ANSIBLE(R) 448
NOVEMBER 2024
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 the secret plans hidden by Erihsibrad under the Wollip.
[NET NOTE. See
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### THE FURTIVE FEASTERS ###
OGHENECHOVWE DONALD EKPEKI was removed from the SFWA Board of Directors --
a recent 'Director-at-Large' appointment on 1 July -- after public
complaints regarding his professional ethics. (SFWA, 28 October; _File
770_, 26 October; see also Erin Cairns, ethicsreport.tiiny.site)
ALAN MOORE can see both sides of the issue: 'I believe that fandom is a
wonderful and vital organ of contemporary culture, without which that
culture ultimately stagnates, atrophies and dies. At the same time, I'm
sure that fandom is sometimes a grotesque blight that poisons the society
surrounding it with its mean-spirited obsessions and ridiculous, unearned
sense of entitlement.' (_Guardian_, 26 October)
ELON MUSK, along with Tesla and Warner Bros Discovery, is being sued by the
makers of _Blade Runner 2049_ (Alcon Entertainment) for allegedly using
AI-generated imagery based on that film at the launch event for Tesla's
robotaxi -- after Alcon 'specifically denied a request from Warner Bros to
use material from the film'. (BBC, 22 October) [SF2C]
KATHERINE RUNDELL revealed the secret of making children's books 'shine' by
pruning unnecessary detail. 'The greatest children's books pull off this
balancing act, per Rundell: To this day, she can recount, exactingly and
with absolute confidence, the hair color of the Pevensies of Narnia, "but
they are never described in the book."' (_Washington Post_ interview, 10
September). Bibliophiles are now eagerly seeking the rare edition of _The
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe_ without the mentions in Chapter 17 of
Susan's long black hair and golden-haired Lucy. [AL]
ROBERT RUNTE had a soul-searing insight: 'You know you're taking too long
to finish your novel when you started at the same time as _Last Dangerous
Visions_ and it comes out first.' (Facebook, 5 October)
BRAM STOKER is in the news for 'Gibbet Hill', a rediscovered short story
from a Christmas supplement to the Dublin _Daily Express_ on 17 December
1890. (BBC, 19 October) A 'first' book edition was announced for November,
but Wildside Press released their version in October.
### CONDYLOTOMY ###
Until 4 Jan [] THE LOST WORLDS OF RAY HARRYHAUSEN, Lauriston Gallery,
Waterside, Sale, Manchester. See tinyurl.com/2jbbwxcw.
1-3 Nov [] ARMADACON, Future Inns, Plymouth. GBP45 reg; GBP35 concessions;
single day GBP25. More at
www.armadacon.org.
1-2 Nov [] FRIGHTFEST (film), London, Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square. Two-day
ticket GBP79; more at www.frightfest.co.uk/filmsandevents/.
1-3 Nov [] GLASGOW 2024, BACK TO OUR FUTURES, free online for Glasgow
Worldcon attending or virtual members: tinyurl.com/2earcc4d.
8-10 Nov [] NOVACON 53, Palace Hotel, Buxton. GBP53 reg; couples GBP106;
under-17s GBP12; under-13s free. Day rates at novacon.uk. _The hotel no
longer accepts cash in the bar or restaurants -- card payments only._
9 Nov [] CYMERA WRITERS' CONFERENCE, Edinburgh/online. GBP75;
concessions/virtual at www.cymerafestival.co.uk/writers-conference.
9-10 Nov [] SURREY STEAMPUNK CONVIVIAL, Stoneleigh, Epsom. See
bumpandthumper.wixsite.com/steampunkconvivials.
9-10 Nov [] WOMEN IN HORROR WEEKEND, Waterstones, Nottingham. GBP18; day
rates GBP10 Sat, GBP8 Sun. See tinyurl.com/mr3spmz2.
16 Nov [] WINTER HAUNTS 3 (Gothic etc), online. See
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/winter-haunts-2024-tickets-998430531597.
16 Nov [] WRITING AND MENTAL HEALTH (BFS event), online with panels,
interviews and readings. See tinyurl.com/bfs-mental-health.
23-24 Nov [] CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN centenary conference, online:
www.tolkiensociety.org/events/christopher-tolkien-centenary-conference/
25-26 Nov [] DARKFEST 6 (film), Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Rd,
London, E1 4UJ. GBP55. See infinitymagazine.co.uk/product/darkfest-6/.
30 Nov [] DRAGONMEET (gaming), Novotel Hammersmith, London. 9am-11pm.
Tickets GBP15.50 (under-18s GBP8) at www.dragonmeet.co.uk.
7-8 Dec [] WOMEN IN THE BLACK FANTASTIC (SFF conference), online. GBP30;
GBP15 unwaged. See
www.sf-foundation.org/fresh-about.
29 Dec - 1 Jan [] STEAMPUNK NEW YEAR, Belmont Hotel, Leicester. See
www.ministryofsteampunk.com/steampunknewyear2025.
21-23 Feb 2025 [] UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, Museum of Making, Derby.
In-person ticket sales awaited. Also online 14-16 February, GBP50 plus fee.
See www.ukghoststoryfestival.co.uk.
18-21 Apr 2025 [] RECONNECT (Eastercon), Hilton Lanyon Place Hotel and ICC,
Belfast. _Now GBP90 reg, rising to GBP100 on 1 January and GBP120 at the
door_; GBP40 discounted (under-18s, concessions, Eastercon first-timers and
fans living in Ireland, _with the last two rising to GBP70 on 14
November_); GBP25 supporting. Hotel bookings have opened. See
easterconbelfast.org.
26-27 Apr 2025 [] SCI-FI SCARBOROUGH (multimedia), The Spa, Scarborough.
GBP30 reg; students GBP20; 'kids' GBP10. See scifiscarborough.co.uk.
8 Nov 2025 [] PICTCON1, Salutation Hotel, 30-34 South St, Perth, Scotland.
_Date changed from 18 October 2025._ GBP30 reg; GBP20 concessions. See
www.facebook.com/events/1186045639366253/.
RUMBLINGS. _Worldcon 2025 (Seattle):_ hotel bookings are open; members have
been emailed. See www.seattlein2025.org.
_Worldcon 2030_ now has a bid from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
(Bluesky, 30 October)
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###
SF PREDICTIONS DEPT. 'A large statue in green marble loomed [...] He
recognized it as belonging to the Progress of Man series which lined the
tenth-floor main corridor. This one represented John W. Campbell.' (Poul
Anderson & Gordon Dickson, _Earthman's Burden_, 1957)
AWARDS. _British Fantasy._ HOLDSTOCK (fantasy novel) _Talonsister_ by Jen
Williams. DERLETH (horror novel) _Don't Fear the Reaper_ by Stephen Graham
Jones. NOVELLA _The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar_ by Indra Das. SHORT 'The
Brazen Head of Westinghouse' by Tim Major. COLLECTION _Jackal, Jackal by_
Tobi Ogundiran. ANTHOLOGY _Out There Screaming_ ed. Jordan Peele.
INDEPENDENT PRESS Flame Tree. NONFICTION _Writing the Future_, ed. Dan
Coxon & Richard V. Hirst. MAGAZINE _Shoreline of Infinity_. ARTIST Asya
Yordonova. AUDIO _The Tiny Bookcase_ by Nico Rogers & Ben Holroyd-Dell.
BOUNDS (newcomer) Teika Marija Smits. KARL EDWARD WAGNER Ramsey Campbell.
LEGEND OF FANTASYCON (non-BFS) Debbie Bennett.
_Rhysling_ (poetry): LONG 'Little Brown Changeling' by Lauren Scharhag
(_Aphelion_). SHORT 'No One Now Remembers' by Geoffrey Landis (_F&SF_ ).
_Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize:_ _A City on Mars_ by Kelly
and Zach Weinersmith.
_Ursula K. Le Guin Prize:_ _It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over_ by
Anne de Marcken.
_World Fantasy:_ NOVEL _The Reformatory_ by Tananarive Due. NOVELLA
'Half the House Is Haunted' by Josh Malerman (_Spin a Black Yarn_). SHORT
'Silk and Cotton and Linen and Blood' by Nghi Vo (_New Suns 2_). ANTHOLOGY
_The Book of Witches_ ed. Jonathan Strahan. COLLECTION _No One Will Come
Back for Us_ by Premee Mohamed. ARTIST Audrey Benjaminsen. SPECIAL/PRO Liza
Groen Trombi, for _Locus_. SPECIAL/NON-PRO Lynne M. Thomas and Michael
Damian Thomas, for _Uncanny_.
AS OTHERS SEE US. '_Playground_ [by Richard Powers] belongs in the
commercial sci-fi tradition, where outsiders can see themselves reflected
in the characters and enjoy the warm glow of wish fulfilment. [...] These
are the syrupy consolations of genre fiction, a category usually overlooked
by prestigious literary prizes but cleverly laundered here by judicious
engagement with weighty themes.' (_Sunday Times_, 22 September) [VS]
R.I.P. _John Amos_ (1939-2024), US actor in _Dance of the Dwarfs_ (1983),
_Hologram Man_ (1995), _Dr. Dolittle 3_ (2006) and _Voodoo Moon_ (2006),
died on 21 August aged 84. [LP]
_Roger Browne_ (1930-2024), US actor in _Vulcan Son of Jupiter_
(1962), _Venus Meets the Son of Hercules_ (1962), _Argoman the Fantastic
Superman_ (1967) and others, died on 11 October aged 94. [SJ]
_Pierre Christin_ (1938-2024), French comics writer best known in
English for the _Valerian_ space opera saga created with Jean-Claude
Mezieres in 1966 and adapted as a 2017 Luc Besson film, died on 3 October
aged 86. [JA]
_Scott Connors_, editor of critical anthologies on Lovecraft and Clark
Ashton Smith -- also, with others, Smith's collected fantasies, letters and
definitive bibliography -- reportedly died in October. [LP]
_Robert Coover_ (1932-2024), noted US author of much literary fantasy,
metafiction and fabulation including _The Universal Baseball Association
Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop._ (1968) and stories in his first collection
_Pricksongs & Descants_ (1969), died on 5 October aged 92. [PDF]
_William Crain_ (1949-2024), US director of _Blacula_ (1972) and _Dr.
Black, Mr. Hyde_ (1976), died on 22 June aged 75. [SJ]
_Ron Ely_ (1938-2024), US actor who starred in _Tarzan_ (1966-1968 tv)
and _Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze_ (1975), died on 29 September aged 86.
[SF2C]
_Bob Foster_ (1943-2024), US comics writer and animation artist who
wrote the _Toy Story_ and _Hercules_ graphic novels, died on 30 September
aged 80. Animation work for tv included _Godzilla_ (1978-1979),
_Spider-Man_ (1981-1983) and _Incredible Hulk_ (1982-1983). [SG]
_Teri Garr_ (1944-2024), US actress in _Young Frankenstein_ (1974),
_Close Encounters of the Third Kind_ (1977), _Oh, God!_ (1977), _Mom and
Dad Save the World_ (1992), _Batman Beyond_ (1999-2000) and others, died on
29 October aged 79. [CB]
_Art Henderson_ (1942-2024), US fan and book dealer at many East Coast
conventions, died on 12 October aged 82. [PDF]
_Greg Hildebrandt_ (1939-2024), noted US fantasy artist whose many
paintings with his brother Tim (1939-2006) include work based on Tolkien,
_Shannara_, _Star Wars_ and _Magic: The Gathering_, died on 31 October aged
85. [SHS]
_Ken Howard_, songwriter (with Alan Blaikley as Howard Blaikley) of
many chart-topping hits, documentary director, film composer and novelist
whose _Follow Me: A Quest in Two Worlds_ (2017) is SF, died on 24 September
2024 aged 84. [SH]
_John Lasell_ (1928-2024), US actor in _Dark Shadows_ (1967) and
_Deathmaster_ (1972), died on 4 October aged 95. [LP]
_Ed McLachlan_ (1940-2024), noted UK cartoonist active from the early
1960s in _Punch_, _Private Eye_ and many other magazines and newspapers --
often with surreal or fantastic images like the famous giant hedgehog
running across a motorway crushing cars -- died on 29 September aged 84. I
loved his work.
_Elisa Montes_ (1934-2024), Spanish actress in _Faustina_ (1967),
_Island of the Doomed_ (1967), _The Girl from Rio_ (aka _Future Women_,
1969) and others, died on 9 October aged 89. [SJ]
_Mario Morra_ (1935-2024), Italian film editor for _Queens of Evil_
(1970), _Black Belly of the Tarantula_ (1971), _The Humanoid_ (1979) and
many more, died on 11 October. [SJ]
_Paul Morrissey_ (1938-2024), US director of _Flesh for Frankenstein_
(1973, which he also co-wrote) and _Blood for Dracula_ (1974), died on 28
October aged 86. [SHS]
_Karl Mostert_, South African comics artist who worked on various
Batman titles (DC) and drew the strips _The Man Who F#&%ed Up Time_
(Aftershock Comics) and _Concrete Jungle_ (Scout Comics), died on October
aged 43. [SH]
_Lynda Obst_ (1950-2024), US producer with credits for _Helix_
(2014-2015) and _Interstellar_ (2014), died on 22 October aged 74.
_Nobuyo Oyama_ (1933-2024), Japanese actress best known for voicing
the robot title character of the anime _Doraemon_ (1979-2005), died on 16
October aged 90. [AIP]
_Ken Page_ (1954-2024), US actor in the Broadway _Cats_ (1982), _All
Dogs Go to Heaven_ (1989), _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ (1993 plus
spinoffs) and others, died on 30 September aged 70. [SJ]
_Christopher Penfold_ (1941-2024), UK scriptwriter/story consultant
whose credits include _Space: 1999_ (1975-1976), _Alien Attack_ (1976) and
_The Tripods_ (1985), died on 29 July aged 83. [SH]
_Dick Pope_ (1947-2024), UK cinematographer whose credits include
_Inseminoid_ (1981), _Whoops Apocalypse_ (1982) and _1984_ (1984), died on
22 October aged 77. [SJ]
_Nicholas Pryor_ (1935-2024), US supporting actor in _Omen II: Damien_
(1978), _Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1_ (2014), _Doctor Sleep_ (2019) and
others, died on 7 October aged 89. [SJ]
_Alvin Rakoff_ (1927-2024), Canadian film/tv director -- genre films
include _King Solomon's Treasure_ (1979) and _A Haunting Harmony_ (1993) --
and author of the sf novel _The Seven Einsteins_ (2013), died on 12
October. [JC/SHS]
_Robert J. Randisi_ (1951-2024), US author best known for thrillers
and Westerns who collaborated with Warren Murphy on some genre novels in
the Destroyer series, died on 4 October aged 73. [JC]
_Fred Smith_ (1927-2024), long-time Scots fan who was a 1952 founder
member of Glasgow's New Lands SF Club (the first such club in Scotland),
published the fanzine _Haemoglobin_ 1953-1959, and after a long gap
returned to fannish activity in the 1990s, died on 2 October aged 97. [MP]
_Nancy St. John_, visual effects producer for _Babe_ (1995 plus
sequel), _I, Robot_ (2004), _Total Recall_ (2012), _Ender's Game_ (2013)
and many more, died on 23 October aged 70. [SJ]
_Sam Strangis_ (1929-2024), US producer/production manager whose
credits include _Batman: The Movie_ (1966), _The Immortal_ (1969-1971),
_The Six Million Dollar Man_ (1974) and _War of the Worlds_ (1988-1989),
died on 23 July aged 95. [AIP]
_Jeri Taylor_ (1938-2024), US screenwriter, producer and showrunner
with credits for most of _Star Trek: TNG_ (1990-1994) and _Voyager_
(1995-1998) plus episodes of _DS9_ (1993-1994), died on 24 October aged 86;
she also wrote three _ST_ novels. [MR]
_Kevin J. Taylor_ (1962-2024) prolific US erotic comics creator whose
genre titles include _The Girl_, _Model by Day_ (adapted for film), _Fang_
and _CoEd Diaries_, died on 24 September aged 61. [SM]
_Larry S. Todd_ (1948-2024), US writer and illustrator for _Galaxy_,
_If_ and _Worlds of Tomorrow_ in the 1960s -- later known for comics
including his own _Dr. Atomic_ and work in _Heavy Metal_ -- died on 28
September aged 76. [SH]
_Bruce Townley_ (1954-2024), US fan, fan artist and fanzine publisher
active from 1970, member of WSFA and the Southern Fandom Confederation and
a later contributor to email lists, died on 17 October aged 70. [CS]
_Valery Verkhovsky_ (1969-2024), Ukrainian writer who translated
_Ender's Game_ and Connie Willis's _Doomsday Book_, died on 23 October.
[AM]
_Robert Watts_ (1938-2024), UK producer of _The Empire Strikes Back_
(1980), _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ (1981 plus sequels), _Who Framed Roger
Rabbit_ (1988) and others, died on 30 September aged 86. [CM]
_Bob (Brayton) Yerkes_ (1932-2024), US stuntman in _Buck Rogers in the
25th Century_ (1979-1981), _Poltergeist_ (1982), _Return of the Jedi_
(1983), _Back to the Future_ (1985), _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ (1988) and
many more, died on 2 October aged 92. [SJ]
THE WEAKEST LINK. _Q._ 'Which famous potter has a statue erected in his
honour in Stoke-on-Trent?' _A._ 'Beatrix.' (ITV, _The Chase_) [PE]
AWARDS II. The UK Kitschies will be presented for the last time in June
2025, for 2023/2024 work in the usual categories. Novel finalists are
_Infinity Gate_ by M.R. Carey, _In Ascension_ by Martin MacInnes, _Julia_
by Sandra Newman, _Jungle House_ by Julianne Pachico and _The Premonition_
by Banana Yoshimoto as translated by Asa Yoneda. Announcement and the other
shortlists at blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/editorial/Kitschies.
RANDOM FANDOM. _Sandra Bond_ observes: 'I have been hearing about certain
sub-optimal aspects of the Fantasycon 2024 hotel, but let's just say I have
never been asked before now if I wanted ice in my pint of craft beer.'
(Discord, 13 October)
_Bill Higgins_, Former Beam Jockey, on the end of an era: 'I retired
from Fermilab in June, so my long-time address (
higgins@fnal.gov) will no
longer reach me.'
_Northumberland Heath SF Society:_ fan meetings on the second Thursday
of each month have moved to The Royal Oak, 270 Bexley Road, Erith, Kent,
DA8 3HB. [SF2C]
MAGAZINE SCENE. The TTA Press online shop, selling back issues of
_Interzone_, _Black Static_ and _Crimewave_, closed down in October.
ORWELLIAN HORROR! 'Multipack bags of crisps are only five grams heavier
than the reduced chocolate rations handed to surveilled citizens in George
Orwell's nightmare, _Nineteen Eighty-Four_. Is 25g all our appetite is
worth?' (Natalie White, _Crunch: An Ode to Crisps_, 2024) [PE]
COURT CIRCULAR. A Russian court ruled that Google owes Russia's media
$20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ($20 decillion) for
blocking their content -- more money than exists on Earth. Google, no
longer active in Russia, seems untroubled. (_The Register_, 29 October)
THE DEAD PAST. _50 Years Ago_ at Novacon 4: 'Peter Weston gave a good
rambling account of his recent TAFF trip, which was supposed to be
illustrated with the aid of an extraordinary epidiascope that looked more
like a mimeograph. The first picture put into the machine was burnt to a
cinder, and the bulb then fused, so the talk was perforce without
pictures.' (_Checkpoint_ 56, November 1974)
_30 Years Ago:_ 'You thought Kim Stanley Robinson's _Green Mars_ was
hard sf? Not so, implies the write-up in _Fire and Water_ (HarperCollins
newsletter), explaining how to reach this particular Mars: "Cross the
astral belt ...".' (_Ansible_ 88, November 1994)
_20 Years Ago_, Ceefax TV Choice offered its best argument for
_Battlestar Galactica_ on Sky One: 'Take it on trust and watch anyway --
Galactica is genuinely exceptional and the less you like science fiction,
the more you'll love this new US drama.' (_Ansible_ 208, November 2004)
SFWA. Following resignations and a 'special election' for new leadership,
Kate Ristau is now the president of SFWA. (SFWA, 29 October)
FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund._ Sarah Gulde is home from her long
TAFF trip and has taken over as NA administrator: Mike Lowrey can retire at
last. The next westbound TAFF race will be to the 2025 Seattle Worldcon:
nominations open 11 November 2024, closing 20 December; voting from early
January to just after Eastercon; candidates are now sought. See
taff.org.uk. [SB/ML]
_TAFF Ebooks:_ our 100th title is _Harrison Country_ (2007) by Steve
Stiles, reporting without indecent haste on his 1968 TAFF trip. [GS] With
much help from Irwin Hirsh, the library now includes GUFF reports by John
Foyster (first ever GUFF trip, 1979), Ian Gunn & Karen Pender-Gunn (1995),
Eric Lindsay & Jean Weber (2001), Pat McMurray (2004), James Shields
(2010), Gillian Polack (2014), Donna Maree Hanson (2017), Marcin 'Alqua'
Klak (2018) and Simon Litten (2019). Latest additions at
taff.org.uk/ebooks.php?all&chron.
THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Neat Tricks._ 'Paula Ray, in a chair a few feet away
was sleeping, her head on her breast.' (Edmond Hamilton, 'The Stars, My
Brothers', 1962) [BA]
_Again and Again._ '[J.R.R. Tolkien] was taken away from the blaze of
his African life when he was very young ... and he never saw his father,
who died a year later, again.' (William Ready, _The Tolkien Relation_,
1981) [LG]
_Eyeballs in the Sky._ 'The blood-laced eyes of Ruthlen Beauson bagged
gibbously behind their horn-rimmed lenses.' (Richard Matheson, 'The Doll
That Does Everything', 1954) [BA]
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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.htmlhttps://ae.ansible.uk/https://ansible.uk/books/index.htmlGROUP THEORY.
21 November 2024, 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-5232021e961fEDITORIAL. _Ansible_ HQ has been in the throes of building maintenance work
for most of October and my nerves are all jangled. Nevertheless there has
been much progress with a collection of Ian Watson's nonfiction writing for
fanzines and con publications, which he has titled _Watto's Wisdom_. All
proceeds from the paperback edition will go to TAFF.
As noted on the website: apologies to subscribers who received more
than one copy of the October _Ansible_ via the Google Groups list. After an
unusual lack of email response, a complaint from a regular correspondent
that nothing had arrived, and the non-appearance of my own admin copy, I
thought something had gone wrong and unwisely tried again.
R.I.P. II -- LATE AND LAST-MINUTE REPORTS. _Peter Goodfellow_ (1950-2022),
UK artist who painted many genre book covers beginning with _Tales from the
White Hart_ (1972 UK) and continuing to the late 1990s -- including _The
Encyclopedia of Fantasy_ (1997) -- died on 11 December 2022 aged 72. [LD]
Alas, nobody told _Ansible_ until last month....
_Steven Mohan, Jr._ (1967-2024), US military sf author active from
1998, who wrote fiction for the _BattleTech_ wargame franchise and other
game universes, died on 2 October aged 57. [SHS]
ANOTHER EXHIBITION. Until 30 December [] BATMAN UNMASKED, Covent Garden,
London. Tickets GBP29 with small discounts for groups, children,
concessions. See batmanexhibition.com/london/.
SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
Reconnect (Eastercon 2025) rates announcement
https://easterconbelfast.org/new-news-page/THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 208, November 2004. _Dept of Sound
Effects._ 'He made a face at me, soundlessly humming under his breath as if
he was bored.' (Laurell K. Hamilton, _The Killing Dance_, 1997) 'As Reith
approached he heard a sudden wordless cry of outrage from within.
"Unclean!"' (Jack Vance, _The Pnume_, 1970)
_Alien Planetology Dept._ 'A tall fountain of spray reached skyward,
high enough that its top was touched red by the light of the sun rising in
the west.' (S.M. Stirling and David Drake, _The Sword_, 1995)
Dept of Subtle Gender Distinctions.' 'Wade harpooned the lamb chop
with his fork and amputated a sizable portion with his knife. He waited
until he had consigned it to the mysteries of gastric chemistry before
speaking. Shirley was daintily toying with peas.' (Charles Eric Maine,
_Thirst!_, 1977)
_Ansible_(R) 448 (C) David Langford, 2024. Thanks to Brian Ameringen, Johan
Anglemark, Chris Barkley, Sandra Bond, John Clute, Lawrence Dean, _File
770_, Paul Di Filippo, Lisa Goldstein, Steve Green, Steve Jones, Steve
Holland, Andrew Love, Mike Lowrey, Sean McLachlan, Andrey Meshavkin, Chris
Moore, Lawrence Person, Mark Plummer, Andrew I. Porter, _Private Eye_,
Marcus Rowland, _SF2 Concatenation_, Steven H Silver, Vernon Speed, Candi
Strecker, Geri Sullivan. Also Durdles Books (BSFG), SCIS/Prophecy and Alan
Stewart (Australia).
1 November 2024
-- David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/
Ansible 448 -- November 2024
Re: Ansible 448 -- November 2024