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11/4/2009 11:19:42 PM
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Thomas R
Posts 2725
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Reviving the concept as there might be some interest. I don't think I did this one.
First things first the interior illustrations. (It's first as it's no longer done so is an interesting element)
The first illustration is by John Stevens. It shows a woman in bed with some electrodes or something on her as in a sleep-study. There also seems to be planes, possibly she's dreaming or envisioning. Fairly realistic drawing style.
The next real illustration is of Babe Ruth and various baseball players. It's by Steve Cavallo.
The third is by Ron Charonna and a bit hard to describe. Miners maybe?
The next illustration is by Steve Cavallo, a repeat customer. It shows American Indians with a certain English bard amongst them. Care to guess the story?
The next one is by Anthony Bari. In the foreground is a young African American man in an oldstyle suit and hat playing a guitar. (The man is playing the guitar, the hat isn't) In the background is an elderly white man with a paunch and behind him are some railroad tracks.
The final is by Darryl Elliott. On one side is a woman's face and on another is something like a watery or Cubist impression of a woman's face.
I guess I'll give the edge to Cavallo this time as the Elliott one doesn't entirely work for me.
Fiction
Novelettes
Inside Out by Brian Stableford - Don't remember it offhand, not sure I read it.
Noble Mold by Kage Baker - The first published Company story. This was also the first time I read a story by an author just starting out or at least the first time I did so and thought "she seems promising." Before Asimov's I mostly read authors who had started writing before I was born. Anyway I liked this story at the time.
The Babe, the Iron Horse, and... by Ben Bova and Rick Wilber - There's more to the title than that, but as I don't think I ever read this story I didn't feel like typing it all. I did remember that Rick Wilber had a connection to baseball and it was that his dad was baseball player Del Wilber.
The Undiscovered by William Sanders - Probably needs no description, it's fairly well-known.
After Kerry by Ian McDonald - Abusive mother dies leaving a man to find a sister who has "become a new woman" in terms of memory and lifestyle. I remember finding it fairly moving at the time.
Short stories
The Nostalginauts by S. N. Dyer - Cute, somewhat YAish, story of time travel and school daze.
My hand is sort-of cramping up so I'll add there was also a story by Andy Duncan, another by Stephen Dedman, and one of those []'s wife poem by Boston.
--
To God be humble, to thy friend be kind, and with thy neighbors gladly lend and borrow His chance is tonight it might be thine tomorrow - William Dunbar
I don't lend money to eight-year-olds, at least not anymore. And if you see Billy tell him I'm looking for him - Coach McGuirk
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11/8/2009 5:35:14 AM
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Thomas R
Posts 2725
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Well this was a bust. Ahh well.
--
To God be humble, to thy friend be kind, and with thy neighbors gladly lend and borrow His chance is tonight it might be thine tomorrow - William Dunbar
I don't lend money to eight-year-olds, at least not anymore. And if you see Billy tell him I'm looking for him - Coach McGuirk
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11/8/2009 9:47:06 AM
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gdozois
Posts 3111
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Not much to say. In retrospect, it's clear that "The Undiscovered" was the most memorable story in the issue, and has been reprinted a few times since, although I also used McDonald's "After Kerry" in my Best of the Year that year. With 20-20 hindsight, we can also see that Kage Baker's debut was significant, especially as that was not only her first story, but the introduction of the Company series as well, one of the most prominent series of recent years. (Actually, I too was pretty sure that she'd turn out to be "a writer to watch," as soon as I read "Noble Mold." Within a few months, she had sold me four or five other stories.)
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11/8/2009 11:45:41 AM
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John E. Rogers, Jr.
Posts 1325
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If I can find the March 1997 issue somewhere, I'll read it and give my thoughts.
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11/8/2009 12:42:43 PM
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gdozois
Posts 3111
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Taking it as an average issue, it's interesting to look at the authors in it and see what's happened to them. Ian McDonald and Kage Baker are still prominent and prolific authors, generally considered to be in the forefront of the field. William Sanders has retired, but, before he did, was widely considered to be an important author. Ben Bova is still fairly prolific, with a novel out just this year. Brian Stableford is also still around, although not as prolific as he was a few years back, when he may well have been the most prolific author in the field at short lengths. You still see a story from Andy Duncan every once in awhile, he has one out this year, but he isn't producing as much as he used to. Rick Wilber hasn't published much in recent years, and never was that prolific to begin with. S.N. Dyer seems to have disappeared entirely; at one time, she was a pretty prolific writer of short fiction, under two different names, her real one and a pseudonym. Stephen Dedman still appears occasionally, although it seems mostly in the Australian markets, and the small press. Even Bruce Boston, at one time by far the most prolific poet in the SF field, seems to be selling fewer poems these days.
As far as I know, most of the interior artists have disappeared, as far as the SF field is concerned, although some of them may still be doing interiors for ANALOG; probably most of them moved into other areas as the market for interiors in SF magazines dried up.
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11/8/2009 2:08:12 PM
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John Thiel
Posts 1462
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What was I doing when that issue came out? Waiting for the change of the century and reading about Y2K.
--
Surprising Stories has a slush pile.
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11/8/2009 5:26:16 PM
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Rich Horton
Posts 244
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I confess at a glance I did not distinguish this post from the Flashbackimov for 1977 ... hence I didn't look at it before!
Certainly "The Undiscovered" remains the most famous, most memorable story from the issue. I liked "After Kerry" a lot as well, and also "The Nostalginauts".
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11/8/2009 7:34:45 PM
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sheesh
Posts 49
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Well, that "story by Andy Duncan" was pretty good, too.
I did not read this issue when it came out, but I did catch it about a year or two ago, and enjoyed the heck out of it. There were more enjoyable issues around this time, but Gardner, Sheila and friends delivered the goods again.
Let's see: both "The Undiscovered" and "After Kerry' were in Gardner's YB, and "The Nostalgianauts" was in Hartwell's. "Beluthahatchie" was some sort of award, I believe.
"Inside Out" was a WWI-set tale of alternate realities that was minor, but moving. I quite liked it.
The only story that didn't work for me was the baseball story with the long title, simply because I had no idea what was going on. I was a baseball fan in my youth, but I've long since lost the thread of diamond lore. I didn;t dislike it, it just sailed completely over my head.
A really good issue.
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11/8/2009 7:44:41 PM
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gdozois
Posts 3111
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Duncan's first collection, BELUTHAHATCHIE AND OTHER STORIES, won the World Fantasy Award, that may be what you're thinking of.
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11/8/2009 8:13:40 PM
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sheesh
Posts 49
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Ah, jeez. I'm going to have to start doing some basic fact-checking before I get all coy and snarky.
I thought for some reason that "Beluthahatchie" had won a Nebula. IT DID NOT, just to be clear. I was being all sneaky-like. Silly me.
Duncan's "The Pottawatamie [sic, possibly] Giant" won a WFA, but that isn't a Nebula either.
I swear if my internet access was more reliable, I'd be more researchy, but I don't think you believe me, which is fine.
Still, "Beluthahatchie" is a fine story, and the issue under discussion is also fine.
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11/8/2009 8:16:16 PM
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John E. Rogers, Jr.
Posts 1325
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John Thiel wrote:
What was I doing when that issue came out? Waiting for the change of the century and reading about Y2K.
I was in my third year at Loyola Law School - struggling with Corporations and Remedies.
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11/8/2009 8:18:57 PM
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gdozois
Posts 3111
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If you want a quick and easy way to determine who won what SF award, or even who was nominated for it, go to Locus Online, and click on the bar for "Index to Science Fiction Awards," under "Resources." They list the winners and nominees for all major awards in alphabetical order, as well as by year.
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