Ansible 453 -- April 2025

[Ansible Newsletter]

ANSIBLE(R) 453
APRIL 2025

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE or reliable escape routes from the Chester-Perry Building.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a453.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a453.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below -- please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]


### THE GREAT TEA TROLLEY DISASTER ###

TERRY BROOKS, who is 81, announced on a panel at Emerald City Comic Con in March that he's retiring from writing fantasy -- but will hand over the Shannara series to Delilah S. Dawson. (Popverse, 9 March)

ZEN CHO is to deliver the 2025 Tolkien Lecture at Pembroke College, Oxford; for further details see the events list below.

RICHARD SHAVER of Shaver Mystery fame is surprisingly remembered in a _Paris Review_ article covering not only the 'mystery' -- sinister underground 'deros' controlling human thoughts, etc. -- but his belief that ordinary-looking rocks contain written and graphic records of ancient civilizations, clearly visible to Shaver if not to mere geologists, and his revelation of the original ur-alphabet Mantong: 'A stands for animal / B stands for be, to exist ... to be. / C stands for vision ...' (_Paris Review_, 20 March) [RH]

JEANETTE WINTERSON, though acknowledging in passing that authors ripped off to train AI should be paid, is so utterly stupended by the 'beautiful and moving' result from a creative writing model fed with the complexly innovative prompt 'Short Story. Metafiction. Grief.' that she now feels we all need to be reading wonderful AI. (_Guardian_, 12 March) Maybe the Eliza Effect should be renamed as the Winterson Effect.


### CONJUGATA ###

5 Apr [] BEDFORD WHO CHARITY CON (_Doctor Who_), King's House, Ampthill Road, Bedford, MK42 9AZ. 10am-5:30pm. Tickets GBP49.50; under-14s GBP20. See bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk.

5 Apr [] TERATO CON (monsters), Future Inn, Cabot Circus, Bristol. 10am onward. GBP50 reg, for over-17s only. See teratocon.wordpress.com.

8 Apr - 30 Sep [] CATS! (exhibition), Cartoon Museum, London. More at www.cartoonmuseum.org/whats-on-exhibitions/cats.

10 Apr [] BFS/BSFA SOCIAL, Waterstones, Piccadilly, London. 6:30-8:30pm. Free booking (required) at tinyurl.com/y9kbbv8e.

11-13 Apr [] CORFLU 42 (fan), Chequers Hotel, Newbury. GBP75/$95 reg; GBP25/$32 supp; GBP10/$15 virtual. More details at corflu.org.

12-13 Apr [] CONPULSION (games), The Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ. Tickets GBP20 or GBP10 each day, at the door only. See conpulsion.org.

18-21 Apr [] RECONNECT (Eastercon), Hilton Lanyon Place Hotel and ICC, Belfast. GBP100 reg, _rising to GBP120 at the door_; Eastercon first-timers and fans living in Ireland GBP70; GBP40 under-18s, concessions; GBP25 supp. See easterconbelfast.org. _Online registration ends at midnight on 4 April._

19-20 Apr [] HORRORFIED (horror), Farnborough International Exhibition Centre. Tickets GBP49; day rate GBP29. See horrorfied.co.uk.

25-27 Apr [] SPRINGMOOT (Tolkien Society), annual dinner and members-only AGM, Leonardo Hotel, Cardiff. Room and dinner bookings at www.tolkiensociety.org/events/agm-and-springmoot-2025.

26 Apr [] DRAGONMEET: CALL TO ADVENTURE (gaming), Kensington Town Hall, London. 10am-5pm. Free tickets at dragonmeet.co.uk/cta.

26-27 Apr [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough. GBP30 reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.

2-4 May [] PARACINEMA CULT FILM FESTIVAL, QUAD Centre, Derby. Weekend passes GBP30 (GBP25 concessions) via paracinema.co.uk.

3-4 May [] PORTMEIRION STEAMPUNK event, Portmeirion. Day tickets GBP13, under-15s GBP11, under-5s free. See steampunk.wales.

19 May [] TOLKIEN LECTURE by Zen Cho, Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College, Oxford. 6pm. Free tickets from tolkienlecture.org.

25 May [] PAPERBACK & PULP BOOK FAIR, Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, Coram St, London. 9:30am-3pm. GBP3 entry. See etcfairs.com/2025/03/24/next-themed-fair-paperback-pulp-fair/.

25-28 Jul [] CONTINUUM (RPG), Cranfield University CMDC. _Now GBP60 reg; day passes GBP25._ Under-17s free. See continuumconvention.co.uk.

9 Aug [] NORTHERN HORIZON (Blake's 7), Tyneside Irish Centre, 10am-4pm. GBP20; VIP GBP75. See tinyurl.com/nhb7con.

13-17 Aug [] SEATTLE WORLDCON 2025, Seattle, WA, USA. _Now $280 full adult registration, rising to $300 on 1 May._ See seattlein2025.org for other rates. Hugo nominations closed on 14 March. Alas, many overseas members are staying away owing to the current US War on Tourism.

21-25 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square, London. Tickets awaited at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.

20 Sep [] EDGE-LIT 11, QUAD Centre, Market Place, Derby. GBP35 reg plus GBP1 booking fee. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/edgelit11/.

27 Sep [] INNSMOUTH LITERARY FESTIVAL, Kings House Centre, 245 Ampthill Rd, Bedford MK42 9AZ. 10am-5pm. GBP30 reg. Further details at innsmouthgold.com/innsmouth-literary-festival.

12-13 Oct [] OCTOCON, Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin. Euro40 reg; concessions Euro25; under-22s Euro10; under-13s free; supp Euro20. In-person convention on Saturday; online only on Sunday. See octocon.com.

23-26 Oct [] EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL, Banshee Labyrinth and Lauriston Castle. Ticket sales awaited at www.edhorrorfest.co.uk.

24-26 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS, Pendulum Hotel, Manchester. _Now GBP120 reg._ Day rates at fantastic-films.uk.

25-26 Oct [] BRISTOLCON, Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, Bristol.GBP60 reg; GBP45 under-18s, concessions, disabled; under-14s free; GBP20 supporting only. Day rates and registration page at www.bristolcon.org.

31 Oct - 1 Nov [] FRIGHTFEST HALLOWEEN (film), London venue as August above. Tickets awaited at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.

13-15 Mar 2026 [] MINAMICON (anime), Novotel Hotel, Southampton. Registration opens July/August at www.minamicon.org.uk.

22-24 May 2026 [] SATELLITE 9, Clayton Hotel, Glasgow. GoH Liz Williams. _Now GBP75 reg_; under-25s GBP60; under-18s GBP20; under-12s GBP5; under-5s GBP2. See nine.satellitex.org.uk.

27-31 Aug 2026 [] LACON V, Anaheim Convention Center, California. $200 reg; $175 first Worldcon; $125 YA (18-24); $100 teen (13-17); $50 child (6-12); infants free. $50 WSFS membership only. _These rates are good to 1 May 2025 and will presumably then rise._ More at www.lacon.org.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Buried deep in the current HarperFiction catalogue (January-June 2025) is a placeholder image for the yet-to-be-revealed cover of _Fahrenheit 451_ by J.R.R. Tolkien. [SF2C]

     Bloomsbury announced its new sf/fantasy imprint Bloomsbury Archer, whose coverage will range astonishingly 'from fantasy and science fiction to crossover, speculative romance, and from horror to myth retellings'. (11 March) [L]

AWARDS. _BSFA_ novel finalists: _Alien Clay_ by Adrian Tchaikovsky, _Calypso_ by Oliver K Langmead, _Rabbit in the Moon_ by Fiona Moore, _Three Eight One_ by Aliya Whiteley. See www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-shortlist for other categories.
     _Climate Fiction Prize_ inaugural shortlist: _The Ministry of Time_ by Kaliane Bradley, _And So I Roar_ by Abi Dare, _Briefly Very Beautiful_ by Roz Dineen, _Orbital_ by Samantha Harvey, _The Morningside_ by Tea Obreht (_Guardian_, 19 March).
     _Crawford_ (debut fantasy): _The West Passage_ by Jared Pechacek.
     _Nebula_ novel finalists: _Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory_ by Yaroslav Barsukov, _Rakesfall_ by Vajra Chandrasekera, _Asunder_ by Kerstin Hall, _A Sorceress Comes to Call_ by T. Kingfisher, _The Book of Love_ by Kelly Link, _Someone You Can Build a Nest In_ by John Wiswell. Full list at nebulas.sfwa.org/8528-2/. [SFWA]
     _Oscars:_ best animated feature film, _Flow_.
     _Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame:_ 2025 inductees include Frank R. Paul and Marie Severin. [AIP]
     _Speculative Literature Foundation Illustration of the Year:_ 'Star Thief' by Flore Picard. [F770]

OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Ramsey Campbell_ on inspirational chocolate (see _A452_): 'Ah, but you haven't read my novel _Uncanny Chocolate_ yet, nor indeed _The Bones of Toblerone_ or _The Crunchies Creep_....' (Facebook, 24 March)

R.I.P. _Brady Allen_ (1970-2025), US author of nearly 30 stories since 1998 -- some collected as _Back Roads & Frontal Lobes_ (2012) -- died on 8 March aged 54. [GVG]
     _Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff_ (1963-2025), US actress in _Mansion of Blood_ (2015) and genre tv series, died on 5 March aged 61. [AIP]
     _Yves Boisset_ (1939-2025), French director whose films include _Le prix du danger_ (1983, based on Robert Sheckley's 'The Prize of Peril'), died on 31 March aged 86.
     _Nadia Cassini_ (1949-2025), Italian-US actress in _Starcrash_ (1978), _Io zombo, tu zombi, lei zomba_ (1979) and others, died on 19 March aged 76. [SJ]
     _Richard Chamberlain_ (1934-2025), US actor in _The Slipper and the Rose_ (1976), _The Last Wave_ (1977), _The Swarm_ (1978), _Murder by Phone_ (1982) and others, died on 29 March aged 90. [SJ]
     _Margaret Clark_ (1955-2025), editor and author at DC Comics and Marvel, and later editor of many _Star Trek_ novels and other spinoffs for Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books, died on 16 March aged 69. [DM]
     _David Steven Cohen_ (1958-2025), US screenwriter/producer whose credits include _Courage the Cowardly Dog_ (52 episodes 1999-2002) and _Balto_ (1995), died on 5 March aged 66.
     _Donald Crombie_ (1942-2025), Australian director of _Playing Beatie Bow_ (1986), _Time Trax_ (6 episodes 1993-4) and _Selkie_ (2000), died on 25 March aged 82. [GC]
     _Bill Dare_ (1960-2025), UK author and radio/tv producer whose Swiftian fantasy novel_ Brian Gulliver's Travels_ (2013) is based on his radio series of the same name (two seasons 2011, 2012), died on 1 March aged 64. [SG]
     _Simon Fisher-Becker_ (1961-2025), UK actor in _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ (2001) and _Doctor Who_ (2010-2011 and after), died on 9 March aged 63. [SJ]
     _Eleonora Giorgi_ (1953-2025), Italian actress in _The Sex Machine_ (1975), _Inferno_ (1980) and others, died on 3 March aged 71. [SJ]
     _Bruce Glover_ (1932-2025), US actor in _Warlock: The Armageddon_ (1993), _Night of the Scarecrow_ (1995), _Die Hard Dracula_ (1998) and genre tv series, died on 12 March aged 92. [SG]
     _Todd Grimson_ (Todd Spillum, 1952-2025), US author active from 1987 whose surreal horror novel _Brand New Cherry Flavor_ (1996) was adapted for tv, died on 30 January aged 72. [L]
     _Wings Hauser_ (1947-2025), US actor in _Mutant_ (1984). _Beastmaster 2_ (1991), _Tales from the Hood_ (1995), _Rubber_ (2010) and others, died on 15 March aged 77. [LP]
     _Thomas Hoobler_ (1942-2025), US author of the sf _The Hunters_ (1978 plus 1983 sequel) with Burt Wetanson, and the nonfiction _The Monsters: Mary Shelley & the Curse of Frankenstein_ (2006) with his wife Dorothy, died on 22 February aged 82. [JC]
     _Takashi Inagaki_ (1937-2025), Japanese voice actor in _A Spirit of the Sun_ (2006), _Soul Eater_ (2008-2009) and others, died on 12 March aged 87.
     _Dave James_ (1939-2025), US news anchorman seen in _Night of the Living Dead_ (1968) and documentary spinoffs, died on 22 March aged 85. [SJ]
     _David Johansen_ (1950-2025), US New York Dolls singer/songwriter who acted in _Scrooged_ (1988), _Tales from the Darkside_ (1990), _Freejack_ (1992) and others, died on 28 February aged 75. [GVG]
     _Yoko Kawanami_ (1957-2025), Japanese voice actress in _Dragon Ball_ (1986), _Dragon Ball Z_ (1992-1994) and others, died on 18 March aged 67.
     _George Lowe_ (1958-2025), US voice actor best known as Space Ghost in _Space Ghost Coast to Coast_ (113 episodes 1993-2012) and _The Brak Show_ (29 episodes 2000-2007), died on 2 March aged 66. [LP]
     _Peter Mabey_ (1926-2025), long-time UK fan who attended the first London Worldcon in 1957 and produced publications for the second in 1965, died on 19 February aged 98. He was active in the BSFA from its early years, received the first Doc Weir Award in 1963 and continued to attend cons well into the new century. Another pillar of UK fandom gone, alas. [AS]
     _Dave Mallow_ (1948-2025), US voice actor in _Mighty Morphin Power Rangers_ (138 episodes 1993-1999) and many others, died on 11 March aged 76.
     _Geoff Nicholson_ (1953-2025), idiosyncratic UK black-comedy author whose rock'n'roll novel _Flesh Guitar_ (1998) has weird/fantastic elements, died on 18 January aged 71. [AIP]
     _Richard Norton_ (1950-2025), Australian actor in _Magic Crystal_ (1986), _Equalizer 2000_ (1987), _Raiders of the Sun_ (1992), _Mad Max: Fury Road_ (2015) and others, died on 30 March aged 75. [SJ]
     _Clive Revill_ (1930-2025), New Zealand actor in _The Empire Strikes Back_ (1980), _Transformers_ (1986), _C.H.U.D. II_ (1989), _Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future_ (18 episodes, 2002) and many more animations/videogames, died on 11 March aged 94. [LP]
     _Bayazid Rzayev_, Russian horror fan, editor and award-winning critic for the online Russian horror zine _DARKER_, died on 25 March. [AM]
     _Paul Sawyer_, UK editor of _White Dwarf_ magazine 1993-2007 and co-founder of Warlord Games in 2007, died on 27 March. [MR]
     _L.J. [Lisa Jane] Smith_ (1958-2025), US author whose debut was _The Night of the Solstice_ (1987) and whose several fantasy series include 'Vampire Diaries' (adapted for tv) and 'Night World', died on 8 March aged 66. [L]
     _Angelo Todaro_ (1945-2025), Italian comics artist who drew Italian versions of _The Phantom_ (also scripting new stories) and _Mandrake the Magician_, died on 22 March aged 79.
     _Ian Williams_ (1948-2025), UK fan, convention-runner and author active from the early 1970s -- founder of the Newcastle fan group that became known as the Gannets and ran the 1974 Eastercon -- died on 28 March aged 76. [CS/PS] Fanzines included _Maya_ (as its first editor, 1970-1971), _Goblin's Grotto_ (1975-1976) and _Siddhartha_ (1974-2010); his sf novel was _The Lies That Bind_ (1989). Another old friend.
     _Gene Winfield_ (1927-2025), US custom car designer whose sf vehicles appeared in _Star Trek_ (1966-1969), _Sleeper_ (1973), _Blade Runner_ (1982), _The Last Starfighter_ (1984), _RoboCop_ (1987) and others, died on 4 March aged 97. [AIP]
     _Andrei Yermash_ (1957-2025), Russian director of _Lunnaya raduga_ (_Moon Rainbow_, 1983) and the Asimov-based _Konets vechnosti_ (_The End of Eternity_, 1987) -- both scripted by him -- died on 25 March aged 68. [AM]

AS OTHERS SEE US. A rare positive note: 'I have always been a huge science fiction fan, and I find these days that it's helping me in my work life. Great science fiction often deals with geopolitical issues, broad social pendulum shifts, and large-scale systems failure (think _Dune_, or Isaac Asimov's The Foundation trilogy, which I inhaled when I was about 12 and re-read for fun every decade or so). All these are in play today, particularly in the US, where politics is totally in flux.' (Rana Foroohar, _Financial Times_ 'Swamp Notes', 10 February) [NW]

COURT CIRCULAR. The Hollywood film-maker Carl Erik Rinsch is being prosecuted by the US Justice Department for misuse of some $11 million paid by Netflix for development of the sf series _White Horse_ (later retitled _Conquest_) -- spending the money on personal investments and desperate fun without completing a single episode. (_New York Times_, 18 March) [AIP]

RANDOM FANDOM. _The Doc Weir Award_ for 'unsung heroes' of fandom will be presented as usual at Eastercon, in Belfast. The ballot box for in-person voting should be at Sandra Bond's dealer table (along with the TAFF ballot box and copies of the latest TAFF-benefit paperback _Watto's Wisdom: Zine and Con Writing_ by Ian Watson, who plans to be there with his favourite signing pen). Reconnect members can also vote online at ansible.uk/docweir.php.
     _Royal Mail_ postage rates rise yet again on 7 April: the basic 100g weight step in second class from 85p to 87p, first class from GBP1.65 to GBP1.70 and international letters from GBP2.80 to GBP3.20.
     _James D. Nicoll_, in reaction to Trumpian gibberings about acquiring or annexing his native land Canada, has taken to embellishing his online sf reviews and other posts with the phrase 'America delenda est'.

SMALL PRESS. 'Off Limits Press will be closing its doors on June 1, 2025' says editor-in-chief Waylon Jordan (Bluesky, 28 February). [F770]

THE DEAD PAST. _30 Years Ago:_ 'Samuel R. Delany's tongue-in-cheek ploy to improve the political correctness of his reissued porno epic _Equinox_ (aka _The Tides of Lust_) is to make all its characters 100 years older. No one could possibly complain about explicit underage sex scenes involving a boy and girl aged, respectively, 113 and 115....' (_Ansible_ 93, April 1995)
     _20 Years Ago:_ 'Mark Lawson, connoisseur of fantasy, reports the news that Ian McKellen will feature in_ Coronation Street_: "The explanation for Sir Ian's soap debut may simply be that he wanted to speak some proper dialogue after appearing in all that Tolkein [sic] trog tosh ..." (_Guardian_, 12 March)' (_Ansible_ 213, April 2005)
     _10 Years Ago_, a subtle literary insight: '"If you give Frodo Baggins a mobile phone, _The Lord of the Rings_ becomes a considerably shorter book." (Paul Mason, _New Humanist_)' (_Ansible_ 333, April 2015) Not unless someone else has one.

COURT CIRCULAR II. Chris Barkley, who won the fanwriter Hugo at the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon, is suing the Hugo administrator Dave McCarty for not forwarding his and some others' award trophies (damaged in their journey from China, with repair work promised) despite repeated enquiries. McCarty's full and frank explanation to the US small claims court judge was: 'I don't think I owe anything.' The action continues. [F770]

FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund._ Final alert: voting in the 2025 westbound TAFF race to the Seattle Worldcon closes on 23 April. See taff.org.uk for ballot, candidates, and online voting form.
     _TAFF Books:_ the 2017 _TAFF Trip Report Anthology_ of chapters from abandoned/unfinished reports now has a second edition, dropping material from since-completed reports and adding new chapters: ebooks.php?x=TAFFanth2.
     _Alison Scott_ is selling UK fans' old RPG kit on eBay for various fannish causes: a partial set of the _Trollcrusher_ APA went for GBP950 and a tatty b/w 1976 Games Workshop catalogue for GBP80. Gorblimey.
     _European Fan Fund:_ the new official site is effund.github.io, where nominations for a race to Eurocon 2025 (Aland, Finland, late June) opened with little publicity on 27 February. Reportedly no candidates emerged by the extended deadline of 30 March [CB], so plans for voting to open today and close on 25 April need to be rethought. The race may be held over to 2026.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Tripodal._ 'Asman Ila indicated a small three-legged stool with a delicate gesture. It tipped alarmingly when Bardas sat on it; one leg was markedly shorter than the others.' (K.J. Parker, _The Proof House_, 2000) [BA]
     _Avatars of Klono._ '"By Malgarth's brazen bowels," gasped Rogo Nug, "we're stuck like flies in syrup!"' (Jack Williamson, _After World's End_, 1939) [AR]
     _Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'His eyes bounced from the white coat.' (Philip Wylie, _Night Unto Night_, 1944) [BA]
     _The Empirical Approach_, or the secret of surviving without a space helmet on a 'small meteor' orbiting Saturn: 'Air, you say! Air on a meteor like that! Do you call yourself an astronomer? If so, you show your ignorance by such questioning! Yet at least something that served my purposes of breathing was there and that I am here alive to tell it must be your proof.' (Ray Cummings, _The Man on the Meteor_, 1924) [AR]


### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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### ENDNOTES ###

PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. Donate to support _Ansible_, cover website costs and keep the editor happy! Or just buy his books.
https://ansible.uk/paypal.html
https://ae.ansible.uk/
https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

GROUP THEORY.
     17 April 2025, evening: London Zoom meeting, third Thursday of each month. 'Please share this with people who you know typically come to the Bishop's Finger, but aren't on Facebook.'
https://bohemiancoast.medium.com/first-thursday-london-sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f

R.I.P. II -- LAST-MINUTE REPORT. _Nancy Kilpatrick_ (1946-2025), US-born Canadian author whose fiction series include 'The Darker Passions' (1993-1998) as Amarantha Knight (erotic re-imaginings of _Dracula_, _Frankenstein_ and others) and the vampire sagas 'Power of the Blood World' (1994-2000) and 'Thrones of Blood' (2017-2020), died on 31 March aged 78. [SJ]

RANDOM FANDOM II. _FAAN Awards_ voting has closed: the awards will be presented at Corflu 42 on 13 April.

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
     BSFA Awards finalists
https://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-awards-shortlist
     The Cruciverbal Inquisitor celebrates Edward Gorey
https://www.fifteensquared.net/2025/03/04/inquisitor-1896-alphabets-by-phi/
     Details on the New Owners of _Analog_, _Asimov's_, and _F&SF_
https://locusmag.com/2025/03/details-on-the-new-owners-of-analog-asimovs-and-fsf/
     NASA deletes 'women can be astronauts' comics
https://futurism.com/nasa-deletes-comic-women-astronauts
     Nebula Awards finalists
https://nebulas.sfwa.org/8528-2/
     Seattle Worldcon 2025: Statement from the Chair
https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/20/statement-from-worldcon-chair/

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 213, April 2005. _Hazards of Spaceship Acceleration._ 'Grant slept fitfully, dreaming that some giant hand was shaking him, pummeling him mercilessly. He snapped awake and found that it was no dream.' 'Abruptly the thrusters shut off. Grant felt it like a blow to his crotch.' (both Ben Bova, _Jupiter_, 2000)
     _Arithmetic Dept._ 'Caine [...] hobbled to the kitchen, closing the door behind him, 1.3 seconds before three soldiers burst into the room. ... Their names are Martin Crowe, Juan Esposito, Ron McCoy, and Charlie Rainer.' (Adam Fawer, _Improbable_, 2005)
     _Dept of Supersonics._ 'The ships were so big, so vast, so fast. Faster than sound. The noise reached you after the ship made it. That was why there was never any warning.' (Nicholas Fisk, _Starstormers_, 1980)


_Ansible_(R) 453 (C) David Langford, 2025. Thanks to Brian Ameringen,Claire Brialey, BSFA, John Clute, Gary Couzens, _File 770_, Steve Green, Rich Horton, Steve Jones, _Locus_, David Mack, Andrey Meshavkin, Lawrence Person, Andrew I. Porter, Adam Roberts, Marcus Rowland, Alison Scott, _SF2 Concatenation_, Cas Skelton, Paul Skelton, Gordon Van Gelder, Nick Watkins, and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart (Australia).

1 April 2025