Amiga Plus 1995 #2/Amiga Plus CD - 1995 - No. 2.iso/internet/faq/englisch/rec.arts.sf.written

Text File | 1995-04-11 | 35.1 KB | 844 lines

Archive-name: sf/written-faq

Last change:
Mon Feb 20 14:26:44 EST 1995

Changes to:
     3D. Transformation Stories
         8. What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy?
    12. Various questions about multiple editions, long-awaited books,
                etc. (put in alphabetcial order by author)
    12D. The next book from Steven Brust
    14C. The fourth book in Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series
    15. Oldest Living SF Authors
    16. Black SF authors
    Dates changed to less ambiguous format throughout.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the NEW frequently asked questions (FAQ) list for
rec.arts.sf.written.  The moderators of *.answers have said that I
cannot start posting the (apparently) abandoned old FAQ, so if you have
written something for the FAQ that you don't see here and want included,
please send it to me, Evelyn Leeper ([e-mail]), as well
as any corrections or additions you think should be made.

            Table of Contents
 0. Introduction
 1. Story identification requests
 2. Spoilers
 3. What books or stories are about X?
    A. Cyberpunk
    B. Steampunk
    C. Alternate Histories
    D. Transformation Stories
    E. Gender Issues
    F. King Arthur and Robin Hood
    G. Jewish SF
    H. Other
 4. What books have been written by author X?
 5. List of the Hugo, Nebula, or World Fantasy Award winners
 6. Does anyone want to talk about X?
 7. What is science fiction?
 8. What is the difference between science fiction and fantasy?
 9. The SF-LOVERS Digest
10. Star Trek
11. Common abbreviations
12. Various questions about multiple editions, long-awaited books,etc.
    A. Iain Banks
    B. The sequel to Stephen R. Boyett's ARCHITECT OF SLEEP
    C. The next book in David Brin's Uplift series
    D. The next book from Steven Brust
    E. The fourth book in Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series
    F. The next book in Glen Cook's Black Company or Book of the`
        South series
    G.The third book in P. C. Hodgell's God Stalk series
    H. Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana Ending
    I. The next book in S. M. Stirling's Draka series
13. Clarke's Laws
14. SF themes in music
15. Oldest Living SF Authors
16. Black SF authors
17. Good SF bookstores in town Z and ordering by mail
98. Science Fiction Archives
99. Help file for accessing the SF-LOVERS Archives.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
0. Introduction

rec.arts.sf.written is a newsgroup devoted to discussions of written
SF.  It is a high-volume newsgroup and this article is intended to help
reduce the number of unnecessary postings, thereby making it more
useful and enjoyable to everyone.

"SF" as used here means "speculative fiction" and includes science
fiction, fantasy, horror (a.k.a. dark fantasy), etc.

If you have not already done so, please read the articles in
news.announce.newusers.  They contain a great deal of useful
information about network etiquette and convention.

Before we begin, two pieces of net.etiquette.  Both of these are
mentioned in news.announce.newusers, but since they are so frequently
violated, and at least one of them is particularly relevant to this
group, we mention them here:

SPOILER WARNINGS:  Many people feel that much of the enjoyment of a book
is ruined if they know certain things about it, especially when those
things are surprise endings or mysteries.  On the other hand, they also
want to know whether or not a book is worth reading, or they may be
following a particular thread of conversation where such information may
be revealed.  The solution to this is to put the words SPOILER in your
header, or in the text of your posting.  You can also put a ctl-L
character in the *first* column for your readers who are using rn.  Some
people think that spoiler warnings are not necessary.  We don't understand
why, and do not want to discuss it.  Use your best judgment.

Some people say that since not all news readers honor the ctl-L, you should
insert twenty or so blank lines as well.  My personal opinion is that I hate
having to page through those blank lines because some people's newsreaders
are antiquated, but it's up to you.

REPLIES TO REQUESTS AND QUESTIONS:  When you think that many people will
know an answer to a question, or will have an answer to a request,
RESPOND VIA E-MAIL!!!  And if you don't know the answer, but want to
know, DON'T POST TO THE NET asking for the answer, ask VIA E-MAIL!  If
you think a lot of people will want the same information, you might
suggest that the person summarize to the net.

Even if you don't see an answer posted, and you have the answer, please
send it e-mail.  The thirty other people who answered may have already
sent it, and your site just hasn't gotten it yet.  It clogs the net and
gets very tedious to see 30 people answer the same question, and another
30 people asking for the answer to be posted.  All of that should be
done via mail.  The net is a highly asynchronous medium.  It can take
several days for an article to make it to all sites.  It is also quite
common for followups to messages to reach a site before the original.

Please keep in mind two points:

    1.  Always remember that there is a live human being at the
    other end of the wires.  In other words, please write your
    replies with the same courtesy you would use in talking to
    someone face-to-face.

    2.  Try to recognize humor and irony in postings.  Tone of
    voice does not carry in ASCII print, and postings are often
    snapped off quickly, so that humorous intent may not be
    obvious.  More destructive and vicious arguments have been
    caused by this one fact of net existence than any other.  It
    will help if satiric/ironic/humorous comments are marked with
    the "smiley face," :-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Story identification requests

"Does anyone know this story?"  <plot summary follows>

When making this kind of request, ask that all responses be e-mailed
back to you.  One way to encourage e-mail responses is to set the
followup-to line to poster (i.e., Followup-To: poster).  After having
found out what it is, then post the correct answer to the net.

If you know the answer but are unable to send a message to the requester,
wait a few days.  It's likely that someone else will post the correct
answer, thus sparing you the effort.

Do not post messages like "I want to know, too" to the net.  E-mail the
person who asked the question and request that they send you any
information they get by e-mail.  Only if you cannot reach the person by
e-mail *and* no one has posted about the request after several days
should you post.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]

Three of the most common requested stories are:

  1) There are some time travellers to the age of dinosaurs.  They have
  to stay on a special floating path to avoid changing the future.
  However, one steps off the path.  When they return to the future,
  things are subtly changed.  The guy who steps off the path then looks
  at his shoe and finds a dead butterfly. == A SOUND OF THUNDER by Ray
  Bradbury

  This has been anthologized many times, but the most recent is probably
  Bradbury's CLASSIC STORIES VOLUME 1 (Bantam 1990).  Also common in
  used book stores is Asimov & Greenberg's GREAT SF STORIES: 14 (DAW
  1986).  [Robert Schmunk, [e-mail]]

  2) An expedition to a dead star discovers that the supernova had
  destroyed an entire civilization.  When they compute the exact time
  the star exploded, they find that it was seen on earth at the right
  time to be the Star of Bethlehem. == THE STAR by Arthur Clarke

  3) A special kind of glass has been invented where light takes years
  to pass through it.  Panes of this glass are hung in scenic areas and
  then sold to be used as picture windows. == LIGHT OF OTHER DAYS
  by Bob Shaw

[Provided by Samuel S. Paik [[e-mail]].]

----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Spoilers

In case you missed it above:
Many people feel that much of the enjoyment of a book is ruined if they
know certain things about it, especially when those things are surprise
endings or mysteries.  On the other hand, they also want to know
whether or not a book is worth reading, or they may be following a
particular thread of conversation where such information may be
revealed.  The solution to this is to put the words SPOILER in your
header, or in the text of your posting.  You can also put a ctl-L
character in the *first* column for your readers who are using rn.
Some people think that spoiler warnings are not necessary.  We don't
understand why, and do not want to discuss it.  Use your best
judgment.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]

----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. "What books or stories are about X?"

There are several lists published of works in specific sub-genres:

A. Laura Burchard defined cyberpunk as "a subgenre of SF which
(usually) combines high technology ("cyber") with an alienated, often
criminal, subculture ("punk").  Some people consider cyberpunk to be a
Literary Movement; others consider it a marketing gimmick.  Arguing
about which it is is pointless and not encouraged in this newsgroup."
There is a news group called alt.cyberpunk which is the best place to
discuss cyberpunk.  A comprehensive list of cyberpunk works can be
gotten by sending e-mail to John Wichers at [e-mail].
Robert Schmunk ([e-mail]) points out that "cyberpunk
must be dead, because Time magazine has done a cover article on it."

B. Steampunk

Steampunk in analogous to cyberpunk, and refers to SF stories set in
the 19th Century and involving technology of that era.  There is no
known bibliography of these--yet.

C. Alternate Histories

A large bibliography of alternate history stories is maintained by
R. B. Schmunk ([e-mail]) and is posted here
quarterly.  It is also available on gandalf.rutgers.edu and
ftp.lysator.liu.se (Q#98), and is cross-posted to alt.history.what-if,
which is the group devoted to alternate histories.

D. Transformation Stories

A bibliography of stories involving changes in body shape (scientific
or fantastic) is available on ftp.halcyon.com, in
/local/phaedrus/translist/translist.text; an enhanced Web version is at
http://www.halcyon.com/phaedrus/translist/translist.html.  There is
also a version on gandalf.rutgers.edu (Q#98), but this is sometimes
out of date.  [Provided by Mark Phaedrus [[e-mail]].]

E. Gender Issues

A bibliography of stories which address gender issues through
science fiction is available on gandalf.rutgers.edu (Q#98).

F. King Arthur and Robin Hood

Arthurian and Robin Hood FAQs posted to rec.arts.books and
news.answers.

G. Jewish SF

S. H. Silver ([e-mail]) has a list of Jewish SF stories.

H. Other

As with requests for plots, titles, or authors, ask that all replies be
e-mailed to you and that you will summarize (set the Followup-to to
"poster" to encourage e-mail response).  Note that a summary is not
just concatenating all the replies together and posting the resulting
file.  Take the time to strip headers, combine duplicate information,
and write a short summary.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper
[[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. "What books have been written by author X?"  "What books are in
series Y?"

A number of bibliographies have been compiled and posted to the net by
John Wenn.  These bibliographies also contain info on which books are
in a series or in the same universe.  The most up-to-date bibliographies
are availiable via ftp from ftp.std.com [user anonymous, any password],
directory pub/jwenn.

They are also in the SF archives (Q#98) In the archives, the
bibliographies are in directory pub/sfl/authorlists.  File names are
generally LastName.Firstname (e.g.  Niven.Larry).  Case *does* count.

Requests for more bibliographies may be made to John at
[e-mail].  [Provided by John Wenn [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. List of the Hugo, Nebula, or World Fantasy Award winners

Lists of award winners are on gandalf.rutgers.edu (Q#98).  The most
commonly requested lists are in directory pub/sfl with these file names:

hugos.txt
nebulas.txt
world-fantasy-awards.txt

There are also other awards listed; check the listings for what's
current.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
6. "Does anyone want to talk about X?"

If nobody seems to be discussing what you want to talk about, post a
(polite) message opening the discussion.  Don't just say, "Does anyone
want to talk about X" or "I really like X" however; try to have
something interesting to say about the topic to get discussion going.

Don't be angry or upset if no one responds.  It may be that X is just a
personal taste of your own, or quite obscure.  Or it may be that X was
discussed to death a few weeks ago, *just* before you came into the
group.  (If this is the case, you'll probably know, though, because
some rude fool will probably flame you for "Bringing that up *AGAIN*!!!"
Ignore them.)  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
7. What is science fiction?

This subject has been hashed out endlessly.  The only definition that
seems to work is Damon Knight's: "Science Fiction is what I point at
when I say Science Fiction."  Unless you have something really new and
amazing, don't start this topic.  Books commonly mentioned that test
the boundary conditions include Anne McCaffrey's "Dragon" series, Piers
Anthony's "Apprentice Adept" series, STAR WARS, and anything that uses
FTL.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]] and Taki
Kogoma [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. What is the difference between between science fiction and fantasy?

See Q#7.

This also has been done to death.  Virtually every answer you give will
fail to clearly indicate which category a large number of books belong
to.  [If someone wants to send me a list of the books that always fall
in the cracks, please do so.]  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper
[[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
9. The SF-LOVERS Digest

The SF-LOVERS Digest is a service for those who cannot read the
rec.arts.sf newsgroups directly.  It is a compilation of the articles
posted to sf.misc, sf.announce, sf.fandom, sf.movies, sf.tv, sf.written
and sf.reviews which is sent out periodically via e-mail.  The
moderator, Saul Jaffe, does a certain amount of editing when compiling
the Digest.  Duplicate information is eliminated and the articles are
organized by topic.  Also, most meta-discussions are not included in
the Digest.

To subscribe, unsubscribe, report problems, etc., send e-mail to
[e-mail].  To post articles to the various
newsgroups use the following addresses:

       Topic                            Address
       -----                            -------

       Written SF                       [e-mail]
       Sf on Television                 [e-mail]
       Sf Films                         [e-mail]
       General discussions that don't
         fit specifically in the other
         topic headings                 [e-mail]

Due to the high volume of mail, it's quite likely that administrative
type messages sent to the wrong address will be ignored.
[Provided by Saul Jaffe.]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Star Trek/Babylon-5/Dr. Who

There are hierarchies of newsgroups for these topics.  Articles about
them, including books about them, should be posted there.
    rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5
    rec.arts.startrek.*
    rec.arts.drwho

Do not post flames about people violating this guideline.  Use e-mail
to request they follow it.  It's likely that this person is reading
rec.arts.sf.written via the SF-LOVERS Digest and has no access to
netnews or rec.arts.startrek.  If so, that person will not see your
flame because discussions of what's appropriate in the newsgroup are
not included in the SF-LOVERS digest.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper
[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Common abbreviations

    AFAIK -- "As Far As I Know"
    BTW   -- "By the way"
    FTL   -- "Faster than light"
    FWIW  -- "For What It's Worth"
    FYI   -- "For your information"
    IMAO  -- "In my arrogant opinion"
    IMHO  -- "In my humble (honest) opinion"
    ISBN  -- "International Standard Book Number"
    ROFL  -- "Rolling on the floor, laughing"
    ROTF  -- "Rolling on the floor"
    RPG   -- "Role playing games", like D&D (Dungeons and Dragons)
    RSN   -- "Real Soon Now" (== within the next decade or two)
    SMOF  -- "Secret Master Of Fandom"
    STL   -- "Slower Than Light"
    YMMV  -- "your milage may vary"
    wrt   -- "with respect to"


----------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Various questions about multiple editions, long-awaited books,etc.

Note: It usually takes about one year from the time a manuscript is
turned in until the book actually hits the stores.

A. What's this I hear about two different editions of THE STATE OF THE
ART by Iain M. Banks?

"The State of the Art" is a longish novella, set in Iain M. Banks'
popular 'Culture' universe.  It was first published in a slim volume
entitled "The State of the Art," in 1989 by Mark V. Ziesing, an
American small press, ISBN 0-929480-06-6.  In 1991, Orbit (a UK
publisher) brought out a volume also entitled "The State of the Art."
This contains the aforementioned novella, plus seven short stories, one
of which ("A Gift from the Culture") is also set in the "Culture"
universe.  ISBN 0-356-19669-0.  It has had both hardback and paperback
editions in the UK but has not (AFAIK) been published in the US.
[Provided by Mike Scott [[e-mail]].]

B. The sequel to Stephen R. Boyett's ARCHITECT OF SLEEP

According to Boyett, ARCHITECT OF SLEEP was originally to be the
beginning of a multi-volume series, followed by THE GEOGRAPHY OF
DREAMS, THE NAVIGATORS OF FORTUNE, THE CORRIDORS OF MEMORY, and THE
GRAVITY OF NIGHT.  The manuscript of THE GEOGRAPHY OF DREAMS was in
fact completed and turned in, and the first one hundred pages of THE
NAVIGATORS OF FORTUNE exist.  However, the story was not to the liking
of the publisher (Berkley), and the changes they proposed were not to
the liking of Boyett.  He brought the manuscript back.

The rights to ARCHITECT OF SLEEP were tied up for several years, and by
the time Boyett was free to take ARCHITECT OF SLEEP and THE GEOGRAPHY
OF DREAMS to another publisher, he had lost interest in spending the
years necessary to finish the series--as he put it "We're talking
about (a) intelligent raccoons, and (b) ten years ago."  At this point,
it is unlikely anything further in the series will be published.

C. The next book in David Brin's Uplift series

The latest (Dec 94) is that Brin expects to have this published in late
1995.  The title is still unknown (SOONERS and BRIGHTNESS REEF have both
been working titles).  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]

E. The next book from Steven Brust

An editor from Tor has stated on the Net [Feb 94] that the next Vlad Taltos
book, ORCA, had been from Ace in May 1995, but has been postponed until
early 1996.

FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AFTER is just now out in paperback from Tor.

The next new Brust novel from Tor will almost certainly be FREEDOM AND
NECESSITY by Steven Brust and Emma Bull, an epistolary fantasy set in the
year 1849, coming out in mid-1996.

After that, in an order yet to be determined, will be the final set of
Khaavren novels: THE PATHS OF THE DEAD, THE ENCHANTRESS OF DZUR MOUNTAIN,
and THE LORD OF CASTLE BLACK.  There are also two new Vlad novels, DRAGON
and a so-far-untitled one, to come from Tor as well.

E. The fourth book in Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series

An editor from Tor has stated on the Net [Jan 95] that Card has turned
in the fourth Alvin book (ALVIN JOURNEYMAN) and it should appear in
hardcover in the fall.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper
[[e-mail]].]

F. The next book in Glen Cook's Black Company or Book of the South series

An editor from Tor has stated on the Net [Dec 94] that Cook has contracted
for three new Black Company books, the first of which should be delivered
to Tor in 1995.  THE GLITTERING STONE, the next Book of the South novel,
does not yet exist.  According to some, Cook has an eighth novel in the
Dread Empire series, but doesn't expect it to be published (since the others
didn't sell well.) [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]

G.The third book in P. C. Hodgell's God Stalk series

All three books (GOD STALK, DARK OF THE MOON, and SEEKER'S MASK) are
available from Alan Newcomer, Hypatia Press (800-738-2660 or 503-485-0947).

H. Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana Ending

"How exactly is the meeting with the riselka at the end of Guy Gavriel
Kay's TIGANA supposed to apply to the three characters who meet her and
is there anything in the book which offers suggestions or is it just
supposed to leave readers guessing?"

1. The collective opinion of rec.arts.sf.written is that it is meant to
   leave the book deliberately open-ended, there being no indications in
   the book itself, beyond the obvious balance of probabilities.

2. "Riselka" is indeed spelt "riselka," despite many creative attempts
   towards alternative spellings. It presumably comes from the
   Slavonic "rusalka" -- a female water spirit.

[Provided by Mike Arnatov [[e-mail]].]

D. The next book in S. M. Stirling's Draka series

In Oct 94 Stirling said he had done about 60,000 words of the next Draka
novel and expected to finish it by the end of the year.  [Provided by
Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Clarke's Laws

(This entry was written by Mark Brader.)

Clarke's Law, later Clarke's First Law, can be found in the essay
"Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination", in the collection
"Profiles of the Future", 1962, revised 1973, Harper & Row, paperback
by Popular Library, ISBN 0-445-04061-0.  It reads:

# [1]        When a distinguished but elderly scientist
#        states that something is possible, he is almost
#        certainly right.  When he states that something
#        is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

Note that the adverbs in the two sentences are different.  Clarke continues:

#    Perhaps the adjective "elderly" requires definition.  In physics,
#    mathematics, and astronautics it means over thirty; in the other
#    disciplines, senile decay is sometimes postponed to the forties.
#    There are, of course, glorious exceptions; but as every researcher
#    just out of college knows, scientists of over fifty are good for
#    nothing but board meetings, and should at all costs be kept out
#    of the laboratory!

Isaac Asimov added a further comment with Asimov's Corollary to Clarke's
Law, which he expounded in an essay logically titled "Asimov's Corollary".
This appeared in the February 1977 issue of F&SF, and can be found in the
collection "Quasar, Quasar, Burning Bright", 1978, Doubleday; no ISBN on
my copy.  Asimov's Corollary reads:

% [1AC]        When, however, the lay public rallies round an
%        idea that is denounced by distinguished but elderly
%        scientists and supports that idea with great fervor
%        and emotion -- the distinguished but elderly
%        scientists are then, after all, probably right.


So much for Clarke's First Law.  A few pages later on, in the final
paragraph of the same essay, Clarke writes:

# [2]        But the only way of discovering the limits of the
#        possible is to venture a little way past them into
#        the impossible.

To this he attaches a footnote:

#    The French edition of [presumably, the first edition of] this
#    book rather surprised me by calling this Clarke's Second Law.
#    (See page [number] for the First, which is now rather well-
#    known.)  I accept the label, and have also formulated a Third:
#
# [3]        Any sufficiently advanced technology is
#        indistinguishable from magic.
#
#    As three laws were good enough for Newton, I have modestly
#     decided to stop there.

[Provided by Mark Brader [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
14. SF themes in music

A list of songs which have science fictional themes is maintained by
Rich Kulawiec.  This list is posted to news.answers periodically.  If
you can not find it there, e-mail Rich at [e-mail].
Alternate e-mail addresses for Rich are [e-mail] or
pur-ee!rsk.  [Provide3d by Rich Kulawiec [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Oldest Living SF Authors

Based on Tuck's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SF AND FANTASY, the oldest living SF
writers are:

    Naomi Mitchison, 1897
    Curt Siodmak, 10 AUG 1902
    L. Sprague De Camp, 27 NOV 1907
    Jack Williamson, 29 APR 1908
    Carl Jacobi, 1908
    Samuel Mines, 4 OCT 1909
    Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, 1910
    Sam Merwin, 1910
    David Kyle, 1912
    Andre Norton, 1912
    A. E. van Vogt, 26 APR 1912
    William Burroughs, 15 FEB 1914
    R. A. Lafferty, 7 NOV 1914
    Wilson ("Bob") Tucker, 23 NOV 1914
    Charles L. Harness, 29 DEC 1915
    Robert ("Doc") Lowndes, 4 SEP 1916
    George Turner, 1916
    Jack Vance, 28 AUG 1916
    Arthur C. Clarke, 16 DEC 1917
    Philip Jose Farmer, 26 JAN 1918
    E. C. Tubb, 15 OCT 1919
    Frederik Pohl, 26 NOV 1919
    Sam Moskowitz, 30 JUN 1920
    Ray Bradbury, 22 AUG 1920
    Stanislaw Lem, 1921
    Kenneth Bulmer, 14 JAN 1921
    Damon Knight, 20 SEP 1922
    George H. Smith, 22 OCT 1922
    Kurt Vonnegut, 11 NOV 1922

Worthy of mention are Frank Belknap Long, who died in 1994 at the age of
90, and E. Hoffman Price, who also died in 1988, also at the age of 90,
and had published novels at 81, 82, 84, 85, 88, and 89.

"Ahasuerus" says, "The oldest SF writers *ever* were (probably) Adolf De
Castro (Danziger) (1859-04 Mar 1959) and Eden Phillpotts
(11 Apr 1862-29 Dec 1960).

Note: Do not post that X is dead unless you have heard this from a
reputable source, such as a daily newspaper, or a reputable fan or
author.  Postings in other groups on the Net, and statements from
friends such as, "Isn't X dead?" are not reputable sources!
[Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Black SF authors

Are there any black SF authors?

Yes.  The three most prominent are Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler and
Steven Barnes.  Three others are A. M. Lightner (DAY OF THE DRONES;
mostly young adult novels) Charles R. Saunders (IMARO and THE QUEST FOR
CUSH), and Virginia Hamilton ("The Justice Cycle" trilogy and young
adult fantasies).  I suspect Nisi Shawl is also black.  [Provided by
Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]

----------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Good SF bookstores in town Z and ordering by mail

Evelyn C. Leeper ([e-mail]) maintains several lists of
bookstores in various North American, European, and Asian cities and
posts them quarterly to r.a.s.w, typically around the 25th.  These lists
are *not* SF specific, but extensive commentary makes it pretty
easy to sort those stores out from the rest.

She also maintains a list of bookstores in various countries that
will ship books by mail.  It is published monthly in the same places as
the above lists.  [Provided by Evelyn Leeper [[e-mail]].]


----------------------------------------------------------------------
98. Science Fiction Archives

The SF-LOVERS archives are in gandalf.rutgers.edu.  There are three ways
of accessing them, one by direct ftp and two mail servers.  The help
file for accessing them is below.  [Provided by Saul Jaffe.]

There is also a hypertext archive, the Speculative Fiction Clearing
House, maintained by John Leavitt, at
    http://thule.mt.cs.cmu.edu:8001/sf-clearing-house/
[Info provided by Robert Schmunk, [e-mail]]

For European readers, you may want to access the archives at the Lysator
Computer Club, Linkoping University, Sweden.  It's e-mail address is
ftp.lysator.liu.se (130.236.254.1).  The administrator is Mats Ohrman
(email: [e-mail]).  The bibliographies are in directory
/pub/sf-texts.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
99. Help file for accessing the SF-LOVERS Archives.

(This entry was provided by Saul Jaffe.)

   This is the "help" file for accessing the SF-LOVERS archives via FTP.
Described in this document are three different methods of accessing the
files.  Please choose the method that is most appropriate for you.

   Please remember that the machine you are connecting to,
GANDALF.RUTGERS.EDU, is a unix machine.  As with all unix machines,
filenames are case sensitive.  This means that filenames and directory
names *must* be entered as given.

To use anonymous FTP interactively:

To access the archives, you need to use the login function of ftp to
connect to gandalf.rutgers.edu as an anonymous or guest user.  Below is a
sample session (The "%" and "ftp>" are prompts - yours may vary):

% ftp gandalf.rutgers.edu
Connected to gandalf.rutgers.edu.
220 gandalf.rutgers.edu FTP server
Name (gandalf.rutgers.edu:<userid>): anonymous
331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.
Password:
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> cd pub/sfl
ftp> get <filename>
ftp> quit

To use BITFTP (BITNET users only):

To access the archives, the principle is the same as that for Internet
users described above.  However, access is handled via a special email
server since there is no way to run ftp interactively from many BITNET
sites.  You can send mail to [e-mail] with the following as the
text of the message:

FTP gandalf.rutgers.edu
USER anonymous
CD pub/sfl
GET <filename>

You will get two mail messages back.  One from the BITNET server itself
informing you that the request went through and the other will be the
actual file retrieved.  Each file you request will be returned to you as a
separate file.

Instructions for the SF-Lovers FTP Mail Server:

Installed on gandalf.rutgers.edu is a FTP Mail Server which will send you,
via mail, files from the archives.  To use the mail server, send email to:
[e-mail] with your commands in the body of the
message.  The currently supported commands for this server are:
[key: [] encloses optional info
      <> a placeholder for an argument - substitute actual data
      {} encloses synonyms for a command
]

     Command                 Args            Descriptions

     quit                                    End session.

     help                                    Get this message.

     info                                    Get information about
                                               what's available.

     ls                 [-l -s <filename>]
     {dir}                         Get full listing of files.
     {index}

     connect            <directoryname>      Connect to subdirectory
     {cd}                                     or, with no args, to top
                                              level directory.

     get                <filename>           Get specified file
     {send}

     backissue          <volume> <issue>     Get a back issue of the Digest
                                             from the archives.  If
                                             <volume> is the special case
                                             '-' or '0' it indicates
                                             the current volume.

All commands may be abbreviated to the fewest number of characters that
uniquely identifies them.  For instance, "backissue" may be abbreviated
"b", "quit" may be abbreviated "q", etc.

You may specify as many commands as desired in any order desired however,
"quit" will always end the session and commands afterward will be ignored.
If you want multiple files (or multiple back issues), you must specify one
"get" (or "back") command for each file (or issue) desired.  The command
"backissue" may be used to get a copy of a back issue of the Digest from
any volume including the current volume up to the last issue number
produced.  However, the server will NOT send back an entire volume of the
Digest.

Each file (or back issue) you request will be sent to you as a separate
mail message.  The commands "help" and "info" will instruct the server to
send you the "help" and "info" files respectively.  For each message you
send to the server, you will also receive a log message indicating any
errors encountered during processing as well as the number of files the
server believes were requested and the number it sent.

The FTP server may be used to obtain a complete listing of the files in the
archives (via the "ls" command) as well as to retrieve files which have
been compressed due to space considerations.  The server will automatically
uncompress files before shipping them to you so you do not need an
uncompress tool to receive these files.

Future enhancements to the software are currently being considered.  If you
have ideas or suggestions, please send them to
[e-mail].

Below is a sample email message sent to the server with some commentary:

   Date: Tue, 20 Oct 92 21:21:41 EDT
   From: [e-mail] (Saul)
   Subject: test

   help             [gets a copy of this message]
   info                [gets a copy of the info message]
   ls                           [gets a    list of the available files]
   ls -l            [gets a list of the available files,
                                 their sizes and last date modified]
   ls -l world-fantasy-awards.txt [lists information about a specific
                 file]
   get world-fantasy-awards.txt      [gets the specified file from the
                 archives]
   connect authorlists        [connect to the authorlists
                 subdirectory]
   get Asimov.Isaac             [gets the authorlist for Isaac Asimov]
   cd                [go back to top level directory]
   back 16 13            [get issue #13 of Volume 16]
   back - 26            [get issue #26 of the current volume]
   quit                [end the session]

[Provided by Saul Jaffe.]


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Evelyn C. Leeper | [phone] | [e-mail]