Ansible 467 -- June 2026

[Ansible Newsletter]

ANSIBLE(R) 467
JUNE 2026

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 a map showing where to find the Sage of Dissolution.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a467.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a467.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]


### A GAME WITH SHIFTING MIRRORS ###

IAN MCKELLEN was confronted with the greatest critical challenge of his entire acting career: 'Who would win a fight between Gandalf and Dumbledore?' 'Why on earth would they be fighting? But Gandy, of course, would win. The original wizard.' (_Guardian_, 7 May)

CHARLES PLATT plans to launch a new sf magazine later this year, with an irregular schedule, POD production and the interesting name _New Words_. 'Since the title is somewhat similar to that of another magazine, it has been trademarked with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.' All enquiries to newwords...@gmail.com. (Email, 5 May)

TERRY PRATCHETT's works are apparently teetering on the brink of oblivion, according to someone called Helen Lewis: 'One of England's funniest writers is in danger of being lost to history.' (_The Atlantic_, May)

LYNNE M. THOMAS and MICHAEL DAMIAN THOMAS of _Uncanny Magazine_ fame were amicably divorced on 2 April, leaving _Uncanny_ solely owned by the latter. [L]

RICHARD VAN DER VOORT's estate hopes to sell the stock of his bookshop At the Sign of the Dragon in Wigtown, Scotland: 'over 33,000 items' including sf/fantasy books, magazines and comics plus general-interest books and DVDs. Enquiries to transformerbooks0 at gmail dot com. [SB]


### CONNACHAN ###

4 Jun [] DIGITAL FUTURES INSTITUTE: FESTIVAL OF STORYTELLING speech by Samira Ahmed ('Analogue tech: Our storytelling saviour or nostalgic retreat?') followed by the Clarke Award shortlist announcement. 5pm-6:20pm. Free booking at www.tickettailor.com/events/dfistory/2193072.

5-7 Jun [] CYMERA -- Scotland's Festival of SF, Fantasy & Horror Writing, Edinburgh and online. Weekend pass GBP85 (GBP60 virtual); day rates GBP55 Saturday, GBP40 Sunday; more at www.cymerafestival.co.uk.

6-7 Jun [] HORRORCON UK, Magna, Sheffield. Weekend ticket GBP63; early entry GBP78; other rates at horrorconuk.com.

13-14 Jun [] EM-CON (media), Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham. Tickets GBP36 (11am entry) or GBP48 (10am). See www.em-con.co.uk.

20 Jun - 13 Sep [] CRACKING EXHIBITION GROMIT: 50 Years of Aardman in Bristol, M Shed, Bristol. 10am-5pm. See tinyurl.com/3eczs7kp.

20 Jun [] STARS OF TIME (comics), Steam Museum, Swindon. Tickets GBP17.50; GBP14 concessions; more at www.starsoftime.co.uk/swindon.

2-5 Jul [] METROPOLCON (Eurocon), 'silent green' Kulturquartier, Berlin. Euro95 reg; reduced Euro75; under-12s Euro5. See www.metropolcon.eu.

23-25 Oct [] MCM COMIC CON, London ExCel. Tickets from GBP98; day rates at www.mcmcomiccon.com/london/en-us.html.

14-15 Nov [] FOR THE LOVE OF HORROR, BEC Arena, Manchester. Weekend tickets GBP53.90; other rates at www.fortheloveofhorroruk.com.

16-18 Apr 2027 [] PORTMEIRICON (_Prisoner_), Portmeirion, Gwynedd. Six of One club membership (GBP27.50 UK; more elsewhere) is required. Registration opens on 1 July 2026 at sixofone.co/convention.

1-2 May 2027 [] PORTSMOUTH COMIC CON, Guildhall, Portsmouth. Tickets GBP34.50; concessions and day rates at portsmouthcomiccon.com.

RUMBLINGS. _LAcon V_ (Worldcon 2026): Hugo voting opened in May and closes on 8 August. See www.lacon.org/hugos.
     _Worldcon 2028:_ the Nuremberg bid has withdrawn, with hopes of bidding again for a later year. Detailed statement by the bid chairs at nuremberg2028.de.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS OTHERS SEE US. On an all-male US book club: 'Whoever is hosting chooses the book, and on this day it was Michael Slott's turn. The only rules are that the book is generally available at the library and ideally no more than 400 pages long. Slott broke both with his choice of the obscure 1974 science fiction novel _The Mote in God's Eye_, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (592 pages in some editions!) / "It's my job to lower the bar," Slott joked ...' (Maggie Penman, _The Washington Post_, 4 May) [PL]

AWARDS. _British Book Awards_ ('Nibbies') sf/fantasy category winner: _Alchemised_ by Sen Lin Yu.
     _Climate Fiction Prize:_ _Hum_ by Helen Phillips.
     _Locus:_ SF NOVEL _Death of the Author_ by Nnedi Okorafor. FANTASY NOVEL _The Everlasting_ by Alix E. Harrow. HORROR NOVEL _The Buffalo Hunter Hunter_ by Stephen Graham Jones. YA NOVEL _Starstrike_ by Yoon Ha Lee. FIRST NOVEL _Sour Cherry_ by Natalia Theodoridou. TRANSLATED NOVEL _On the Calculation of Volume III_ by Solvej Balle, trans Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell. NOVELLA _The River Has Roots_ by Amal El-Mohtar. NOVELETTE 'We Begin Where Infinity Ends' by Somto Ihezue (_Clarkesworld_). SHORT 'In My Country' by Thomas Ha (_Clarkesworld_). ANTHOLOGY _We Will Rise Again_ ed. Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz & Malka Older. COLLECTION _Uncertain Sons_ by Thomas Ha. MAGAZINE _Clarkesworld_. PUBLISHER Orbit. EDITOR Neil Clarke. ARTIST John Picacio. ART BOOK _The Space Cat_ by Nnedi Okorafor & Tana Ford. NONFICTION _Enshittification_ by Cory Doctorow.

THE LONG 19TH CENTURY. 'Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_ (1818) was written two centuries before the works of Wells and Verne....' (Catherine Riley and Lynne Pearce, _Feminism and Women's Writing_, 2018) [RB]
     On shaven armpits in the new _Wuthering Heights_ film: 'Per Gillette UK, English women began removing hair from their face and body with safety razors in the early 1900s, after the First World War -- several centuries after Bronte's novel was published in 1847.' (People.com, 25 May) [RB]

PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Gollancz's SF Gateway, the vast ebook sales website launched in 2011 along with the online _SF Encyclopedia_, has stagnated for years (latest 'news' post August 2021; 'random' _SFE_ sample entry stuck on Michael Scott Rohan since 2018, even after _SFE_ links were officially severed in October 2021) and seems to have died. The last valid Internet Archive snapshot -- normally three or four every month -- was on 8 March 2026. _Ansible_ asked Orion/Gollancz if this was the end: no reply as yet. Where will eager readers find digital Badger Books now?

THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS. 'It was a square metal cabinet that held every scientific book and monograph of value that had ever been published, reduced to microfilm which could be read through a special apparatus.' (Edmond Hamilton, _Calling Captain Future_, 1967) [BA]

R.I.P. _Dion Anderson_ (1938-2026), US actor in _UFO Cafe_ (1990), _The Shawshank Redemption_ (1994) and genre tv series, died on 26 April aged 87. [SJ]
     _David Burke_ (1934-2026), UK actor best loved as Watson in _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_ (1984-1985), whose genre credits include M.R. James adaptations (2005-2006), the Wyndham-based _Random Quest_ (2006) and _The Woman in Black_ (2012), died on 10 May aged 91.
     _Charles Cioffi_ (1935-2026), US actor in _Time After Time_ (1979) and genre tv series including _The X-Files_ (1993-1997), died on 22 May aged 90. [AIP]
     _Tom Clegg_ (1957-2026), US-born editor, publisher, critic, and translator long resident in France -- where he acquired much translated English-language science fiction for Bragelonne SF -- died on 5 May aged 68. [L]
     _Kelly Curtis_ (1956-2026), US actress (sister of Jamie Lee Curtis) in _Magic Sticks_ (1987), _The Devil's Daughter_ (1991) and genre tv series including _The Sentinel_ (7 episodes 1996), died on 30 May aged 69. [AIP]
     _Jill Curzon_ (1938-2026), UK actress in _Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D._ (1966) and genre tv series, died in April aged 87.
     _John Dowd_ (1952-2026), UK fan since the 1970s who worked (usually as treasurer) for the Sheffield fan group, many Eastercons and the 2014 London Worldcon, died on the night of 15/16 May. [FD] He and his wife Fran Dowd (to whom all sympathy) were fan guests of honour at the 2010 Eastercon.
     _Piper J. Drake_ (Lalana Dararutana, 1976-2026), US author of _Heart's Sentinel_ (2011) as P.J. Schnyder and others as Drake, died on 18 May aged 49. [L]
     _Maureen Duffy_ (1933-2026), noted UK author and campaigner for gay and authors' rights whose novels include the sf _Gor Saga_ (1981) and _In Times Like These_ (2013), died on 27 May aged 92.
     _George Eastman_ (Luigi Montefiori,1942-2026), Italian actor in _1990: The Bronx Warriors_ (1982), _The New Barbarians_ (1983), _Ironmaster_ (1983), _Hands of Steel_ (1986) and others, died on 19 May aged 83.
     _Donald Gibb_ (1954-2026), US actor in _Transylvania 6-5000_ (1985), _Amazon Women on the Moon_ (1987), _Breakfast of Aliens_ (1993) and genre tv series, died on 12 May aged 71. [RB]
     _Rupert Harvey_, US producer of _Android_ (1982), _Critters_ (1986 plus sequels; director of #4), _The Blob_ (1988), _A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child_ (1989), _End of the World_ (2013) and others, died on 26 April aged 81. [SJ]
     _Hermann Huppen_ (1938-2026), Belgian comics creator best known for his post-apocalyptic _Jeremiah_ (40 volumes since 1979; tv adaptation by J. Michael Straczynski 2002-2004), died on 22 March aged 87. [SH]
     _Greg Hyman_ (1947-2026), US inventor of electronic toys who co-created the giggling plush Muppet 'Tickle Me Elmo' that was a surprise bestseller in 1996, died on 1 May aged 78. [AIP]
     _Tom Kane_ (1962-2026), US voice actor in _Iron Man_ (13 episodes 1995-1996), _Star Wars: The Clone Wars_ (2008 film and 132 tv episodes 2008-2020, as Yoda and others), _Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out_ (2012), _The Powerpuff Girls_ (69 episodes 2016-2019) and many more, died on 18 May aged 64. [F770]
     _Michael Keating_ (1947-2026), UK actor in _Doctor Who_ ('The Sun Makers', 1977), _Blake's 7_ (all 52 episodes 1978-1981, as Vila Restal) and others, died in May aged 79.
     _Gary Kelley_ (1945-2026), distinguished and often-honoured US artist who illustrated fairytales, _Frankenstein_, Poe's _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_, Edward Lear, Ray Bradbury and much else, died on 12 April aged 81. [F770]
     _Marcia Lucas_ (1945-2026), US film editor married to George Lucas 1969-1983, who worked on his _THX 1138_ (1971), _Star Wars_ (1977, for which she shared an Oscar) and _Return of the Jedi_, died on 27 May aged 80. [LP]
     _Biljana Mateljan_ (1956-2026), Croatian sf author/illustrator who won her country's Sfera Award in both capacities, died on 19 March aged 70. [AM]
     _Dick Matena_ (1943-2026), Dutch comics writer/artist whose credits include the sf series _Storm_ (1978-1980; art by Don Lawrence) died on 26 April aged 83. [SG]
     _Yoshihiro Nishimura_ (1967-2026), Japanese director of _Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl_ (2009), _Helldriver_ (2010), _Mutant Girls Squad_ (2010), _Zombie TV_ (2013) and others, died on 25 May aged 59.
     _Kenji Oba_ (1955-2026), Japanese actor/stuntman in many sf films since _Gamera: The Giant Monster_ (1965), who voiced the title role in _Space Sheriff Gavan_ videogames and starred in spinoff films (2012 plus sequels), died on 6 May aged 71. [SJ]
     _Michael Pennington_ (1943-2026), UK actor in _Return of the Jedi_ (1983) and _Raised by Wolves_ (2022), died on 10 May aged 82. [LP]
     _Rex Reed_ (1938-2026), US film critic who played himself in _Superman_ (1978), died on 12 May aged 87. [RB]
     _Ann Robinson_ (1929-2025), US actress who starred as Sylvia van Buren in _The War of the Worlds_ (1953) and played characters with that name in _Midnight Movie Massacre_ (1988), _War of the Worlds_ (2005 tv) and _The Naked Monster_ (2005), died on 26 September aged 96; this went unreported until May. [F770] Other credits include _Rocky Jones, Space Ranger_ (6 episodes 1954), _My Lovely Monster_ (1991) and _Tales of Frankenstein_ (2018).
     _Donald Sidney-Fryer_ (1934-2026), US poet, editor, critic and Clark Ashton Smith scholar who published poems about Atlantis, _Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography_ (1978) and uncollected works by Smith and Ambrose Bierce, died on 2 May aged 91. [LP]
     _Michael P. Spradlin_ (1960-2026), US author of the 'Spy Goddess' (2005-2006) and 'Killer Species' (2013-2014) series, died on 12 April aged 65. [L]
     _Frank Stack_ (1937-2026), US artist and academic who as Foolbert Sturgeon published the pioneering underground comic _The Adventures of Jesus_ (1964; continued in _Jesus Comics_ 1969-1972 and elsewhere), died on 12 April aged 88. [AIP]
     _Larry Stark_ (1932-2026), US journalist and theatre reviewer, noted early EC Comics fan also active in 1950s and 1960s sf fandom -- belonging to FAPA, OMPA and The Cult and publishing _Stellar_ (1956-1958) with Ted White -- died on 1 May aged 93. [SB]
     _Beau Starr_ (1944-2026), US actor in _Halloween 4_ and _5_ (1988, 1989), _Angels in the Infield_ (2000), _Time and Again_ (2007) and others, died on 24 April aged 81. [SJ]
     _Alan Barrie Stewart_ (1944-2026), UK fan active in the 1970s, publishing _Till the Cows Come Home_ (3 issues 1974) with his wife Elke (1948-2013) and _London SF_ (1 issue 1977) solo, died on 12 May aged 81. As BSFA administrator 1976-1977, he edited the 1976 _BSFA Yearbook_. [MP]
     _Howard Storm_ (1931-2026), US director of _Mork & Mindy_ (59 episodes 1978-1981) and episodes of other genre tv series, died on 26 May aged 94.
     _Koji Suzuki_ (1957-2026), Japanese author best known for his supernatural horror novel _Ring_ (1991) plus sequels and media spinoffs including the film _Ring_ (1998), died on 8 May aged 68. [JonC]
     _Jack Taylor_ (1926-2026), US actor in _Dr. Jekyll vs. The Werewolf_ (1972, as Jekyll), _The Fabulous Journey to the Centre of the Earth_ (1977), _Conan the Barbarian_ (1982), the _Turn of the Screw_ adaptation _Presence of Mind_ (1999) and many more, died on 12 May aged 99. [SJ]
     _John Thiel_ (1945-2026), US fan active from the late 1950s and long involved with the N3F, whose best known fanzine was _Pablo Lennis_ (1975-2024), died on 25 March aged 80. [F770]
     _Jonathan Tiersten_ (1965-2026), US musician and actor in nonfantastic slasher films plus _Terror Tales_ (2019) and _Toilet Zombie Baby Strikes Back_ (2021), died on 5 May aged 60. [SJ]
     _Barrie Tomlinson_ (1938-2026), UK group editor for comics at IPC who was involved with _2000 AD_, _Scream_, _Wildcat_, _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ and _Eagle_ (1982 relaunch), died on 21 April aged 88. [SF2C]
     _Ted Turner_ (1938-2026), US founder of CNN, WTBS, TNT and the Cartoon Network, whose one-off Turner Tomorrow Fellowship award of $500,000 for a novel offering 'creative solutions to humanity's urgent problems' went to Daniel Quinn in 1991 for his sf _Ishmael_, died on 6 May aged 87. [LP]
     _Yuri Ustinov_ (1954-2016), Russian production designer whose films include _The Master and Margarita_ (1994, released 2011) and the surreal sf _Lyubov i drugie koshmary_ (_Love and Other Nightmares_, 2001), died on 17 May. [AM]
     _Ted White_ (1938-2026), long-time US fan (his many fanzines included the co-edited _Void_ 1958-1969, _Pong_ 1980-1992 and _Blat!_ 1993-1994, the last a FAAn winner), con-runner, professional editor (_F&SF_ 1963-1968 as assistant, _Amazing_ and _Fantastic_ 1969-1979, _Heavy Metal_ 1979-1980, _Stardate_ 1985-1986) and author whose first novel under his own name was _Android Avenger_ (1965), died on 24 May aged 88. [SB] Ted won the fanwriter Hugo in 1968, was a GoH at Aussiecon Two in 1985, and received the FAAn Award for life achievement in 2010. He wasn't just a friend but an essential part of the fandom I grew up in. Our loss is great.
     _Albert Wolsky_ (1930-2026), Oscar-winning French costume designer for _Beauty and the Beast_ (1976), _Meteor_ (1979), _Tempest_ (1982), _Galaxy Quest_ (1999), _The Manchurian Candidate_ (2004), _Ad Astra_ (2019) and others, died on 24 May aged 95. [SJ]

BY ANY OTHER NAME. _Q:_ 'In anagrams, the name of which Greek god is an anagram of "rose"?' _A:_ 'Athena.' (BBC1, _The Weakest Link_) [PE]

AWARDS IN PROGRESS. _British Fantasy_ shortlists have been released: see britishfantasysociety.org/the-british-fantasy-awards-2026-shortlists/.
     _Arthur C. Clarke:_ there's a record-length submissions list of 132 books from 52 eligible imprints and independent authors. The shortlist will be revealed on 4 June (see events list).

ONE COIN TO RULE THEM ALL. To mark a vital anniversary in British civic history -- 25 years since Peter Jackson's first _Lord of the Rings_ film -- the Royal Mint has released a 50p coin 'Forged not in the fires of Mount Doom but in Wales', featuring the One Ring, its lettering, and the Eye of Sauron. Six more will follow. (BBC, 20 May) What next? Donald Trump?

THE DEAD PAST. _10 Years Ago_, from the critical heritage: 'People buy romance novels, sci-fi and other genres because they know they will encounter no unhappiness, no depression, no angst, no killings, no family conflict, etc., the way they will in all of modern fiction. (_New York Times Book Review_)' ... '_The Handmaid's Tale_ was a dystopia about the oppression of women by a feminist Canadian novelist from outside of the genre. (_Foundation_)' (_Ansible_ 347, June 2016)
     _70 Years Ago_, Eric Frank Russell rebutted a hideous slur: '"Vargo Statten" is not (repeat: NOT), never was and never will be (repeat: NEVER) a pen-name of Eric Frank Russell.' For safety's sake he also denied in similar terms that Eric Frank Russell was a pen-name of Vargo Statten. (_Fantasy Times_ 248, June 1956)

RANDOM FANDOM. _Fanac.org_ has moved its photo archive to a new subsite at photos.fanac.org, currently with more than 8,500 images. [MP]

FANFUNDERY. _European Fan Fund:_ Hephaestion Christopoulos of Greece won the five-candidate race to the Berlin Eurocon, MetropolCon on 2-5 July 2026 (effund.github.io, 4 May). No voting figures have been released.
     _TAFF Ebook Library._ The latest title, added in a fit of nostalgia and self-indulgence, is Charles Platt's humorous _Micromania: The Whole Truth about Home Computers_ (1984, as adapted by me for the UK), with a brand-new Platt foreword and Langford afterword. Free PDF download at taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=Micromania. Illustrations by Carl Lundgren. For those who prefer hard copy there's also a TAFF-benefit paperback.

MAGAZINE SCENE. _Sci-Fi Ireland_ edited by Mark Mullan, an sf short story magazine to be published twice a year, was launched in May: see www.sci-fi-ireland.com.
     Another May debut is Rachel Cordasco's _Small Planet: The SF in Translation Magazine_, free at www.sfintranslation.com.
     _FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction_ is 'going on hiatus indefinitely' after issue #40, for financial reasons. (Bluesky, 21 May) [F770]

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Risus Sardonicus._ 'Don's smile was a lemon twist.' (Emil Petaja, _The Nets of Space_, 1969)
     _Frothy Dept._ 'Lucael staggered back against the wall of the building beside them, his face working like yeast.' (Keith Laumer, _Retief's Ransom_, 1971) [BA]
     _The Eureka Moment._ '"It's worked at last," he shouted. "At last I've discovered a magnet which will attach itself as near as possible to gravity when electrified."' (Desmond Wilcox, _Into Existence_, 1941)
     _Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'Guin clicked the tab shut and pushed herself back from the counter. Let her eye run out the windows and on to the high far frill of upper Manhattan.' (Melissa Albert, _The Children_, 2026) [GVG]
     _Advice on Good Parenting._ 'It is related that a father plunged his infant babe, only a few hours old, into the water for several minutes, and repeated this operation daily, until the child could remain under water twenty minutes, moving and playing without harm, like a fish. Parents should remember this and learn how to develop their children properly on dry land.' (Mary Baker Eddy, _Science and Health_, 1875; final edition of 1910)


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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.
     18 June 2026, 6pm to late: 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. -- LATE AND LAST-MINUTE REPORTS. _Charles G. McGraw_ (1955-2024), US author with Mark A. Garland of _Demon Blade_ (1994) and others, died on 2 May 2024 (not previously reported in sf circles).
     _Caitlin O'Heaney_ (1952-2026), US actress in _Wolfen_ (1981), _The Charmings_ (6 episodes 1987), _Badlands 2005_ (unsold pilot, 1988), _Night of the Wolf: Late Phases_ (2014) and others, died on 18 May aged 73. [SJ]
     _Gordon Rottman_ (1947-2026), US military historian who with James Adair wrote the future-war trilogy 'WWIII: Behind the Lines' (1990-1991), died on 20 January aged 78.

CON RUMBLINGS II. _Irish Discworld Convention 2027:_ the dates will be 15-18 October. More awaited at idwcon.org.
     _Sci-Fi Ball_ (Southampton), in limbo since the February 2023 event, seems to have died altogether: the web domain now redirects to an Indonesian lottery site which may offer a load of balls but with no trace of sci-fi.

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
     Clarke Award submissions list
https://clarkeaward.medium.com/a-record-year-for-arthur-c-clarke-award-submissions-3b728be26bea
     The Cruciverbal Inquisitor meets Edward Lear and Edmund Crispin
https://fifteensquared.net/2026/05/19/inquisitor-1959-a-keen-rime-by-e-lear/
     European SF Society Awards shortlists
https://www.esfs.info/2026-achievements-awards-nominations/
     Shirley Jackson Awards shortlists
https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/2026/05/28/nominees-announced-for-the-2025-shirley-jackson-awards/

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 227, June 2006. _Read My Lips._ 'An expression of inexpressible shock crossed his face ...' (James Blish, 'There Shall Be No Darkness', 1950)
     _Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'His eyes climbed the tower of rickety scaffolding above him. It rose six stories, almost to the top of the church's rose window.' (Dan Brown, _Angels & Demons_, 2000)
     _Fuseli's Influence._ 'An emotion he identified as frustration sat on his chest. He ignored it.' (Elizabeth Bear, _Hammered_, 2005)
     _Fashion Dept._ 'She indicated the skintight black-spotted orange fur jumpsuit she was wearing, with open circlets on each leg revealing patches of skin up to her arms.' (Alan Dean Foster, _Bloodhype_, 1973)


_Ansible_(R) 467 (C) David Langford, 2026. Thanks to Brian Ameringen, Richard Bleiler, Sandra Bond, Jonathan Clements, Fran Dowd, _File 770_, Steve Green, Steve Holland, Steve Jones, _Locus_, Pamela Love, Andrey Meshavkin, Lawrence Person, Mark Plummer, Andrew I. Porter, _Private Eye_, _SF2 Concatenation_, SFWA, Gordon Van Gelder,, and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group) and SCIS/Prophecy.

1 June 2026