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**************************************************************
* *
* R E A D I N G F O R P L E A S U R E *
* *
* Issue #2 *
* *
* June 1989 *
* *
* *
* Editor: Cindy Bartorillo *
* *
* *
* Published monthly and initially distributed *
* the weekend before the first of each month. *
**************************************************************
CONTACT US AT: Reading For Pleasure, c/o Cindy Bartorillo, 1819
Millstream Drive, Frederick, MD 21701; or on CompuServe leave a
message to 74766,1206; or on GEnie leave mail to C.BARTORILLO; or
call our BBS, the BAUDLINE II at 301-694-7108, 1200/2400 8N1.
NOTICE: Reading For Pleasure is not copyrighted, but excerpts
from copyrighted material are contained within. When copying or
otherwise reproducing any part herein, please give appropriate
credit, whether it be to Shakespeare or Reading For Pleasure.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
The better the book the more room for the reader.
--Holbrook Jackson
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
What's News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Award Winners & Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Random Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Good Reading Periodically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Beach Bag Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
June Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1245
Featured Author: Stanley Ellin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1304
Horror: Splatterpunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1367
Mystery: Murderous Vacations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1526
NF: The Psychology of Everyday Things . . . . . . . . . . . 1620
Fiction Into Film: The Shining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1697
SF: Fan-Lingo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1783
Pseudonyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1895
Coming Next Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2080
Trivia Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Trivia Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2062
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
CONTRIBUTIONS: No money changes hands anywhere at Reading For
Pleasure -- no one makes any, no one pays any. If that sounds OK
to you, we'd be delighted to receive anything you'd like to
contribute: articles, news, letters, etc. See masthead for our
various addresses. Let us know how you like Reading For Pleasure.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
EDITORIAL
I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to get a comment
to me about the first issue of Reading For Pleasure. The
compliments were much appreciated, and made it so much easier to
get out this second issue. I'm still most anxious to get any
suggestions you might have, so please drop me a line if an idea
occurs to you.
About nonfiction submissions for Reading For Pleasure: Send
them. I can use all the help I can get. If you've read anything
lately that you particularly liked, or didn't like, a paragraph
about it would make a great submission. Also, any book related
news would be much appreciated.
The biggest problem facing RFP right now is distribution.
Very soon PC Pursuit will be a metered service, which means I
won't be able to afford much time on it. If you have local access
(no long distance rates) to a good BBS area, and wouldn't mind
passing RFP around it in your spare time, please contact me. If
we could get some kind of distribution network going, we could
maintain (maybe even expand) the readership of RFP and preserve
the guiding principle of FREE ACCESS TO INFORMATION.
It has been suggested that we start a sister publication of
fiction and poetry. This is a wonderful idea, but not until we
get some kind of handle on the distribution problem. More on this
subject next month.
Wouldn't it be nice to call your favorite BBS and find a
large selection of magazines on every conceivable topic? If you
are interested in starting a magazine dedicated to your area of
expertise (or if you already have), be sure to let me know. We
could work on this distribution problem together.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
TRIVIA QUIZ
1. You know that the Pulitzer prizes come from an endowment by
Joseph Pulitzer, but how did he get the money?
2. You know that SF fans give out the Hugo Awards, but just who
is/was Hugo?
3. Whose biography did Boswell write?
4. Who wrote about the Joads trekking from the Dust Bowl to
California?
5. What is the occupation of Willie Loman?
6. Where were Geoffrey Chaucer's characters going?
7. What book begins with the line, "Call me Ishmael"?
8. What was Dante's last name?
9. What do George Sand and George Eliot have in common?
10. What was Ian Fleming's last published novel before his death?
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
WHAT'S NEWS
* Another magazine bites the dust! PULPSMITH, a small press
magazine published by Harry Smith has ceased publication after
changing from quarterly to an annual issue. The magazine did,
however, go out in style with a last issue that was 384 pages
long.
* One of the very best mystery editors, Joan Kahn, has retired
from St. Martin's Press. How good was she? Just take a look at a
list of her writers: Tony Hillerman, Joseph Hansen, Dick Francis,
Reginald Hill, Jonathan Gash, and John Ball. Wow!
* This is from the April 21, 1989 issue of Publishers Weekly:
TWO LONDON STORES HIT BY ARSON
Two arson attacks against well-known London bookshops--Collets
Penguin on Charing Cross Road and Dillons on Gower Street--are
thought to be the work of protesters against Salman Rushdie's THE
SATANIC VERSES. The attacks took place within minutes of each
other during the night of April 9, causing widespread smoke
damage but no casualties. The Collets store had received several
threats of an attack if it continued to sell the disputed novel.
--Vivienne Menkes
* Also, in the May 5, 1989 issue of Publishers Weekly:
...Collets has now decided not to continue to sell the book, just
as the huge bookshop, Foyles, also decided against selling it
after the staff received death threats. The other attacked store,
Dillons, will continue to sell it, but not promote it. Also, a
public library in Woking, Surrey, reported that two men, "of Arab
appearance" asked for the names and addresses of those people who
had borrowed THE SATANIC VERSES from the library. These were, of
course, refused, and the police were alerted.
THE SATANIC VERSES is a big deal in Britain -- reportedly 1 out
of every 2 books sold there is the controversial volume.
* True Story: Saying he wanted to improve his vocabulary, a
community college student asked his bookstore clerk for a copy of
ROGER THE SORCERER. It was later determined that ROGET'S
THESAURUS was what he had in mind.
* Sol Stein, author of 8 novels, has created WritePro, a creative
writing computer program, which will be the first software chosen
by the Literary Guild. We presume that the program helps you to
write more clearly.
* An ornithologist died on February 14th in Philadelphia, at the
age of 89. Why am I telling you this? Because a writer saw the
ornithologist's name on a book in the late '40s and thought that
the name would be perfect for a character he was creating. The
ornithologist's name was James Bond.
* I've heard that Robert Bloch is editing a book for Tor called
THE PSYCHO FILES OF NORMAN BATES. Robert Bloch wrote the original
book PSYCHO, but not the Hitchcock screenplay (that was Joseph
Stefano).
* A TV miniseries of SCANDALS by Una-Mary Parker is planned.
* Morrow/Avon were unhappy with Whitley Streiber's new UFO novel
MAJESTIC, so he bought it back from them and sold it for even
more money to Putnam/Berkley.
* For those of you who want to read EVERYTHING about Stephen
King, don't miss getting hold of the Feb. 27, 1989 issue of The
New Yorker magazine. There's an article in it about his limited-
edition collaboration with typographic artist Barbara Kruger, MY
PRETTY PONY.
* Barbara Tuchman, bestselling, Pulitzer prize-wining writer and
historian, died recently at the age of 77 from complications
following a stroke. Her books were regularly on the bestseller
lists, and THE GUNS OF AUGUST (1962) and STILWELL AND THE
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CHINA (1971) both won Pulitzer prizes.
* Michael Korda claims that horror is the next big genre -- the
hot category for new writers to tackle.
* The market's not bad for older writers either. Dean R. Koontz
is reportedly getting an advance of $1.8 million for six of his
books that have already been published. Berkley gets THE SERVANTS
OF TWILIGHT, THE EYES OF DARKNESS, THE HOUSE OF THUNDER, and THE
KEY TO MIDNIGHT (all published under the name Leigh Nichols), THE
VOICE OF THE NIGHT (published under the name Brian Coffey), and
DEMON SEED (published under the name Dean R. Koontz).
* DRAGON CON will be held October 6-8, 1989 at the Omni
International Hotel and Convention Center in Atlanta, GA. Guests
include: Wes Craven, Anne McCaffrey, Michael Whelan, Andrew
Greenberg, Larry Elmore, and others. Pre-registration (through
September 15) is $30. Fantasy Role-Playing, Strategic, Miniature
and Computer Gaming in over 100 feature tournaments, and much
more. For additional information send a self-addressed stamped
envelope to: Dragon Con '89, Box 47696, Atlanta, GA 30362.
* Anne Rice is working on a movie based on her three vampire
novels: INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, and THE
QUEEN OF THE DAMNED.
* Here's a report on a new writer's market that was in the April
1989 issue of Science Fiction Chronicle. Readers as well as
writers might want to take notice.
BORDERLANDS, P.O. Box 5788, Baltimore, MD 21208. Editor: Thomas
F. Monteleone. Current needs: This is a horror/dark fantasy
anthology, planned to be an annual, to consist of all new,
original fiction. I am looking for horror, suspense, tales of the
bizarre and surreal. No taboos, no restrictions; stories on the
"borderlands" of current HDF fiction. I want disturbing,
innovative, provocative stories. Don't send any trunk stories:
writers guilty of this will be spirited off to the Outer
Darkness. Payment rates: 4-7 cents per word, depending on who you
are and how good the story is. SASE: If you don't send one, it's
going in File 13.
* Unsolicited manuscripts are the bane of a publisher's or
editor's existence. Every moron who can put crayon to paper sends
them his/her deathless prose, and even if they don't read it, all
that tonnage of paper has to be dealt with. Several months ago,
the editors of MIDNIGHT GRAFFITI magazine received an unsolicited
manuscript with the following cover letter:
Dear Mssrs. Horsting and Van Hise,
Enclosed is a short story, "Rainy Season," which I thought
might be right for GRAFFITI. It's pretty gross.
Thanks for the reading.
Sincerely,
Stephen King
The hottest writer in America sends an unsolicited manuscript
out. Can you imagine what went through the editors' minds when
they got it? I can: "Right. Sure. Stephen King. I bet." It turned
out to actually be SK, and they produced a Stephen King Issue of
their magazine. On one page they reproduced the cover letter and
wrote beneath it: "What would you have done?"
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
We live in the greatest age in the history of the world -- the
age of The Paperback. We no longer have to be bored out of our
minds during all the "dead" times of modern life: waiting in
lines, waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for the squash
court to be free, waiting for Janey to finish her piano lesson,
and waiting for your significant other to finish whatever it is
they do that takes so long. There's no excuse for being caught
without reading material.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
1988 NEBULA AWARDS
Voted on by the Science Fiction Writers of America:
Best Novel: FALLING FREE by Lois McMaster Bujold
Best Novella: "The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis
Best Novelette: "Schrodinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger
Best Short Story: "Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge"
by James Morrow
Grand Master Award: Ray Bradbury
1988 PULITZER PRIZES
Fiction: BREATHING LESSONS by Anne Tyler
General Nonfiction: A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: JOHN PAUL VANN AND
AMERICA IN VIETNAM by Neil Sheehan
History: PARTING THE WATERS by Taylor Branch and
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA by James H.
McPherson
Biography: OSCAR WILDE by Richard Ellmann
Poetry: NEW AND COLLECTED POEMS by Richard Wilbur
Criticism: Michael Skube
The Pulitzer Prizes are annual awards in journalism and
letters made by the trustees of Columbia University, endowed by
the will of Joseph Pulitzer.
THE HUGO AWARD NOMINEES
The Hugo Awards are voted on by the members of the World
Science Fiction Convention. It's not written out here, but No
Award is a nominee in every category.
Best Novel of 1988: CYTEEN by C.J. Cherryh
FALLING FREE by Lois McMaster Bujold
THE GUARDSMAN by P.J. Beese & Todd Cameron
Hamilton
ISLANDS IN THE NET by Bruce Sterling
MONA LISA OVERDRIVE by William Gibson
RED PROPHET by Orson Scott Card
Best Novella of 1988:
"The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians" by Bradley Denton
"Journals of the Plague Years" by Norman Spinrad
"The Last of the Winnebagos" by Connie Willis
"The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter" by Lucius Shepard
"Surfacing" by Walter Jon Williams
Best Novelette of 1988:
"Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance" by Howard Waldrop
"The Function of Dream Sleep" by Harlan Ellison
"Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" by Neal Barrett, Jr.
"Peaches for Mad Molly" by Steven Gould
"Schrodinger's Kitten" by George Alec Effinger
Best Short Story of 1988:
"The Fort Moxie Branch" by Jack McDevitt
"The Giving Plague" by David Brin
"Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick
"Our Neural Chernobyl" by Bruce Sterling
"Ripples in the Dirac Sea" by Geoffrey R. Landis
"Stable Strategies for Middle Management" by Eileen Gunn
Best Non-Fiction Book of 1988:
A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ARTISTS
by Robert Weinberg
FIRST MAITZ by Don Maitz
THE MOTION OF LIGHT IN WATER by Samuel R. Delany
THE NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by James Gunn
SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND HORROR: 1987 by Charles N. Brown &
William G. Contento
Best Dramatic Presentation of 1988: ALIEN NATION
BEETLEJUICE
BIG
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?
WILLOW
Best Professional Editor of 1988: Gardner Dozois
Edward L. Ferman
David G. Hartwell
Charles C. Ryan
Stanley Schmidt
Best Professional Artist of 1988: Thomas Canty
David Cherry
Bob Eggleton
Todd Cameron Hamilton
Don Maitz
Michael Whelan
Best Semi-Prozine of 1988:
INTERZONE edited by David Pringle
LOCUS edited by Charles N. Brown
THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by Kathryn Cramer,
David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen
Hayden, and Susan Palwick
SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE edited by Andrew I. Porter
THRUST edited by D. Douglas Fratz
Best Fanzine of 1988:
FILE 770 edited by Mike Glyer
FOSFAX edited by Timothy Lane
LAN'S LANTERN edited by George "Lan" Laskowski
NIEKAS edited by Edmund R. Meskys
OTHER REALMS edited by Chuq Von Rospach
Best Fan Writer of 1988: Avedon Carol
Mike Glyer
Arthur D. Hlavaty
Dave Langford
Guy H. Lillian III
Chuq Von Rospach
Best Fan Artist of 1988: Brad W. Foster
Teddy Harvia
Merle Insinga
Stu Shiffman
Taral Wayne
Diana Gallagher Wu
THE BRAM STOKER AWARD NOMINEES
The Bram Stoker Awards are voted on by the eligible members
of the Horror Writers of America. The Stokers are notable for
being given for "superior achievement" rather than for being
"best".
Novel: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris
STINGER by Robert R. McCammon
BLACK WIND by F. Paul Wilson
THE DRIVE-IN by Joe R. Lansdale
QUEEN OF THE DAMNED by Anne Rice
FLESH by Richard Laymon
First Novel: THE SUITING by Kelley Wilde
CITIES OF THE DEAD by Michael Paine
RESURRECTION, INC. by Kevin J. Anderson
DELIVER US FROM EVIL by Allen Lee Harris
DEMON NIGHT by J. Michael Straczynski
FEAR BOOK by John Byrne
Novelette: "The Skin Trade" by George R.R. Martin
"The Function of Dream Sleep" by Harlan Ellison
"The Juniper Tree" by Peter Straub
"Orange Is For Anguish, Blue For Insanity" by David
Morrell
"The Night Flier" by Stephen King
"Horrorshow" by John Farris
Short Story:
"Night They Missed the Horror Show" by Joe R. Lansdale
"The Thing at the Top of the Stair" by Ray Bradbury
"She's a Young Thing and Cannot Leave Her Mother" by Harlan
Ellison
"The Music of the Dark Time" by Chet Williamson
"Jack's Decline" by Lucius Shepard
"Nobody Lives There" by Carol Orlock
Collection: CHARLES BEAUMONT: SELECTED STORIES by Charles
Beaumont
THE TOYNBEE CONVECTOR by Ray Bradbury
BLOOD AND WATER AND OTHER TALES by Patrick McGrath
THE BLOOD KISS by Dennis Etchison
ANGRY CANDY by Harlan Ellison
SCARE TACTICS by John Farris
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
I am sitting in the smallest room in my house. I have your review
in front of me. Soon it will be behind me.
--German composer Max Reger
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
RANDOM RECOMMENDATIONS
When's the last time you read Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN
WONDERLAND? That long? You'd be surprised how much adult material
is in this children's book. Seems like everyone sees something
different and fascinating in it. Try it again. You may be
surprised.
If L.A. LAW on TV has given you the willies for a lawyer
mystery, you really should try PRESUMED INNOCENT by Scott Turow.
The writing style is a little unpolished, but the story is
involving and the suspense is well orchestrated. This is another
of those books that tends to cause long discussions/arguments.
A lovely box-of-peanuts book (bet you can't read just one
page) is THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
by Jane Wagner. This is the Broadway play that Lily Tomlin did a
while back. There are a number of different characters (all
played by Tomlin), and they all have something fresh and
intriguing to say about the human condition. Makes me wish I had
been able to catch the play live.
Remember GONE WITH THE WIND? Margaret Mitchell's book is as
wonderful as the movie, and you could do a lot worse than spend a
week at Tara. The historical precision is always open to debate,
but Mitchell's South does come alive and it's a thoroughly
engrossing story.
Do you ever enjoy reading about scandals of the rich and
famous? How about odd deaths? If you're one of us, you'll love
THEY WENT THAT-A-WAY: How the Famous, the Infamous, and the Great
Died by Malcolm Forbes with Jeff Bloch. Constructed of short
chapters, one on each person, this is a perfect book to carry
around for those short boring periods of life. I was particularly
fascinated by the chapters on Jim Morrison, Sal Mineo, and
Princess Grace.
My all-time favorite time travel book is Jack Finney's TIME
AND AGAIN. There are fewer "hard" science details than in most of
the others, and yet somehow I had no trouble at all believing in
the process. And, like all good books, this one not only has a
gimmick (time travel), it also has a wonderful historical
mystery. I can recommend this novel without qualification.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
Don't forget the value of books on cassette for friends who are
ill, and particularly children. When you don't quite feel up to
reading, having someone read to you is almost as good. And a
cassette never gets hoarse. Some genres even have cassettes with
special effects, like the 3-D special sound effects in the
dramatized version of Stephen King's "The Mist".
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
GOOD READING PERIODICALLY
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC -- Yeah, you remember this one, the thick,
slick magazine that you used to sneak peaks at in the library.
Now that you're all grown up you should take another look,
because this is definitely a BEST BUY in the magazine market. Not
only are the pictures fabulous, but the writing is absorbing. And
it's not all "Our Friend, the Warthog" kind of articles. Here are
some of my favoriate articles from NG so far this year:
Searching for the Secrets of Gravity
Braving the Northwest Passage
Living With Radiation
Indian Burial Grounds: Who Owns Our Past?
The Great Yellowstone Fires
Cocaine's Deadly Reach
Great writing, great photography, and a price that will surprise
you (I've GOT to stop watching so many TV commercials). NG
subscriptions only start at January or July, so the 18-month
period from July 1989 to December 1990 is the current
subscription and it'll cost you $27. Lifetime membership (in the
U.S. only) is $500, in case you wondered. Contact: National
Geographic Society, P.O. Box 2895, Washington, D.C. 20077-9960.
THE ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE -- This is another big, slick magazine
with thick covers and thick inside paper and it costs $6 per
issue, $20 for four quarterly issues. Inside is a lot of good
reading for the mystery buff, and invaluable information. They
publish articles that are controversial (we're still muttering
about a PRESUMED INNOCENT essay), and have wonderful columnists
(William L. DeAndrea is our favorite).
There are many, many book reviews, as well as coverage of short
stories, movies, TV, and books about mysteries. And, aside from
their one-person's-opinion articles, there are many that are
well-researched and very informative. All in all, well worth the
$20 a year to the mystery fan. Send your check to The Armchair
Detective, 129 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
BEACH BAG BOOKS
It's a derogatory term used by literary critics during the
summer, a damning with faint praise: "It would make a good beach
bag book", meaning that it's best read with a brain bleached by
the sun. This only comes up when discussing "popular literature";
you know, all that bestselling trash. The theory is, if millions
of people like it, how can it possibly be any good? Yeah, I know,
literary critics are a strange bunch, but everybody's entitled to
an opinion. I guess. Just wish it wasn't such a dumb opinion. Now
I've lost my train of thought. What was I......Oh, yeah, beach
bag books.
Anyway, even though "popular" is a dirty word to critics,
publishers and booksellers think it's just wonderful. And so do
readers like you and I, the foot soldiers who create a bestseller
and thereby keep the critics, publishers, and booksellers
employed. But I digress again. Without further ado, here are some
great ideas for your summer reading list:
HC = Hardcover TP = Trade Paperback PB = Paperback
HUMOR: In my opinion, humor is always in season, and here are
some of the new choices:
THE NIGHT THE BEAR ATE GOOMBAW by Patrick F. McManus (June HC
from Holt, $15.95). A new collection from McManus for the
outdoorsman or anyone who sees the funny side of life.
STAND UP! MY LIFE AS A WOMAN by Roseanne Barr (August HC from
Harper & Row, $17.95). This is the story of Roseanne Barr,
"domestic goddess", as told by the woman herself.
DAVE BARRY'S GREATEST HITS by Dave Barry (July TP from Fawcett/
Columbine, $8.95). According to a local poll RFP conducted, Dave
Barry is the funniest prose humorist currently working. Why not
find out for yourself?
THE CATALOG OF LOST BOOKS: An Annotated and Seriously Addled
Collection of Great Books that Should Have Been Written, but
Never Were by Tad Tuleja (August TP from Fawcett/Columbine,
($7.95). I'm not sure exactly how FUNNY this is going to be, but,
being a humorous book about books, I don't think anyone here at
RFP will be able to resist.
GROUCHO AND ME by Groucho Marx (July TP from Simon & Schuster/
Fireside, $9.95). An autobiography of Groucho, this is on the top
of our shopping list for summer reading (along with the next
entry). Certainly one of the funniest people of all time.
MEMOIRS OF A MANGY LOVER by Groucho Marx (July TP from Simon &
Schuster/Fireside, $8.95). A continuation of the above, this is
guaranteed to entertain.
NOBODY'S PERFECT by Donald E. Westlake (July PB from Mysterious
Press, $3.95). The comical criminal, Dortmunder, is back with his
bungling band. This one's been out of print since 1979.
LOVE AND MARRIAGE by Bill Cosby (May HC from Doubleday, $16.95).
Another sure bestseller, this time Mr. Cosby holds forth on the
history and pitfalls of relationships. Advance word says that
this could be his best book yet.
FRED ALLEN: HIS LIFE AND WIT by Robert Taylor (June HC from
Little, Brown, $19.95). If you aren't aware just how funny this
man was, now is your chance to find out. Mr. Allen's radio
program was the most popular in the country for quite some time.
DAVE BARRY SLEPT HERE: A SORT OF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES by
Dave Barry (June HC from Random House, $15.95). What can one say
except -- more Dave Barry.
CLASSICS: Why gamble when you can read a sure thing?
MYTHOLOGY by Edith Hamilton. Here is the quintessential scratch
to the tell-me-a-story itch, all the great story plots as they
were in the beginning, pure and primeval.
THE WARDEN by Anthony Trollope. What happens when good politics
are applied without a sense of humanity? This is a story as
meaningful today as the day it was written.
HAMLET by William Shakespeare. Read it aloud in your head (did
that make sense?) for best effect. A tale of a family that makes
the Ewings seem boring.
THRILLERS: What better way to relax after a hard year's work
than to have the fate of the world hanging by a thread? Here are
a few good choices:
THE EIGHT by Katherine Neville (1988 HC from Ballantine, $18.95).
Couldn't resist listing this. This novel about the search for the
pieces to the fabled Montglane Chess Service has mystery,
fantasy, science, history, the occult, and even romance. If
you're hard to please, this could be the one.
THE BIOASSASSINS: A NOVEL by Gerald Posner (July HC from McGraw-
Hill, $18.95). A technothriller about a CIA program to develop a
lethal bacterium that causes instant death but leaves no traces.
CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER by Tom Clancy (July HC from Putnam,
$21.95). The author of the bestselling THE CARDINAL OF THE
KREMLIN tells of Jack Ryan, the CIA agent who appeared in
Clancy's four other novels and his run-ins with Colombian drug
lords at home and abroad.
THE EIGHTH TRUMPET by Jon Land (May PB from Fawcett, $4.95). A
retired professional killer is called back to solve a mystery.
More for your money: this books contains TWO psycho killers.
Warning: this book is not for the squeamish.
WIN, LOSE OR DIE by John Gardner (July HC from Putnam, $13.95).
The James Bond series continues with Gardner's eighth entry, in
which Bond joins a Soviet diplomat to fight terrorists.
THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SPY THRILLERS edited by John Winwood (July TP
from Carroll & Graf, $8.95). Contains the complete texts of three
classic spy novels: THE NAKED RUNNER by Francis Clifford; THE
WRATH TO COME by E. Philips Oppenheim; and ROGUE MALE by Geoffrey
Household.
CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN by Tom Clancy (August PB from Berkley,
$5.95). CIA agent Jack Ryan of PATRIOT GAMES returns in this
reprint of the bestselling hardcover.
THE RUSSIA HOUSE by John le Carre (June HC from Knopf, $19.95).
The players: a dissident Soviet physicist, a London publisher,
MI5, and the CIA. Reviews are calling le Carre's latest novel
"brilliant", and saying "the genre may never be the same again".
Be sure not to miss this one.
MAZE by Larry Collins (June HC from Simon & Schuster, $19.95).
The KGB have a magneto-encephalogram that uses electromagnetic
waves to trigger responses someone's brain at a distance. The
author of IS PARIS BURNING? does it again.
RULES OF PREY by John Sandford (July HC from Putnam, $18.95). A
serial killer is murdering Minneapolis women and leaving "murder
rules" at the scene. John Sandford is a pseudonym for Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist John Camp.
BUSINESS: If you're a die-hard Yuppie (or want people to think
you are), you'll probably want to flash one of the latest
business books. Frankly, some of the summer crop sound so good
you don't even have to be a Yuppie to want to read them.
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF HUTTON by Donna Sammons Carpenter & John
Feloni (July HC from Holt, $19.95). Looks at the collapse of the
Wall Street institution E.F. Hutton.
INSIDE JOB: THE LOOTING OF THE SAVINGS AND LOANS by Stephen
Pizzo, Mary Fricker & Paul Muolo (July HC from McGraw-Hill,
$18.95). Theorizes that federal deregulation led to the problems
facing the savings and loan industry.
SUDDEN DEATH: THE RISE AND FALL OF E.F. HUTTON by Mark Stevens
(August HC from NAL, $19.95). An account of the growth problems
of the Wall Street brokerage firm.
THE AMERICAN DREAMERS: SIX BUSINESSMEN AND THE EMPIRES THEY BUILT
by Michael Meyer (July HC from Times Books, $19.95). The story of
six visionary business leaders and what drives them. Sort of
Lifestyles of the Rich and Obsessive.
STAY OR LEAVE: A COMPLETE SYSTEM FOR DECIDING WHETHER TO REMAIN
AT YOUR JOB OR PACK YOUR TRAVELLING BAG by Barry Gale & Linda
Gale (August TP from Harper & Row/Perennial Library, $9.95). The
authors of DISCOVER WHAT YOU'RE BEST AT now offer a simple,
self-administered test to evaluate your job situation.
HIGH STEPPERS, FALLEN ANGELS AND LOLLIPOPS: WALL STREET SLANG by
Kathleen Odean (July TP from Holt/Owl, $8.95). Learn to talk a
good game while you're losing your shirt.
HOLLYWOOD: It doesn't matter whether your body is on the beach
or in the back yard when you can send your imagination to
tinseltown:
THE ZANUCKS OF HOLLYWOOD: THE DARK LEGACY OF AN AMERICAN DYNASTY
by Marlys J. Harris (July HC from Crown, $18.95). How three
generations of the powerful Hollywood family were dominated and
destroyed by the spirit of one man.
NO TRICKS IN MY POCKET: PAUL NEWMAN DIRECTS by Stewart Stern
(July HC from Grove, $17.95). Describes Paul Newman as he
rehearses his cast for the film THE GLASS MENAGERIE, which Newman
directed.
AMERICAN MADNESS: THE LIFE OF FRANK CAPRA by Joseph McBride
(August HC from Knopf, $29.95). The life of the celebrated film
director. I assume from the price that this is a large photo-
filled volume. If so, this would make a wonderful gift.
KING OF THE NIGHT: THE BIOGRAPHY OF JOHNNY CARSON by Laurence
Leamer (July HC from Morrow, $19.95). The career of the eminent
TONIGHT SHOW host.
HOLLYWOOD'S UNSOLVED MYSTERIES by John Austin (August HC from
Shapolsky, $16.95). Many never-before-published photographs of
Hollywood figures who died under mysterious circumstances,
including Natalie Wood, Bob Crane, Vicki Morgan and Marilyn
Monroe. I love this kind of stuff.
THE WIZARD OF OZ: THE OFFICIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY PICTORIAL HISTORY
by John Fricke, Jay Scarfone & William Stillman (August HC from
Warner, $29.95). An illustrated tribute to the MGM film classic
and includes many never-before-published photographs from private
collections and the MGM archives.
THE MAKING OF THE WIZARD OF OZ: MOVIE MAGIC AND STUDIO POWER IN
THE PRIME OF MGM AND THE MIRACLE OF PRODUCTION #1060 by Aljean
Harmetz, introduction by Margaret Hamilton (July TP from
Delacorte/Delta, $12.95). Another 50th anniversary celebration.
Do you remember who Margaret Hamilton is?
CULT MOVIES: THE CLASSICS, THE SLEEPERS, THE WEIRD, AND THE
WONDERFUL by Danny Peary (July TP from Delacorte/Delta, $14.95).
Analyzes 100 all-time favorite cult movies, from MAD MAX to THE
ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
THE WIZARD OF OZ: THE SCREENPLAY edited & with an introduction by
Michael Patrick Hearn (August TP from Delacorte/Delta, $9.95).
The screenplay appears in book form for the first time.
CAPTAIN'S LOG: WILLIAM SHATNER'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE MAKING
OF STAR TREK V by William Shatner as told to Lisabeth Shatner
(July TP from Pocket, $9.95). The actor tells how he faced the
challenge of writing and directing the latest Star Trek movie.
THE WORLDS OF THE FEDERATION by Shane Johnson (August TP from
Pocket, $11.95). The author of MR. SCOTT'S GUIDE TO THE
ENTERPRISE discusses in detail many of the alien races seen in
STAR TREK.
OUTRAGEOUS CONDUCT by Stephen Farber & Marc Green (August PB from
Ivy, $4.95). The authors reveal the inside story of THE TWILIGHT
ZONE movie tragedy.
GOSSIP: Take your mind off your troubles by reading about the
troubles of others. If it's dirt you want:
THE SECRET WORLD OF CYNDY GARVEY by Cynthia Garvey & Andy Meisler
(August HC from Doubleday, $18.95). Reveals the violent childhood
and devastating marriage of Steve Garvey's former wife.
BETTE AND JOAN: THE DIVINE FEUD by Shaun Considine (August HC
from Dutton, $18.95). Reviews the rivalry between Hollywood
legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
THE PRINCESS AND THE DUCHESS by Josephine Fairley (July HC from
St. Martin's, $17.95). Contains accounts of the lives of Diana,
Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York.
THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEWS: THE 1980s by the editors of ROLLING
STONE, introduction by Kurt Loder (July HC, TP from St. Martin's,
$24.95, $15.95). Collects interviews with 35 of the major
entertainment figures of the 1980s, including Bruce Springsteen,
Woody Allen and Sting.
SENATORIAL PRIVILEGE: THE CHAPPAQUIDDICK COVER-UP by Leo Damore
(July PB from Dell, $4.95). To celebrate the 20th anniversary of
the tragic car accident. Can a real American ever get enough of
the Kennedys?
THE LOVE YOU MAKE by Peter Brown & Steven Gaines (July PB from
NAL/Signet, $4.95). Peter Brown, former business manager and
friend of the Beatles, "sets the record straight" about the Fab
Four.
THE RAGMAN'S SON by Kirk Douglas (July PB from Pocket, $5.50).
The screen star describes his life with unflinching honesty.
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE by Myra Lewis with Murray Silver (July PB
from St. Martin's, $4.50). An uncensored account of the life of
music legend Jerry Lee Lewis as told by his former child bride.
THE BRIDESMAIDS by Judith Balaban Quine (June HC from Weidenfeld
& Nicolson, $21.95). The author was one of Grace Kelly's
"intimate friends" who served as bridesmaid at her wedding in
1956. This is the story of what happened to those six bridesmaids
and is sure to be full of dirt.
THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA BOOK by Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso
(May HC from Poseidon, $18.95). A hilarious and cynical look at
subjects ranging from musicians and composing to censorship and
TV evangelists.
MYSTERY: Some people (like me) feel that there's nothing quite
so relaxing as a good murder, as long as it's just on a page.
Here's a whole mountain of murderous print:
SIX OF THE BEST: SHORT NOVELS BY MASTERS OF MYSTERY edited by
Ellery Queen (July HC from Carroll & Graf, $18.95). Novellas by
Ellery Queen, Michael Gilbert, Ed McBain, Georges Simenon, Erle
Stanley Gardner and John D. MacDonald.
MAIGRET AND THE FORTUNETELLER by Georges Simenon (July HC from
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $16.95). The case of a murdered
fortuneteller.
THE MAN WITH THE LITTLE DOG by Georges Simenon (July HC from
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, $16.95). Novel illustrating how the
disease of egoism can eat away at a man's happiness. Not a
Maigret story.
PERRY MASON IN THE CASE OF TOO MANY MURDERS by Thomas Chastain
(July HC from Morrow, $15.95). The first original Perry Mason
book since Erle Stanley Gardner's last title was released in
1973.
THE QUALITY OF MERCY by Faye Kellerman (June HC from Morrow,
$19.95). A critical success already, this is an unusual period
piece set in Elizabethan England, with Shakespeare as a
character. Publishers Weekly said, "More than just a mystery, the
novel is a spectacular epic--romantic, bawdy, witty and abounding
with adventure. It's a stellar performance."
OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY by Arthur Lyons (July HC from Mysterious
Press, $17.95). L.A. private eye Jacob Asch investigates an art
smuggler plotting to bring ancient treasure to the U.S.
POLAR STAR by Martin Cruz Smith (August HC from Random House,
$19.95). In the sequel to GORKY PARK, Arkady Renko investigates
the murder of a female crew member aboard a fishing factory ship.
MURDER ON THE GLITTER BOX by Steve Allen (July HC from Zebra,
$18.95). A suspense novel set amidst the glamour of Hollywood and
Beverly Hills.
A READER'S GUIDE TO THE CLASSIC BRITISH MYSTERY by Susan Oleksiw
(July TP from Mysterious Press, $19.95). Covers 1440 titles by
121 authors.
BODY AND SOUL by Sherryl Woods (August PB from Popular Library,
$3.95). New York reporter Amanda Roberts and ex-cop Joe Donelli
team up to solve the murder of an aerobics instructor.
SISTERS IN CRIME edited by Marilyn Wallace (May PB from Berkley,
$3.95). Includes stories from Elizabeth Peters, Barbara Michaels,
Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Mary Shura Craig, Sara Paretsky, and Sue
Grafton.
TRUE CRIME: Above were the fictional crime stories. Now here are
a few nonfictional crimes:
THE GIRL SCOUT MURDERS: A TRUE STORY OF VIOLENT DEATH AND INDIAN
JUSTICE by Charles W. Sasser (July HC from Delacorte, $17.95).
Investigates the murder of three Girl Scouts and the 10-month
search for the killers, and tells a tale of justice gone wrong.
BLOOD AND POWER: ORGANIZED CRIME IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICA by
Stephen Fox (July HC from Morrow, $22.95). Relies on manuscript
collections, congressional hearings and interviews to tell the
story of organized crime.
MURDER ALONG THE WAY: A PROSECUTOR'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF FIGHTING
VIOLENT CRIME IN THE SUBURBS by Kenneth Gribetz & H. Paul Jeffers
(July HC from Pharos/World Almanac, $16.95). Offers an account of
D.A. Gribetz's two decades of prosecuting highly publicized
crimes such as the Andrew Crispo murder case and the Brinks
robbery.
FATAL ERROR: THE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE THAT SEALED THE
ROSENBERGS' FATE by Joseph Scharlitt (July HC from Scribners,
$24.95). Examines the Rosenberg case, revealing human, judicial
and legal errors that led to their execution.
THE DEATH SHIFT: A TRUE STORY OF MURDER AND MEDICINE by Peter
Elkind (August HC from Viking, $19.95). The author, associate
editor of Texas Monthly magazine, reports on the true murder case
of Genene Jones, a nurse who was tried for killing young
intensive-care-unit patients.
APPOINTMENT FOR MURDER by Susan Crain Bakos (July PB from
Pinnacle, $3.95). Report of the St. Louis "killing dentist",
Glennon Engleman.
DEVIANT: THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY OF THE ORIGINAL "PSYCHO" by
Harold Schecter (May PB from Pocket, $3.95). You guessed it, this
is the true story of Ed Gein, every gruesome bit of it. Don't say
we didn't warn you.
FANTASY: When you've had about all the reality you can take:
WIZARD'S BANE by Rick Cook (March PB from Baen, $3.50). If you
like fantasy and computers, this is the book for you. A first
novel from a very promising author.
SPHYNXES WILD by Esther M. Friesner (May PB from NAL, $3.95).
Sorcerer and sphynx battle it out in the gambling casinos of
Atlantic City. Take this one to the tables with you.
THE DIAMOND THRONE by David Eddings (May HC from Del Rey,
$18.95). David Eddings is one of the hottest names in fantasy
today. Don't miss this first volume of a new series.
SF: Here are a couple of suggestions for people who like to take
their vacations far, far away:
THE LANTERN OF GOD by John Dalmas (May PB from Baen, $3.95). Six
hundred genetically enhanced pleasure androids are being trans-
ported by a starship when it crashes on a habitable planet -- the
droids stranded one place, the crew elsewhere. Two thousand years
later the descendants of both groups are at war. A thoroughly
engrossing story.
2061: ODYSSEY THREE by Arthur C. Clarke (May PB from Del Rey,
$4.95). Heywood Floyd must once again confront Dave Bowman (or
whatever Dave Bowman has become), a newly independent HAL, and
the power of an alien race. Read all three books together.
THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION by Dieter Wuckel &
Bruce Cassiday (July HC from Crossroad/Continuum, $24.95). A
survey of the roots of science fiction from ancient times to the
present, with more than 200 photographs.
THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GOLDEN AGE SCIENCE FICTION: SHORT NOVELS OF
THE 1940s edited by Isaac Asimov, Charles G. Waugh & Martin H.
Greenberg (July TP from Carroll & Graf, $8.95). Ten short science
fiction novels from the '40s.
CRADLE by Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee (July PB from Warner,
$4.95). An epic novel of adventure and imagination.
THE ASIMOV CHRONICLES: FIFTY YEARS OF ISAAC ASIMOV edited by
Martin H. Greenberg (May HC from Dark Harvest, $21.95). An
impressive historical collection of writing by Asimov, who's
still at it after fifty years.
HORROR: When nothing but a cosmic confrontation between good and
evil will do...
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by Thomas Harris (June PB from St.
Martin's, $5.95). The evil genius Dr. Hannibal Lecter returns in
this followup to the critically acclaimed RED DRAGON.
ASH WEDNESDAY by Chet Williamson (April PB from Tor, $3.95). Chet
Williamson is one of the best kept secrets in horror, but not for
long. This novel's an excellent introduction.
THE NIGHT OF THE MOONBOW by Thomas Tryon (July HC from Knopf,
$18.95). A novel of terror about young men awaiting a new arrival
at Bible camp in 1938.
LORI by Robert Bloch (July HC from Tor, $16.95). The author of
PSYCHO writes about a student who returns from her college
graduation to a life of terror.
NIGHTTOWN by T.E.D. Klein (August HC from Viking, $17.95). A New
York subway murderer hunts for the crime's only witness in this
horror novel.
SEPULCHRE by James Herbert (August PB from Jove, $4.95). A
nefarious psychic misuses his uncanny abilities in this novel,
which was a top bestseller in England.
CABAL by Clive Barker (August PB from Pocket, $4.50). Tales by a
master of horror, including the novella that is the basis for the
summer film release, THE NIGHTBREED.
LIGHTNING by Dean R. Koontz (May PB from Berkley, $4.95). Who is
the stranger who appears after the lightning strikes? Is he a
guardian angel or the devil in disguise? Koontz does it again.
HOT BLOOD: TALES OF PROVOCATIVE HORROR edited by Jeff Gelb & Lonn
Friend (May PB from Pocket, $3.95). Stories by Bloch, Campbell,
Ellison, Etchison, Garton, Masterton, Matheson (pere et fils),
McCammon, Schow, Skipp & Spector, Sturgeon, Tem, Williamson (Chet
& J.N.), Wilson, and more. That says it all.
THE AXMAN COMETH by John Farris (July PB from Tor, $4.50). A
blackout in New York City traps a woman with a stranger who may
be the dreaded Axman.
ANCIENT IMAGES by Ramsey Campbell (June HC from Scribners,
$18.95). Sandy Allen tracks down a horror film starring Boris
Karloff and Bela Lugosi made in England in 1938 and immediately
suppressed. It turns out all the horror wasn't on the film.
PRIME EVIL edited by Douglas E. Winter (April PB from NAL/Signet,
$4.95). NEW stories by King, Etchison, Barker, Tessier, Morrell,
Straub, Grant, Campbell, Strieber, and more. With an introduction
by Douglas Winter. Essential reading for horror fans.
NF: Below are some top nonfiction choices for your summer
reading enjoyment:
MEN FROM EARTH by Buzz Aldrin & Malcolm McConnell (July HC from
Bantam, $19.95). Marks the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon
landing and recounts the history of the Apollo space program.
CARRYING THE FIRE: AN ASTRONAUT'S JOURNEYS by Michael Collins,
foreword by Charles A. Lindbergh (July HC from Farrar, Straus &
Giroux, $19.95). What it is like to be an astronaut.
REBUILDING SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE by Andrew Gurr with John Orrell
(July HC from Routledge, Chapman & Hall, $25). The story of the
Globe Theatre's rebuilding, which began in April 1988.
APOLLO: THE TEN-YEAR RACE TO PUT A MAN ON THE MOON by Charles
Murray & Catherine Cox (July HC from Simon & Schuster, $19.95).
The people behind the Apollo space program.
THE HOTEL: ONE WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE PLAZA by Sonny Kleinfield
(July HC from Simon & Schuster, $18.95). The behind-the-scenes
activity at a luxury hotel.
HEAVY TRAFFIC AND HIGH CULTURE: NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY AS LITERARY
GATEKEEPER IN THE PAPERBACK REVOLUTION by Thomas L. Bonn (July HC
from Southern Illinois University Press, $25.95). Profile of the
book publishing company and its publisher Victor Weybright, from
1946 to 1961.
PRESERVING DISORDER: THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT 1988 by Abbie
Hoffman & Jonathan Silvers (July HC from Viking, $18.95). This
account of the 1988 campaign trail, at once serious and
irreverent, also reviews Democratic party politics since 1968.
WOODSTOCK by Joel Makower (July HC, TP from Doubleday, $27.50,
$15.95). An oral history of the famous rock festival with over
150 photographs.
HOW TO LOCATE ANYONE ANYWHERE by Ted Gunderson with Roger
McGovern (August TP from Dutton, $7.95). A step-by-step guide to
locating individuals. The author is a former FBI agent.
BE YOUR OWN DETECTIVE by Greg Fallis & Ruth Greenberg (August TP
from M. Evans, $8.95). Tips on eavesdropping and tailing,
accessing public records and subtle interrogation skills.
A NATURALIST'S NIGHTBOOK: A JOURNAL OF DISCOVERY ON THE FRONTIER
OF NIGHT by Cathy Johnson (July TP from Globe Pequot, price not
announced). Examines the hours between dusk and dawn.
RAINBOWS, CURVE BALLS & OTHER WONDERS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
EXPLAINED by Ira Flatow (July TP from Harper & Row/Perennial
Library, $7.95). Unveils the mysteries of everyday life.
STALAG LUFT III: THE SECRET STORY OF "THE GREAT ESCAPE" by Arthur
A. Durand (July TP from Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, $10.95).
This account details the actual adventure that took place in the
WWII prison camp made famous by the movie THE GREAT ESCAPE.
TRANSFORMATION: THE BREAKTHROUGH by Whitley Strieber (August PB
from Avon, $4.95). This sequel to the bestselling COMMUNION
provides more information about the author's ongoing contact with
extraterrestrial visitors.
FAMILY OF SPIES: INSIDE THE JOHN WALKER SPY RING by Pete Earley
(August PB from Bantam, $4.95). The former Washington Post
reporter bases this examination of the "most damaging spy ring of
our time" on interviews with Walker and his family.
SATAN WANTS YOU: THE CULT OF DEVIL WORSHIP IN AMERICA by Arthur
Lyons (July PB from Mysterious Press, $3.95). The author of THE
TERRIBLE MASTER presents a history of Satanism in modern America.
WHAT TURNS MEN ON by Brigitte Nioche (July PB from NAL/Signet,
$4.50). How men view women.
THE STORY OF PHYSICS by Lloyd Motz & Jefferson Weaver (May HC
from Plenum, $24.95). The story of the evolution of physics, the
most basic science. Publishers Weekly called it "a feast for the
intellect".
ROMANCE: Take a look -- romance has changed a LOT in the past
ten years. As they say, not for the squeamish:
TIGER'S EYE by Karen Robards (May PB from Avon, $4.50). Isabella
St. Just is kidnapped by Alec Tyron, AKA the Tiger, the most
feared man in the London underworld.
THE TAMING by Jude Deveraux (May PB from Pocket, $4.50). The
first of a new trilogy, this is an upside down version of The
Taming of the Shrew.
GIVE ME TONIGHT by Lisa Kleypas (April PB from Onyx, $4.50). A
fascinating mixture of romance novel and time travel story.
IF MY LOVE COULD HOLD YOU by Elaine Coffman (May PB from Dell,
$3.95). Charlotte Butterworth, the town spinster, saves the life
of a man named Walker. A tender love story.
SPORTS: Once a jock, always a jock:
THE DETROIT TIGERS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY by Joe Falls,
introduction by Sparky Anderson (June HC from Walker, $24.95). A
rollicking history of the team that has employed Ty Cobb, Denny
McLain and Mark Fidrych. Hundreds of action photos.
YOU GOTTA HAVE WA by Robert Whiting (June HC from Macmillan,
$17.95). An interesting comparison of American versus Japanese
baseball. Wa is the group harmony that is the essence of
"besoboru" (baseball) in Japan.
TAE KWON DO: THE ULTIMATE REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S MOST
POPULAR MARTIAL ART by Yeon Hee Park, Yeon Hwan Park & John
Gerrard (July HC from Facts on File, $24.95). A combination of
illustrations and text that presents the information needed to
master the ancient Korean fighting art.
THE HUNDRED YARD LIE: THE CORRUPTION OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND WHAT
WE CAN DO TO STOP IT by Rick Telander (August HC from Simon &
Schuster, $17.95). The lead college football reporter for Sports
Illustrated examines the myths that surround college football.
THE DUKE OF FLATBUSH by Duke Snider with Bill Gilbert (July PB
from Zebra, $3.95). An ex-Brooklyn Dodger talks about his old
team in this autobiography.
MISCELLANEOUS FICTION: The following books were difficult to
classify, but represent a lot of good reading:
THE SATANIC VERSES by Salman Rushdie (1988). Why not find out
what all the yelling is about?
I, JFK by Robert Mayer (July HC from Dutton, $18.95). The Edgar
Award nominee depicts President Kennedy reflecting on his life
from the hereafter.
JOURNEY by James Michener (July HC from Random House, $16.95). A
novel focusing on five men who risked all during the Canadian
gold rush of 1897.
SHINING THROUGH by Susan Isaacs (August PB from Ballantine,
$5.95). A smart Wall Street secretary becomes a World War II spy
in this bestseller by the author of COMPROMISING POSITIONS.
ALASKA by James Michener (July PB from Fawcett Crest, $5.95).
This account of our 49th state is a reprint of the bestselling
hardcover.
THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER by Stephen King (July PB from
NAL/Signet, $4.95). The first volume in the Dark Tower series
finally makes it to mass market paperback.
TILL WE MEET AGAIN by Judith Krantz (June PB from Bantam, $5.95).
The story of a glamorous French family and their ups and downs
during World War II.
MISCELLANEOUS: Here's one great book that needed a category all
by itself:
CRACKER JACK PRIZES by Alex Jaramillo (June HC from Abbeville,
$19.95). A lavish picture book history of a classic American
artifact: the prizes in boxes of Cracker Jacks.
JUNE BIRTHDAYS
1 (1878) John Masefield
2 (1840) Thomas Hardy
2 (1913) Barbara Pym
3 (1926) Allen Ginsberg
4 (1917) Robert Anderson
5 (1898) Federico Garcia Lorca
5 (1934) Bill D. Moyers
5 (1939) Margaret Drabble
6 (1799) Aleksandr Pushkin
6 (1875) Thomas Mann
7 (1825) R.D. Blackmore
7 (1899) Elizabeth Bowen
8 (1814) Charles Reade
10 (1911) Terence Rattigan
10 (1928) Maurice Sendak
11 (1572) Ben Jonson
11 (1925) William Styron
12 (1819) Charles Kingsley
12 (1929) Anne Frank
13 (1752) Fanny Burney
13 (1865) William Butler Yeats
13 (1893) Dorothy L. Sayers
13 (1894) Mark van Doren
14 (1811) Harriet Beecher Stowe
14 (1925) Pierre Salinger
14 (1933) Jerzy Kosinski
16 (1937) Erich Segal
16 (1938) Joyce Carol Oates
17 (1703) John Wesley
17 (1914) John Hersey
20 (1905) Lillian Hellman
21 (1905) Jean-Paul Sartre
21 (1912) Mary McCarthy
21 (1935) Francoise Sagan
22 (1856) H. Rider Haggard
22 (1898) Erich Maria Remarque
22 (1906) Anne Morrow Lindbergh
23 (1910) Jean Anouilh
24 (1842) Ambrose Bierce
24 (1916) John Ciardi
24 (1935) Pete Hamill
25 (1903) George Orwell
26 (1892) Pearl Buck
27 (1850) Lafcadio Hearn
28 (1712) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
28 (1909) Eric Ambler
30 (1685) John Gay
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
I try to leave out the parts that people skip.
--Elmore Leonard
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
FEATURED AUTHOR:
STANLEY ELLIN
Stanley Ellin was born in New York City in 1916 and
graduated from college at the age of 19. Early jobs included
being a "pusher" for a newspaper distributor, running a Hudson
Valley dairy farm, teaching at a junior college, and being a
steelworker. After army service during World War II his wife
Jeanne encouraged him to try writing and his first story, "The
Specialty of the House" not only was bought by Ellery Queen's
Mystery Magazine but won their Best First Story award for 1948.
The exact same fate befell his next SIX stories. After that, I
guess they got tired of giving the same guy the award every year,
so they inaugurated the annual Stanley Ellin Story, which is
where almost all of his short stories made their debut.
Is he really that good? Dilys Winn (MURDER INK) said:
"Whenever anyone tells you mystery writers can't write, sit him
down and read Stanley Ellin to him. Mr. Ellin is clear, direct
and chilling." Martin Seymour-Smith (NOVELS AND NOVELISTS) said:
"Ellin manages to sustain a sometimes breath-taking excitement,
while drawing his characters well and making subtle observations
of the workings of social groups." If you aren't familiar with
Stanely Ellin's work, you've got a real treat in store.
Tragically for us all, Stanley Ellin died in July of 1986.
It's a scandal that so few of his books are in print now. Let's
hope that someone recognizes the oversight and corrects it, soon.
STANLEY ELLIN: A CHECKLIST
"The Specialty of the House" (1948) - short story
Dreadful Summit (1948) - made into the movie The Big Night
The Key to Nicholas Street (1952)
"The House Party" (1954) - Edgar-winning short story
"The Blessington Method" (1956) - Edgar-winning short story
Mystery Stories (1956) - short stories
The Eighth Circle (1958) - Edgar-winning novel
The Panama Portrait (1962)
The Blessington Method (1964) - short stories
House of Cards (1967)
The Valentine Estate (1968)
The Bind (1970)
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (1972)
Stronghold (1974)
The Luxembourg Run (1977)
The Specialty of the House and Other Stories: The Complete
Mystery Tales, 1948-1978 (1979)
Star Light, Star Bright (1979)
The Dark Fantastic (1983)
Very Old Money (1985)
Where should you start if you're new to Stanley Ellin's
stories? This is the only writer I know of whom it is easy to
say: anywhere. Pick up the first Ellin book you come to and I'm
sure it'll be absolutely wonderful. Enjoy.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
THE HORROR DEPARTMENT:
SPLATTERPUNK
If writers like Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Charles L.
Grant are the mainstream of horror fiction, then the Splatter-
punks are the cutting edge, the new frontier. And, like any
frontier, time may turn it into a populous city or a ghost town.
But for now, Splatterpunk is here -- and it's SELLING.
How can you tell Splatterpunk? The style is explicit, raw,
and often somewhat crude. Taboos get violated. Gore is usually
plentiful. The volume is set LOUD. And there's often a serious
emotional and psychic toll to be paid by the reader. These books
don't let you off easy.
But why talk about Splatterpunk when you could be reading
it? The following list serves as a comprehensive introduction to
the raw-edge world of explicit horror. Continue at your own risk.
The Splat Pack:
Richard Matheson: His seminal novel, I AM LEGEND (1954), brought
the Victorian vampire into the twentieth century. Still good
reading today, and is easily read as an AIDS metaphor.
Other works that could be taken as early examples of splatterpunk
writing are: Theodore Sturgeon's SOME OF YOUR BLOOD (1961),
Anthony Burgess' A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and S.P. Somtow's VAMPIRE
JUNCTION.
Robert R. McCammon: This soft-spoken Alabama-born author can
really go over the top when he wants to. THEY THIRST (1981) was
one of his first books, and also one of the first books in which
splatterpunk arrived in its current shape and form. Underrated
and passed-over at the time, this book deserves a re-evaluation
now. Since then, Mr. McCammon tends to be a bit more controlled,
with the notable exception of STINGER (1988). Typically, this
book has also been underrated and mostly dismissed, even though
Mr. McCammon's plot construction has improved greatly since his
early days. Both books are highly recommended to splatterpunkers.
Clive Barker: This is the poster boy for splatterpunk. Ever since
Stephen King put the Horror Seal of Approval on him, he's been
hot. Of course, it didn't hurt that he was young, bright,
ambitious, and good looking. But his work does speak for itself.
In my opinion, his writing technique has been overrated and his
creativity and innovation have been underrated. Try his BOOKS OF
BLOOD (1984), and I think you'll see what I mean. You'll probably
have to admit that you've read better writing, but you certainly
can't call these stories "the same old thing". In this respect he
reminds me of Poe; a good idea man. This is definitely a writer-
director-artist to watch. We may not always be cheering, but
we'll never be bored.
John Skipp & Craig Spector: Here you have the Martin & Lewis of
modern horror fiction (I hope I'm not the only one who remembers
Martin & Lewis). Their first book, THE LIGHT AT THE END (1985),
about a "Subway Psycho" in New York, got everyone's attention.
Their second, THE CLEANUP (1986), was a bit of a stutterstep. It
was right off the gore meter and got a lot of mediocre-to-bad
reviews. But they impressed once again with their next, THE
SCREAM (1988) and DEAD LINES (1989). The very next S&S effort
will be THE BOOK OF THE DEAD due out this summer; an anthology of
zombie stories they've edited. Also look for a Skipp & Spector
writing credit on A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 5: THE DREAM
POOL.
Ray Garton: After having done a few novelizations, Mr. Garton
burst onto the scene in 1987 with LIVE GIRLS, which proved that
the vampire story isn't dead and was one of the most rollicking,
fun horror books in some time. Warning: You guys might get a bit
squeamish here. According to Ray Garton, vampires don't have to
be male, and they don't have to bite your NECK, if you get my
drift. His latest novel was CRUCIFAX (CRUCIFAX AUTUMN in limited
edition hardcover), well-received, but not quite as much so as
LIVE GIRLS, which is a tough act to follow.
David J. Schow (who coined the term Splatterpunk): Don't miss
SILVER SCREAM (1988), which Mr. Schow edited. There are
selections from virtually every author named in this article. And
you certainly don't want to miss his fiction: start with THE KILL
RIFF. He calls his new novel THE SHAFT, and describes it as "a
tale of an apartment building with Ahlzeimer's..." Sounds
wonderful.
Dennis Etchison: Arguably the best writer in this group,
certainly one of the finest short story writers today, Dennis
Etchison is also one of the better anthology editors. He edited
CUTTING EDGE (1986), and MASTERS OF DARKNESS (1986), which
spawned a sequel, MASTERS OF DARKNESS II (1987). All three were
well-received and include works of many of the Splatterpunk
group. But don't forget to read some of Mr. Etchison's own work,
including his collections: THE DARK COUNTRY (1982), RED DREAMS
(1984), and BLOOD KISS (1986); also his novel, DARKSIDE (1986).
His most famous short story is possibly "The Late Shift" (1980),
which finally explained why the employees of convenience stores
so often seem, well, not all there.
Joe Lansdale: This discussion would never be complete without a
mention of this terrorizing Texan. His horror always pushes
sensibilities and taboos to the limit. Warning: His stuff is
GROSS. Start with THE DRIVE-IN (1988), which, believe it or not,
is one of his more conservative efforts.
J.K. Potter: This is the name to know for horrific art. His best
stuff (the gospel according to me) is his airbrush work. Potter's
pictures can be surprising, unsettling, and chilling.
Richard Christian Matheson: You're not seeing double; this is
RM's son. His specialty is the short-short, and he doesn't mind
going for a sudden shock. See his collection, SCARS AND OTHER
DISTINGUISHING MARKS (1987). And, he has just written his first
novel, so far called CREATED BY, which should appear in hardcover
sometime in 1990.
"I think our task as a species is to work out a moral ground
that's solid and consistent with people's real lives. That
involves taking apart the old systems very meticulously to find
out what works and what's horse flop. To find something that
really works in the face of increasingly complex and mad times is
very high on the agenda."
--John Skipp
"As a style, Splatterpunk is often gross, usually extreme, and
always visceral. You may love it, you may hate it, but it's
damned hard to read it and be unmoved. That's its job: to shock
complacency, to attack the neutral reaction, to challenge
conventional wisdom and morality, to stimulate the dialogue. When
we're at our best, we are fiction's subconscious saboteurs,
laying mines behind enemy lines."
--Craig Spector
"When we write this hideous horror stuff we're throwing the
reality of the ANATOMY of violence in the reader's face. We
believe that helps the reader to make those hard choices. By
pushing the limits of our awareness, we're better equipped to
make real choices."
--John Skipp
"We are dealing with difficult subjects. We are dealing with
sexual brutality, the nature and ramifications of real flesh-and-
blood violence. It's ugly terrain; very scary stuff. And it
doesn't surprise us that some people freak out when they read it.
But there is a readership for this kind of writing. A lot of
folks are looking for someone to deal with this stuff in a
straight-ahead fashion, to go all the way while retaining a
strong sense of humanity. But a lot of other people think you
can't, or shouldn't, do this. That because we write it, we must
be inhuman monsters. The biggest bone of contention thrown at us
by our critics is that we have no moral compass. That's
bullshit."
--John Skipp
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
THE MYSTERY DEPARTMENT:
MURDEROUS VACATIONS
We here at Reading For Pleasure wanted to get you in a
proper frame of mind for your summer vacation. Here are some
suggestions to show you how some other peoples' vacations went.
You may never leave home again.
Aldyne, Nathan COBALT
Anthony, Peter THE WOMAN IN THE WARDROBE
Barry, Charles THE DETECTIVE'S HOLIDAY
Bellairs, George ALL ROADS TO SOSPEL
Blake, Nicholas THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY
Brett, Simon A COMEDIAN DIES
Buckingham, Bruce BROILED ALIVE
Burton, Miles FOUND DROWNED
ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN
Cairns, Alison STRAINED RELATIONS
Cannan, Joanna ALL IS DISCOVERED
Carvic, Heron MISS SEETON DRAWS THE LINE
Christie, Agatha APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH (Poirot)
PERIL AT END HOUSE (Poirot)
A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY (Marple)
EVIL UNDER THE SUN (Poirot)
Clark, Douglas POACHER'S BAG
Cole, G.D.H. & Margaret THE MAN FROM THE RIVER
Crane, Caroline COAST OF FEAR
Crispin, Edmund HOLY DISORDERS
Dolson, Hildegard BEAUTY SLEEP
Ferrars, E.X. THE SMALL WORLD OF MURDER
Gardner, Erle Stanley THE CASE OF THE ANGRY MOURNER
Grimes, Martha THE DIRTY DUCK
Hubbard, P.M. PICTURE OF MILLIE
Hunter, Alan DEATH ON THE BROADLANDS
GENTLY IN THE SUN
Huntington, John THE SEVEN BLACK CHESSMEN
Innes, Michael THE CASE OF THE JOURNEYING BOY
THE CRABTREE AFFAIR
James, P.D. UNNATURAL CAUSES
Jeffers, H. Paul MURDER MOST IRREGULAR
Lathen, Emma PICK UP STICKS
Lockridge, Frances & Richard VOYAGE INTO VIOLENCE
Lockridge, Richard INSPECTOR'S HOLIDAY
DEATH IN A SUNNY PLACE
Lovesey, Peter MAD HATTER'S HOLIDAY
MacKenzie, Donald RAVEN'S LONGEST NIGHT
Marsh, Ngaio WHEN IN ROME
COLOUR SCHEME
PHOTO FINISH
McConnor, Vincent THE PROVENCE PUZZLE
McCormick, Claire THE CLUB PARADISE MURDERS
McMullen, Mary A GRAVE WITHOUT FLOWERS
Millar, Margaret THE WEAK-EYED BAT
Morrison, B.J. BEER AND SKITTLES
Moyes, Patricia ANGEL DEATH
DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN
Nielsen, Helen THE DARKEST HOUR
Olmsted, Lorena Ann SETUP FOR MURDER
Pentecost, Hugh DEADLY TRAP
Peters, Ellis WHO LIES HERE?
Queen, Ellery INSPECTOR QUEEN'S OWN CASE
Rendell, Ruth SHAKE HANDS FOR EVER
SPEAKER OF MANDARIN
Robertson, Helen SWAN SONG
Rutherford, Douglas MYSTERY TOUR
Siller, Van THE LAST RESORT
UNDER A CLOUD
Simenon, Georges MAIGRET IN VICHY
NO VACATION FOR MAIGRET
THE GUINGUETTE BY THE SEINE
Stewart, Mary THE MOON SPINNERS
Tey, Josephine A SHILLING FOR CANDLES
Thomson, June THE HABIT OF LOVING
Williams, Valentine THE CLUE OF THE RISING MOON
MASKS OFF AT MIDNIGHT
Wyllie, John THE LONG DARK NIGHT OF BARON SAMEDI
Yorke, Margaret GRAVE MATTERS
SILENT WITNESS
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
So what's a Narrative Hook? This is what the author of a work of
fiction uses in the very beginning to keep you reading. It might
be an exciting incident (a murder is nice), an odd statement that
needs explanation ("John was feeling pretty good, except for that
pain behind his third eye."), or a beginning that is in medias
res (explained later in this issue).
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
THE NONFICTION DEPARTMENT:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY THINGS
by Donald A. Norman
Basic Books, 1988
Have you ever walked up to the bank of doors at, say, a
store, and push when you should have pulled (or vice versa)? You
feel like a real jerk when you do that, don't you? You probably
thought: Must be a soft spot in my brain where the door-opening
ability is. After all, this is a public place, with thousands of
people coming and going every day, and apparently they can figure
it out. Does any of this sound familiar?
Donald A. Norman says that those thousands of other people
are also pushing when they should be pulling. And, furthermore,
the problem isn't with the people, the problem is with the doors,
or, more correctly, with the people who designed the doors. As a
matter of fact, our lives are full of these everyday things that
are poorly design and that cause us frustration. And, typically,
we blame ourselves when problems arise.
Mr. Norman brings up the new phone systems at three
different locations. When asked, people at all three locations
complain that there's no HOLD function. He investigates and finds
that all three systems have a HOLD function. What's the problem?
The HOLD function is no longer obvious (remember the old-
fashioned HOLD button that lit up?) and the instructions are so
complicated that the function is not really usable. Below is the
cheat sheet that fits over the face plate of the phone at one
location (provided by the phone system company):
CALL HOLD
TAP + * 99
To Retrieve
Replace Handset
Phone Rings
Answer Hold Party
Can you believe that this was the best that well-educated people
trying to provide a service could do? By the way, in case you're
trying to figure it out yourself, you might want to know that one
of the phone keys is labeled TAP (so TAP isn't a verb, it's a
noun). Why can't we have the old HOLD button?
Donald Norman also brings up the slide projector with one
button to control the advance. Sometimes the slide advance would
be forward, to the next slide, sometimes it would be backwards,
to the previous slide. Only the one button. How do you work it
properly? It turns out that holding the button down briefly makes
it go forward, holding it down longer makes the go backwards. Why
make it so difficult?
To be fair, Mr. Norman also points out examples of good
design. The seat adjustment control on a Mercedes Benz that he
drove was composed of two knobs, one shaped like the back of the
seat, one shaped like the bottom of the seat -- both arranged
like a cut-away view of the seat. To make the back of the seat
tip backwards, just move the appropriate knob in a similar way.
No instruction book needed, not even any labels on the knobs, and
perfectly easy and natural to use. Beautifully designed.
If you'd like more discussions like the above, not to
mention elucidations of what constitutes good design and why, ask
your bookseller for a copy of THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY THINGS
by Donald A. Norman. I was enthralled from the first page to the
last.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
No, no, there must be a limit to the baseness even of publishers.
--Dorothy L. Sayers
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
FICTION INTO FILM DEPARTMENT:
THE SHINING
OK, let's start with the surprise revelation: I actually
LIKED Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING. And I also was a big fan of
Stephen King's novel (maybe not SK's "number one" fan, but
certainly in the top ten).
I'll admit that Mr. Kubrick's improvement of Stephen King's
novel was mostly misguided. As Douglas Winter has said, Stanley
Kubrick attempted "to transcend a genre that he did not
understand". First, he transferred the starring role from the
hotel to Jack Nicholson (of course, he probably paid more for
Nicholson). I like Jack, but I missed the hedge animals; and what
used to be a story about a haunted hotel was now the story of one
man's descent into madness. And the "horror shots" (the little
girls, the little girls and the blood in the hall, and the tidal
wave of blood) -- they were WAY to lingering. We had time to do
lab tests on the fake blood. Not scary.
All right. So Kubrick doesn't have Stephen King's
understanding of horror, and when he tries real hard it's
self-consciously ludicrous. And the core of King's story -- the
supernatural entity that is the hotel -- was largely lost (along
with my hedge animals).
BUT ---- Let's look at the pluses: the cinematography
(director of photography was John Alcott), the chilling sterility
of the sets, the Bartok music, Nicholson, and all of the scenes
in and around the ballroom.
Take the cinematography: like Kubrick's much-earlier 2001: A
SPACE ODYSSEY, the cinematography is superb. His films are
visually striking. Remember the LOOOONG tracking shot of the
little boy on his Hot Wheels? And the matching soundtrack; the
alternating raw sound of the wheels on wooden floor and the
muffled sound on the rugs. Lovely stuff.
The sets were the scariest element of the movie, in my
opinion. The rooms were so large, the furniture sparse, with very
little human litter anywhere. Reminded me of similar scenes and
feelings in 2001. Kubrick is scarier when he doesn't try so hard.
The music background was perfect for this movie; as it was,
once again, in 2001. The opening travelogue scenery shots, with
music, were a great setup for the movie to follow. Good choices.
Nicholson, of course, was brilliant. His face alone was
worth his salary. Remember when the little boy snuck into the
family's apartment to retrieve a toy? He wasn't supposed to wake
up his father, 'cause the guy was already going downhill. That
shot, from the boy's point of view, looking into the parents'
bedroom was terrific. Nicholson can REALLY be scary.
Everybody I know thought that Nicholson's conversations with
the bartender in the ballroom were the best part of the movie. It
established Nicholson's deteriorating mental state, and the
bartender's understated conviviality kept the audience wondering
what exactly was going on. I also enjoyed the scene in the men's
room, where there was one of the few remnants of SK's theme (the
butler's line: "You're the caretaker. You've always been the
caretaker.")
If you'll try watching THE SHINING without looking for the
Stephen King novel I think you'll find that it's a beautiful
moody story that's well worth your time.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
I love you sons of bitches. You're the only ones with guts enough
to REALLY care about the future, who REALLY notice what machines
do to us, what wars do to us, what cities do to us, what
tremendous misunderstandings, mistakes, accidents, and
catastrophes do to us. You're the only ones zany enough to
agonize over time and distances without limit, over mysteries
that will never die, over the fact that we are right now
determining whether the space voyage for the next billion years
or so is going to be Heaven or Hell.
--from Kurt Vonnegut's GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER;
said to a convention of science fiction writers.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
THE SF DEPARTMENT:
SF FAN-LINGO
[from THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION LISTS by Mike
Ashley, Cornerstone Library, 1982.]
ACTIFAN - ACTIve FAN: one who participates regularly in fandom
either by writing for or producing a FANZINE or other FANAC.
APA - Amateur Press Association: in existence before SF fandom
but rapidly adopted, it is a central organization for the
publication and circulation of a common group of FANZINES. A
fanzine produced by an apa is usually called an apazine.
BNF - Big Name Fan: usually those who have been active in fandom
for many years and are known to associate with the FILTHY PROS,
and who may even have sold professionally themselves. Such
writers as Robert Silverberg, Terry Carr, Ted White, Bob Shaw,
James White and Wilson (Bob) Tucker were all BNFs at one time.
CORFLU - CORrecting FLUid: the saving grace for all fanzines
produced by stencils and a bad typist.
EGOBOO - EGO BOOst: one has a feeling of egoboo when your
FANZINE is praised in the PROZINES, or even in other FANZINES.
FANAC - FANnish ACtivity: actually participating actively in
fandom.
FANZINE - a FAN magaZINE: sometimes called fanmags; amateur
magazines produced by SF fans.
FEN - plural of fan, in the same way as men is the plural of man.
FIAWOL - Fandom Is A Way Of Life: an acronym which reveals that
SF fandom is sufficiently important to dominate one's life.
FILLO - Filler ILLO: a small illustration used to fill up space
in a FANZINE or PROZINE.
FILTHY PRO - a semi-affectionate term tinged with jealousy used
by fans to refer to one of their number who has sold stories to
the PROZINES.
GAFIA - Getting Away From It All: another acronym to denote an
escape from FIAWOL and FANAC, hence the verb to GAFIATE, or to
stop ones fannish involvement.
HUGO - the Science Fiction Achievement Award presented annually
at WORLDCONS and named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the
SF magazine.
ILLO - illustration; plural illoes.
LETTERCOL - the LETTER COLumn in a magazine, also known as a
LOCOLUMN.
LETTERHACK - a regular writer of letters to FANZINES or PROZINES
whose letters are usually published.
LOC - Letter Of Comment: one way to obtain a FANZINE is to write
a loc on the previous issue, hence the verb to loc, or to write a
letter to a ZINE commenting on it.
LOCOLUMN - letter column, or more precisely the column for locs.
MUNDANE - the world outside fandom and the people in it.
NEOFAN - newcomer to fandom (plural neofen).
PRODOM - the professional counterpart to fandom.
PROZINE - a PROfessional magaZINE, also called promags.
SERCON - SERious and CONstructive, an adjective that can describe
either a fan or a fanzine. It means one that deals seriously with
science fiction as opposed to a fannish fanzine which deals less
seriously with SF and involves itself mostly with FANAC.
SF - the accepted abbreviation for Science Fiction. An older
variant is STEF derived from Hugo Gernsback's earlier name for
science fiction, viz. scientifiction. Either of these terms may
be used, especially as stef is adaptable as an adjective, e.g. a
book with a science fiction flavor can be described as stefnish.
Under no circumstances, however, will any self-respecting fan use
the term sci-fi which has come to be associated with the public
image of all that is bad in science fiction. Say sci-fi to any
TRUFAN and watch him wince - unless he hits back first!
TRUFAN - a tried and tested TRUe FAN often, but not necessarily,
one of many years' standing, and who has considerable loyalty to
fandom.
WORLDCON - the annual World Science Fiction Convention.
ZINE - magaZINE, whether fanzine or prozine.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
OK, so what's "in medias res"? This term comes from Horace, who
unfortunately didn't speak English. If he had, it would have come
out "in the midst of things". This term is used to refer to the
Narrative Hook device of starting a story in the middle of
something, which forces you to stick around waiting for
flashbacks to find out what the devil is going on.
:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
AN EXHAUSTING, IF NOT EXHAUSTIVE, LIST OF WRITERS'
PSEUDONYMS
ALIAS REAL NAME
Anthony Abbot Fulton Oursler
Achmed Abdullah Alexander Nicholayevitch Romanoff
Catherine Aird Kinn McIntosh
Martha Albrand Heidi Huberta Freybe
Sholem Aleichem Solomon J. Rabinowitz
Peter Anthony Peter & Anthony Shaffer
Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Jacob
Christopher Anvil Harry C. Crosby
Anthony Armstrong George Anthony Armstrong Willis
Clifford Ashdown R. Austin Freeman & John James
Pitcairn
Gordon Ashe John Creasey *
Richard Bachman Stephen King
Charles Beaumont Charles Nutt
Francis Beeding John Leslie Palmer & Hilary Aidan
St. George Saunders
Josephine Bell Doris Bell Collier Ball
George Bellairs Harold Blundell
Andrei Bely Boris Nikolovich Bugaev
Anthony Berkeley Anthony Berkeley Cox
Nicholas Blake C. Day Lewis
Hannes Bok Wayne Woodard
John & Emery Bonett John Hubert Arthur Coulson &
Felicity Winifred Carter
Anthony Boucher William A.P. White
Edgar Box Gore Vidal
Ernest Bramah Ernest Bramah Smith
Christianna Brand Mary Christianna Lewis
Lynn Brock Alister McAllister
Anthony Burgess John Burgess Wilson
Carol Carnac Edith Caroline Rivett
Lewis Carroll Charles Dodgson
Louis-Ferdinand Celine Louis-Ferdinand Destouches
James Hadley Chase Rene Raymond
Charles B. Child C. Vernon Frost
John Christopher Christopher Samuel Youd
Hal Clement Harry Clement Stubbs
Brian Coffey Dean R. Koontz
Manning Coles Cyril Henry Coles & Adelaide
Frances Oke Manning
Michael Collins Dennis Lynds
J.J. Connington Alfred Walter Stewart
Richard Cowper John Middleton Murry, Jr.
Edmund Crispin Bruce Montgomery
Amanda Cross Carolyn Heilbrun
Priscilla Dalton Michael Avallone
Clemence Dane Winifred Ashton
Norman Deane John Creasey *
Lester Del Rey Ramon Alvarez-del Rey
Carter Dickson John Dickson Carr
Isak Dinesen Karen Blixen
R.B. Dominic Mary J. Latis & Martha Hennissart
Dick Donovan Joyce Emmerson Preston Muddock
George Eliot Mary Ann Evans
A.A. Fair Erle Stanley Gardner
Ralph Milne Farley Roger Sherman Hoar
Lionel Fenn Charles L. Grant
E.X. Ferrars Morna Doris Brown
Josiah Flynt Josiah Flynt Willard
Stanton Forbes DeLoris Stanton Forbes
Leslie Ford Zenith Jones Brown
Anatole France Jacques Anatole Thibault
Robert Caine Frazer John Creasey *
Andrew Garve Paul Winterton
Anthony Gilbert Lucy Beatrice Malleson
John Godey Morton Freedgood
Maxim Gorky Henry Yorke
Bruce Graeme Graham Montague Jeffries
William Haggard Richard Henry Michael Clayton
Adam Hall Elleston Trevor
Brett Halliday Davis Dresser
Knut Hamsun Knut Pederson
Cyril Hare Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark
Matthew Head John Canaday
O. Henry William Sidney Porter
Headon Hill Francis Edward Grainger
Gordon Holmes Louis Tracy & M.P. Shiel
H.H. Holmes William A.P. White
Victoria Holt Eleanor Burford Hibbert
Leonard Holton Leonard Patrick O'Connor
Wibberley
Geoffrey Homes Daniel Mainwaring
George Hopley Cornell Woolrich
Richard Hull Richard Henry Sampson
Kyle Hunt John Creasey *
Michael Innes J.I.M. Stewart
William Irish Cornell Woolrich
P.D. James Phyllis White
Carolyn Keene Edward L. Stratemeyer
Milward Kennedy Milward Rodon Kennedy Burge
Thomas Kyd Alfred B. Harbage
Ed Lacy Len Zinberg
Emma Lathen Mary J. Latis & Martha Hennissart
John le Carre David Cornwell
Murray Leinster William F. Jenkins
E.C.R. Lorac Edith Caroline Rivett
Lawrence L. Lynch Emma Murdock Van Deventer
C.C. MacApp Carroll M. Capps
Ross Macdonald Kenneth Millar
Charles Eric Maine David McIlwain
Katherine Mansfield Katherine Beauchamp
J.J. Marric John Creasey *
Geoffrey Marsh Charles L. Grant
Andre Maurois Emile Herzog
Ed McBain Evan Hunter
J.T. McIntosh James M. Macgregor
L.T. Meade Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith
Barbara Michaels Barbara Mertz
Wade Miller Robert Wade & Bill Miller
Yukio Mishima Hiraoka Kimitake
Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle
Anthony Morton John Creasey *
Leigh Nichols Dean R. Koontz
Edwina Noone Michael Avallone
Flann O'Brien Brian Nolan
Frank O'Connor Michael O'Donovan
George Orwell Eric Blair
Marco Page Harry Kurnitz
Barry Perowne Philip Atkey
Elizabeth Peters Barbara Mertz
Robert L. Pike Robert L. Fish
Ellery Queen Frederic Dannay & Manfred B. Lee
Patrick Quentin Richard Wilson Webb & Hugh
Callingham Wheeler (usually)
Anne Rampling Anne Rice
Seeley Regester Mrs. Metta Victoria Fuller Victor
Mary Renault Mary Challans
John Rhode Cecil John Charles Street
Craig Rice Georgiana Ann Randolph
Sax Rohmer Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward
Jules Romains Louis Farigoule
A.N. Roquelaure Anne Rice
Barnaby Ross Frederic Dannay & Manfred B. Lee
Patrick Ruell Reginald Hill
Francoise Sagan Francoise Quoirez
George Sand Amantine Aurore Dupin
John Sandford John Camp
Dell Shannon Elizabeth Linington
Ignazio Silone Secondo Tranquilli
Stendhal Marie Henri Beyle
Eugene Sue Marie Joseph Sue
Italo Svevo Ettore Schmitz
Josephine Tey Elizabeth MacKintosh
Mark Twain Samuel Clemens
S.S. Van Dine Willard Huntington Wright
Voltaire Francois Marie Arouet
Henry Wade Major Sir Henry Lancelot
Aubrey-Fletcher
Tobias Wells DeLoris Forbes
Patricia Wentworth Dora Amy Elles Dillon Turnbull
Nathanael West Nathan Weinstein
Rebecca West Cecily Andrews
Mary Westmacott Agatha Christie
John Wyndham John Beynon Harris
Dornford Yates Cecil William Mercer
Jeremy York John Creasey *
* John Creasey used 26 different aliases.
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TRIVIA ANSWERS
1. By editing and publishing newspapers
2. Hugo Gernsback, original publisher of Amazing Stories
magazine
3. Samuel Johnson
4. John Steinbeck, in THE GRAPES OF WRATH
5. Salesman
6. Canterbury
7. MOBY DICK
8. Alighieri
9. They're both female writers
10. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
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COMING NEXT MONTH:
Next month is our Books About Books issue. Also planned is a
Featured Author special on Harlan Ellison. Initial delivery is
scheduled for June 24/25/26.