OtherRealms A Fanzine for the Non-Fan "Where FIJAGH Becomes a Way of Life" Volume 1, Number 6 July, 1986 Table of Contents Part One SF Magazines: Full of Great Hors D'Oeuvres by James Brunet Wizenbeak by Danny Low The Sorcery Within by Chuq Von Rospach A Jungle of Stars by Alan Wexelblat Guest Editorial: HR3389 by Leigh Ann Hussey Part Two Pico Reviews by Our Readers Part Three Editorial -- Pros and Cons By Chuq Von Rospach, Editor of OtherRealms OtherRealms Lettercol -- July 1986 by Our Readers Notes and Comments on OtherRealms by Chuq Von Rospach SF Magazines: Full of Great Hors D'Oeuvres by James Brunet hplabs!hao!ism780b!jimb Copyright 1986 by James Brunet Have you ever enjoyed a meal, or snacked at a party, contenting yourself splendidly with bite-sized bits of gourmet appetizers instead of a full-blown meal? If so, you might also enjoy the contents of SF's magazines, which provide a veritable delicatessen of science fiction and fantasy. Many SF readers limit themselves to novels and indeed, there are many fine novels published each year. But there are a number of reasons that reading the SF magazines can bring great delight. Variety. Each of the major SF magazines -- ANALOG, ASIMOV'S, F&SF, and AMAZING -- has five to twelve stories. New authors and old, short stories and novellas, stories with different themes and emphasises, all in the same magazine. Do you find your SF reading habits getting into a rut? Read a few issues of some of the magazines and you will add new "favorite" authors to your list. Catching the newcomers. I first read a David Brin novelette in ASIMOV'S several years ago, long before STARTIDE RISING catapulted Brin to fame. That novelette, along with a subsequent one, was the basis of THE POSTMAN, which is on this year's Hugo ballot. By reading the magazines, you can notice when a new author who bears watching comes on the scene -- most writers begin learning their craft and business by writing short stories before graduating to novels -- and seeing award winning novels begin to take form. Quality. Arguably, some of the best SF writing and story-telling is is appearing in the magazines. The maturing of the field and the intense competition may be responsible, but for whatever the reasons, any reader who misses the magazines is missing a lot of good stories. True, Sturgeon's law does apply, and in each issue there are several stories that a reader may be indifferent about, but over the course of the year you are also likely to encounter many outstanding pieces. Miscellany. In addition to the stories, most magazines have features of general interest. Con listings, giving information about SF conventions. A good range of book and reviews; some of the reviewers include Harlan Ellison, Norman Spinrad and my favorite, Algis Budrys. Science fact articles. Puzzles. Editorials. All the grist of science and SF. Which one? Okay, you've decided to give the magazines a try. Assuming that reading time and money are limitations, which magazine is for you? ANALOG is the linear descendant of ASTOUNDING, the John Campbell-edited magazine that was the bedrock of the field in the 30's and 40's. Its focus is hard science fiction, with very little in the way of stories that do not contradict science as we now understand it. In some ways, this limitation manifests itself in a moderate number of stories with the same "feel," but it is the magazine that I breeze through most quickly every month. Authors typical of those appearing in ANALOG include Frederick Pohl, David Brin, Harry Turtledove, and Charles Harness. ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE (ASIMOV'S) is currently the most literary of the magazines, publishing well-crafted ambitious stories. The content ranges from hard science to fantasy to stories that are at the broadest reaches that can be defined as SF. Roger Zelazny, William Gibson, the ubiquitous David Brin, Lucius Shepard, and Kim Stanley Robinson are among those who have appeared in ASIMOV'S recently. My opinion is that many of the *best* short SF is appearing here; certainly that opinion is supported by the number of stories from ASIMOV'S nominated for Nebula and Hugo awards. FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION (F&SF) is the now the grand old lady of the field, being the magazine with the longest continuous publication with the same name. F&SF tries for a mix of science fiction and fantasy but seems to run more of the latter. The stories are always well written, but of all the magazines F&SF seems to run into the "sameness" of feel problem most often, e.g., lots of contemporary spooky stories. Brian Aldiss, Greg Benford, Hilbert Schenk, and Ian Watson are some of the authors who have appeared here recently. AMAZING is the weak sister of the Big Four, having by far the lowest circulation and a very erratic quality. AMAZING has no connection with the AMAZING STORIES television series, save for the fact that they rented their name. Owned by TSR, the wonderful folks who introduced Dungeons and Dragons, AMAZING has traditionally aimed at SF readers in their teens and early twenties, a fact that showed up in the flimsiness and splashiness of a lot of their stories. Still, they seem to be improving as of late and a recent editorial change may help further still. Somtow Suchartikul, among others, has published in AMAZING. A few words about other SF magazines. OMNI has one to three stories per issue -- it's main orientation isn't fiction, though several of its stories are on this year's Hugo ballot. Fiction editor Ellen Datlow has promoted herself as the "queen of punk SF." FANTASY BOOK is a semi-pro magazine that has also been on the rapid rise in quality. It has featured the work Paul Edwin Zimmer, Esther Freisner, Leigh Ann Hussey, and yours truly. If you like good SF, I hope you will sample some of the magazines and find at least one or two that are right for you. There's a lot of good readin' in them thar pages. Wizenbeak by Alexis A. Gilliland Blue Jay Books $8.95 279pp [***] Reviewed by Danny Low hplabs!hpccc!dlow Copyright 1986 by Danny Low Long before Gilliland became a very good professional author, he was a very good fan artist whose cartoons appeared frequently in many fanzines. One of Gilliland's favorite cartoon characters is a bumbling wizard, Wizenbeak. This book is supposedly about that cartoon wizard but the Wizenbeak of the book is quite a different character than the Wizenbeak of the cartoons. Nevertheless, this is a very good book. There are two plotlines in this book that converge in the last third of the book. The first plotline is about Wizenbeak's efforts to establish a colony in an arid portion of the kingdom of Guhland. The second plotline is about the palace intrigues over the succession to the throne as the king is quite old and has not designated a formal heir. The palace intrigue is the more interesting story lines. The Wizenbeak story, however, has more sympathetic characters. The Guhland society is an eclectic mixture of medieval European and medieval Japanese cultures. The book contains some very nice Tim Kirk artwork. The ending was too abrupt. It could have gone on for a couple of more chapters. There should be a sequel because so many interesting things are only hinted at in this book. What will happen to Princess Marjia? What are the dragons like? This book leaves me yearning for more; a sign of a well done book. Despite the high price, this book is worthwhile reading. The Sorcery Within (A First Novel) by Dave Smeds [****+] Ace Fantasy, 291 pages, $2.95 Reviewed by Chuq Von Rospach If this book is any indication Smeds has a long and prosperous career ahead of him. This isn't just a good first novel, this is one of the finest pieces of Fantasy I've read in the last few years. Twins on a quest in the desert to the Holy City of Setan. An assassination attempt in Cilenhrodel. A Kingdom besieged by the invaders of the Dragon. These seemingly independent plotlines weave their way through the book, and it is only when Smeds is ready to tell you do the interrelationships become apparent and the plotlines merge. His manipulation of the time sense and plot of the novel is superb, and the way he warps your expectations to do his bidding would put a master storyteller to shame. The main plotline of the story centers on Elenya and her brother Alemar on their quest for Setan. They are set upon by Bedouins for stealing water and then adopted into the clan. Never fully a part of the clan, they are trusted but watched, and watchful for the opportunity to move on. The desert society is portrayed in great detail, the everlasting struggle for survival at the edge of nothing. The plot is never forced and never rushed. The book moves forward quickly, but at a pace that is perfect for the story being told. The characters are real and they never act differently than they ought to. Smeds knows how to build tension into the work, and when to release is with humor or tears. This book is as close to perfect as you are going to find, and everything comes together in a perfect meshing of words. Two minor problems tarnish the book. First, the cover shows two bedouins riding a pair of beautiful horses. Nice as they are, there are NO horses in the book -- the bedouins ride something that looks vaguely like a mule deer. You can't blame Smeds for this one -- he'll happily point it out to you. The artist, Kevin Johnson, didn't bother to read enough of the story to do an accurate cover. Ace should have caught it. The other is the ending. It isn't a true ending, but a stopping point, crying for a sequel. This book is good enough that I'm looking forward to the next one, but the climax really didn't and the reader is left somewhat hanging. The finish isn't bad, but it could have been stronger. Don't let that stop you, though. Read this book. It deserves your time. A JUNGLE OF STARS by Jack Chalker Ballantine Books, 1976, 217 pages ISBN 0-345-28960-9 [***] Reviewed by Alan Wexelblat ut-sally!im4u!milano!wex This book is actually three novellas woven together and it suffers some as a result. The first novella is about the horrors of the Vietnam war and what being there can do to people. The second is a detective story with an SF twist about hunting down a parasite that can take over not only its host's body but also the minds of others. The third story is about a conflict between good and evil, neither of which is defined in human terms. Protagonist Paul Savage is a soldier-turned-immortal-detective. He is involuntarily drafted into an aeons-old conflict between the last two members of a race called the Kreb. The Kreb have evolved into a higher life form leaving behind a villain and a hero called The Bromgrev and The Hunter. Savage is recruited by the Hunter but is not sure which is the hero and which the villain. Much of the story revolves around how he plays their game(s) and is used by them. Many of the familiar Chalker themes are present: souls, people changing bodies while retaining identity, games-within-games, etc. There's also some good space-battle scenes and some fairly good aliens. What's wrong with it, then? Lack of continuity, for one thing. The stories are woven together poorly, with lots of jumps. In several places we shift from following Paul to following others so that side characters can get introduced and developed. This is confusing and distracting. It also makes the book too long. From the detective standpoint, the key clue is one sentence quite near the end of the book, which always annoys me. It also needs some tightening; it's too wordy in some places, too skimpy in others. However, on the whole it's a good book, especially if you're a confirmed Chalker fan. I tend to like the themes that Chalker deals with, and the ending was fairly well done, which is important both for the detective story and for the good/evil conflict story. Guest Editorial: HR3389 by Leigh Ann Hussey lah@miro.berkeley.edu Copyright 1986 by Leigh Ann Hussey I would like to bring to your attention a certain bill now in the House Ways and Means Committee. This is House Resolution 3389, also known as the Walker Bill, a bill designed to deny tax exemptions to groups involved (or purported to be involved) in Witchcraft. Since there are already are safeguards to prevent the granting of tax-exemption to dangerous groups, this bill serves no *legitimate* purpose. Rather, it will give to the tax courts the power to judge what is a religion and what is not, it will be a first step on the way toward designating a state religion, and will be a staggering blow to the Bill of Rights. The bill's history is fraught with underhanded dealing; suffice it to say that only the title was read into the Congressional Record, and Brad Hicks of St. Louis, MO, had a struggle in getting the text of the bill from any source. The bill has been awaiting an opening on the Ways & Means Committee schedule; as of 15 May, the two biggest items of business for this session were finished. This means that HR3389 could come up for debate and vote in committee any time now. Since Brad went to so much trouble, let us have the content of the bill here: ``H.R. 3389. A bill to deny tax exemptions to, and income tax, estate tax, and gift tax deductions for contributions to, religious organizations having a substantial interest in the promotion of witchcraft. (a) Section 503 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (relating to requirements for exemption from tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(h) RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS SUBSTANTIALLY INTERESTED IN THE PROMOTION OF WITCHCRAFT.-- "(1) IN GENERAL.--Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c) of section 501, any religious or apostolic organization which has as it's primary purpose the promotion of witchcraft or which has a substantial interest in the promotion of witchcraft shall not be exempt from taxation under section 501(a)." "(2) DEFINITION OF WITCHCRAFT.--As used in this subsection, the term "witchcraft" means the purported use of --"(A) power derived from evil spirits; "(B) sorcery; or "(C) supernatural powers with malicious intent." (b) The following provisions of such Code are each amended by striking out "508(d)" and inserting in lieu thereof "503(h), 508(d),": (1) Section 170(f)(1). (2) Section 2055(e)(1). (3) Section 2522(c)(1). (c) The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.'' What this means is that any group that, in a judge's opinion, "worships evil spirits", or "uses supernatural powers", any group that is even ACCUSED of these things, will lose their tax status. Various groups that have large areas of land dedicated to religious retreats, like Circle Sanctuary, will be hit with huge property tax bills, and will likely have to shut down. In addition, this means that, for example, Catholics may come under such a law -- after all, they use "supernatural powers" to engage in ritual cannibalism, no? Of course, no Catholic would agree with such a statement, and of course it could never happen in the United States. But remember, we are not dealing with Catholics. Indications are that the State Religion would be some form of Protestantism (after all, all those Saints, and that Mary, they're just gods --er-- *devils* in disguise, right?). And as for "it could not happen here"? Well, Jews said that in Germany about the Holocaust just before WWII... Following up the references to the Internal Revenue Code reveals that this bill is making no attempt to disguise what it really is: an attempt to restrict religious freedom. If the bill is reported out of committee, it has a chance of passing on the floor. I think anyone who values his/her "inalienable rights" should join with me in trying to squash this thing before it even gets to the greater House. It is important that we make a statement to our lawmakers: "We will not let you treat our rights so nonchalantly, and we ARE paying attention!" Here are some things to remember in writing to the Committee members, and to Congresspeople. Handwritten letters are more impressive than typed (and especially word-processed!) letters. They suggest to the readers that the hand behind the letter really is an individual, that the letters they are getting are really from thousands of people, not just a noisy minority. Along these lines, be personal also. Don't send petitions or form-style letters (though you can probably safely send the same letter if you're sending one to every Committee member and if the letters are handwritten; they are not likely to compare notes), and use your own words. It is best to be brief -- these folks are busy (or believe they are); a couple of arguments stated clearly, firmly, and *politely* will have more impact than five pages of documentation. Here are a few arguments to get you started: it's unconstitutional, it's unconstitutional, and it's unconstitutional! (Not to mention being immoral and ill-advised). It is not necessary to mention that you are a pagan (if you are), nor to point out the supposed long history of the religion, or even to illustrate its harmlessness. Approach the Congresspeople as a constituent, a voter, a well-informed citizen; this is much more impressive to them. Write to Congresspeople, the Committee members, your local newspapers; bring this to the attention of local religious groups and churches (as I pointed out, the bill's arguments could conceivably apply to many religious groups, not just Wiccan ones). And write to Circle's Pagan Strength Web with the texts of any letters you send, copies of any responses you receive, and clippings of any local newspaper coverage the bill may generate; they are maintaining a master file of Pagan Rights activities and responses, for future reference (yes, similar legislation will appear when this one has been forgotten, as it has in the past, and we need to react with equal speed and firmness each time). Their address is: Pagan Strength Web, c/o Circle, Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572. Finally, here are the addresses of all 38 members of the House Ways & Means Committee. I urge you all to write, to spread the word, to show Congress that they can't play these kinds of games with us. Thank you. THE SPONSORS OF H.R. 3389 CONGRESSMAN OFFICE ADDRESS Robert S. Walker (D-Penn.) Rayburn, 2445 Author, 9/19/85 Joe Barton (D-Tex.) Longworth, 1017 Co-sponsor, 11/14/85 THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE CONGRESSMAN OFFICE ADDRESS Dan Rostenkowski (R-Ill.) Rayburn, 2111 Committee chairman Beryl Anthony, Jr. (R-Ark.) Longworth, 1117 Bill Archer (D-Tex.) Longworth, 1135 Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. (D-S.C.) Cannon, 106 William J. Coyne (R-Penn.) Cannon, 424 Philip M. Crane (D-Ill.) Longworth, 1035 Hal Daub (D-Neb.) Longworth, 1019 Brian J. Donnelly (R-Mass.) Cannon, 438 Byron L. Dorgan (R-N.D.) Cannon, 238 Thomas J. Downey (R-N.Y.) Rayburn, 2232 John J. Duncan (D-Tenn.) Rayburn, 2206 Ronnie G. Flippo (R-Al.) Rayburn, 2334 Harold E. Ford (R-Tenn.) Rayburn, 2305 Wyche Fowler, Jr. (R-Ga.) Longworth, 1210 Bill Frenzel (D-Minn.) Longworth, 1026 Richard A. Gephardt (R-Mo.) Longworth, 1432 Sam Gibbons (R-Fl.) Rayburn, 2204 Willis D. Gradison, Jr. (D-Oh.) Rayburn, 2311 Judd Gregg (D-N.H.) Cannon, 308 Frank J. Guarini (R-N.J.) Rayburn, 2458 Cecil (Cec) Heftel (R-Hi.) Longworth, 1034 Andrew Jacobs, Jr (R-Ind.) Longworth, 1533 Ed Jenkins (R-Ga.) Cannon, 217 James R. Jones (R-Ok.) Cannon, 203 Barbara B. Kennelly (R-Conn.) Longworth, 1230 Robert T. Matsui (R-Cal.) Cannon, 231 Raymond J. McGrath (D-N.Y.) Cannon, 205 W. Henson Moore (D-La.) Rayburn, 2183 Don J. Pease (R-Oh.) Longworth, 1127 J. J. Pickle (R-Tex.) Cannon, 242 Charles B. Rangle (R-N.Y.) Rayburn, 2330 Marty Russo (R-Ill.) Rayburn, 2233 Richard T. Schulze (D-Penn.) Rayburn, 2201 Authored similar bill! Fortney H. (Pete) Stark (R-Cal.) Longworth, 1125 William M. Thomas (D-Cal.) Cannon, 324 Guy Vander Jagt (D-Mich.) Rayburn, 2409 _________ NOTE: All of the above can be reached at the addresses shown. For example, Dan Rostenkowski, Rayburn, 2111 becomes: The Honorable Dan Rostenkowski Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2111 Washington, D.C. 20515 ==== Leigh Ann Hussey has published in FANTASY BOOK. She is an currently working on a novel set in a maritime Shamanistic culture. She is married and living in the Berkeley area. This magazine is Copyright 1986 by Chuq Von Rospach. One time rights only have been acquired from the signed or credited contributors. All rights are hereby assigned to the contributors. Reproduction rights: Permission is given to reproduce or duplicate OtherRealms in its entirety for non-commercial uses. Re-use, reproduction, reprinting or republication of an individual article in any way or on any media, printed or electronic, is forbidden without permission of the author.