Ansible 425 -- December 2022

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Dec 1, 2022, 11:50:27 AM12/1/22
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ANSIBLE(R) 425
DECEMBER 2022

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, manshonyaggers, pin-sets, stroon or the wire of Eustace Cranch.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a425.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a425.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 TRIPLE THINKERS ###

JIM BURNS, classic artist of yore, has a mysterious allure for the genocidal aliens in Peter F. Hamilton's far-future novel _Salvation_ (2018): 'It's an enhanced Jim Burns picture; they bought the rights to the original. Something about it appealed to them.' (Facebook, 13 November) [JB]

LIONEL FANTHORPE sent news of a momentous occasion in October: 'It was my 70th Anniversary as an author in print and the Cardiff Met University laid on a little do for me on October 31st. Their archives have copies of most of my work!' (Email, 4 November)

JOANNE HARRIS continues to chair the UK Society of Authors after a motion to remove her with extreme prejudice -- for speaking out against transphobia, it seems -- was defeated by a large majority at the AGM.

SCOTT JEFFREY, horror film director, plans 'an incredibly dark retelling' of _Bambi_ in which 'Bambi will be a vicious killing machine that lurks in the wilderness. Prepare for Bambi on rabies!' (BoingBoing, 28 November)

ROBIN MCKINLEY is to be the next SFWA Grand Master, inducted in 2023. 'I am astonished, amazed, delighted & dumbfounded.' [SFWA]

CHARLES SCHULZ's centenary on 26 November was celebrated with _Peanuts_ homages in many comic strips: see schulzmuseum.org/tribute/.

MICHAEL SWANWICK had a dream: 'Last night I dreamed I received a chapbook in the mail of a Gene Wolfe story titled _Cruffity Imputens_. Part of the binding was a tree branch 18" long.' (Facebook, 10 November)


### CONFELICITY ###

Until 19 Feb [] THE HORROR SHOW! (exhibition), Somerset House, London. GBP15.50. See somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/the-horror-show.

2-4 Dec [] STEAMPUNK CHRISTMAS WEEKEND, Weymouth. Various free and ticketed events as detailed at www.ministryofsteampunk.com.

3 Dec [] DRAGONMEET (gaming), Novotel Hammersmith, London. 9am-11pm. GBP13, but online sales at www.dragonmeet.co.uk have closed.

3-4 Dec [] FOR THE LOVE OF SCI-FI (media), BEC Arena, Stretford, Manchester. GBP41.25; under-10s GBP13.20. More at fortheloveofsci-fi.com.

3-4 Dec [] WHEN IT CHANGED: WOMEN IN SF/F SINCE 1972 (online conference). GBP45 reg; GBP30 concessions; day rates GBP30 and GBP20. See the 2 September post at sf-foundation.org/fresh-about.

9 Dec [] BSFA/BFS XMAS SOCIAL, The Doric Arch, 1 Eversholt Street, Euston Square, London. 7pm onward. Free; all welcome.

15 Dec [] LONDON XMAS MEETING (additional to First Thursdays), The Bishop's Finger, 9-10 West Smithfield, EC1A 9JR. All evening. Free.

10-12 Mar 2023 [] FRIGHTFEST (film), Glasgow.Ticket sales expected in 'early January': see frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents.html.

16-19 Mar 2023 [] CAMP SFW, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. Weekend pass GBP130; more options at www.scifiweekender.com.

31 Mar - 2 Apr 2023 [] CORFLU 40, The Malone Hotel, Belfast. _Now GBP60 / Euro70 / $75 reg_; other rates and hotel booking details at corflu.org.

22-23 Apr 2023 [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough. GBP30 reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.

27-28 May 2023 [] LAWLESS (UK comics), Hilton Doubletree, Bristol. Tickets GBP70 or GBP35/day, available in January. See lawlesscomiccon.co.uk.

14-16 Jul 2023 [] FANTASY FOREST (cosplay), Sudely Castle, Cheltenham. GBP44.95 reg plus booking fee; other rates at fantasyforest.co.uk.

16-20 Aug 2023 [] STARS OF TIME (comics), Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare.GBP10 reg; under-12s, OAP and disabled GBP6; under-4s free. Family of 2+2 children GBP25; 2+3 GBP27. See www.starsoftime.co.uk.

23-24 Sep 2023 [] NOR-CON (media), Norfolk Showground Arena. GBP39 reg; under-14s GBP19; family (2+2) GBP110. See www.nor-con.co.uk.

29 Sep - 1 Oct 2023 [] LAKES INTERNATIONAL COMIC ART FESTIVAL, Bowness-on-Windermere. Tickets awaited at www.comicartfestival.com.

3-4 Nov 2023 [] 16TH STARFLEET/KLINGON BANQUET, Peterborough Marriott Hotel. GBP68 reg; more at www.starbase24.co.uk/Banquet.html.

10-12 Nov 2023 [] NOVACON 52, Palace Hotel, Buxton. GoH Jen Williams. _Now GBP52 reg_; under-17s GBP12; under-13s free. See novacon.uk.

14-17 Mar 2024 [] CAMP SFW, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. Weekend pass GBP130; more options at www.scifiweekender.com.

31 May - 2 Jun 2024 [] FUNCON ONE, Palace Hotel, Buxton. _Now GBP60 reg._ See funcon.lol.

31 Oct - 3 Nov 2025 [] WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION, NEC Hilton, Birmingham. Web page to follow at www.hwsevents.co.uk.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

AS DECAF DRINKERS SEE US. 'In the over-caffeinated imaginations of science fiction writers and film makers, robots are almost always depicted as humanoid creations ...' (_Financial Times_, 28 October) [MMW]

AWARDS. _Rhysling_ long poem: 'The Bookstore' by Beth Cato (_New Myths,_ Fall 2021) [L]
     _Royal Society Science Book Prize:_ _A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters_ by Henry Gee, creator of the 'Futures' sf spot at _Nature_.
     _World Fantasy._ LIFE ACHIEVEMENT Samuel R. Delany, Terri Windling. NOVEL _The Jasmine Throne_ by Tasha Suri. NOVELLA _And What Can We Offer You Tonight_ by Premee Mohamed. SHORT '(emet)' by Lauren Ring (_F&SF_ 7/21). ANTHOLOGY _The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2021)_ ed. Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki. COLLECTION _Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan_ by Usman T. Malik. ARTIST Tran Nguyen. SPECIAL -- PROFESSIONAL Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda for _Monstress Volume Six: The Vow_. SPECIAL -- NON-PROFESSIONAL Tonia Ransom for _Nightlight: A Horror Fiction Podcast_.

PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. Hodder & Stoughton's 'Hodderscape' will in March change from an informal sf/fantasy list nickname (or whatever it is) to an official H&S imprint with that same name. Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of change!
     The controversial Penguin Random House/Simon & Schuster merger has been abandoned.

AS OTHERS BOGGLE. Reviewing a novel which had been _revised by the author_, Wyatt Mason gasped 'I can think of only two living novelists of note -- each graphomanically prolific, each with more than 75 published novels -- who have revised published novels substantially': Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates. (_New York Times Magazine_, 17 July) [MMW]

R.I.P. _John Aniston_ (1933-2022), US actor in _Sands of Oblivion_ (2007) and genre tv series, died on 11 November aged 89. [LP]
     _Erik Arthur_ (1944-2022), UK dealer who replaced Dave Gibson (1939-2015) as co-owner with Ted Ball (d. 2015) of London's legendary Fantasy Centre bookshop -- continuing until it finally closed in 2009 -- died on 16 November aged 78. [RR]
     _Nicki Aycox_ (1975-2022), US actress in _Jeepers Creepers 2_ (2003), _Supernatural_ (2006-2008), _The X Files: I Want to Believe_ (2008), _Animals_ (2009) and others, died on 16 November aged 47. [SJ]
     _Greg Bear_ (1951-2022), major US author who reshaped the hard sf scene with many ambitious novels such as _Blood Music_ (1985), died on 19 November after heart surgery and a stroke; he was 71. He won both the Hugo and the Nebula for the shorter 'Blood Music' (1983) and again for 'Tangents' (1986); _Moving Mars_ (1993) and _Darwin's Radio_ (1999) won best-novel Nebulas; he was a 2001 Worldcon GoH and received a Robert A. Heinlein award in 2006. He is survived by his wife Astrid, to whom all sympathy.
     _Justin E.A. Busch_ (1959-2022), US fan and author whose books included _The Utopian Vision of H.G. Wells_ (2009), died on 21 October. [F770]
     _Michel Buhler_ (1945-2022), Swiss singer, poet and author whose novel _Avril 1990_ (1972) is political sf, died on 7 November aged 77. [AM]
     _Danny Bulanadi_ (1946-2022), Filipino comics artist and inker for both Marvel and DC, whose many credits include _Captain America_ and _The Fantastic Four_, died on 3 November aged 76. [PDF]
     _Vic Carrabotta_ (1929-2022), US comics artist active from the early 1950s at Atlas Comics -- precursor of Marvel -- working on such titles as _Journey into Mystery_, _Mystic_ and _Uncanny Tales_, died on 22 November aged 93. [PDF]
     _Kevin Conroy_ (1955-2022), US actor who voiced Batman in _Batman: The Animated Series_ (1992-1995) and dozens more DC Animated Universe tv series and films, died on 11 November aged 66. [TP]
     _Andrew Duncan_, US actor in _Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle_ (1975, US dub) and _The Halloween That Almost Wasn't_ (1979), died on 31 October. [PDF]
     _David English_ (1946-2022), UK actor whose films include _Lifeforce_ (1985), died on 12 November aged 76.
     _Hans Magnus Enzensberger_ (1929-2022), German critic and author whose sf novel was the YA _Wo warst du, Robert?_ (1998, trans 2000 as _Where Were You, Robert?_ and again as _Lost in Time_), died on 24 November aged 93. [PDF]
     _Anne Fakhouri_ (1974-2022), French author of children's and adult fantasy whose debut 'Le clairvoyage' duology (2008, 2009) won Le Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, died on 9 November aged 48. [R-CJB]
     _Jason David Frank_ (1973-2022), US voice actor in _Mighty Morphin Power Rangers_ (1993-1996; 1995 film) and many sequels and spinoffs to 2019, died on 19 November aged 49. [PDF]
     _Clarence Gilyard Jr._ (1955-2022), US actor in _The Great Los Angeles Earthquake_ (1990), _Left Behind_ (2000, plus sequel) and _The Beast_ (2016), died on 28 November aged 66. [LP]
     _Derek Granger_ (1921-2022), UK producer of the 1974 genre tv films _Haunted: The Ferryman_ and _Haunted: Poor Girl_, died on 29 November aged 101.
     _Anne Harris_ (1964-2022), US sf/fantasy and romance author whose first novel was _The Nature of Smoke_ (1996) and who also wrote as Jessica Freely and Pearl North, died on 17 November aged 58. [SE]
     _Sue Strong Hassler_ (1938-2022), who co-edited the correspondence of Arthur Machen and Montgomery Evans (1994) with her husband Donald M. Hassler, died on 9 November aged 84. [GW]
     _Kymberly Herrin_ (1957-2022), US model and actress in _Ghostbusters_ (1984), died on 28 October aged 65. [PDF]
     _Erica Hoy_, Australian actress in _The Reality of Humanity_ (2021) and _Ribspreader_ (2022), died on 2 November aged 26. [LP]
     _Veronica Hurst_ (1931-2022), Malta-born UK actress in _The Maze_ (1953) and _The 2nd Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World_ (1965), died on 15 November aged 91. [SJ]
     _Wilko Johnson_ (1947--2022), UK musician with Dr Feelgood who appeared in _Game of Thrones_ (2011-2012), died on 21 November aged 75. [PDF]
     _Michael Luckman_, co-founder in 1977 of Forbidden Planet bookshop, died on 4 November. [SN]
     _Henry Morrison_, noted US literary agent whose authors included Samuel R. Delany, Patricia Keneally-Morrison and Robert Ludlum, died on 2 November. [SRD]
     _Ray Nelson_ (1931-2022) long-time US fan, artist and author who invented and (in cartoons) popularized the fannish propellor beanie and co-wrote _The Ganymede Takeover_ (1967) with Philip K. Dick, died on the night of 29/30 November aged 91. _They Live_ (1988) was based on his 1963 story 'Eight O'Clock in the Morning'; honours include the Rotsler Award (2003), FAAn Life Achievement (2014) and First Fandom Hall of Fame (2019). [F770]
     _Kevin O'Neill_ (1953-2022), UK comics artist with _2000 AD_ in its early years (_ABC Warriors_, _Judge Dredd_, _Nemesis the Warlock_) and perhaps best known for _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ (1999-2019) with Alan Moore, died on 3 November aged 69. [JM]
     _Carlos Pacheco_ (1961-2022), Spanish comics artist for both Marvel and DC, working on _Avengers Forever_, _Captain America_, _Fantastic Four_, _Green Lantern_ and _X-Men: Legacy_, died on 9 November aged 60. [SH]
     _Charles Partington_ (1940-2022), UK fan, publisher, editor and author of genre stories since 1971, whose only novel was the YA _Winter Hill_ (2015), died on 20 September aged 82. He co-founded Savoy Books and published _New Worlds_ 213-216 in 1978 and 1979. [JC]
     _Leslie Phillips_ (1924-2022), beloved UK comic actor with occasional genre credits from _The Gamma People_ (1956) via _The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe_ (1979) to _Tomb Raider_ (2001) and the Harry Potter films (2001-2011), died on 7 November aged 98.
     _Andrew Prine_ (1936-2022), US actor in _Eliminators_ (1986), _The Shadow Men_ (1997), _The Lords of Salem_ (2012) and genre tv series, died on 31 October aged 86. [LP]
     _Albert Pyun_ (1953-2022), US independent film-maker whose credits include _The Sword and the Sorcerer_ (1982), _Radioactive Dreams_ (1984) _Cyborg_ (1989) and _Nemesis_ (1992 plus sequels), died on 26 November aged 69. [PDF]
     _Marcus Sedgwick_ (1968-2022), noted UK children's and YA author/illustrator, most of whose books including his debut _Floodland_ (2000) were fantasy or sf, died on 17 November aged 54. [PDF]
     _Timothy Sherburn_, US fan and convention-goer who made regular donations to _Ansible_, was reported in November as having died. [PDF]
     _David Sherman_ (1958-2022), US author best known for military sf and fantasy, whose series include 'Starfist' with Dan Cragg, 'Demontech' and 'The 18th Race' partly with Keith DeCandido, died on 16 November. [KD]
     _Susan Tolsky_ (1943-2022), US actress in _Love at First Bite_ (1979), _The Devil and Max Devlin_ (1981), _Darkwing Duck_ (1991-1992) and others, died on 9 October aged 79. [LP]
     _Bill Treacher_ (1930-2022), UK actor in _Tale of the Mummy_ (1998), _George and the Dragon_ (2004) and genre tv series, died on 5 November aged 92. [SJ]
     _Nik Turner_ (1940-2022), UK musician and songwriter of Hawkwind space-rock fame, died on 10 November aged 82. [LP]
     _James Winburn_ (1937-2022), US stuntman in _The Sword and the Sorcerer_ (1982), _Escape from New York_ (1981), _Tron_ (1982) and others, died on 19 November aged 85.
     _Martin Morse Wooster_ (1957-2022), US fan, nonfiction author, sf critic in US newspapers, reference books and semiprozines including _Locus_ and _The New York Review of SF_, and frequent news contributor to _Ansible_ (since 1981) and _File 770_, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on 12 November; he was 64. [KM]
     _Kiyoyuki Yanada_ (1965-2022), Japanese voice actor in nearly 200 anime productions since 1982, died on 21 November aged 57. [PDF]

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! The current London RSC stage production of _My Neighbour Totoro_ (Barbican, to 21 January) uses Jim Henson Creature Shop puppets. One nervous commentator worries that the famous cat-bus 'has two prominent testicles. Don't look, children!' (_The Oldie_, December)

RANDOM FANDOM. _Rotsler Award_ for career achievement in fanzine art: Ulrika O'Brien, a regular contributor to _Ansible_. Congratulations....

THE WEAKEST LINK. _Q:_ 'Which planet in our solar system features in the name of a former Queen lead singer?' _A:_ 'Mars.' (ITV, _The Chase_) [PE]

AS OTHERS REMEMBER US. 'Delighted to note that Bob Dylan's _The Philosophy of Modern Song_ features 1.5 pages of discussion of Leigh Brackett to open his essay on the Peter Green penned, Carlos Santana recorded "Black Magic Woman".' (Ken Houghton, email, 26 November)

MAGAZINE SCENE. Steve Davidson is 'burnt out' and has stepped down both as acting editor of _Amazing Stories_ and as publisher at Experimenter Publishing Company. Lloyd Penney is the new editor, and creative director Kermit Woodall the publisher. (_Amazing_ blog, 3 and 4 November)
     _Beneath Ceaseless Skies_ has withdrawn from all future Semiprozine Hugo awards after ten final-ballot listings though no wins. [F770]

THE DEAD PAST. _30 Years Ago_, newspapers made the traditional nice distinctions: 'J.G. Ballard, 62 on 15 November, got a _Sunday Times_ birthday notice as "science fiction writer and novelist".' (_Ansible_ 65, December 1992) '[A] religious newspaper item tells how someone joined a charismatic church and was soon "making a bonfire of his magic and mystery books -- including expensively leather-bound Denis Wheatley and Arthur C Clark _[sic]_ titles."' (_Ibid_)
     _60 Years Ago_, fandom thrilled to the news that _Analog_ was switching to large format (81/4 x 11") -- at the start of a new volume and with no serial in progress, to spare the feelings of those who barbarously clipped and bound the instalments: 'Mr Campbell remembers well that when _Analog_, then _Astounding_, changed from pulp-size to large-size in the early 40s, he did it in the middle of a volume, and with an E E Smith serial running. The fans are still howling!' (_Science-Fiction Times_, December 1962, ed. James V. Taurasi)
     Meanwhile an important correction appeared in _Punch_ magazine: 'Robert A. Henlein is the author of _The Day After Tomorrow_ (Mayflower Books). In our September 19 issue he got misprinted as Hieline.' (_Skyrack_, December 1962)

FANFUNDERY. _TAFF._ Nominations for the 2023 westbound race close on 4 December; an announcement of Momentous Import is expected on 9 December and will be posted at taff.org.uk.
     _TAFF Free Ebooks._ Walt and Madeleine Willis's reports on their Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund trip to the 1962 Worldcon are combined as _TAWF Times Two_: see taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=TAWF. Ethel Lindsay, the 1962 TAFF winner, attended the same Worldcon and wrote _The Lindsay Report_ (1963), another ebook release at taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=EthelTAFF. In print, Rob Hansen's _Homefront: Fandom in the UK 1939-1945_ is out as a trade paperback (see ae.ansible.uk/?id=taff) and Kevin Smith is finalizing a print-on-demand version of _Nothing_, his online 1982 TAFF trip report (see _A422_).
     _Corflu Fifty:_ this con-specific fund will bring Sue Mason and Pascal Thomas to the Belfast Corflu in March/April 2023 (see events listing above). [RJ]
     _European Fan Fund:_ this new fund brings European fans to Eurocons, beginning with Konflikt (Sweden, June 2023). Nominations are open; for details and rules see fandomrover.com/2019/01/31/european-fan-fund/.

WITHOUT COMMENT. 'There is a secret society of seven men that controls the finances of the world. This is known to everyone but the details are not known. There are some who believe that it would be better if one of those seven men were a financier.' (R.A. Lafferty, 1970)

EDITORIAL. Much of November at _Ansible_ HQ was dominated by the Great Leaky Boiler Horror, an affair of bulging ceilings and evil-smelling drips from which we were rescued by plumbers who, thanks to a cancellation in their busy schedule, came two weeks early. How _SF Encyclopedia_, ebook and _Ansible_ updates continued is shrouded in soggy mystery.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Salty Simile._ 'A gleam of comprehension appeared in the waters of her eyes and the mauve iris of her mouth opened like a sea anemone's vagina.' (Malcolm Pryce, _Aberystwyth Mon Amour_, 2001) [BA]
     _Dept of Human Rights._ 'Her nipples point at the ceiling, neat and cocky, like they have a right to be here. He suspects they do.' (Jo Harkin, _Tell Me an Ending_, 2022)
     _These Go To 11._ 'My anxiety level has shot up several magnitudes on the Richter scale.' (E.L. James, _Fifty Shades of Grey_, 2011) [RF]
     _See Nipples and Die._ 'Then down the steep, powerless to guide or to check the shell, we plunged in a meteor rush straight for the annihilating adamantine breasts of the cliff!' (A. Merritt, _The Moon Pool_, 1919.) [RWS/BB]


### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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More details, and an ALTERNATIVE LIST subscription form for those averse to Google, on this page (which is also where to unsubscribe from the alternative list, hosted at ansible.uk):
https://news.ansible.uk/asubs.html
Home page -- https://news.ansible.uk/
RSS feed -- https://news.ansible.uk/rss.html
LiveJournal syndication -- http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/
Back issues -- https://news.ansible.uk/aseries2.html
Printable PDFs -- https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/
Email the editor -- https://news.ansible.uk/contact.php
Books Received -- https://ansible.uk/books.php

CONVENTION AND EVENT LINKS
     British Isles -- https://news.ansible.uk
     London -- https://news.ansible.uk/london.html
     Overseas -- https://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html [no longer updated]


### 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://ae.ansible.uk/ebooks.php
https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
     15 December 2022, 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

OVERHEARD AT NOVACON. _Jim Burns:_ 'Are you coming to my panel talk on Sunday?'_ Dave Lally:_ 'Tomatoes or eggs -- which do you prefer?' _Jim:_ 'Did you want me to throw them at you???' [JB]

MARK OF THE BEAST. The Royal Mail has announced a stay of execution for the current UK definitive stamps, which will become invalid on 31 July 2023 rather than 31 January, replaced by bar-coded equivalents. (Special commemorative and Christmas stamps are unaffected.) Stocks of old definitives can be exchanged for the new ones: see link below.
https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
     Corflu 39 fanthology: _Jiant Shoulders_
https://corflu.org/Corflu39/Jiant_Shoulders_Fanthology.pdf
     Michael Dirda on new collections by Peter Nicholls and John Clute
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/11/10/dirda-books/
     Robert A. Heinlein in _The Moon Is a Hot Babe_
https://reason.com/2022/11/15/comic-robert-a-heinlein-in-the-moon-is-a-hot-babe/

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 185, December 2002. _Sensitive Mainstream Dept._ '[They] walked off in separate directions through the chaparral to stand spraddlelegged clutching their knees and vomiting. The browsing horses jerked their heads up. It was no sound they'd ever heard before. In the gray twilight those retchings seemed to echo like the calls of some rude provisional species loosed upon that waste. Something imperfect and malformed lodged in the heart of being. A thing smirking deep in the eyes of grace itself like a gorgon in an autumn pool.' (Cormac McCarthy, _All the Pretty Horses_, 1992)
     _Neat Tricks Dept._ 'He started pushing her buttocks up until they had almost disconnected.' (Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, _Interest of Justice_, 1993)
     'His nose wrinkled at the smell of blood and sought permission to cover the body with a sheet.' (Peter Tremayne, 'Methought You Saw A Serpent' in _Shakespearean Detectives_ ed. Mike Ashley, 1998)


_Ansible_(R) 425 (C) David Langford, 2022. Thanks to Brian Ameringen, Bill Burns, Jim Burns, John Clute, Keith DeCandido, Samuel R. Delany, Paul Di Filippo, Rose Fox, Scott Edelman, _File 770_, Steve Holland, Rob Jackson, Raphael-Claude JB, Steve Jones, _Locus_, Kyle McAbee, Joe McNally, Andrey Meshavkin, Stan Nicholls, Tony Peak, Lawrence Person, _Private Eye_, Roger Robinson, Robert Whitaker Sirignano, Gary Westfahl, Martin Morse Wooster (for the last time, alas), and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Australia). Merry Seasonal Thingy Or Wotsit Of Your Choice!

1 December 2022
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