The New York Review of Science Fiction

NYRSF Issue 310 (June 2014): Table of Contents

• Arthur D. Hlavaty: Heinlein: The Grand Prototype
• Michael Swanwick: Six Untitled Tales Written in Mark Twain’s Library
• Richard L. Kellogg: Philip Wylie and the Enola Gay
• Ana Kai Tangata: Tales of the Outer the Other the Damned and the Doomed by Scott Nicolay, reviewed by Peter Rawlik
• Brian Stableford: The Perils of Prophecy: A Cautionary Tale
• The Black Prism (Lightbringer Book 1) by Brent Weeks, reviewed by Aidan-Paul Canavan
• See This: recently seen and recommended by Jen Gunnels
• Disorders of Magnitude: A Survey of Dark Fantasy by Jason V. Brock, reviewed by Don Webb
• Michael Andre-Driussi: Wes Anderson as a Great-Grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Mike Barrett: Margery Lawrence: Narratives from the Round Table
• Jane the Plain, written by August Schulenburg, directed by Kelly O’Donnell, reviewed by Jen Gunnels
• Donald M. Hassler: The “Tangled Bank” of Science Fiction and War in the Long Twentieth Century
• Photos from California, May 2014
• Editorial: The Hidden Text

The Hidden Text (Editorial, NYRSF 310)

Well, we did get the May issue out on time, and then promptly followed it with this, the latest issue so far. This failure is completely down to me; I had several opportunities to get the issue done in a timely manner and, overwhelmed by circumstances or just inertia I allowed it to fall to the side.

Next issue is going to be a close call; July has always been a very difficult month for us. One weekend is absorbed by Independence Day; then another by Readercon, which almost everyone on staff is attending. I myself am not, because the Monday immediately following Readercon is my departure day for a week-long vacation in Detroit. The three of us will first visit Bernadette’s family in Ann Arbor, and then we are delighted to be, as a family, the fannish co-Guests of Honor for DetCon1, the 2014 NASFiC. I hope that we will see many of you there; it looks like great fun.

Ana Kai Tangata: Tales of the Outer the Other the Damned and the Doomed, by Scott Nicolay, reviewed by Peter Rawlik

Nampa, Idaho: Fedogan and Bremer, 2014; $30.00 hc; 370 pages

Scott Nicolay’s debut collection consists of seven stories and one short novel. From what I understand, at one point the entire collection was be named after the novel; this is understandable, for that novel, “Tuckahoe,” is perhaps the most powerful and well-developed of all the stories presented within. A weird tale, “Tuckahoe” focuses on Detective Donny Cantu’s investigation of a tragic highway accident that took the lives of three people and left behind one arm too many, an arm that is clearly not human and which quickly deliquesces. Cantu’s estrangement from his wife, his sudden and heated relationship with the assistant coroner, and the investigation of the extra arm spiral into a descent into the unnatural. Through this, Nicolay evokes a sense of body horror and displacement with the skill of a master. Indeed, there is an intimacy to this story that makes the reader feel uncomfortable, intrusive, and perhaps even lecherous.

Jane the Plain, written by August Schulenburg, directed by Kelly O’Donnell, reviewed by Jen Gunnels

Produced by Flux Theatre Ensemble, featuring Alisha Spielmann and Chinaza Uche. Fourth Street Theatre, New York.

In the interests of self-disclosure, in high school I was a geek. Studied hard, didn’t date or attend prom, played Dungeons & Dragons. Game consoles were primitive, and we all thought that George Lucas was done with Star Wars. Star Trek: The Next Generation didn’t premiere until a year after I graduated, so we contented ourselves with the original series in reruns on Saturdays. Really, high school is an exercise in Campbell’s myth analysis. Decades later, we can point very accurately to who played the wise Mentor, the Gatekeeper, the Trickster. August Schulenburg’s Jane the Plain nods to the epic nature of high school (and it does feel epic when you’re going through it) with its struggles to know who we are and how we fit into the greater universe. The result is a funny, poignant, and sometimes brutal look at how those four years leave a lasting mark.

See This: recently seen and recommended by Jen Gunnels

Poised between the script and its fullest realization as a complete production, few things are more fascinating (and exciting) than a staged reading. With the work of Andrea Hairston, a staged reading can give the audience member a more complete understanding of the work in progress. Hairston, artistic director for Chrysalis Theatre, has garnered awards and attention for her dramatic work as well as her endeavors in fiction, both of which have long been firmly entrenched in sf.

I had the pleasure of seeing a staged reading of her latest and perhaps best work to date at one of the NYRSF Readings events in May, and Hairston will be giving another staged reading at this year’s Readercon in Boston. Attendees should make every effort to see the performance for the chance to participate in the artistic process—audience is an important part of a staged reading—and because Hairston’s clever melding of language and music shouldn’t be missed.

Thunderbird at the Next World Theatre illustrates what has always happened when an oppressive regime takes power: the takeover of all forms of news media and the closing of the theatres. Wonder why the theatre always receives such criticism? At its best, theatre is dangerous, subversive, and seditious. Thunderbird follows two actors, Benny and River, outlaws in the eyes of the new order, who like others of their kind, attempt to salvage not just props and costumes but myths and ritual and words. In this post-apocalyptic world, the government watches everyone while forbidding gatherings and skin-to-skin contact. People are expected to only “read and write screen,” libraries are blown up along with arts districts, and drones blow myths out of the sky. Hairston’s compelling commentary on the potential price of wiring-in shouldn’t be missed.

Arthur D. Hlavaty: Heinlein: The Grand Prototype

Being a review of two recent volumes about Robert A. Heinlein: Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Volume 2: The Man Who Learned Better, 1948–1988, by William H. Patterson, Jr. (New York: Tor Books, 2014; $34.99 hc; 671 pages) and The Heritage of Heinlein: A Critical Reading of the Fiction, by Thomas D. Clareson and Joe Sanders (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Books, 2014; $45.00 tpb; 220 pages).