Ansible 270 [long]
David Langford
ANSIBLE 270
JANUARY 2010
From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Web
news.ansible.co.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for
SAE, samnites, smithereens or proscenium.
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A NOVEL INSIGHT. '2010? Shouldn't we all be wearing silver jump suits
with jet packs?' (first line of _Coronation Street_, 1 January) [DG]
### THE STORMS OF JANUARY ###
LYN BROWN, Labour MP for West Ham, brought some sf relevance into the
media frenzy about UK MPs' expenses with a modest Pounds37.85 claim for
'Hire of Tardis and catering'. If only she'd used its time-travel
facility to warn herself of the coming expenses leak.... (_Guardian_)
[MPJ]
FRANK FRAZETTA's son Alfonso was caught red-handed removing $20m worth
of parental paintings from the Frazetta museum in Pennsylvania, after an
accomplice ripped off its door with a mechanical excavator (or backhoe,
as they say over there). He explained that his father told him to; but
Frazetta Senior says he didn't. (BBC) [JS]
JOE HALDEMAN will be honoured by SFWA as their Damon Knight Grand Master
for 2010. The decision was made before Joe's serious illness and recovery
in late 2009. _Latest:_ he's out of hospital, again. [GH]
PETER JACKSON of _Lord of the Rings_ film fame was made a knight in New
Zealand (a title abolished there in 2000 but now reinstated).
DIANA WYNNE JONES fell and broke her hip on 2 December. The hip joint was
replaced in an operation next day, and Diana returned home on 11
December. She's reportedly in good spirits. [CB/DD]
URSULA K. LE GUIN published an open letter to the US Authors Guild (of
which she'd been a member since 1972), resigning in protest at the
Guild's part in the Google Book Settlement. 'You decided to deal with the
devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish
I could accept them. I can't. There are principles involved, above all
the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon
to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle.' (18 December) She
pointedly adds that she's remaining in SFWA and the National Writers
Union, which both opposed the settlement.
PATRICK STEWART was knighted in the UK New Year honours list, for
services to drama. Actress Maud Tyzack (genre credits include _2001_ and
the 1979 _Quatermass_) has a CBE. Awards for literature were few but
included an OBE for prolific children's author Dick King-Smith, whose
animal fantasy _The Sheep-Pig_ (1983) became the film _Babe_.
PETER WATTS, noted Canadian sf author, was beaten, arrested, held
overnight and charged with assault by US border police after trying to
re-enter Canada on 8 December. No one who knows Watts can believe the
'assault'; it seems that some touchy officer(s) objected to his asking
why they were searching his car on exit. The case continues and was
referred to a US circuit court on 22 December. Watts feels that day's
hearing 'went well -- so well, in fact, that I actually wondered if the
whole thing might end then and there, despite having been told that it
never does. [...] And the prosecution chose not to show any surveillance
footage of the alleged offence. Draw your own conclusions.' (blog, 24
December) [] Independent defence fund site: www.freethesquid.org.
### CONTUMULATION ###
16-17 Jan [] CONRUNNER 2, Mecure St Paul's Hotel, Sheffield. _Now
Pounds45 reg_; same price at the door. Day Pounds25. Contact 56 Jackmans
Place, Letchworth GC, Herts, SG6 1RH.
27 Jan [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, The Antelope, 22 Eaton Tce, London, SW1W
8EZ. 5pm for 6pm. With Jim Burns.
30 Jan [] BFS OPEN NIGHT, York Brewery, York. Time TBC.
5-6 Feb [] _SFX_ WEEKENDER, Pontin's Holiday Park, Camber Sands, East
Sussex. Charged by accommodation; shared chalets only; no single rooms.
See www.sfxweekender.com for details. Contact 08700 110034.
5-7 Feb [] VAN DER FILK (filk), Ramada Hotel, Grantham, NG31 7XT.
Pounds32/$46/Euro36 reg; Pounds16/$23/Euro18 child/unwaged; under-6s
Pounds1/$1/Euro1. At the door: Pounds35, Pounds17 and Pounds1. Day:
Pounds10 Fri, Pounds20 Sat, Pounds15 Sun. Contact 1379 Lincoln Rd,
Werrington, Peterborough, PE4 6LT.
27 Feb [] PICOCON 27, Imperial College Union, London. 10am-7/8pm.
Pounds10 (probably) at door only; Pounds8 concessions; Pounds5 ICSF
members. Contact ICSF, Beit Quad, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2BB.
19-21 March [] CORFLU COBALT, Winchester Hotel, Winchester. Pounds45/$65
reg, _rising to Pounds50/$75 on 17 January_. Pounds10/$15 supp. Rooms
Pounds80/night twin/double. Advance booking closes 13 March. Day rates
Pounds10 Fri, Pounds25 Sat, Pounds20 Sun (not including brunch banquet).
Sterling to 45 Kimberley Gardens, London, N4 1LD. US$: Robert Lichtman,
11037 Broadway Tce, Oakland, CA 94611-1948, USA.
25-28 Mar [] WORLD HORROR CONVENTION, Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton.
Pounds75 reg, _rising to Pounds100 on 31 January_. _No at-the-door or day
memberships._ Contact PO Box 64317, London, NW6 9LL.
2-5 Apr [] ODYSSEY 2010 (Eastercon), Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow,
London. Pounds65 reg, Pounds55 unwaged, Pounds30 supporting or under-17s
(Pounds60 reg and Pounds50 unwaged for BSFA members); Pounds75, Pounds65
and Pounds30 at the door. Pounds5 child (<11), Pounds1 infant (<5).
Contact: Fiona Marshall c/o Coton House, Conference Centre, Rugby, CV23
0AA.
13-15 Aug [] FESTIVAL IN THE SHIRE (Tolkien), Y Plas, Machynlleth, Wales.
_Now Pounds35 reg_; day Pounds20 Fri or Sun, Pounds25 Sat (discount for
PayPal). 'Collector's Exposition' Pounds130; conference Pounds190 until
May; VIP pass (i.e. everything) Pounds260. Contact info at
FestivalintheShire dot com.
26-29 Aug [] TRICON (Eurocon), Cieszyn/Cesky Tesin, Polish/Czech border.
Euro15 reg, _rising to Euro17.50 on 1 February_; Euro20 on 1 April;
Euro22.50 on 1 June; Euro25 on 1 August. Guest list, online
registration and other details at http://tricon.info/.
17-19 Jun 2011 [] EUROCON 2011, Stockholm. GoH Elizabeth Bear, Ian
McDonald, Jukka Halme (fan). Pounds30/Euro35/SEK350 reg, rising after
Easter 2010 to Pounds35/Euro40/SEK400. Payment info: www.eurocon2011.se.
RUMBLINGS [] _Aussiecon 4_ Hugo nominations opened on 1 January. For
ballot forms, see www.aussiecon4.org.au. PINs for online voting were
emailed on 4 January. Though I joined only once, I received two!
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
AS OTHERS SEE US. 'At least beer geeks get to drink beer, which is a step
up from most other forms of geekery. Plus, you don't have to wear pocket
protectors or make Star Trek costumes, and sometimes you actually get to
meet women.' (Nicholas Pashley, _Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer
in Canada_, 2009) [MMW]
PCmag.com's 'Top 100 Web Sites of 2009' selection showered faint
praise on io9: 'Hey, nerds! How about a nerd blog for your nerd
interests? io9 covers everything science fiction and otherwise less-than-
hip.' [via ML]
AWARDS. Fflur Dafydd's semi-satirical sociopolitical thriller _Y
Llyfrgell_ -- set in 2020 -- won the Pounds5000 Daniel Owen Memorial
Prize at the 2009 National Eisteddfod. _David Redd_ observes: 'Truly, sf
concepts are now mainstream. As they were before Uncle Hugo set up
shop....'
TALKING SQUID REDUX. 'Your campaign is working!' writes Ric Cooper: 'On
BBC Radio 4's _Today_ programme at 08:41 on 28 December the presenter
Evan Davis, interviewing Brian Aldiss and "science-fiction writer Ian
Stewart" (Prof. Ian Stewart FRS), without prompting excoriated mainstream
writers for belittling SF as being about "talking squid in space". /
Aldiss was in fine elder statesman form, refusing to be cut off by the
young whippersnapper, feigning to forget the name of the "crime lady" who
perpetrated such very sincere flattery of his _Greybeard_ (P.D. James
with _The Children of Men_) and even coining a new name for SF --
"metaphorical realism". / The respect shown to SF just might have had
something to do with the fact that the programme's "guest editor" was a
certain Martin Rees -- that's Prof. Lord Rees, Astronomer Royal to you,
sonny! He added his two penn'orth to the discussion, saying that he
habitually told his students it was better to read first-rate SF than
second-rate science writing.'
R.I.P. _Christopher Anvil_ (Harry C. Crosby, Jr, 1925-2009), US author
of many magazine stories -- mostly in John W. Campbell's _Astounding_ and
_Analog_ -- died on 30 November aged 84. The first of his eight novels
was _The Day the Machines Stopped_ (1964).
_Charlie (Chas.) Balun_ (1948-2009), influential horror/splatter
film critic in _Fangoria_, _Gorezone_ and several nonfiction books, died
on 18 December aged 61.
_Gene Barry_ (1919-2009), US actor who was Dr. Clayton Forrester in
George Pal's _War of the Worlds_ (1953) and had a bit part in the 2005
remake, died on 9 December; he was 90. [SD]
_Don Congdon_ (1918-2009), US literary agent and anthologist who was
Ray Bradbury's agent for over 50 years from 1947, died on 30 November.
He was 91. (_NY Times_)
_Roy Edward Disney_ (1930-2009), Walt's nephew, whose 1980s revolt
against company policy restored Disney animation strengths and led to the
Pixar partnership, died on 16 December aged 79. [DKMK]
_Janet Fox_ (1940-2009), US author of short stories -- also, as Alex
McDonough, five of the six 1990s 'Scorpio' sf novels -- died on 21
October aged 68. She was best known for her writers' market report
_Scavenger's Newsletter_ (1984-2003). [LP]
_Buddy Martinez_, co-founding editor of _Iniquities_ magazine,
sometime co-publisher at Gauntlet Press, and author of short horror
stories, hanged himself on 30 November. [JF]
_Brittany Murphy_ (1977-2009), US actress who had parts in _SeaQuest
DSV_, _Sin City_ and _Futurama_ (voice), died on 20 December aged 32.
[DKMK]
_Paul Naschy_ (1934-2009), Spanish director, screenwriter and actor
notorious for his more than 100 horror films, died on 30 November aged
75. (_NY Times_) [AIP]
_Dan O'Bannon_ (1946-2009), noted US sf screenwriter whose credits
include _Dark Star_ (in several capacities; he played Sgt Pinback), _Star
Wars_ (effects), _Alien_, _Return of the Living Dead_, _Lifeforce_,
_Total Recall_, _Screamers_ and several more, died on 17 December. He was
63. [SR]
_Mark Owings_ (1945-2009), US bibliographer (often in collaboration
with Jack Chalker), editor and small-press publisher, died on 30
December; he was 64. [GVG]
_David C. Smith_, US scholar in several disciplines including the
life and times of H.G. Wells -- of whom his _Desperately Mortal_ (1986)
is a notable biography -- died on 7 November. [JC/PP]
_Richard Todd_ (1909-2009), Dublin-born actor of _Dam Busters_ fame,
whose genre credits included the 4-episode Doctor Who sequence _Kinda_
(1982), died on 3 December; he was 90. [MPJ]
AS OTHERS SEE SOME OF US. 'Self-described geeks and horror fans are
especially upset at how the [_Twilight_] series introduces the
conventions of the romance novel -- that most stereotypically feminine,
most scorned of literary forms -- into their far more highbrow and
culturally relevant monster stories.' (Sady Doyle, _The American
Prospect_, 19 November) [MMW] Were there fan riots when Anne McCaffrey
polluted our highbrow, culturally relevant dragon stories with romance?
OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Stephen Gallagher_ on his snub in the _TLS_ review of
_The Oxford Companion to English Literature_ (_A269_): 'Slightly
surprised to be singled out for a kicking -- I haven't looked up the
review but I did check on the reviewer [Henry Hitchings], in case I may
have offended him or jilted his mother. But I never heard of him before
today. So I suppose a mature response would be Yah boo, at least I'm in
the book, and unlike some people I didn't have to write my own Wikipedia
page.'
_Simon R. Green_ offers a New Year treat: 'a certain D. Langford
makes a strong appearance in the fourth Secret Histories book, _From Hell
with Love_ ... Though you do, as usual, die horribly, you're a much more
sympathetic character this time. I may be mellowing.' Or perhaps I am.
_Martyn P. Jackson_ 'attended the Dimensions _Doctor Who_ Con in
Newcastle [November] where one of the guests was Gillian Brown. Gillian
appeared as Ohica in the 1976 _Doctor Who_ story "The Brain of Morbius".
You may also know her as the producer of Ken Campbell's one-man shows.
She related how Ken introduced her to the work of Philip K Dick: Ken rang
Gillian at 2am and said, "I want you to go to your local bookshop in the
morning and ask the young man behind the desk to put all of his Dick on
the counter."'
_Dan Kimmel_ goes critical: 'The Boston Society of Film Critics met
Sunday [13 December] and included three genre films among their honorees.
South African director Neill Blomkemp was named best new filmmaker for
his _District 9._ [...] Pixar's _Up_ was cited as best animated film. The
big surprise was in the award for best ensemble cast where the gritty
drama _Precious_ shared the prize with the rebooted _Star Trek_.'
COURT CIRCULAR. George Lucas lost his UK Court of Appeal lawsuit against
Andrew Ainsworth, the designer of _Star Wars_ stormtrooper helmets and
armour who's been selling replicas made from his original mould. The
ruling was that the models are not fine-art sculptures (lifetime plus 70
years copyright) but 'utilitarian' industrial designs which can be
protected for only 15 years. Naturally Lucas plans to escalate this to
the new UK Supreme Court. (_Times_, 17 December) [MPJ]
THE WEAKEST LINK. _Anne Robinson:_ 'What is the name of the London club
that marks the start/finish point in Jules Verne's _Around the World in
80 Days_?' _Contestant_, a woman described as a teacher of English and
music: 'Ronnie Scott's.' (BBC1, 14 December) [MPJ]
_George Bowie_, Radio Clyde presenter: 'Which famous detective
features in the Agatha Christie _[sic]_ novel _The Hound of the
Baskervilles_?' _Contestant:_ 'Is it Harry Potter?' (_The Bookseller_)
[JCo]
IN MEMORIAM. Many recollections of Rob Holdstock (1948-2009) appear in
this issue's supplement: news.ansible.co.uk/a270supp.html.
MAGAZINE SCENE. _The Internet Review of SF_ will cease with the February
2010 issue. [GVG]
_Kirkus Reviews_, 'the hard-to-please pre-publication blurb machine'
(_New York Observer_), and _Editor & Publisher_ were both axed in
December by their owner, Nielsen Business Media. [ML]
RANDOM FANDOM. _Dr David V. Barrett_ gloats over having become, as of 20
December, 'the person formerly known as Mr David V. Barrett.'
_FAAn Awards:_ the 2010 ballot is available at the Corflu website.
See corflu.org/pdfs/2010faanballot.pdf. A new category has been
introduced this year: Lifetime Achievement Award for 30 or more years of
fan activity. What next -- Fan Emeritus?
_Rob Hansen_ revealed that 20 December 2009 was the 80th anniversary
of the first meeting of the first US sf fan group, the Scienceers, and
that the UK equivalent will be 27 October 2010 -- eighty years from the
inaugural meeting of the Ilford Science Literary Circle in 1930.
_David Levine_, US fan and author, was picked for a January
'expedition' at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, operated by the
Mars Society. The volunteer crew spends two weeks at 'real research on
geology, astronomy, and medicine in a simulated Mars environment
(complete with space suits).' [GS]
CHANGE & DECAY. Borders UK branches closed for the last time on 22
December. The final frantic book sale was complicated by successful legal
action from Hachette (Gollancz, Headline, Hodder, Little Brown, Octopus,
Orbit, Orion, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, etc), forbidding the administrators,
MCR, to flog off books supplied on the usual sale-or-return basis.
(_Bookseller_) At Borders in Islington, for example, bargain-hunters
who'd grabbed Hachette publishers' sf/fantasy titles at 70% discount
learned only at checkout that the books weren't for sale. [ME/RK]
FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund:_ 96 ballots were cast, 83 actually
expressing a preference. Results announced on 23 December: Anne KG Murphy
& Brian Gray, standing jointly, won by a first-round majority with 50
votes (40 NA; 10 Euro/rest of world), trailed by Frank Wu with 30 (18;
12) and Hold Over Funds with 3 (2; 1). Anne & Brian will thus travel to
Odyssey, the 2010 Eastercon at Heathrow. More at taff.org.uk. UK admin:
Steve Green, 33 Scott Road, Solihull, B92 7LQ.
AS OTHERS SEE _AVATAR_. 'This film really was a huge risk for 20th
Century Fox. They took a movie that has no real stars and one with an
ostensibly limited appeal. Sci-fi is typically a geeky genre so for them
to make such a success out of a film that is about big blue aliens is
very impressive.' (_Heat_ magazine film editor in _Independent_, 2
January) [MPJ]
C.O.A. _Tony Cullen_ (from 14 January), 21 Clareville Road, Caterham,
Surrey, CR3 6LA. _Mike & Deb Rohan_ (as well as former address), 16/2
Learmonth Terrace, West End, Edinburgh EH4 1PG. _Ina Shorrock_, 14 Shalem
Court, Teehey Lane, Higher Bebington, CH63 2JB. (Phone unchanged.
'Passing fans always welcome.') _M.J. 'Simo' Simpson_, 108 Grace Road,
Leicester LE2 8AZ (phone and email unchanged).
THE DEAD PAST. _Fifty Years Ago:_ UK fans were urged to Leicester Square
to see the newly released _On the Beach_. But 'Author Nevil Shute is
reported as having refused to see the film and a friend of his was quoted
in The News Chronicle as saying, "The love interest is overplayed and the
ending coarsened."' (_Skyrack_ 11, 1 January 1960)
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Simile Dept, Continued._ 'They were lifted off the
ground like salmon plucked out of the Kushiro River as they headed
upstream to spawn in the mountains of Hokkaido.' (Alexander Besher,
_Rim_, 1994) [AK] 'Explosive shurikens flew like punctuation marks above
Tomo's head.' _(Ibid)_ 'Like dying spiders his fingers crawled over the
control panel, smearing it with blood.' (Frank Sch�tzing, _The Swarm_,
2004; trans Sally-Ann Spencer, 2006) [AR]
_Dept of Terrifying Imagery._ 'He allowed a pregnant pause. "You
see, Dr Roche, if tiny insects launched a concerted attack on your
nostrils, your finely tuned, highly complex body would be in danger of
collapse."' _(Ibid)_
_Very Like A Whale Dept._ 'Watching the oil-spattered Dean laugh and
jump around reminded him of sitting on his grandfather's knee.' _(Ibid)_
_Dept of Higher Mathematics._ 'This is a ninety percent male society
... we outnumber our women two hundred to one.' (Jacquelyn Frank,
_Hunting Julian_, January 2010) [RF]
_Said-Bookism Dept._ '"I was," he emanated darkly ...' _(Ibid)_
_Dept of Mathematics II._ '... there are twenty-one of us, including
myself and the signal officer who is on the roof watching for the signal,
which, being four squads of four, is exactly the number we ought to have
...' (Steven Brust, _Sethra Lavode_, 2004) [BA]
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### ENDNOTES ###
APPARITIONS.
[] 8 January 2010: Brum Group AGM, Old Joint Stock pub (first floor),
Temple St, off Colmore Row, Birmingham city centre: 7:30pm for 8pm.
TAFF. Pounds4; members Pounds3. Contact 07845 897760 or bhamsfgroup at
yahoo co uk. Future meetings: 12 February, Quiz; 12 March, Jo Fletcher
(returning to the Briar Rose Hotel, Bennett's Hill, Birmingham city
centre); 9 April TBA; 14 May, Jasper Fforde.
PAYPAL DONATION. Support _Ansible_ and keep the editor happy! Or just
buy his books ... please.
http://ansible.co.uk/paypal.html
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http://ansible.co.uk/books/starcomb.html
EDITORIAL. Happy New Year! Your feckless editor, beset with various
distractions including Hazel's father's house move (rapidly followed
by Rob Holdstock's funeral and the traditional paralysis of Britain by
the wrong kind of snow), didn't get around to constructing a silly
seasonal e-card until 24 December. Here's the URL, followed by a
reminder of this issue's memorial supplement for Rob Holdstock; many
thanks indeed to everyone who contributed.
http://ansible.co.uk/misc/card2009.html
http://news.ansible.co.uk/a270supp.html
THE STYGIAN HAUNTS OF HELL. Don Simpson, original transcriber of 'The
Eye of Argon' and ultimate source (from 'an 8-inch floppy disk
formatted for my S-100 bus CP/M computer') of all online copies,
scrutinized the PDF facsimile and found he'd omitted a sentence
fragment. Further corrections have been made to the digital text. Read
all about it here ...
http://ansible.co.uk/misc/eyeargon-intro.html#var
THOG'S NEW YEAR EXTRA. _Neat Tricks Dept._'"It's that dragon," Jhai
exclaimed, shading her hand with her eyes.' (Liz Williams, _Precious
Dragon_, 2007) [MP/LW]
_Dept of Extra-Dimensional Portals._ 'Two doors opened from the end
of the lobby. One was occupied by a bed, a wardrobe and a dressing
table.' (Ken MacLeod, _The Execution Channel_, 2007) [MQ]
_Similes Revisited._ '... tears coursed hot streaks down his cheeks,
falling like mercury snowdrops ...' (Andy Remic, _War Machine_, 2007)
[RD]
Ansible 270 Copyright (c) David Langford, 2010. Thanks to Brian
Ameringen, Chris Bell, John Clute, Jonathan Cowie, David Devereux,
Richard Dixon, Steven Dunn, Malcolm Edwards, Jo Fletcher, Rose Fox,
David Garnett, Gay Haldeman, Martyn P. Jackson, Amanda Kear, Roy
Kettle, David K.M. Klaus, Making Light, Patrick Parrinder, Lawrence
Person, Marion Pitman, Andrew I. Porter, Michael Quinion, Adam
Roberts, Steve Rogerson, Joe Siclari, Gordon Van Gelder, Liz Williams,
Martin Morse Wooster, and our Hero Distributors: Dave Corby (BSFG),
SCIS/Prophecy, Alan Stewart (Oz).
4 Jan 10
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/ | http://news.ansible.co.uk/
See http://ansible.co.uk/bibcent.html for bibliographical horrors.
David Langford
wrote:
>PATRICK STEWART was knighted in the UK New Year honours list, for
>services to drama. Actress Maud Tyzack (genre credits include _2001_ and
>the 1979 _Quatermass_) has a CBE.
That's Margaret (middle name Maud) Tyzack -- something got scrambled en
route to me. Sorry.
Dave
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/
Read Ansible at http://news.ansible.co.uk/
David Goldfarb
David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk> wrote:
> _Dept of Mathematics II._ '... there are twenty-one of us, including
>myself and the signal officer who is on the roof watching for the signal,
>which, being four squads of four, is exactly the number we ought to have
>...' (Steven Brust, _Sethra Lavode_, 2004) [BA]
I'm not sure this should count, being a deliberate joke. (Remember
that this is the series wherein, in the first book, one character
expresses surprise that another is able to add one, two, and three,
and arrive at a total of six!)
--
David Goldfarb | "I am an atheist, myself. A simple faith, but
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | a great comfort to me in these last days."
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu | -- Lois McMaster Bujold, _Shards of Honor_
William December Starr
David Langford <ans...@cix.co.uk> said:
> _Janet Fox_ (1940-2009), US author of short stories -- also, as
> Alex McDonough, five of the six 1990s 'Scorpio' sf novels --
> died on 21 October aged 68. She was best known for her writers'
> market report _Scavenger's Newsletter_ (1984-2003). [LP]
Th ISFDB:
Linkname: Scorpio - Series Bibliography
URL: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?24626
has all six as "by Janet Fox [only as by Alex McDonough]". Was one
actually by someone else, under the same pen name?
[...]
> THE WEAKEST LINK. _Anne Robinson:_ 'What is the name of the
> London club that marks the start/finish point in Jules Verne's
> _Around the World in 80 Days_?' _Contestant_, a woman described
> as a teacher of English and music: 'Ronnie Scott's.' (BBC1, 14
> December) [MPJ]
Having no recollection myself, I like to think that I'd've at
least said "Hellfire."
-- wds
William December Starr
> _Gene Barry_ (1919-2009), US actor who was Dr. Clayton Forrester
> in George Pal's _War of the Worlds_ (1953) and had a bit part in
> the 2005 remake, died on 9 December; he was 90. [SD]
He also starred in Philip Wylie's dystopic "Los Angeles 2017"
(1971), the only sf episode in the otherwise mainstream U.S. tv
series "The Name of the Game."<1>
*1: For values of "sf" that include "it was all a dream" anyway.
-- wds
Rich Lynch
> ANSIBLE 270
> JANUARY 2010
Speaking of Thog's "Dept of Higher Mathematics":
> _Richard Todd_ (1909-2009), Dublin-born actor of _Dam Busters_
> fame, whose genre credits included the 4-episode Doctor Who
> sequence _Kinda_ (1982), died on 3 December; he was 90. [MPJ]
(2009 minus 1909 gives a different result than 90.)
Ahasuerus
> In article <ql44k51643l174dhsh9t08336003ij2...@4ax.com>,
> David Langford <ansi...@cix.co.uk> said:
>
> > _Janet Fox_ (1940-2009), US author of short stories -- also, as
> > Alex McDonough, five of the six 1990s 'Scorpio' sf novels --
> > died on 21 October aged 68. She was best known for her writers'
> > market report _Scavenger's Newsletter_ (1984-2003). [LP]
>
> Th ISFDB:
>
> Linkname: Scorpio - Series Bibliography
> URL:http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?24626
>
> has all six as "by Janet Fox [only as by Alex McDonough]". Was one
> actually by someone else, under the same pen name?
According to Janet Fox, "Alex McDonough" was a shared pseudonym, e.g.
she wrote in http://www.reesestudio.net/internet/sf/preview/article5.htm
:
"Maybe you've read a book in Ace's Scorpio series and thought they
were written by someone named Alex McDonough. Not so, five of them
(Scorpio Rising, Scorpio Descending, Dragons Blood, Dragons Eye,
Dragons Claw) were by yours truly"
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to determine who wrote the first
book in the series, so I changed the ISFDB author to "unknown".
Perhaps other ISFDB editors will have better luck...
David Langford
wrote:
Thanks (belatedly -- January has been hell and I haven't been reading
Usenet). Someone also pointed this out by email and I fixed the website
version.
Dave
--
David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/