ANSIBLE(R) 450
JANUARY 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 first editions of _Hire and Salary_ or _The Spider Bites Back_.
[NET NOTE. See
https://news.ansible.uk/a450.html for the nice HTML version;
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a450.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 SPONGY HELICON ###
CATHERINE BUTLER, author of _Four British Fantasists: Place and Culture in
the Children's Fantasies of Penelope Lively, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne
Jones, and Susan Cooper_ (2006), 'can't recommend ChatGPT for literary
research'. Its eight answers to 'Who wrote _Four British Fantasists_?'
were: R.A. Gilbert in 1979, Roger Lancelyn Green in 1962, R.B. Outhwaite in
1991, Farah Mendlesohn in 2009, R.J. (Roger) Reilly in 2009, David R. Haase
in 1997, R.L. Firth with no date, and Michael Moorcock in 1969. As for the
four authors in the subtitle, Dunsany, Eddison, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were
frequently cited; the best reply got two right; others named M. John
Harrison and Dorothy L. Sayers. (Facebook, 9 December)
SIR KAZUO ISHIGURO became a Companion of Honour in the UK New Year honours;
Dame Jacqueline Wilson, who has written children's fantasy, was upgraded
from DBE to Grand Cross. Honorees with media genre credits include Stephen
Fry, now a Knight Bachelor; OBEs Anne-Marie Duff, Eddie Marsan and Anne
Reid; and Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) MBE.
RICHARD MORGAN of _Altered Carbon_ and Clarke Award fame was on the winning
team -- Queens' College, Cambridge -- of Christmas University Challenge,
displaying _inter alia_ his profound knowledge of _The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre_. (BBC2, 30 December) [SF2C]
EBENEZER SCROOGE's gravestone -- a prop left behind in a Shrewsbury church
graveyard after the filming of _A Christmas Carol_ in 1984 -- was
inexplicably smashed to fragments in November. (BBC, 25 November)
### CONALBUMIN ###
POSTPONED to 9 Jan [] LONDON PUB MEETING, The Bishop's Finger, West
Smithfield. All welcome. The pub won't be open for the traditional 'First
Thursday' on 2 January. See news.ansible.uk/london.html.
28 Jan [] VAMPIRES: FROM MONSTER TO MISTER (Fortean Society), The Bell,
London, 7:30 for 8pm. GBP5. See forteanlondon.blogspot.com.
7-9 Feb [] CONTABILE 35 (filk), Wensum Valley Hotel, Norwich. GBP43 reg;
GBP33 concessions. More details at c35.contabile.org.uk.
7-10 Feb [] SCOTIACON (furry), Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. 'Magical
Mayhem' theme. GBP100 reg; day GBP45. See
www.scotiacon.org.uk.
21-23 Feb [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, Museum of Making, Derby. In-person
tickets GBP75 plus fee. Also online 14-16 February, GBP50 plus fee. See
www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk.
22-23 Feb [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.
1 Mar [] PICOCON 42, Imperial College, London. Further details and web
presence awaited.
20-23 Mar [] CAMP SFW, Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth. Weekend pass
currently GBP95 at
www.scifiweekender.com.
8 Apr - 30 Sep [] CATS! (exhibition), Cartoon Museum, London. More at
www.cartoonmuseum.org/whats-on-exhibitions/cats.
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; under-18s and concessions GBP40; GBP25
supporting. See easterconbelfast.org.
19-20 Apr [] HORRORFIED (horror), Farnborough International Exhibition
Centre. Tickets GBP49; day rate GBP29. See horrorfied.co.uk.
23-26 May [] JODIWORLD (Jodi Taylor), Doubletree by Hilton, Coventry.
GBP100 reg; GBP30 supporting; under-13s free. Online registration is now
open at the new website jodiworld.co.uk (no longer .org).
24-25 May [] LAWLESS (UK comics), Hilton Doubletree, Bristol. Weekend
ticket GBP70 plus fees; trader GBP80; day ticket GBP35. Under-14s free.
Ticket sales from 27 January at lawlesscomiccon.co.uk.
24 or 25 May [] PETER CUSHING CELEBRATION, Whitstable. GBP65 for either day
-- same programme both days. See renownfilms.co.uk.
19-22 Jun [] SCI-FI LONDON (film), Picturehouse Cinema, Finsbury Park,
London. Ticket sales awaited at sci-fi-london.com.
25-26 Oct [] BRISTOLCON, Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, Bristol. Rates and online
registration awaited at
www.bristolcon.org.
RUMBLINGS. _Worldcon Bids Update_ from Smofcon: the 2027 Israel bid is
moving to a later year, leaving Montreal in 2027 unopposed. Bids are
planned for Texas in 2031 and Maastricht, Netherlands, in 2032. [F770]
_Middle-earth Festival_ is returning this year with a new UK field
venue ('rough camping' available). The official website is well out of
date; news appears at
www.facebook.com/MiddleEarthFestival/ (login
required).
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
YET ANOTHER PORTENT OF DOOM. 'Britain has seen an alarming rise in poetry
sales ...' (_The Economist_, 2024) [SB]
AWARDS. _Prometheus Hall of Fame_ (libertarian) shortlist: _Orion Shall
Rise_ (1983) by Poul Anderson, 'As Easy as A.B.C.' (1912) by Rudyard
Kipling, 'The Trees' (1978 song) by Rush and _Singularity Sky_ (2003) by
Charles Stross. This is the Kipling story's seventeenth nomination.
ASTROGATION MASTERCLASS. From the W.J. Stuart (Philip MacDonald)
novelization of _Forbidden Planet_ (1956): 'ALTAIR 4 was in sight! They had
traveled billions of light years through dark, treacherous space ...' to a
star a mere 16.7 light years from Earth.
R.I.P. _Christel Bodenstein_ (1938-2024), German actress in _The Singing
Ringing Tree_ (1957) and _The Little Prince_ (1966), died on 5 December
aged 86. [SJ]
_Marshall Brickman_ (1939-2024), Oscar-winning US filmmaker who
co-scripted Woody Allen's _Sleeper_ (1973) and wrote and directed _Simon_
(1980), _Lovesick_ (1983) and _The Manhattan Project_ (1986), died on 29
November aged 85. [SJ]
_Maurizio Centini_, Italian cinematographer for _Naked Exorcism_
(1975), _SS Experiment Love Camp_ (1976) and other exploitation films, died
on 27 December aged 84. [SJ]
_Mikhail Chekalin_ (1959-2024), Russian experimental musician and
composer who scored the Strugatsky-based teleplay _Malysh_ (1987) and
episodes of the children's sf tv show _Etot Fantasticheskiy Mir_ (_This
Fantastic World_, 1987-1990), died on 28 December aged 65. [AM]
_Thom Christopher_ (1940-2024), US actor in _Buck Rogers in the 25th
Century_ (1981), _Space Raiders_ (1983), _Deathstalker and the Warriors
from Hell_ (1988) and others, died on 6 December aged 84. [LP]
_Es (Esther) Cole_ (1924-2024), long-time US fan who with her husband
Les (1926-2019) was in the legendary sf club The Elves', Gnomes' and Little
Men's Science Fiction, Chowder, and Marching Society(founded 1949) and
worked on the 1954 Worldcon -- he as co-chair, she as treasurer -- died in
December 2024 aged 100. [RL/F770] She entered the First Fandom Hall of Fame
in 2017.
_Michael Cole_ (1940-2024), US _Mod Squad_ actor in _The Bubble_
(1966), _The Last Child_ (1971) and genre tv series, died on 10 December
aged 84. [SJ]
_Diane Delano_ (1957-2024), US actress in _Miracle Mile_ (1988) and
_The Wicker Man_ (2006), plus many voice roles in genre tv series and
videogames, died on 13 December aged 67. [LP]
_Geoffrey Deuel_ (1943-2024), US actor in _Terminal Island_ (1973) and
genre tv series, died on 22 December aged 81. [LP]
_Mircea Diaconu_ (1949-2024), Romanian actor who starred in _Secretul
armei... secrete!_ (_The Secret of the Secret Weapon_, 1988), died on 14
December aged 74. [AM]
_Barrie Ellis-Jones_, an important figure in the European film
industry who also wrote the ghost story _The Walker After Death_ (1980),
died in November aged 84. [AIP]
_Art Evans_ (1942-2024), US actor in _Fright Night_ (1985), _Alien
Rising_ (2013) and genre tv series, died on 21 December aged 82.
_Katinka Farago_ (1936-2024), Austrian-born script supervisor for many
Ingmar Bergman films including _The Seventh Seal_ (1957), died on 26
November aged 87. [SJ]
_George Folsey Jr._ (1939-2024), US producer of _An American Werewolf
in London_ (1981), _Michael Jackson: Thriller_ (1983) and others, died on
29 December aged 85. [SJ]
_Dayle Haddon_ (1948-2024), Canadian actress in _Spermula_ (1976),
_Cyborg_ (1989) and genre tv series, died on 27 December aged 76. [SJ]
_Hannelore Hoger_ (1942-2024), German actress in _Der grosse Verhau_
(_The Big Mess_, 1971), _Super_ (1984) and _Hamlet_X_ (2003), died on 21
December aged 82. [SHS]
_Olivia Hussey_ (1951-2024), UK actress whose genre work includes
_Quest of the Delta Knights_ (1993), _The Lord Protector_ (1996), tv series
episodes and _Star Wars_ videogames, died on 27 September aged 73. [LP]
_Leonid Ionin_ (1945-2024), Russian sociologist who wrote the
near-future political thriller _Russky apokalipsis_ (_Russian Apocalypse_,
1999) died on 12 December. [AM]
_Jill Jacobson_, US actress in _Nurse Sherri_ (title role, 1977),
_Restless Souls_ (1998), _House of Usher_ (2008) and genre tv series, died
on 8 December aged 70. [SJ]
_T. Jackson King_ (1948-2024), prolific US author whose debut novel
was the sf _Retread Shop_ (1988) and who also wrote fantasies and
nonfantastic adventures, died on 3 December aged 76. [JC]
_'The Amazing' Kreskin_ (1935-2024), well-known US mentalist whose
genre credits include _The New Misadventures of Ichabod Crane_ (1979),
_Horror_ (2003) and _Wake-Up Callz_ (2008), died on 10 December aged 89.
[GVG]
_Ney Latorraca_ (1944-2024), Brazilian actor who co-starred in the
vampire-themed 'telenovela' _Vamp_ (178 episodes 1991-1992), died on 26
December aged 80.
_Linda Lavin_ (1937-2024), Tony-winning US actress in _Damn Yankees!_
(1967), _The Muppets Take Manhattan_ (1984) and genre tv including _Courage
the Cowardly Dog_ (13 episodes 2002), died on 29 December aged 87. [SJ]
_Hal Lindsey_ (1929-2024), US evangelical prophet of doom whose
bestselling 'nonfiction' _The Late, Great Planet Earth_ (1970) predicted
imminent Biblical apocalypse and was followed by many more in similar vein,
died on 25 November aged 95. [AIP]
_Angus MacInnes_ (1947-2024), Canadian actor in _Star Wars_ (1977),
_Judge Dredd_ (1995), _Space Island One_ (1998 as co-star), _Hellboy_
(2004), _Rogue One_ (2016) and many more, died on 23 December aged 77. [SJ]
_David A. McIntee_ (1968-2024), UK fan, convention worker and author
of many _Doctor Who_ spinoff novels beginning with _White Darkness_ (1993,
based on his own unproduced script), died on 15 December aged 55.
_Barry N. Malzberg_ (1939-2024), noted US author and critic whose
bitter and controversial black-comedy sf novels appeared 1968-1975 -- with
_Beyond Apollo_ (1973) winning the inaugural John W. Campbell Award -- died
on 19 December aged 85. Other work included many short stories, many
anthologies beginning with the ambitious _Final Stage_ (1974 with Edward L.
Ferman), and the critical collection _The Engines of the Night_ (1982; much
expanded as _Breakfast in the Ruins_ 2007), both of whose editions won
_Locus_ awards. In later life he contributed his wisdom to the Fictionmags
email list. He is much missed. [EM]
_John Marsden_ (1950-2024), Australian author of children's/YA sf and
fantasy, best known for the seven-book sf sequence opening with _Tomorrow,
When the War Began_ (1993), died on 18 December aged 74.
_Vanessa May_, UK fan and convention-runner who worked on multiple
Worldcons and Eastercons, co-chairing Eastercon 2020 (cancelled owing to
Covid) and chairing Eastercon 2021, died on 5 December. [FD]
_Tony Meadows_ (1948-2024), UK fan and celluloid-film collector who
until the late 2000s was a stalwart of the Festival of Fantastic Films and
also showed his sf films at Eastercons, died on 21 October. [SF2C]
_Marisa Paredes_ (1946-2024), Spanish actress in _The Awful Dr. Orlof_
(1962), the anthology horror film _Pastel de sangre_ (1971), _The Devil's
Backbone_ (2001) and _The Skin I Live In_ (2011), died on 17 December aged
78.
_Nadezhda Podyapolskaya_ (1941-2024), Russian voice actress heard in
dubs of _Rosemary's Baby_ (1968), _Hook_ (1991), _Black Panther_ (2018),
_Dune_ (2021) and many more, died on 28 December aged 83. [AM]
_Shafoat Rahmatullayeva_ (1941-2024), Uzbek actress who starred in the
sf comedy film _Sevginator_ (2007 plus sequel) and the children's fantasy
_Sehrli qalpoqcha 2_ (_Magic Cap 2_, 2014), died on 24 December aged 83.
[AM]
_Gene (Eugene P.) Rizzardi_ (1952-2024), Emmy-winning US special
effects artist and model-maker whose films include _Demolition Man_ (1993),
_Alien Resurrection_ (1997), _Godzilla_ (1998) and _Star Trek_ (2009), died
on 25 December aged 72. [BE]
_Anatoly Romov_ (1935-2024), US-naturalized Russian detective-fiction
author whose sf novel is _Goluboy ksill_ (_Blue Xill_, 1984), died on 10
December. [AM]
_Hans-Erik Saks_, Danish producer, director and screenwriter best
known for the tv fantasy series _The Julekalender_ (_Christmas Calendar_,
1991), died on 10 December aged 68. [OC]
_Maria Socas_ (1959-2024), Argentine actress who co-starred in the
Roger Corman films _The Warrior and the Sorceress_ (1984), _Wizards of the
Lost Kingdom_ (1995) and _Deathstalker II_ (1987), died on 10 December aged
65. [SJ]
_Craig Smith_, US fan artist active since the 1980s and member of the
2000 Corflu committee, died in October. [ES]
_Julie Stevens_ (1936-2024), UK actress who was the first regular
female lead in _The Avengers_ (1962-1963) and sang in the multi-genre
children's anthology series _Look and Read_ (1981), died on 5 December aged
87. [SJ]
_Anand Vaidya_ (1976-2024), US philosopher who in 2022 co-founded the
Science Fiction and Philosophy Society, died on 11 October aged 48. [L]
_David Weatherley_ (1939-2024), UK-born NZ actor in _My Grandpa Is a
Vampire_ (1991), _The Fellowship of the Ring_ (2001) and two _Power
Rangers_ franchise series (both 2007), died on 12 December aged 85. [SJ]
_Arnold Yarrow_ (1920-2024), UK actor in _Doomsday for Dyson_ (1958),
_The Andromeda Breakthrough_ (1962) and _Doctor Who_ ('Death to the
Daleks', 1974), died on 9 December aged 104.
_George Zebrowski_ (1945-2024), Austrian-born US author and
anthologist active since 1970, whose best known works include the trilogy
whose first published novel was _The Omega Point_ (1972), the ambitious
standalone _Macrolife_ (1979) and the John W. Campbell Award-winning _Brute
Orbits_ (1998), died on 20 December aged 78. He is survived by his
long-time partner and collaborator Pamela Sargent. [DP]
_Trent Zelazny_ (1976-2024), US author -- Roger Zelazny's son --
active since 1999, whose first collection was _The Day the Leash Gave Way_
(2009), died in late November aged 48. [PDF]
THE WEAKEST LINK. _Alex Scott:_ 'In the films _Frankenstein_ and _Bride of
Frankenstein_, which Boris played Frankenstein's monster?' _Contestant:_
'Boris Johnson.' (BBC1, _The Tournament_) [PE]
PUBLISHERS AND SINNERS. The US Science Fiction Book Club, now owned by
Bookspan, is apparently shutting down. A December notice on the SFBC
website warned that orders will no longer be processed after 2 January
2025, with the strong implication that subscribers' accumulated 'Member
Credits' would vanish if not used by then. [F770]
THE DEAD PAST. _80 Years Ago_, a UK wartime convention was reported by J.
Michael Rosenblum: '1944-45 NORCON held in Leeds England. Delegates _[there
were fourteen]_ stayed at Golden Lion Hotel. Informal sessions held at
Rosenblum's.' (_Fanewscard Weekly_ #101, 14 January 1945)
_60 Years Ago_, crowdfunding was so different: 'The Birmingham SF
Group is looking for a clubroom and would like interested parties to take
out a 5/- per year subscription, which will be used to finance the
clubroom.' (_Skyrack_ 74, January 1965)
_50 Years Ago,_ the British SF Association had gone astray: 'LOST: ONE
BSFA. LAST SEEN IN NEWCASTLE, EASTER 1974. It hasn't turned up again yet,
but Keith Walker has sent some information on his proposed "Operation SF".
It appears that this is not so much a rival organization to the BSFA as a
ginger group to stir up some action in the BSFA itself.' (_Checkpoint_ 58,
January 1975)
_10 Years Ago_, a blurb for _Dickens' Secret Lover_: 'In 1857, Charles
Dickens was probably the most famous and beloved Englishman alive -- a
cross between J.K. Rowling and Princess Diana.' (_Ansible_ 330, January
2015)
CORRIGENDUM. _Ken MacLeod_ is mortified that his typo of 2004 for 2024
shifted the Lucy Lawless quote in _A449_ from its rightful place in 'As
Others See Us' to the dusty recesses of 'The Dead Past / 20 Years Ago'.
FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund._ Nominations for the TAFF race to the
2025 Seattle Worldcon closed on 20 December, and three candidates have
stepped forward: Zi Graves (UK), Mikolaj Kowalewski (Polish, living in
Denmark) and Jan Vanek jr. (Czech). Voting opened on 1 January and
continues until shortly after the Belfast Eastercon, where European
administrator Sandra Bond will have a dealers'-room table. See taff.org.uk
for the official newsletter _Taffluorescence_ 7 announcing this race, the
ballot with candidates' platforms, and the online voting form.
RANDOM FANDOM. _Corflu 42_ (Newbury, April) members will pick the event's
Fanzine of Honour from this list: _Apparatchik_, _Attitude_, _Australian SF
Review_, _Empties_, _Energumen_, _Fouler_, _Khatru_, _Mota_, _Plokta_,
_Pulp_, _SF Commentary_, _Shipyard Blues_ and _Trap Door_. See PR3 at
corflu.org.
_Rotsler Award (2024)_ for achievement in fanzine art: Espana Sheriff.
EDITORIAL. AWE Aldermaston, the former Atomic Weapons Research
Establishment that John Brunner famously used to march against, has a 75th
anniversary exhibition at the West Berkshire Museum in Newbury, now open
Wednesday-Sunday, 10am-4pm, until 7 December 2025. 'Free -- Drop in only',
i.e. no advance booking. See tinyurl.com/awe-show. The sf connection? I
confess to being thoroughly boggled when the organizers asked to include a
copy of _The Leaky Establishment_ and quote Terry Pratchett's introduction
as well as my own tongue-in-cheek author's note.
LOADSAMONEY. In that Christie's auction of sf memorabilia, one surprise
came from John Harris's cover painting for _Ender's Game_ (Tor 1985), which
was expected to bring GBP30-GBP50,000 and sold for GBP504,000.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Precision Gesticulation._ 'Cesar responded with a
gesture that was half-solicitous, half-impotent, a small sign of
magnanimous and futile solidarity, of a love conscious of its limitations,
the kind of elegant, excessive gesture an eighteenth-century courtier might
make to a lady whom he worships at the precise moment that he sees, at the
end of the street along which both are being carried in a funeral cart, the
shadow of the guillotine.' (Arturo Perez-Reverte, _The Flanders Panel_,
1990; trans 1995) [BA]
_A Way With Words._ 'The man was so handsome that he seemed faintly
phosphorescent.' 'The idyll of the past week was the rennet that had
congealed a resolve that had been curdling since her betrayal ...' 'She
turned her head but Matias's tongue drilled into her ear like a corkscrew.'
'... her thighs were a forge, they were shears; her thighs were sandstone,
they were the sandstone buttresses of a cathedral, they were silk or
cobwebs.' '... she had the sex of rain forests, the ibis and the scarab;
she had the sex of mirrors and candles ...' 'The bristly mound of her pubes
buzzed and hummed like a shaken hornet's nest.' (Ron Miller, _Silk and
Steel_, 1992) [BA]
### GEEKS' CORNER ###
SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via email, send a message to:
ansible-news+subscribe [at] googlegroups.com
You will be asked to confirm by email that you want to join the group. To
resign from the Google Groups list, send email to:
ansible-news+unsubscribe [at] googlegroups.com
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.htmlHome page --
https://news.ansible.uk/RSS feed --
https://news.ansible.uk/rss.htmlLiveJournal syndication --
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/Back issues --
https://news.ansible.uk/aseries2.htmlPrintable PDFs --
https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/Email the editor --
https://news.ansible.uk/contact.phpBooks Received --
https://ansible.uk/books.phpCONVENTION 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.htmlhttps://ae.ansible.uk/https://ansible.uk/books/index.htmlGROUP THEORY.
16 January 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-5232021e961fPUBLISHERS AND SINNERS II. 'Sending love out to every author who learned
that their publisher's marketing plan for their new book was to have an
intern visit a remote woodland in winter, dig a hole in the frozen earth,
and whisper their book's title once, 'neath the crescent moon.' (Steve
Lieber, Bluesky, 29 December)
EDITORIAL. Work in progress at Ansible Editions includes a hoped collection
of GUFF trip report chapters and fragments by past winners who never
finished their reports. The TAFF equivalent appeared several years ago:
https://taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?x=TAFFanthSOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
Langford looks back on his working year
https://ansible.uk/#20241224 Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939-2024 (_The Nation_)
https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/barry-malzberg-obituary-science-fiction/ George Zebrowski obituary (_Times Union_)
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/grondahl-george-zebrowski-prolific-sci-fi-20008416.phpTHOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 210, January 2005. _That's Easy For You
To Say:_ 'Kelric opened his mouth to speak but then fell silent.' (Lyndon
Hardy, _Master of the Five Magics_, 1986)
_Dept of Repair, or Impalement._ 'Binabik fixed Simon with his brows.'
(Tad Williams, _Stone of Farewell_, 1990) Your editor remembers that Wizard
Longbrows in _Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain_ can actually do this.
_The Noisy Dead._ 'It caught a man between neck and shoulder, and the
dead man went down shrieking ...' (David Weber, _Oath of Swords_, 1995)
_Ansible_(R) 450 (C) David Langford, 2025. Thanks to Brian Ameringen,
Sandra Bond, Olav M.J. Christiansen, John Clute, Paul Di Filippo, Fran
Dowd, Bob Eggleton, _File 770_, Steve Jones, _Locus_, Rich Lynch, Erika
Malzberg, Andrey Meshavkin, Lawrence Person, Andrew I. Porter, David
Pringle, _Private Eye_, Andy Richards, _SF2 Concatenation_, Steven H
Silver, Erik Smith, Gordon Van Gelder, and as always our Hero Distributors:
Durdles Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan Stewart
(Australia). A Happy New Year to all readers.
2 January 2025
-- David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/
Ansible 450 -- January 2025