper & Steven A. Feller (paper: 0-471-62941-3 $16.95) SERENDIPITY: Accidental Discoveries in Science by Royston M. Roberts (paper: 0-471-60203-5 $12.95; hardcover: 0-471-50658-3 $19.95) CLOUDS IN A GLASS OF BEER: Simple Experiments in Atmospheric Physics by Craig F. Bohren (paper: 0-471-62482-9 $12.95) THE BODY IN TIME by Kenneth Jon Rose (paper: 0-471-51200-1 $10.95; hardcover: 0-471-85762-9 $19.95) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: ALL-TIME BESTSELLING CHILDREN'S BOOKS The following list is from Publishers Weekly, October 27, 1989. HARDCOVER 1) The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (1902) 2) Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt (1940) 3) The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell (1946) 4) The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (1957) 5) Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (1960) 6) The Children's Bible 7) The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche F. Wright (1916) 8) Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry (1963) 9) One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (1960) 10) Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss (1963) 11) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (1974) 12) Dr. Seuss's ABC by Dr. Seuss (1963) 13) The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss (1958) 14) The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1964) 15) Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard (1926) PAPERBACK 1) The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (1968) 2) Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (1974) 3) Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams (1973) 4) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (1976) 5) Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams (1971) 6) The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1968) 7) Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams (1971) 8) That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton (1972) 9) Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1974) 10) Superfudge by Judy Blume (1981) 11) Freckle Juice by Judy Blume (1978) 12) Blubber by Judy Blume (1976) 13) Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams (1971) 14) On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams (1971) 15) Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, illustrated by Garth Williams (1971) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: Pornography--those books with pictures and dirty movies--you would be shocked and surprised at the number of Christians who are "hooked" on these things. --Jimmy Swaggart :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: 1989 WORLD FANTASY AWARDS The winners of the World Fantasy Awards were brought to our attention just a couple of days too late to make the last issue, so here they are, finally: Best Novel: KOKO by Peter Straub Best Novella: "The Skin Trade" by George R.R. Martin (from NIGHT VISIONS 5 from Dark Harvest) Best Short Fiction: "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station" by John M. Ford (from INVITATION TO CAMELOT) Best Anthology: THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY: FIRST ANNUAL COLLECTION edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling Best Collection: a tie: ANGRY CANDY by Harlan Ellison STOREYS FROM THE OLD HOTEL by Gene Wolfe Best Artist: Edward Gorey Special Award (Professional): a tie: Robert Weinberg Terri Windling Special Award (Non-Professional): Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith for their quarterly hardcover magazine, PULPHOUSE Lifetime Achievement Award: Evangeline Wolton :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: BESTSELLERS 1980-1988 F = Fiction NF = Nonfiction 1980: THE COVENANT by James Michener (F) CRISIS INVESTING by Douglas R. Casey (NF) 1981: NOBLE HOUSE by James Clavell (F) THE BEVERLY HILLS DIET by Judy Mazell (NF) 1982: E.T., THE STORYBOOK by William Kotzwinkle (F) THE JANE FONDA WORK-OUT BOOK by Jane Fonda (NF) 1983: RETURN OF THE JEDI, THE STORYBOOK by Joan Vinge (F) IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE by Bob Waterman & Tom Peters (NF) 1984: THE TALISMAN by Stephen King & Peter Straub (F) IACOCCA by Lee Iacocca (NF) 1985: THE MAMMOTH by Jean Auel (F) IACOCCA by Lee Iacocca (NF) 1986: IT by Stephen King (F) FATHERHOOD by Bill Cosby (NF) 1987: THE TOMMYKNOCKERS by Stephen King (F) TIME FLIES by Bill Cosby (NF) 1988: THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN by Tom Clancy (F) THE EIGHT-WEEK CHOLESTEROL CURE by Robert Kowalski (NF) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: MORE AWARDS: READERCON AWARDS The Readercon Small Press Awards are presented for best small press books, magazines, and illustrations published in 1988. Best Novel: FOOL ON THE HILL by Matt Ruff (Atlantic Monthly) Best Single Author Collection: CO-ORBITAL MOONS by Robert Frazier (Oceanview Press) Best Anthology: NIGHT VISIONS #6 (Dark Harvest) Best Short Work: THE DROWNED MAN'S REEF by Charles de Lint (Triskell Press) Best Non-Fiction/Criticism: STROKES: ESSAYS AND REVIEWS 1966-1986 by John Clute (Serconia Press) Best Jacket Illustration: FIRST MAITZ by Don Maitz (Ursus) Best Interior Illustration: Michael W. Kaluta, METROPOLIS (Donning Starblaze) Best Value in Bookcraft: Chris Drumm booklets Best Re-Issue: VALIS by Philip K. Dick (Kerosina Books) Best Fiction/Poetry Magazine: INTERZONE, edited by David Pringle et al Best Review/Criticism Magazine (tie): MYSTERY SCENE and NY REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION Best Magazine Design: MIDNIGHT GRAFITTI edited by Jessie Horsting BRITISH FANTASY AWARDS For material published in 1988. August Derleth Award for Best Novel: THE INFLUENCE by Ramsey Campbell Best Short Story: "Fruiting Bodies" by Brian Lumley Best Artist: Dave Carson Best Small Press: Dagon Best Newcomer: John Gilbert Special Award: R. Chetwynd-Hayes ANTHONY AWARDS The attendees of Bouchercon presented these awards for books first published in 1988. Best Novel: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris Best First Novel: A GREAT DELIVERANCE by Elizabeth George Best Paperback Original: SOMETHING WICKED by Carolyn Hart SHAMUS AWARDS The Private Eye Writers of America presented these awards for material first published in 1988. Best Novel: KISS by John Lutz Best Short Story: "The Crooked Way" by Loren D. Estleman Best First Novel: FEAR OF THE DARK by Gar Anthony Haywood Best Paperback Original: DIRTY WORK by Rob Kantner :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though. --J.D. Salinger (THE CATCHER IN THE RYE) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: NEW FROM CARROLL & GRAF: PURSUIT OF FEAR by William Beechcroft William Beechcroft evokes Washington as well as Len Deighton recreates London. And just as we have a good idea of how the British Secret Service works through Mr. Deighton, so Mr. Beechcroft reveals the inner workings of a secret Washington in a new thriller with shocking parallels to the Iran/Contra case. He takes us inside and shows us the world of realpolitik, confirming all our worst suspicions. Here a company of sophisticated con men exploit the wealthy right-wingers so successfully milked in real life by Oliver North. The suspense never falters in this rousing tale as young Steve Gammon finds his missing brother's decapitated body on the shore of an Hawaiian island. Who killed him and his associate, an elderly lawyer--and why? The trail leads to D.C. where Steve begins to assemble bits and pieces of information into an ugly picture of torture and death. But his investigation has marked him for murder. If he is to survive he must move more quickly and with more cunning than his enemies. ISBN 0-88184-510-8 Cloth 272 pages $17.95 REDISCOVERIES II edited by David Madden & Peggy Bach Like a browse through a wonderful second-hand book shop, perusing this volume of "discoveries" of underappreciated books provides many gentle pleasures. In forty-nine short essays writers such as John Updike, Gore Vidal, Maxine Kumin, Hortense Calisher, Norman Mailer, Elmore Leonard and Mary Lee Settle select and celebrate their favorite works of neglected fiction. "A literary goldmine! An important and fascinating work. Readers will be turned on to some very deserving books." --The Los Angeles Times ISBN 0-88184-528-0 Trade Paper 340 pages $9.95 THE COMPLEAT WEREWOLF and Other Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction by Anthony Boucher This collection by eminent mystery and science fiction critic Anthony Boucher assembles the best of his short fictions. Boucher was an Edgar Award winner and became a major influence in the often merging fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror as founder of THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION. The title story is a classic mix of lycanthropy, private eyes, fiendish Nazi agents and wisecracking humor. In a similar vein, this anthology also includes witty variations on horror themes: "Snulbug", about a deal with a demon; "The Ghost of Me", a doppleganger story with a new twist; and "The Bite", a rare straight horror tale about desert-dwelling mutants. The other stories are: "The Pink Caterpillar", "Q.U.R.", "Robinc", "Expedition", "We Print the Truth". "The best of Boucher's fantasy tales may be the most famous of his stories, the novella THE COMPLEAT WEREWOLF. Boucher shows two of his virtues as a writer: effective comic reversal of cliches to produce surprise and delight, and an often literary resonance." --Science Fiction Writers ISBN 0-88184-557-4 Mass Market 256 pages $4.50 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: Literature plays an important role in our country, helping the Party to educate the people correctly, to instill in them advanced, progressive ideas by which our Party is guided. And it is not without reason that writers in our country are called engineers of the human soul. --Nikita Khrushchev :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: THE STRANGE LUCK OF WALTER JON WILLIAMS Not too long ago, Tor SF author Walter Jon Williams got a very pleasant surprise: his science fiction novel HARDWIRED (Tor, 1986) was prominently featured in a national advertising campaign for Nissan Motors' new "Infiniti" automobile. Apparently the Powers That Be decided that some law of good fortune had been violated. When Williams returned from the World Science Fiction Convention in Boston to linger over the pages of his newest Tor hardcover ANGEL STATION, he got a most unpleasant shock: not only was there a rash of very strange typographical errors on page 9 of the book, but fully seventeen lines of type were completely missing from page 354. When Williams called TOR's editorial staff in New York to report the errors, they immediately checked the press run of the book. Sure enough, the defects were present in every copy--despite the fact that all previous proof sheets, and the book's bound uncorrected galleys, were free of the errors. This isn't "business as usual" for TOR. Although an occasional typo slips by the proofreading process, and minor errors creep into final copies, nothing of this sort has ever happened to a Tor book before. How did it happen? Well, no one knows exactly--but the evidence points to some sort of software error in the generation of the final "repro proof" long after the stages at which books are normally checked and proofread in house. For example, the typos on page 9 all involve characters that are exactly five letters off in sequence from the correct characters. TOR is offering to replace all defective copies of the ANGEL STATION hardcover with corrected copies from a new printing. To receive a correct copy, simply remove pages 1 through 6 (three leaves) and send them, along with your name and address, to Customer Service, St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010, Attn: ANGEL STATION Replacement. This offer is open to individuals and dealers alike, though copies of the removed pages must be received for each copy the owner wants replaced. Alternately, collectors who wish to keep their "true first" edition, typos and all, may write to Tor's own editorial offices at 49 West 24th St, New York NY 10010 for an errata sheet correcting the errors, which includes the missing text. Meanwhile, Tor's editors are leaving nothing to chance where Williams's work is concerned. They've set up a special Walter Jon Williams Task Force to make sure the author's next work, a short story collection called FACETS scheduled for publication as a hardcover in January 1990, escapes the strange luck of Walter Jon Williams. For further information, contact Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Administrative Editor, (212) 741-3100. :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: I like to tell people the difference between humor and horror is that it stops being humor when it starts being you. --Stephen King :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: BACK ISSUES ELECTRONIC EDITION: Check the BBSs in the Directory first. If what you want isn't available, send $5 to us for a disk containing ALL available issues. Disk will be formatted using PC/MS-DOS (for IBM clones). Specify 3-1/2" or 5-1/4" floppy. PRINT EDITION: Send $1.50 for each issue requested. Checks: Make checks payable to Cindy Bartorillo. Address: See masthead on Table of Contents page. ISSUES AVAILABLE: #1: Premier issue: 1988 World Fantasy Awards; Books I'm Supposed to Like, But Don't; Pronunciation Guide to Author's Names; Christie Characters on Film; Featured Author: Richard Matheson; Baseball & Cricket Mysteries; Stephen King Checklist; Time Travel Books #2: Summer Reading Issue: Award Winners & Nominees; Beach Bag Books; Featured Author: Stanley Ellin; Splatterpunk; Murderous Vacations; The Psychology of Everyday Things; The Shining; SF Fan-Lingo; Pseudonyms #3: Books About Books Issue: Two-Bit Culture; Christopher Morley; 84 Charing Cross Road; Assorted References; Bibliomysteries; Deep Quarry; Featured Author: Harlan Ellison #4: Hollywood Issue: Recent Awards; About Hollywood; Silver Scream; Death of a Salesman; Joe Bob Briggs; The Hollywood Mystery; Featured Author: Fredric Brown; The Dark Fantastic; Darryl Kenning Reviews #5: Halloween Issue: Hugo Awards; Year's Best Horror Stories XVII; Tracy Kidder; Supernatural Mysteries; Thomas Harris; Falling Angel Heart; Ray Garton; New From Underwood-Miller; Featured Author: Robert R. McCammon; The Modern Halloween Shelf; Darryl Kenning Reviews; The Ultimate Stephen King Character Quiz #6: Computers & Robots Issue: 1989 World Fantasy Award Nominations; Donald M. Grant, Publisher; Cyberpunk & Neuromancer; Computer Books; Digital Delights; Nightmare On Elm Street, The Comic; Banned Books; Featured Author: Josephine Tey; Mystery Terminology; Darryl Kenning Reviews; Books On A Chip; New From Carroll & Graf; Computer Cowboy Reading; and the usual #7: Happy Holidays Issue: New From Carroll & Graf; Featured Author: Charles Dickens; A Christmas Carol; Religious Reading; An Incomplete Education; Great Endings; New From Simon & Schuster; New From Underwood-Miller; Christmas Mysteries and Other Yuletide Reading; On Line With Steve Gerber; The Last Christmas Trivia Quiz; and the usual #8: True Crime Issue (the one you're looking at now) :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: GREAT BEGINNINGS TRIVIA QUIZ ANSWERS A-17 F-7 K-10 P-15 B-13 G-5 L-20 Q-3 C-1 H-18 M-16 R-8 D-4 I-14 N-9 S-2 E-11 J-6 O-19 T-12 :=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=: