All posts by Cathy Palmer-Lister

Reading

Locus Forthcoming Books November

Locus Forthcoming Books November

NOV 2022

  • BRANDON SANDERSON • The Lost Metal • Orion/Gollancz, Nov 2022 (eb, hc)
  • BRANDON SANDERSON • The Lost Metal • Tor, Nov 2022 (hc, eb)
  • C.L. POLK • Even Though I Knew the End • Tor¬dotcom, Nov 2022 (na, hc, eb)
  • CHARLAINE HARRIS • The Serpent in Heaven • Little Brown UK/Piatkus, Nov 2022 (tp)
  • CHARLAINE HARRIS • The Serpent in Heaven • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Nov 2022 (hc, eb)
  • CHERIE PRIEST • Flight Risk • Simon & Schuster/Atria, Nov 2022 (hc, eb)
  • CHUCK WENDIG • Wayward • Penguin Random House UK/Del Rey UK, Nov 2022 (h, eb, hc)
  • CHUCK WENDIG • Wayward • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Nov 2022 (h, hc, eb)
  • DAVID SANDNER & JACOB WEIS¬MAN • Hellhounds • Fairwood Press, Nov 2022 (nt, ph, eb)
  • FRAN WILDE • The Book of Gems • Tordotcom, Nov 2022 (na, tp, eb)
  • GARRY KILWORTH • Wild Hunt • NewCon Press, Nov 2022 (hc, eb, tp)
  • IAN WATSON • The Chinese Time Machine • NewCon Press, Nov 2022 (c, hc, eb, tp)
  • JAMES P. BLAYLOCK • Pennies from Heaven • PS Publishing, Nov 2022 (a, hc)
  • JULIE E. CZERNEDA • To Each this World • DAW, Nov 2022 (tp, eb)
  • K.J. PARKER • Pulling the Wings Off Angels • Tor¬dotcom, Nov 2022 (na, tp, eb)
  • KAREN HEULER • A Slice of the Dark • Fairwood Press, Nov 2022 (c, tp, eb)
  • KATHLEEN O’NEAL GEAR • The Ice Orphan • DAW, Nov 2022 (hc, eb)
  • KEVIN J. ANDERSON • Double-Booked • WordFire Press, Nov 2022 (om, tp, hc, eb)
  • LAVIE TIDHAR • Neom • Tachyon Publications, Nov 2022 (tp, eb)
  • LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD • Penric’s Labors • Baen, Nov 2022 (c, hc, eb)
  • MARSHALL RYAN MARESCA • The Quarrygate Gambit • DAW, Nov 2022 (eb)
  • N.K. JEMISIN • The World We Make • Little Brown UK/Orbit, Nov 2022 (eb, hc)
  • N.K. JEMISIN • The World We Make • Orbit US, Nov 2022 (hc, eb)
  • NA’AMEN GOBERT TILAHUN • The Fruit • Skyhorse/Night Shade Books, Nov 2022 (tp, eb)
  • NAOMI NOVIK • The Golden Enclaves • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Sep 2022 (hc, eb)
  • NISI SHAWL • Fruiting Bodies • Aqueduct Press, Nov 2022 (c, tp, eb)
  • R.B. LEMBERG • Geometries of Belonging and Other Stories • Fairwood Press, Nov 2022 (c, tp, eb)
  • REBECCA ROANHORSE • Tread of Angels • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Nov 2022 (a, hc, eb)
  • SEAN WILLIAMS • The Sky Inside • PS Publishing, Nov 2022 (c, hc)
  • SHARON SHINN • The Shuddering City • Fairwood Press, Nov 2022 (c, tp, eb)
  • SHEREE RENÉE THOMAS & OCHENECHOVWE DONALD EK¬PEKI, ET AL., EDS. • Africa Risen: A New Era of Specu¬lative Fiction • Tordotcom, Nov 2022 (oa, hc, eb)
  • STEPHEN DONALDSON • The Killing God • Orion/Gollancz, Nov 2022 (eb, hc)
  • STEPHEN R. DONALDSON • The Killing God • Penguin Random House/Berkley, Nov 2022 (hc, eb)
Dinosaurs and Company

The Mystery of T-Rex and its tiny arms

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221025-why-did-t-rex-have-such-puny-arms

 T. rex is almost as famous for its withered little arms as for its enormous teeth – they’re so totally out of proportion, they almost look like they’ve been plucked from another species and simply stuck on, in a throwback to the hilarious blunders of bone assembly from the 19th Century (such as the time Stegosaurus‘ signature diamond-shaped back plates were added to its tail instead).

“You can look at his arms and say, well, these are ridiculous. They’re so different than anything around today, what is the point,” says L J Krumenacker, a palaeontologist at Idaho State University.

With arms that might measure just 3ft (0.9m) long on a 45-ft (13.7m) individual, this formidable carnivore’s hilariously small appendages have been a source of intense speculation ever since they were discovered – despite decades of studying them, to this day no one has any idea what they’re for.

READ MORE

Fanzines, MonSFFA Website

Zines to share!

[eFanzines] Pre-Corflu update at eFanzines

Added today at https://efanzines.com are:

BEAM #17 edited by Nic Farey and Ulrika O’Brien

Ethel the Aardvark #217 and archive issues 15, 183

Octothorpe #68, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

Guy H. Lillian III’s Spartacus #60

Garth Spencer’s The Obdurate Eye #20

Henry Grynnsten’s Wild Ideas #28

From Joseph Major, Alexiad

Alex125

From the N3F, 3 zines and sad news.

FanAct202210

TNFF202210

OriginOCTOBER2022

Alas, I must start with sad news about Justin E. A. Busch:
Hi George,
This is Erin, Justin’s partner. Sadly, he has been in a state of decline since his cancer came back, and he is not currenty capable of writing. In all likelihood, there won’t be any other Fanfaronades.
There’s some more here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/justin.busch
Please feel free to forward the news. I am checking his email periodically and people can also contact me directly if need be
Sorry to be the bearer of sad news,
Erin

 

 

Reading

The Tragedy of Gnome Press

Many thanks to Georges Dodd for bringing us this important story. Note that this is part of a series call the Literary Ladder which has lots of really interesting topics.

Click to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HlKhLG3ZxE

Modern Science Fiction & Fantasy Owe an Enormous Debt to Pioneering Publisher Gnome Press

the library ladder, 8.32K subscribers
Gnome Press was a small publisher of science fiction and fantasy that existed from 1948 to 1962. Despite its small size, Gnome had an enormous impact on the future of speculative fiction by, among other things, being the first to publish in hardcover format novels by many of the greatest SF authors of all time, including Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, C. L. Moore, and Robert E. Howard. Alas, the history of Gnome is a cautionary tale. The company played a pivotal role in lifting the SF genre out of the pulp magazines and into literary respectability, but it never achieved true success of its own. This video is about the story of Gnome Press.
0:41 Origins of Gnome Press
4:02 Gnome’s first books in 1948-49
4:58 Proof of concepts
5:56 The period 1950-54
7:05 Iconic dust jacket artwork
8:34 Gnome’s business challenges
13:18 The period 1955-59
14:22 Gnome’s collapse, 1960-62
15:26 The legacy of Gnome Press
18:55 Related reading material
Corona meetings from home

Post 3 of 6: The Break

Post 3 of 6: The Break

Get your Bheer & Chips!
It’s time for the break!

NEWS

Regarding a move to the Atwater Library: The last I heard, we were to be informed in August about when we could begin renting the auditorium. I wrote to the Atwater Library again, but no response. I’ve no idea what’s going on, and I’m getting discouraged.

Have you paid your dues? Please check with Joe! A lot of memberships are overdue!

DISPLAY

Brian Knapp sends us photos of his latest work.

I finally finished Polar Light’s Robby the Robot from the shelf of doom. The resin base, Robby’s legs, Altaira, & the Fez are all aftermarket from Jimmy Flintstone Studios (https://jimmyflintstonestudios.com/Figurines_c_28.html). Please feel free to start a caption this segment during the next meeting, or if someone wants to write a short story.

RAFFLE PRIZES

Click the thumbnails to view full size image.

Sturmovik Neko Girl, Japanese Capsule Toy, donated by Brian Knapp.

Cat licking paw, ornament designed by Sue Mey, cut by CPL from canary wood. 8cm diameter.

1982 – Prix Boréal 1982 – Prix Rosny-Aîné 1982 – Grand Prix de la science-fiction française From Sylvain’s collection

Set of 5o cards showing cover art for Astounding Magazines. Descriptions on back. From Sylvain’s legacy.

Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold, hardcover, pages a bit yellowed, Sylvain’s legacy

Vernor Vinge: Tatja Grimm’s World, excellent condition. Cover by Tom Kidd

Alan Dean Foster and Eric Frank Russell: Design for Great-Day Good condition

Boris, series 1, from Sylvain’s legacy, box of 90 cards, each card described on the back

First of a duology by Ben Bova & A J Austin, dust jacket a bit scuffed, otherwise looks unread.
Fanzines

Lots of zines!

Lots of zines have arrived over the last few days. Enjoy!

Welcome to our latest issue of CyberCozen  CCOctober-2022-v01

This month’s roundup: • More Yiddish-related SF material dedicated to my dear departed father, David Botwinik (o”h – ע”ה ): o Chapter C of “Kamf-Nign” Yiddish SF short story by Leybl Botwinik (with English translation) • Book review: “More Zion’s Fiction” o Story #09: “The Thirteenth Fairy” – by Nadav Almog Our usual tidbits from the Web – in our next issue.
– Your editor, Leybl Botwinik

From Nic Farey

Beam17r3 Has a totally gorgeous cover from Alan White.

Passed on to us by the N3F, Mt Void from the Leepers.

MT VOID 22421

MT VOID 2243

MT VOID 2244

Added today at https://efanzines.com:

J.L. Farey’s JenZine #2
Archive issues of Heath Row’s Telegraphs & Tar Pits #31-34, Faculae & Filigree #15, and new title Explosion Containment Umbrella #1 & 2
Christopher J. Garcia’s The Drink Tank #441
David Grigg’s The Megaloscope #3
Opuntia #535, edited by Dale Speirs
Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – October 2022

 

Obituary

RIP Bob Madle

Bob Madle, the last surviving attendee of the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939, died on October 8, aged 102.

Biography (Fancyclopedia 3)

Bob Madle (June 2, 1920 – October 8, 2022)
Bob Madle at Loncon, 1957.

Robert Albert Madle, who died at age 102 in October 2022, was the last of the First Fans. He was Worldcon FGoH at SunCon in 1977, and was nominated for the 1956 Best Feature Writer Hugo.

An eo-fan, Bob started reading sf in 1933 and was an active fan by 1935. He attended the First Convention in 1936, the first Worldcon in 1939, and Boskone I in 1941. He was co-founder of PSFS and one of the Phillies, as well as part of the Philly slate which challenged the Wollheimists in the FAPA election of 1938 and a member of the committee for Philcon, the 1947 Worldcon.

Madle was TAFF winner in 1957 (and published A Fake Fan in London as his trip report). He published Fantascience Digest.

He founded the Carolina SF Society in Charlotte, NC, in the early 1950s, was a founder of the First Fandom club, a Trustee of WSFA in the 1960s, member of the Washington in ’77 Worldcon bid, and for many years was a highly respected huckster, a role he continued by mail-order.

During the first Worldcon in 1939, fans took the opportunity to visit Coney Island, where this foto-op took place. Front, from left:Mark Reinsberg, Jack Agnew, Ross Rocklynne. Rear: Vincent Kidwell, Robert Madle, Erle Korshak, Ray Bradbury, July 4, 1939. Courtesy of Robert Madle.
Obituary (Locus) Robert A. Madle (1920-2022)
Robert Madle, 1968, photo by Jay Kay Klein, UC Riverside Libraries

Fan, collector, and bookseller Robert A. Madle, 102, died peacefully in his sleep on October 8, 2022. Madle was a founder and the first president of First Fandom (and the last survivor of the original membership), and was a warm and familiar presence in the field since the 1930s.

Robert Albert Madle was born June 2, 1920 in Philadelphia PA. He enlisted in the Army in July 1942, serving three-and-a-half years, working as a truck driver and teletype operator. He met his wife Billie in the latter job, while she was a switchboard operator. He also worked in the Army’s public relations office. He was married during the war, then attended college and went for his MBA. He worked for the government in the Navy Department, doing personnel research, and later became a research psychologist studying human/machine interfaces. He was also a book collector and dealer, continuing to sell by mail order even in his later years.

Madle began reading SF as 13-year-old in 1933 with Tom Swift and Edgar Rice Burroughs, then discovered the pulp magazines and became active in fandom soon after. An organizer from the first, he formed the Boys’ Science Fiction Club with a few friends in 1934. He attended the 1936 gathering in Philadelphia that Donald A. Wollheim dubbed “The first science fiction convention,” was active in the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, and was generally a pillar of Philly fandom. He spread his love for organizing wherever he went, serving as a trustee of Washington Science Fiction Association, and founding the Carolina SF Society in North Carolina in the ’50s.

He attended the first Worldcon in 1939 and was the 1957 TAFF winner, writing trip report “A Fake Fan in London” afterward. He was Fan Guest of Honor at SunCon, the 1977 Worldcon and was a frequent guest at other conventions. He helped organize Worldcons and was involved in the creation of the Hugo Awards.

Madle was active in fanzine circles, where he was best known for Fantascience Digest (1937-41). His first fanzine was one issue of The Science Fiction Fan (1935) with John V. Baltadonis. They started Imaginative Fiction in 1935, continuing it intermittently until 1938. He also worked on Fantasy Fiction Telegram and wrote a column, “Fantaglimmerings”, for The Science Fiction Collector. He was a founder of New Era Publishers with Jack Agnew and Al Pepper, publishing David H. Keller’s Solitary Hunters and the Abyss (1946). He wrote many letters to SF magazines, his first appearing in Pirate Stories (July 1935), with others in Astounding Stories, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, and more.

An occasional SF writer, his story “Devolution” appeared in his own Imaginative Fiction (1936). Other stories include “Brain, the Creator” (1936, with Corwin F. Stickney), “Black Adventure” (1937), and “The Infinite Vision” (2006).

Madle won the Big Heart Award in 1974, the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 1990, and the Moskowitz Archive Award in 2002. He was a nominee for the Best Feature Writer Hugo Award in 1956. His Fantascience Digest was a Retro Hugo Award finalist in 2014. He is survived by his daughter Jane.

 

Fanzines

Added today at https://efanzines.com


Added today at https://efanzines.com:

The Corflu Pangloss fanzine auction catalog and bid sheet may be viewed on Andy Hooper’s page. The auction will be held at Corflu over the weekend of October 21-23 2022

Rich Lynch’s My Back Pages #27

Ethel the Aardvark #216 and archive issues 14, 184

Octothorpe #67, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line

—
Bill

MonSFFA Website

The N3F Review of Books, Incorporating Prose Bono

The N3F Review of Books, Incorporating Prose Bono
Professor George Phillies, D.Sc., Editor
September 2022

N3FReview202209

Fiction
2 … A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine … Review by Perry Middlemiss
2 … All the Myriad Ways by Larry Niven … Review by Perry Middlemiss
2 … All the Sounds of Fear by Harlan Ellison … Review by Perry Middlemiss
3 … The Book Club by J.H. Nadler … Review by Jason P. Hunt
5 … The Butlerian Jihad by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert … Review by Graham Bradley
6 … Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi … Review by Chris Nuttall
8 … The Dragon Proofed House by L.E. Henderson … Review by Jim McCoy
10 … Dangerous Visions #1 edited by Harlan Ellison … Review by Heath Row
11 … Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky … Review by Perry Middlemiss
12 … Hail Mary Project by Andy Weir … Review by Perry Middlemiss
12 … If It Bleeds by Stephen King … Review by Jon D. Swartz
14 … Imaginary Friends by Arlene F. Marks … Reviewed by Robert Runté
15 … Lisey’s Story by Stephen King … Review by Perry Middlemiss
15 … Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer … Review by Pat Patterson
17 … Metaphysical Machines/Maquinas Metafisicas by Heinzy Cruz … Review by Heath Row
18 … Other Rhodes by Sarah A. Hoyt … Review by Pat Patterson
19 … The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente … Review by Perry Middlemiss
19 … Penance by Paula Richey … Review by Declan Finn
21 … The Seance by John Harwood … Review by Perry Middlemiss
23 … Semper Paratus: An Anthology of the Apocalypse edited by Jamie Ibson and Chris Kennedy
… Review by Pat Patterson
24 … The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin … Review by Chris Nuttall
27 … Sleepless Hollow by Graham Bradley … Review by Michael Gallagher
29 … Songs That the Astral Crickets Shall Sing by Luis G. Abbadie … Review by Heath Row
30 … A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow … Review by Perry Middlemiss
Non-Fiction
31 … The Life & Art of Dave Cockrum by Glen Cadigan … Review by Heath Row
32 … The Story of Batman by Charles Lee Jackson II … Review by Heath Row
32 … The Story of Superman by Charles Lee Jackson II … Review by Heath Row
33 … What Is Dungeons and Dragons? by John Butterfield, Philip Parker, and David Honigmann
… Review by Heath Row

Literary Criticism

35 … The 2022 Hugos: How I Voted and Why by Tom Feller, with reviews of:

Novels
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir—
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers—
A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark—
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine—
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki—
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan—
Novellas
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire—
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky—
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard—
The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente—
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers—
A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow—
Novelettes
Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer—
Colors of the Immortal Palette by Caroline M. Yoachim—
L’Esprit de L’Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente—
O2 Arena by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki—
That Story Isn’t the Story by John Wiswell—
Unseelie Brothers, Ltd. By Fran Wilde—
Short Stories
Mr. Death by Alix E. Harrow—
Proof by Induction by Jose Pablo Iriate—
The Sin of America by Catherynne M. Valente—
Tangles by Seanan McGuire—
Unknown Number by Blue Neustifter—
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather by Sarah Pinsker—
Lodestar Award for Young Adult Novel (Not a Hugo)
Chaos on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer—
Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders—

Prose Bono
46 … How To Anthology: Part 1 by Cedar Sanderson
48 … Work vs. Writing by Becky Jones
49 … Style vs. Knowledge A. C. Cargill