Volume 1, Issue 23 July 2011

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Editorial: This zine just keeps getting longer (and I’m definitely not complaining). I challenged folks on the SFC email list (want to join? I’ll point you in the right direction) to write about their memories of Waffle House, and got some good responses. I also got a solid nine pages of LoCs. Wow! I review two and a half more Hugo nominated novels this issue (sorry, the novellas just aren’t happening), and got a total of four con reports from Joy V. Smith and Allegra Torres. Great news for those of you who’ve asked for some of our contributors to return, as Allegra and Greg Rieves (see the cover) have. And that’s how we got to 36 pages. Seriously, that’s a lot. Thanks, everyone. Now, for next month, I’m hoping to expand even further – since Worldcon is next month (and I’ll most definitely be looking forward to seeing a lot of y’all at Renovation), I’d like folks to send in stories about either their first or their favorite Worldcons. Send it in a loc, send it by itself, it doesn’t matter, I’ll run it either way, probably in the same manner as the Waffle House Memories, which appear after the Rebel Yells. So here we go! Enjoy the biggest SFCU yet!

Contents: Calendar of Events Warren Buff 3 Rebel Yells Y’all 10 Waffle House Memories Various 19 Hugo Novel Nominee Reviews Warren Buff 23 Con Report: PariahCon Joy V. Smith 27 Con Report: Outlantacon/Gaylaxacon Allegra Torres 28 Con Report: Fanaticon Allegra Torres 31 Con Report: ConCarolinas Allegra Torres 31

Art Credits: Cover: Greg Rieves Page 11: Brad Foster (who also did the Renovation logo) Page 27: Mike Moon

Colophon: Editor & SFC President: Warren Buff warrenmbuff@gmail.com (919) 633-4993 8712 Wellsley Way Raleigh, NC 27613 USA All contents copyright their creators. This zine is free, either by direct email or www.efanzines.com. A letter of comment or other contribution will get you on my mailing list, as long as I remember to put you there. If I forget, bother me a second time, or however long it takes to add you. I haven’t been printing this one, which leaves me free to use as many pages as I wish, and do things like color. It also lets me use all the contributions I can muster, so fire away!

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Calendar of Events: July 8-10: Shore Leave 33 (Baltimore, Maryland – Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn. Featuring guests Christopher Judge, Tricia Helfer, Eddie McClintock, John de Lancie, John Grunsfeld, Emilie Ullerup, Gary Lockwood, Sally Kellerman, and Cliff Simon. Fan-run media-centric convention that also boasts a good slate of authors and artists. Registration is $85. www.shore-leave.com) Anime Blues Con (Memphis, Tennessee – Hilton Memphis. Anime convention with a decent sense of where it is. Guests include Josh Elder, The Man Power, Maile Flanagan, Vic Mignogna, Martheus Wade, and Kyle Hebert. www.animeblues.com) Anime Overload (Austin, Texas – North Austin Events Center. Anime convention featuring Brittney Karbowski, Carli Mosier, Christine Auten, and Jerry Jewell. Registration is $30 at the door. www.animeoverload.net) July 8-9: Omnicon (McAllen, Texas – McAllen Convention Center. Billed as a convention for video games, comics, music, and anime, its guests include Johnny Yong Bosch, Jason David Frank, and Eyeshine. Membership passes are $35. www.omnicononline.com) July 9-10: Ancient City Con 5 (Jacksonville, Florida – Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Guests include Pika Belle Chu, Don Perlin, Kevin A. Ransom, Linda S. Cowden, T.S. Robinson, The Killer Robots, and Shawn Lightfood & the Brigade. Registration is $25. www.ancientcitycon.com) July 13-17: LeakyCon (Orlando, Florida – Royal Pacific Hotel. Harry Potter convention thrown by the staff of website The Leaky Cauldron, who use it to generate charitable contributions. It looks like many events are separately priced, including the already sold-out lit day. They’ve also arranged a special deal with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. In spite of that, their programming looks pretty fannish. You have to sign up for a website account to register for the con, so I leave it to the determined to find out what the price is. www.leakycon.com) July 15-17: LibertyCon 24 (East Ridge, Tennessee – Comfort Inn & Suites. This year’s guests of honor are S.M. Stirling, Theresa Mather, Stephanie Osborn, Julie Cochrane, and Allen Steele. LibertyCon is consistently one of the best cons around for both its top-notch programming and relaxing and engaging conversations in the lobby. Fierce competition abounds in both Hearts and Spades, though Spades has the larger following there. Memberships are $50. www.libertycon.org) PersaCon (Huntsville, Alabama – Radisson Suite Hotel. Anime-centric convention appealing to the young geeks of Huntsville. Pre-registration is currently $30, with no indication of the cut-off date. www.persacon.com)

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July 15-16: 24 Hours of Potter (St. Louis, Missouri – Crowne Plaza Clayton. This 24 hour event will take its structure from a wizarding school year, with feasts, club events, classes, and broomstick sports. Regular registration will be available at the door for $30. www.24hoursofpotter.com) July 17-30: Shared Worlds (Spartanburg, South Carolina – Wofford College. Creative writing summer program, which looks geared towards high school students. Instructors include Jeremy L.C. Jones, Jeff Vandermeer, Christine Dinkins, Joseph Spivey, and Christopher Dinkins. Tuition is $2250, but financial aid is available. www.wofford.edu/sharedworlds/) July 22-24: Kamikazecon IV (Houston, Texas – JW Marriott Hotel Houston. Anime convention featuring Christopher Ayres. Weekend passes are $40. www.kamikazecon.com) July 29-31: Otakon (Baltimore, Maryland – Baltimore Convention Center. Big darned anime convention. Guests include Chemistry, Tony Oliver, Lisa Ortiz, and Tom Wayland. Memberships are $65 through July 16th. www.otakon.com) Megaplex (Kissimmee, Florida – Radisson Worldgate Resort. Furry convention with a theme, this year, of arcade classics. This year’s Guest of Honor is Chad Krueger. Pre-registration is $40, at the door will be $45. www.megaplexcon.org) July 29-August 1: Play On Con (Birmingham, Alabama – Birmingham Marriott. SF & gaming convention. Featured presenters include Voltaire, Anya Martin, Sean Patrick Fannon, IK the Troll, and Andrew Greenberg. Registration online is $40, and will be $45 at the door. www.playoncon.com) August 5-7: Anime Festival Orlando 12 (Orlando, Florida – Wyndham Orlando Resort. Anime convention featuring Johnny Yong Bosch, Quinton Flynn, Jason David Frank, Reuben Langdon, Wendee Lee, Chris Patton, Dan Southworth, and John Swasey. Memberships $50 and can be purchased online through July 9th, or at the door – cash only at the door. www.animefestivalorlando.com) San Japan (San Antonio, Texas – Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. Anime convention featuring Guest of Honor Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe as well as several American voice actors and all the usual anime con fun. Pre-registration is $40 through July 15th, then $45 at the door. www.san-japan.org) Whedon Fest (Scottsville, Kentucky – Barefoot Republic campground. Charity gathering including workshops, screenings, costume contest, paintball, and other activities. $100 for the weekend, which includes bunk space and five meals – adult members are asked to volunteer for two hours to help things run. www.whedonitesunited.com)

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August 12-14: Guns of August (Williamsburg, Virginia – Holiday Inn Patriot Center. Gaming convention focused primarily on miniatures, but also featuring board games and role-playing. Registration is $20 through August 1st, then $25 at the door. $5 discount for military, students, and gamemasters. www.odms-club.com/convention) Sukoshicon (Birmingham, Alabama – Howard Johnson. This appears to be part of a series of events around the Mid-South featuring a cosplay contest, AMVs, anime karaoke, and rock band. Membership is $20. www.sukoshicon.com) August 13-14: M:TG Open Cup (Poplar Bluff, Missouri – http://warhorn.net/semo-mtg-open-cup/) August 17-21: Renovation, the 69th Worldcon (Reno, Nevada – Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Atlantis Hotel, Peppermill Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott. Hotel booking will open 8 AM PST, January 17th. Guests of Honor: Ellen Asher, Charles N. Brown (in memoriam), Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo. If you’ve never been to a Worldcon, you should try one. This one has the added bonus of not conflicting with the major Labor Day events so many of us go to, reducing your excuses. This is five days of science fiction, but more importantly, it’s a chance to meet fans from all over the world. It’s not uncommon for a group of friends at one of these to span three continents (or more – I’ve met fans from five at Worldcons – South America and Antarctica, I’m looking at you). It’s also where fandom presents its annual Hugo Awards – members can nominate and vote, though you’d better hurry if you want to nominate. This will be my third Worldcon, and I’m already getting a bit excited about it. I hope to see all y’all there. Membership is $195 through July 17th, though there is a discounted rate of $100 available for fans 17-21. www.renovationsf.org) August 18-21: Game Fest South (Chattanooga, Tennessee – Chattanooga Choo Choo. Tabletop gaming, mostly boardgames. Memberships are $40, with discounts for couples and families. www.gamefestsouth.com) August 19-21: Mizu Con (Miami, Florida – Hyatt Regency Miami. Anime convention featuring Todd Haberkorn, Lisa Ortiz, Johnny Yong Bosch, and EyeShine. Passes are $30 through July 31st, though staying at the hotel two nights gets you a free badge. www.mizucon.com) Motaku (Kansas City, Missouri – Holiday Inn CoCo Key Water Resort. Anime convention featuring Spike Spencer, Leah Clark, Tiffany Grant, Cassandra Hodges, Sophie McNutt, and Samurai Dan. Contests will be held for art, AMVs,

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and cosplay. Pre-reg is $35 through July 31st, then $40 at the door. www.motaku.org) August 19-20: Onyx Con III (Atlanta, Georgia – Southwest Arts Center. This convention is focused on the cultural output of the African Diaspora, and looks like it’s got a strong sci-fi/comics bent. Guests include Mshindo Kuumba I, Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, and N Steven Harris. Includes a writing contest in honor of the late Dwayne McDuffie. I can’t tell for sure if it costs anything or not – the website doesn’t seem to be loading images for me. www.onyxcon.com) August 20-21: Baltimore Comic-Con (Baltimore, Maryland – Baltimore Convention Center. Stan Lee will be Guest of Honor. Ticket prices aren’t listed on the website, which claims that online ticketing will be available. http://baltimorecomiccon.com/) August 26-28: ArmadilloCon 33 (Austin, Texas – Renaissance Hotel Austin. Guests of Honor will be Paolo Bacigalupi, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Lou Anders, Vincent Villafranca, Fred Duarte, Jr, and Mark Finn. This is a grand old science fiction con of the South with a reputation for bringing in tons of writers, editors, etc. Memberships are $40 through July 25th – day-of rates aren’t listed yet. www.fact.org/dillo) MechaCon (New Orleans, Louisiana – Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Anime convention featuring Steve Blum, Johnny Yong Bosch, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Kyle Hebert, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Daran Norris. Pre-registration is $40, memberships will be $50 at the door. They don’t say what the cut-off date is. www.mechacon.com) September 2-5: Dragon*Con (Atlanta, Georgia – several hotels in downtown, though most have already sold out. The guest list is huge, and they’ve named Terry Brooks and Michael Whelan as Guests of Honor. The attendance at this will be in the tens of thousands. You will be surrounded everywhere you look by folks who share some interest in fandom. It’s a great four-day weekend, and always vibrant. Membership is $105 through July 15th, $120 thereafter. www.dragoncon.com) Mephit Furmeet (Memphis, Tennessee – Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center. This furry get-together is in its fourteenth year, and going strong. Along with all the usual fun, their charity auction will benefit Tiger Haven. Attending memberships are $40 through August 1st, $45 thereafter. Supporting memberships are $20. www.mephitfurmeet.org) TCEP (Laurel, Maryland – Holiday Inn Laurel West. Gaming convention with limited information on their website. Pre-reg through July 31st is $30, and $40 thereafter. http://barkingmad.org/) Anime Fest (Dallas, Texas – www.animefest.org)

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September 9-11: Glitchcon (Bentonville, Arkansas – DoubleTree Hotel. Guests include Marina Sirtis, Ethan Phillips, Peter Pixie, Troy Baker, and Airship Isabella. Pre-reg is $30. www.glitchcon.com) September 16-18: Intervention (Rockville, Maryland – Hilton Washington DC/Rockville. Billed as an internet culture convention, its guest list is a whole ton of webcomics creators. Registration is $40 through August 31st, then $45 at the door. www.interventioncon.com) Con*Stellation XXX (Huntsville, Alabama – Holiday Inn Express. Guests of Honor will be Gene Wolfe, Lubov, Gay Haldeman, Stephanie Osborn, and Joe Haldeman. This is a good, relaxing convention which usually sees attendance by some of the leading lights of Southern Fandom. Memberships are $40 through August 12th, then more at the door. www.con-stellation.org/constell/index.html) Intercon Mid-Atlantic (Bethesda, Marylnad – Hyatt Regency Bethesda. Gaming convention featuring a lot of high-brow games and scenarios, all LARPs. Registration is $55, which includes one catered meal. http://www.imalarp.com/) September 22-25: Hurricon (Orlando, Florida – International Palms Resort. Historical minis wargaming con with a theme this year of The Last Gasp of Colonialism. Pre-reg is $25, or $35 at the door, with a $10 discount for HMGS members. www.hmgs-south.com/hmgs)

September 23-25: FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49 (Addison, Texas – Crowne Plaza North Dallas. Guests of Honor: Gail Carriger, Joe Bethancourt, Steven H Silver, Vincent Di Fate, Les Johnson, Bradley Denton, and Lou Anders. DeepSouthCon finally comes to Texas! I’m thrilled to be returning to FenCon, as well, which I found to have the friendly atmosphere appropriate to a good Southern con. I also found that the panels tended to have actively interested audiences, the game room stayed busy, folks attended the filk concerts and circles, the art show had a great mix of stuff (including some Tolkien-inspired quilts!), the video room was actually attended, the consuite well-stocked, and the dealers room balanced. The hotel bar also carried a few local Texas beers, which I appreciated. For DSC, I’ll be in charge of the fanzine lounge, which seems like an entirely appropriate place for the SFC to set up shop. FenCon will be taking advantage of Gail Carriger’s attendance to have some fun with steampunk as well. All in all, I’m looking forward to this year’s DSC, and I hope to see many of you there. Membership is $35 through September 1st, with a special $45 rate which gets you a t-shirt or tote

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bag and first crack at the autograph line with the GoHs. A $15 rate is also available for fans 21 and under. www.fencon.org) ScareFest (Lexington, Kentucky – Lexington Center. This year, the nation’s largest horror convention is running a tribute to 80s horror. Elvira is headlining, along with folks from Aliens, The Return of the Living Dead, and Ghostbusters. They’ve also got a decent selection of paranormal folks. Tickets are $60, less for single-day admission. www.scarefestcon.com) September 29-October 2: Klingon Feast (Daytona Beach, Florida – LaPlaya Resort. This event is strictly by the fans, for the fans – no dealers or guests will be included. The theme for 2011 is “Black Fleet”. There will be plenty of games and hanging out, capped by a group feast on Saturday night. Pre-registration is $45 through September 1st, $50 thereafter. http://www.klingonfeast.com/Klingon_Feast_Florida.html) September 30-October 2: Anime Weekend Atlanta (Atlanta, Georgia – Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel and Cobb Galleria Centre. Guest include Todd Haberkorn, Brina Palencia, Amy Howard Wilson, and David G. Wilson, III. Memberships are $40 through September 1st. www.awa-con.com) Archon 35 (Collinsville, Illinois – Doubletree and Gateway Center. Guests of Honor will be Spider Robinson, Sonny Strait, Brad W. Foster, Rusty Hevelin, Steve Lopata, and Vic Milan. Yeah, I know this is in Illinois, but it’s in the St. Louis metro, so I’m counting it. Memberships are $55. www.archonstl.org) GameCon V (Memphis, Tennessee – Holiday Inn Select Memphis Airport. This is the Midsouth’s largest gaming convention, featuring all sorts of games. Admission is $30 through August 31st, $40 thereafter. www.gameconmemphis.com) October 7-9: Tsubasacon (Huntington, West Virginia – www.tsubasacon.org) CrisisCon (Huntsville, Alabama – www.crisis.epiccenternetworks.com) Fan Days (Plano, Texas – www.scifiexpo.com) Realms Con (Corpus Christi, Texas – www.reamlscon.com/joomla) SIEGE (Atlanta, Georgia – www.siegecon.net/SIEGE2011) October 14-16: Capclave 11 (Gaithersburg, Maryland – www.capclave.org) Babelcon (Baton Rouge, Loiusiana – www.babelcon.info) Roundcon (Columbia, South Carolina – www.roundcon.com) Wincon (New Orleans, Louisiana – www.omgwincon.com) October 21-23: Necronomicon (St. Petersburg, Florida – www.stonehill.org/necro.htm) EXPCon IV (St. Augustine, Florida – www.expcon.org) Geek Media Expo (Nashville, Tennessee – www.mtac.net/gmx) CharCon (Charleston, West Virginia – www.charcon.org)

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October 28-30: HallowCon (Dalton, Georgia – www.hallowcon.com) Oni-con (Houston, Texas – www.oni-con.com) Vulcan Away Mission (Orlando, Florida – www.vulcanevents.com) October 29-November 5: C3 at Sea (Baltimore, Maryland -- http://theavatoy.site.aplus.net/id7.html) November 3-6: EuroQuest IX (Pikesville, Maryland – www.boardgamers.org/specific/eq11ann.htm) November 4-6: CONtraflow (New Orleans, Louisiana – www.contraflowscifi.org) Chibi-Pa: Moto (West Palm Beach, Florida – www.chibipa.com/news.php) SugoiCon (Fort Mitchell, Kentucky – www.sugoicon.org/current/index.html) NekoCon 14 (Hampton, Virginia – www.nekocon.com) Hurricane Who (Orlando, Florida – www.hurricanewho.com) SonicCon (Dallas, Texas – www.wix.com/sonicon/sonicon) November 11-13: MACE (High Point, North Carolina – www.justusproductions.com/index.php/justus/mace/2/2/2) ShandoCon (Tampa, Florida – www.shandocon.com) November 12-13: FAN:dom (Pensacola, Florida – www.wix.com/fandom_con/fandom) November 17-23: WarCon 3 (Warrensburg, Missouri – www.warhorn.net/warcon-3) November 18-20: AnimeUSA (Arlington, Virginia – www.animeusa.org) November 25-27: Darkover Grand Council (Timonium, Maryland – www.darkovercon.org) June 15-17, 2012: DeepSouthCon 50 – Lunar Party (Huntsville, Alabama – venue TBA. This will be the first independent DSC in about a decade, and the Moon Princesses have put together quite a crew to run it. Guests of Honor will include Lois McMaster Bujold, Howard Tayler, Travis “Doc” Taylor, Larry Montgomery, David Hulan, and Dr. Demento. Larry and David ran the very first two DSCs back in the 60s, and this will be a rare opportunity to get to meet them. I’ll have more information on this con in coming issues. Attending Memberships are

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currently $40, or $15 for pre-supporters. Supporting Memberships are $20. www.dsc50huntsville.com)

Rebel Yells: News and note from all over We got two letters from Rich Dengrove, the first of which arrived just a couple of days too late for the last ish: Dear Warren, Back for more comments. This time on SFCU-21. I have a comment for once on your cover. Is it a scene from Mack Reynold’s “The Martians and the Coys” (1948)? Likely not. What I remember most from the story is the Coy, having drunk his share of moonshine, had developed an immunity to poisons. The Martian’s strongest had no effect on him. Ultimately, the Martian decided he is no match for humankind, packed up and returned to Mars. Sounds like a great story, and since I’m pretty sure Greg’s reading the zine, he can hopefully answer your question for us. So much for a section of your zine I rarely comment on. Usually, I have more comments about the con listing; the only comment I have this time around is for FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49. I’m glad to see Tim has plenty of programming for young fans. There are not enough of us old fans for economies of scale. Also, young fans are good lest we get trapped in our fannish oldness. Things are more interesting when different age groups are in the same general vicinity. Even if they don’t speak to one another, their differing styles can cross-pollinate one another. I’m really looking forward to FenCon’s DSC. Tim keeps asking me little questions about the traditions and making sure they do things right, which gives me a lot of confidence that his team won’t just run a good convention, but a good DSC. Anyway, I hope to see you in September for Fencon/DeepSouthCon. As you told Lloyd Penney, you were kept working because of the tornados in April. It’s a good thing that September isn’t a tornado month. But it’s a hurricane month, isn’t it? In short, wash my mouth out with soap and water. Also, I once could say nyeah nyeah because I have a Federal job, and we used to be dismissed for bad weather. However, that is getting to be a thing of the past, and, increasingly, we are being required to telework. Have they no human decency?! -) I guess for this next subject the tornado has taken me back to an alternate 19th Century. I’m going to talk about Mitra Salehi’s “Steam Shenanigans.” I think the essence of Steam Punk is that we are nostalgic for a more optimistic and better motivated era than our own. Whether the McGuffin is anachronistic technology

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or magical technology, that is what we appreciate about it, even as we yearn to wish into the corn field its too un-p.c. practices. Good insight there, and one I’ll have to think about more. Maybe we can even get some more input on this. Having talked about Steam Punk in general, I have to say something about Steam Punk in particular. In his article, Mitra cites DiFilippo’s Steam Punk short story “Victoria,” where Queen Victoria was replaced by a reptoid. I bet he was inspired by David Icke, a purveyor of New Age politics. Icke has made the claim, since 1999, that the Royal Family are reptoids. And he said the same about George Bush. Of course, he had to be putting us on, and DiFilippo had to be having fun with his story. Yeah, I think Victorian pieces open up a lot of opportunities for having fun with things, even kooky ideas out of the press. By the way, have I mentioned that I love your transitions? Who is no reptoid is Franz Waxman. Not the composer of the score for Bride of Frankenstein, Philadelphia Story, Mister Roberts, Stalag 17, Rebecca, Sunset Boulevard and other films. Of course, because he composed for films, he is a hero only sung about by very few. Jeff Thompson among them. Another such unsung hero, I came across recently, Bernard Herrman. He composed the score for, among others, Psycho, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Vertigo, Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane and North by Northwest. We need finale music now from either one because that’s it for this letter. Yours, Rich Dengrove Chris Garcia made a point of praising Bernard Herrman’s score in his article on The Day the Earth Stood Still over in The Drink Tank. Definitely a classic. As for finale music, though, it’s not quite time, since we’ve got your second letter: 6/30/2011 Dear Warren, You are publishing these things fast so I better comment on SFCU-22 macht schnell. First, about your calendar of events. While SFCU-22 seems to be doing fine, some tasks shouldn’t be finished with too much speed. You say the website

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for Sci Fi Summer Con is a disaster. A lot are. And the reason is that they were programmed so fast they were effectively done without brains. Info any viewer would need is forgotten. Usually, they have the name of the organization. Any other info, like the product, is iffy. Or the location. Or the date. Yeah, I try to make a point of when a website is utter dreck, and when it’s something readable and informative. I don’t usually comment on the merely competent, though, or the flashy-but-workable. That’s it for your calendar. How much can you really comment on a calendar of events? Your Rebel Yells, though, will get more comment. My first comment concerns Jeffrey Thompson’s letter. Your zine has a combo of high brow and low brow, which makes for the whole person. Jeff is the high brow part. When I write my articles about bad movies, I will be the low brow part. Hey, when either of you writes me an article, you’re an appreciated part. My second comment on Your Rebel Yells concerns yours truly’s letter. It doesn’t have anything to do with movies but it has to do with games and books. I was talking about pop/learned tomes. Probably I shouldn’t have included Camus among them. However, his work has been very popular. Other pop/learned tomes I remember from the ‘60s and ‘70s were not necessarily works of any depth. I can easily see where some game could surpass them in that category. Who remembers a book called The Greening of America by Charles Reich? It was ballyhooed as deep but I have definitely considered it wading pool reading. Of course, pop/learned tomes weren’t limited to the ‘60s and ‘70s. I remember Gail Sheehy’s Passages in the ‘80s and, more recently, The Fifth Turning. I read Gail Sheehy’s book and I can see it made no sense whatsoever. The Fifth Turning, someone explained to me; and her explanation made no sense whatsoever either. However, they were on a topic of interest to us Baby Boomers, and said things to please our crowd; and, voilà, they were bestsellers. Then there are the popular scholarly works that are apparently pretty substantial, which I keep meaning to read to keep up with my friends and family – David McCullough’s John Adams, for instance, or Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. I refuse, however, to waste any more time on Ayn Rand. I’ve read Nietzsche – his conclusions give me a lot more hope for humanity (even if butchering his early work gets you Ayn Rand). Next, we take a break from letters, and my memories of airheadedness, and go on your announcement of the first winner of the Cornerstone award, Jeff Smith. Did he organize Stellar Con/DeepSouthCon too several years ago? I totally forget names these days, I am afraid. If he’s the one, I spoke to him. He was a great guy and a great con runner, and he certainly deserved an award. No, Jeff runs a gaming convention in High Point, and may have been at the DSC there, but he’s not run one of those. He’s also responsible for saving StellarCon

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back in the early 90s, and since it hosted DSC, he’s got at least that much connection. Good guy, and I’m glad they honored him. After that, we go to a letter by Lloyd Penney. He is a great guy too, only from Canada and not North Carolina. Anyway, it’s good that the great guys be spread out; or else some area would be bereft of great guys. In his letter, Lloyd brought up that he and Yvonne had celebrated their twenty-eight wedding anniversary. I want him to know his marriage is just a spring chicken. I have been married to Heidi for thirty-two years. Thus your letter column, a review of people, caught my fancy. Next thing that caught my fancy was your reviews of books. Am I married to Julian Comstock? No, I am sure City and the City made you think more. However, I suspect Julian is underestimated in the thinking cap department. Robert Wilson really spent a lot of time building his world. And he has really performed an impressive feat considering it is based on a whimsy: combining the reign of Julian the Apostate and the world of Oliver Optic, a 19th Century boys’ author. At the time, I was absolutely blown away by Julian Comstock. That’s dimmed a little, but I still think it was an awesome book. And it had an octopus on the cover. While I appreciate how clever Julian Comstock is, I am not so certain about a book you review in more detail, Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Maybe that’s because I didn’t read it. I just read some reviews of it. From those reviews, what would ruin it for me was its take on the Tang., I get the impression that it’s a 21st Century take, which fills it with ninjas and magicians. I once read a book about Tang astrology and astral magic, and apparently astrology, and not ninjas and magicians, was what was all important. Just once I would like to see, in a novel or movie about the Tang, a star goddess walk upon Earth as a human. I admit it’s not likely to happen, although it happened all the time in Tang literature. I didn’t notice a single ninja in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. The order of the Heavens, however, was pretty important in that one. It’s also not, at least nominally, about the Tang, but I think you might yet enjoy it. Next, I go from commenting on one of your reviews of books to commenting on one of your reviews of stories – “That Leviathan, Who Thou Has Made” by Eric James Stone. It concerns contact with plasma beings living inside the Sun, and who are almost divine. Like I find a problem with Jemisin’s history, I have a problem with Stone’s science. I once saw an explanation for plasma beings, and it sounded like the author was building a Rube Goldberg device – completely complex and roundabout and, in the end, a dud. On the other hand, I bet I would like Stone’s tale whether science, fantasy or harebrained scheme. Y’know, I didn’t really put much thought into the possibility of the plasma beings, as limited as my understanding of plasma is – I put them in the

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category of “things I’ll let slide to get to the big idea of the story.” And the big idea was awesome. Finally, I have a comment on Jeff Thompson’s article on Fanexes past. As I have a little trouble with the authenticity of Jemisin’s novel and Stone’s story, I have a problem with the autograph signing at Classic Film Fest 2000. The daughters of the famous men of Psycho signing?! Dorothy Hermann and Patricia Hitchcock? Aren’t we getting a little far afield here? ... Eh, while it peeves me a little, it’s all in good fun. I just want to know what Jeff’s Psycho Bathroom is about. I guess that’s it for my comments this time around. Yours, Rich Dengrove And thanks again, Rich! Next, we heard from Joy V. Smith: Warren, Thanks for all the reviews. "For Want of a Nail" sounds like I'd enjoy it, and "The Things" has an interesting premise. Other points of view and twists usually intrigue me, so "Plus or Minus" makes me want to read it too--to see how it relates to "The Cold Equations." And I like the title connection. (Speaking of twists, I'll be reading and reviewing Prom and Prejudice soon--when I get it. It's an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for teens.) While I wasn’t thrilled by “The Things”, it was largely because it struck me as too clever for its own good. I often enjoy shifts of perspective, though not as much when they make a point of how the new point of view is better. I love, for instance, John Gardner’s Grendel, which I give tons of credit for not changing who the hero of the story is. I don't often read graphic stories, but "Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel" sounds like fun. Though I'm not familiar with Girl Genius, and you don't sound very enthusiastic about #10, I gather that you like the series. I'll keep an eye open for it. Well, I generally agree with Glug’s reviews here (though I haven’t finished Massively Parallel). Girl Genius is a good ongoing series, and there’s nothing wrong with the material in this volume – it’s just not a complete story. As a middle chapter, it’s pretty good, but that’s really not what we’re supposed to be evaluating in this category. It’s Best Graphic Story, not Best Series. And I enjoyed Jeff Thompson's article and background about attending earlier conventions.

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Appreciatively, Joy V. Smith My writing blog http://pagadan.wordpress.com/ Always glad to hear from you, Joy! M. Lee Rodgers updates us on the SFC Handbook project: Warren et al.: The Handbook web site is in an embryonic state, but it is finally in good enough shape to let the general public look at it. The URL is http://www.smithuel.net/sfchb3/toc_v3.html. The site still needs a good bit of work as time allows, but the current version lets potential contributors see what we are trying to do. Let's publicize the URL in the next SFC publication. Thanks for everyone's patience. Onward and upward! M. Lee Rogers Thanks, Mike. I’m gonna have to dig and see if I can find you something appropriate, art-wise – or maybe one of the fanartists reading at home can cook something up for us…. Brad Foster wrote in, along with a new piece of art, which is always appreciated: Greetings Warren ~ New SFCU has arrived, and I certainly think that responding to awesome natural disaster is as good a reason as any to delay the publication of a fanzine for a bit. Like the 'toons from Greg, very clean line, hope you'll be pubbing more. And also hope that, should he have more on hand, he might be led to spread them around to some other fanzines out there as well. Check out efanzines.com Greg, tons of zine editors out there would love to have you send them some art, and tons of readers who'd love to see more! Well, you’re getting your wish on more art from Greg. And I’ll take time to address him here: please do take Brad’s compliment and encouragement seriously. He’s got a much better eye for it than I do, but I agree with him about your line. There are plenty of other faneds who could use something to brighten

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up their zines, as I’ve been trying to do of late. One of the reasons Brad is so well-loved is that he shares his art pretty freely with just about any faned who can appreciate it. WE just got back from a long and fun weekend at A-Kon. Energy levels are so high there, you don't even have to really be into the whole anime/manga thing to have a good time. It helps. But since I'm not, the sheer energy and creative excitement of such a young crowd was a blast. And they even seemed to like an aging pen-and-ink cartoonist in their high tech midst, too. Coming out of the busy convention/festival spring season, and planning on locking myself in the studio for a couple of weeks and finishing up on some projects that have been put on hold for a while. And maybe do some more fillos for fun, too. Here’s to more time to work on projects, and to the fillos you find time for. Thanks again for this one. Speaking of which, kind of low in supply of new ones just now, but do have one more I can send off, and it should be attached here. Oh, have also kind of started up trying to get a blog going, posting random bits of art and such until I find a focus. The curious can click over to http://my-corner-of-the-weird-by-brad-foster.blogspot.com/ and check out the band logos, tattoo designs, and such that have gone up recently. And if anyone should feel the need, I'd love to see how many little trading-card-looking pictures I can collect in that "followers" box! Now, back to the drawing board for me- Brad Brad W Foster PO Box 165246, Irving, TX 75016 I’ll have to try to check out your blog at some point. Thanks for sharing the link. And finally, we got a letter from the inimitable Lloyd Penney: 1706-24 Eva Rd. Etobicoke, ON CANADA M9C 2B2 June 19, 2011 Dear Warren:

I was traveling yesterday, went to a voicework audition in the south side of town, and Yvonne would pick me up later, so I brought a printout of a fanzine to write down comments on while I waited, and that zine was SFC Update Vol. 1 No. 22. Here’s what I thought of while waiting in the sunshine…

Good luck to Yvonne on the audition!

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Southern-style poutine? That I’d like to see. I’ve certainly has the northern

version a few times. Maybe the southern version is a little healthier? Why is it that everything that is so bad for you tastes so good?

Healthier? Hardly. Grease drips off of WaHo hashbrowns. Sausage gravy is that much heavier than brown gravy. And I can’t imagine the low-grade slices of cheese they use are any better for us than cheese curds.

Another great convention list, and there are so friends listed as guests at

some of them. We are definitely going to Reno…we’ve invested too much time, money and effort not to go. Just gotta get our flights arranged, and we’ll be going. I saw that Dr. Demento will be at DragonCon? Reno’s got him, too.

Indeed, I’m looking forward to Renovation. Everything’s squared away, I just need to wait for it and go! I’ll see you there.

Creation Conventions have returned to Toronto, and have gone back to

their old habit of landing their conventions on the same weekends as fan-run cons. They were chased out of the province of Ontario because they hadn’t paid their income taxes, so let’s see if they are better behaved this time around. They are also doing business in Vancouver, so I hope the province of British Columbia is also aware of their past practices.

Yeah, I’ve basically decided to stop listing Creation cons. It’s just too depressing to look at their websites over and over and over….

My loc…Anime North didn’t have their usual non-anime programming this

year, so there really wasn’t much for us this time around. It looks like their attendance this year may have topped 20,000, so an attendance cap may be set next year to keep the crowds manageable. What we might do next year…the World Steam Expo is on the same weekend as Anime North, and it isn’t that far away, in Dearborn, Michigan…if money says yes, we might go so see what we could expect. Also, in spite of being successful, it looks like the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition was a one-shot. It is being described as defunct; that’s a real shame.

Too bad about the Canadian National, there. And about the lack of non-anime programming at AN. Animazement, in Raleigh, isn’t quite as large, but also lacks non-Japanese-culture programming. Kind of a shame there’s not much there for the generalist fan.

I am still job hunting, but I’ve had a couple of interviews, plus a couple of

voicework auditions. Our next convention is Polaris 25, where we will be dealers with two tables. Yvonne is the found of Polaris, so we will see soon if there are some honours to come her way during this anniversary year.

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(As I was writing, no word of lie, a black convertible went past…its Ontario licence plate said RBL YELL. How’d he know what fanzine I was reading?)

That, sir, is truly awesome.

Summer is well and truly here, already scorching, so I am planning less

time on the computer, and more time having something refreshing on a patio or two. I might fall behind on my letters, but such is the price of relaxation, hm? Take care, have some fun, and see you in Reno in a short time. Yours, Lloyd Penney. See you there, and if you have to miss a letter or two to have a good time, we’ll understand. And in at the buzzer, we’ve got a press release: PRESS RELEASE 2011 – New Fantasy Release Continuation of Story of Powerful Wizards Affecting History The Santa Louise Kid—Warcry is released by T. Robert Yani Jamie Wilson is an extraordinarily powerful warlock as well as a charismatic and charming young man; the spiritual son of Simon Magus and Helen of Troy, Jamie is destined for greatness, and he has surrounded himself with a number of very able witches and warlocks who are eager to assist him in his designated quests. As a Tier-1 Warlock, Jamie is capable of many amazing feats, such as time travel, healing, and alteration of his appearance. As needed, Jamie can appear to be a five year old child, or an elderly man, but his most frequent incarnation is that of a sixteen-year-old young man. In that guise, he meets Lizzy Turner, a beautiful girl living in 18th century Massachusetts. After Jamie shows her his considerable abilities, she kisses him, causing the boy to become instantly smitten. However, she soon finds competition in the form of Marie DeMolay, another young beauty from the 18th century. Jamie brings Marie and her father, Jacques, back from Heaven after they are brutally killed by two demons in the form of Indian women, and Marie decides that she will stay in the 20th century and win Jamie for herself. In the midst of all this romance, Jamie and his fellow warlocks and witches are locked in combat against the forces of evil, attempting to change the course of history for the better. The Santa Louise Kid-- Warcry is the second novel in the Santa Louise Kid trilogy, following the actions of Jamie and his friends as they fight on the side of good. Author T. Robert Yani, a longtime reader, decided to start writing his own

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books at the age of 60. He’s currently a project manager in Central Florida, where he lives with his wife. Yani loves baseball, history, and travel, and has a large collection of shot glasses he’s gathered during his travels. Yani is currently at work on the final book in the Santa Louise Kid trilogy. ---------- The Santa Louise Kid--Warcry T. Robert Yani Dog Ear Publishing ISBN: 978-145750-293-4 252 pages US Available at Ingram, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and fine bookstores everywhere. WAHF: Toni Weisskopf, Tom Ely, Greg Rieves.

Waffle House Memories Steven H. Silver: A couple of years ago, I was working for a company from home. On one call with my other teammates (one in Atlanta, one in Charlotte, and one somewhere else in the south), Waffle House came up. I mentioned I hadn't eaten at one in years since there weren't any near me. They couldn't believe it. I did a quick search on the internet and discovered that the nearest Waffle House to my home was more than 200 miles away. They couldn't believe it. Of course, I do have a waffle house story (sort of), since I wound up at a Waffle House after the Nebulas in Cocoa Beach with Paolo Bacigalupi, John Scalzi, Mary Robinette Kowal, and others (along with Paolo's Nebula) at 3:00 in the morning. Adam Limehouse: This is not so much fandom as it is young and geeky. During high school, I use to play White Wolf's Vampire: The Masquerade with a relatively large troupe on a Saturday night. (::shame:: This is what you do on Saturday nights in Summerville, SC.) On any number of occasions we would tromp into the local WaHo very, very late at night. All dolled up in costuming and cheerfully eat through their larder. Needs must. Kerry Gilley pointed out that Karla Ulbrich has done a filk song about Waffle House. Joel Zakem: While it has nothing to do with fandom, there are probably some wrestling (excuse me, rasslin') fans out there who might enjoy the story of the late Randy 'Macho Man' Savage vs a police dog at a Nashville Waffle House: http://www.dutchmantell.com/

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Guy Lillian: Waffle Houses are ugly buildings with impossible bathrooms but the food is OK. Rosy likes their pecan waffles and had the best cup of coffee she's had in years at the WH on the Florida Keys. I still miss Nawlins' Hummingbird Grill, long closed by the yuppie pig who bought it but fondly remembered as the best place to go at 3AM with a klatsch of cash-strapped fans, where one dined on what my first wife called "good grease" in the company of hookers, cabbies, and cops, and came home with change in one's pocket. Waffle House Confessions By Warren & Glug Waffle House is an institution in Southern Fandom. How many times has it provided aid and comfort on a trip back from some far flung con? Or fuel for a long night of gaming? A proper Waffle House is in colors of orange, yellow, and wood paneling that haven’t been made since the 70s – but if you’ve been to one of the newer ones, you can see that they sure have tried. There are signs hawking Bert’s chili, a mathematically flawed number of permutations of burgers, and an invitation to Try The Pie. That was one of our favorites in high school. But this isn’t an article about Waffle House, this is an article about the Waffle Houses of Raleigh, which really are the epicenter of local fandom. Sad isn’t it? These dens of iniquity are also the hottest after hours spots in Raleigh. The News and Observer says so! The greatest of Raleigh’s Waffle Houses is situated on Hillsborough Street, which is the main drag of N.C. State. The Waffle House there is about a half a mile from the campus, and actually just across from Meredith College. It’s just in front of the railroad tracks, too. Back in the day, there was only one guarantee about late night at the Hillsborough Street Waffle House – you were going to see Ms. Betty. Though perhaps dire warning is more appropriate than guarantee. You see, we used to play this game called ‘Ms. Betty Roulette.’ You were always certain to get somebody’s order from Ms. Betty. You were not always certain to get your order. But if you did get your order, or something of equal or greater desirability, you won. Usually, everybody broke even then proceeded to trade with the other people at the table until we all had something comparable to what we had ordered. Needless to say that worked better in large groups. But that wasn’t the only thing that was randomized. So was your bill. See, it wasn’t enough just to get food that might or might not resemble what you ordered. You were also paying for something that seemed to be pulled out of Ms. Betty’s imagination. It almost never resembled either what you ordered, what

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you got, or what you ate. And the only way to make sure you won at this game was to make sure one of the other waitresses was working the register when you left. Ms. Betty was dead certain that she was right, and she was mean about it. The win condition was, of course, to pay for less than what you’d eaten, but paying for either that or what you ordered was good enough. Bless her heart. Now to make matters worse Ms. Betty didn’t work just any shift. She worked the Saturday night late shift. This was a real melting pot of humanity. You would often see college kids arguing esoteric philosophy, being oh so smart, next to exasperated preachers trying to scribble out their next sermon onto the page before deadline. Don’t forget the long haul truckers, or the people clearly on their way to using drugs, or the people who are clearly on their way back from using drugs. Waffle House doesn’t judge, and neither can I. The first time I was stoned, I ate at the Waffle House. With Mr. Hensley. You see, we had both been to see Bob Dylan & Paul Simon in concert. It had been outside at Walnut Creek Amphitheater, which used to be the big spot to see aging rockers on tour. Before the show, we’d run into one of our high school teachers, Mike. He was there with one of the guidance counselors. Go Mike. But they had the good seats, and we were up on the lawn. Right in front of us was a narc. We could have told you he was a narc because he wasn’t having fun. We could have told you he was a narc because he kept checking his gun. But the dead giveaway that he was a narc was when he was the only one not to sing along with Bob: “Everybody must get stoned!” To our left was a large man, clearly out of his mind on something happy, who just danced the whole night through. Behind him was a dude who seemed to be the entire free love, free drug movement. At one point, this stoner supreme just fell into some girl’s arms and started making out with her. His buddy had never seen her before, but just shrugged. And if that doesn’t tell you enough to realize that we got a killer contact buzz, you’ve clearly never been to see aging rockers in an outdoor pavilion. So after the show, we asked Mr. Hensley to take us to the Waffle House, because we were feeling pretty hungry. We stumbled in, and found ourselves a seat with a scenic view of the abutting railroad track. So we looked over the menu one by one, and all came to the same conclusion: Man I can kill me an All-Star Special. For the uninitiated the All-Star Special contains an entire waffle, eggs (cooked to order), 4 wedges of toast, your choice of 3 strips of bacon or 2 sausages, sweet tea and grits. Yes, we ate grits, Billy. We ate grits, and we liked them. THIS IS HOW WE ROLL. So we got our order, ate them, and paid. Sitting out at the car we had a moment of revelation. Including ordering and paying we had spent fifteen whole minutes in the Waffle House. In addition to setting a new record, this also brought us our second moment of revelation. We were baked. Though that is not our only run in with substances of a questionable nature at Waffle House. So the gaming group was seated by the window with the view of the railroad tracks, once again. We had ordered and settled into the business of eating our grease filled deliciousness. Already we had been in the Waffle House

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fifteen minutes, when we see a van pull up into the parking lot. That by itself wasn’t noteworthy. Nor were the superfluous number of intoxicated people cascading out of the van. This is, afterall, the Waffle House. What was suspicious was that the side door stayed opened. Many people were going into, and coming out of the van. The real give away though was the haze that had settled around said van. Suburban kids that we are, we could picture the fat wads changing hands. If we could figure this out, then we reasoned, so could the street hardened officers of the Raleigh Police Department. Thus it was decided at this juncture that it was time to leave. We asked for our check. We had our check in our hands. We had just finished dividing up the check and were ready to pay. John was walking to the car to retrieve his forgotten wallet. John opened the Waffle House door when no less than a half dozen cruisers swarmed onto the parking lot, followed by the paddy wagon and an SUV for good measure all marked with the badge of the Wake County Sheriff’s Department. John realized what was happening just in time to turn around and get back to the table. And right after him came one of the shadiest characters of the whole bunch, who’d managed to slip in the front door just before Ms. Betty locked it. The whole time the sheriff’s deputies were outside, he sat at the counter and tried to act like he wasn’t looking over his shoulder. And all this wouldn’t be noteworthy – after all, a drug bust at a Waffle House probably won’t even make the morning news – except that the Hillsborough Street Waffle House is inside the Raleigh city limits. Well, after about fifteen of the folks in the parking lot had found their way into the backs of deputies’ vehicles, this one lonely Raleigh P.D. car rolls up. And out steps this one lonely little Raleigh cop, his blue uniform contrasting starkly with the deputies’ black ones. And there wasn’t a darned thing he could do but to sit there and watch as the biggest drug bust of the month slipped away in the backs of the Sheriff’s Deputies’ Crown Vics. Not all our Waffle House stories involve drugs. Some of them involve getting drunk, instead. There was one time Warren got really drunk at a con, which was something of a challenge, since there were no parties that night. See, he’d brought his own pint of Jack Daniels, which should tell you something about how old he was. He’d also had several beers and some punch the hotel made for an event in the function space. And a shot of tequila. He was so drunk, he wound up hitting on a sixteen-year-old who’d walked out of the hotel. Lucky for him, her friends dragged her away before she was completely drawn in by his rambling diatribe about Cu Chulainn, Vikings, Wagner, and Atilla the Hun. The rest of the crew had a good laugh about it, then shoved him into the back of a car, which took the five of us to Waffle House. When we got him there, he proceeded to pass out on the table. When the waitress showed up, we woke him up and told him he had to order something. He could only get out one word: “TOAST”, then laid his head back on the table. We shook him, saying “Warren, what do you want with your toast?” “TOAST!” It was clear we weren’t going to get anywhere with that, so we ordered him a water and made him drink a few sips before he could lay down again.

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When our food got there and we got him awake again, he took a bite of the toast, threw it down, and laid back down. We shook him awake again, and said, “Warren, you’ve got to eat more of your toast.” His reply? “BURNT.” So we got him another piece of toast, which we managed to get him to eat three bites of, along with another sip of water, before it just wasn’t worth the effort anymore. To complete his night of making an ass of himself, he threw up in the parking lot. Thankfully, they didn’t charge us for his toast. Bonus Waffle House Recipe: Southern Style Poutine When I go out of town I like to eat local foods, though not the kinds of things fancy enough to be cuisine or disgusting enough to rise to the level of delicacies. So when I was in Montreal for Anticipation it was no surprise that a group of us decided to find what local Quebecois eat: Poutine. Poutine is a greasy and disgusting mess, whose deliciousness is proportional to the distress it causes to the gastrointestinal system. I am actually a little jealous that Americans didn’t think it up. This is exactly the kind of food we have built a storied international reputation on. Poutine consists of fries, soggy with fry oil, with cheese curds melted on top, all slathered in brown gravy. Not being experts on the Montreal food scene, we did the only natural thing. We asked the concierge where a local place we had heard other fans rave about was. He got about half way through his directions before shaking his head and telling us that if we wanted real poutine we needed to go to La Belle Province, and that it was in the mall. Armed with this knowledge we headed out to the mean streets of Montreal. The directions would have been easier put as “turn at the strip club.” Yes, I am aware that there are multiple such establishments in the city but this one dominated a city block. It had the tallest “Girls, Nude!” sign that I have ever seen. Around the corner from that was the mall. After the cop realized we were Americans, and didn’t speak a word of French, he kindly directed us to the food court where we enjoyed this classic Canadian dish. Now you too can experience the joys of this culinary pointillism. Just follow the directions below:

1. Go to your favorite Waffle House location. 2. Order hashbrowns “scattered, covered and country”. (Translation:

Scattered on the griddle, covered with American cheese and sausage gravy).

3. Enjoy!

Reviews: To give myself a fair scale for ranking the Hugo nominees for Best Novel before I've read them all, I'm going to rank the 8 nominees of the previous decade that I've actually read. My rating for a given book will be where I would slot it, if it were added to this hypothetical ballot. I don't believe any of these works ranks below No Award, so it takes the ninth slot. A rating of 10, therefore, would

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indicate that a book is utterly unworthy of a Hugo, whereas a 1 would mean I would give it a rocket even against extraordinarily stiff competition – three of them got rockets of their own, after all. Keep in mind, then, that I really liked all eight of these books. This doesn’t, however, correspond to the actual weight I gave them at the time. I voted Julian Comstock above The City & The City, for instance. A rousing good adventure story is enough to get my vote over No Award, but a book that makes me think and feel as well will get higher marks. The Power Ballot (1) Anathem by Neal Stephenson (2) American Gods by Neil Gaiman (3) The City & The City by China Miéville (4) The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold (5) The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (6) Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson (7) Old Man's War by John Scalzi (8) The Last Colony by John Scalzi (9) No Award Cryoburn, by Lois McMaster Bujold 352 pages, about five good evenings to read Rank on the Power Ballot: 6 This is Bujold doing what she does well – telling an engaging adventure story. What’s striking is that she manages to do it with a hero who is physically handicapped and ostensibly working as an auditor. Okay, an Imperial Auditor, and one with a distinguished record of military service. Still, I don’t exactly think of high adventure when I hear the words “fraud investigation”. In any case, if you’ve liked previous Miles adventures, this one remains worth the read – and if you haven’t read Bujold before, get cracking! The story opens with Miles fleeing a kidnapping attempt, drugged, and lost in an underground tunnel system filled with cryogenically stored bodies. He meets some of the locals, starts learning about their world, mixes in his galactic friends, digs into the local intrigue, makes his power play, and comes out of the inevitable firefights on top. The secondary characters, meanwhile, get largely satisfying conclusions to their bits of the story, and the dénouement features and emotionally powerful segment with Miles and his brother. This was a good read, and felt like it made important progress with Miles as a character. It was not, however, the best Miles story I’ve read (and given that more than one novel in this series has a Hugo already, that’s not that big a knock on it). This felt like a high-quality work of adventure fiction, which is something I

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feel science fiction fandom needs to continue to recognize and value. However, I feel I have to compare it to Bujold’s other work, and rate it accordingly. I did not feel this was a work on the level of The Curse of Chalion, which in addition to being a good adventure story was also emotionally powerful throughout. I have thus ranked it a bit below that. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be disappointed to see it take home a rocket. It’s good enough for that. This year, however, we’ve got a few better options as well, and my ballot will reflect that. Feed, by Mira Grant 608 pages (only around 550 for the story), took me four long evenings to read Rank on the Power Ballot: 10 This novel was okay. It managed to move quickly (which is about the only way I can forgive its page-count), and dropped enough surprises to keep it fresh. Unfortunately, it clearly had a chip on its shoulder, and spent far too much time trying to make points rather than tell a story. Here’s the deal: it’s the future, zombies rose a generation ago, and somehow the world managed to hold together enough to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Oh, wait, no, that ‘somehow’ is explained at great length – it was bloggers that saved us! And yet, in spite of having saved the world a generation ago, bloggers are just now getting enough respect to be invited along on the presidential campaign trail.

It’s all a little far-fetched, and rather fails to account for the ways that over the past couple of years, traditional print and broadcast media outlets have been increasingly relying on their web presence, a large portion of which is formatted as blogs. In other words, the world-building failed.

Then there’s the problem of the big finish. I didn’t think a journalist using a hidden recorder to out a politician screwing over the public was original when I read Transmetropolitan back in college (which also involved using the web to distribute said damning evidence). But that story was better told. Spider Jerusalem was a more rounded, engaging character than anyone in Feed. And I never thought Warren Ellis was trying to sell me something.

Which brings us to the blogger apologism. It gets ranty at times, and really reminds me of some bloggers I’ve known who drank the Kool-Aid and were convinced that their form of communication was somehow special (and were nitpicky about some magical distinction between link-aggregating and journaling). To triangulate how irritating this apologism was, imagine Heinlein on his worst days (which is more his political rants than his true-believer stuff on

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space travel), the later Narnia books (once Lewis was doing it deliberately), and Ayn Rand’s B-game (her A-game rants are world-class irritating), and you’re somewhere in the right vicinity. In a better novel, I’d find this more forgivable.

This is the only one of the nominees I’ve read so far which I’ll be ranking below No Award. I felt like it needed serious editing, perhaps to the tune of 150 pages. I’m not big on reading filler, and this felt like it had plenty. If you’re voting on the Hugos, go ahead and read this one, but save it for last, just in case you’re pressed for time. If you’re not, I can’t think of a good reason to recommend this unless you’re just burning through your other material too quickly and want some zombies, blogging, zombies and bloggers fighting, bloggers blogging about zombies, bloggers blogging about blogging, and maybe just almost a zombie blogging.

A Few Words on Blackout/All Clear, by Connie Willis Combined, this two-volume novel is over 1000 pages long. That’s why I’m not done reading it, and why my review isn’t gonna be out before the voting period ends (unless there’s a great crying out for me to put out the next issue early). So far, the prose is excellent. Unfortunately, the pacing is glacial. It helps, a lot, that the characters are really engaging, and the subject matter is interesting stuff. I like WWII. But I don’t really want to plow through all the minutiae of daily life in Britain in the war years. A novel half this length, and I’d be voting it pretty high. But this is just too much. Unless the conclusion is

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positively thrilling, this will rank after Cryoburn and above No Award on my ballot, which shall look like this: (1) The Dervish House (2) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (3) Cryoburn (4) Blackout/All Clear (5) No Award (6) Feed

Con Reports PariahCon Report by Joy V. Smith I learned about PariahCon, a local con focusing on anime and gaming, in the Southern Fandom Confederation Bulletin. While I'm not interested in either, it was in Lakeland, and I had accumulated a lot of freebies (books, magazines, fanzines, etc.) to donate. I went there Saturday morning and registered. The registration tables were well set up, being divided into a pre-registration table with alphabetical lines and an on-site registration table. The registration tables were busy, but my sister and I were processed promptly and we got our badges immediately. It was $25.00 per person for the weekend. Good deal, I thought. Then I dropped off my freebies and browsed. (Apparently attendees here aren't aware of freebie tables so I made little signs on the spot and mentioned it to everyone I passed or met in the elevators.) The con ran June 10-11, starting on Friday afternoon, but there was also a MegaRan concert Sunday. This was PariahCon's first year, but they had multiple tracks, including gaming, panels, and workshops. Guests included voice actors from anime shows. They had tournaments and some events I'm not familiar with, plus costume contests. I didn't stay for the afternoon contest, but I saw some great costumes roaming the halls. And there had been a Miss Pokemon contest Friday afternnon. I talked to the Dealers Director, and he said that they were pleased with the numbers and expected even more people later. He was happy since it was their first con; they got a lot of publicity by word of mouth with attendees from coast to

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coast and from north and south Florida, including Miami. The kids--and everyone--are having fun, he said, and there were no major issues or complaints. I noticed a lot of staff badges, and there were always people who could answer my questions, 'cause I had to track down the freebie tables. And the attendees I saw were enthusiastic and often ran into friends, which is usually the case at cons. I checked out the dealers room and took the long trek to Artist Alley, which was very warm; they were hoping for coolness. I hope they got it. I bought some anime stickers at one of the artist's booths, even though I have no idea who the characters are. The dealer wasn't there, so the people at the next booth and I tried to figure out what the prices were (sticker prices varied by size), and I gave them the money. Most everything was located on the 7th floor, except for registration (4th floor), and Artist Alley (5th floor); and I think gaming was on another floor. However, all the locations were posted in the elevators, which was helpful. And there were lots of signs. Gaming and anime are completely different worlds from books and authors--which is what I'm used to, but the dealers room had a nice selection of graphic novels, DVDs, games, anime items, and costume accessories (I assumed). I thought it was a fantastic first con, and the convention guide book--with cover art--and schedule sheet were well laid out. Of course, I picked up a number of flyers and cards. Lots of websites and fun things for anime enthusiasts. I hope they have more cons like this one because there were a lot of fun opportunities there for fans. OUTLANTA/GAYLAXICON Allegra Torres Friday: We departed at what felt like dawn. Despite a valiant/halfhearted attempt to stay awake on my part, SpaceJesus drove whilst I slept/drooled on Pikachu. We arrive at the hotel, sit around for a while because the con hasn’t really gotten going yet, watch some Dr. Who and podcast. The con sorta gets going. SpaceJesus gets me a badge. We wander around the con and check out the dealers’ room (awkwardly tiny but with cool stuff) the gaming room (well stocked with games) the con suite (well stocked with food) and then run out of things to do. I take a nap. The con has a chocolate symposium! The con suite is filled with chocolatey delights – cookies, fondue, truffles, cupcakes, candy, wine served in chocolate thimbles. I attempt to eat two of everything in the room.

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*faceplant*

We film SpaceJesus’ Dr. Who panel and then head out to meet some of his Dragon*con friends at a karaoke bar. I have never experienced a karaoke bar before. There is way too much country music and way too many people wailing off key to country music. I make our friend the Mad Scientist class up the joint (or possibly appear to be gay) by singing “Luck Be a Lady” from Guys & Dolls. Using peer pressure, we coerce Space Jesus into singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” with Mad Scientist. The whole bar sings along and Space Jesus and Mad Scientist do us proud with some epic rock stances and head banging. And pretty good singing. Saturday: I sleep in and then am way too lazy to get dressed in chainmail. Also I apparently left the entire bottom half of my outfit at home. Doh! I spend a good part of the day wrapped up in a robe and carrying a towel and pretending to be Arthur Dent. We go to a bunch of panels, which is cool. I’m trying to glean author wisdom. We also watch the Neil Gaiman Dr. Who episode AND IT IS PERFECTION. By this point I’m also addicted to Space Jesus’ ipad. Mad Scientist and I compete for the highest score. He beats me repeatedly which is obviously only because he has freaky neural implants or something. Mad Scientist convinces us to go off site to a party his grad school friends are throwing. They’re nice but it’s not out scene, so Space Jesus and I attempt to flee with decreasing sneakiness. Unfortunately, we don’t really remember where we parked the car (we walked to the party) Eventually we are running around downtown Atlanta, clutching a Pikachu backpack (me) and wearing a bathroom (him) looking for the car. We find it and speed back to the con and track down the nearest source of alcohol. Also, the con suite is now loaded with cake and three year old aged white cheddar. Dear god.

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Pictured: commandeered alcohol, cake overload

Alas, we missed the drag show! We get to hang out with some of the queens, though, and they’re amazing. We are in time to hear awesome nerd band One Hard Night perform. Actually, we’re there in time to watch them set up for a while, then do a bunch of sound checks, then perform. But they’re high energy and kickass and it’s a good show. Some insanely drunk lady who’s been hanging around the hotel keeps trying to give me a hat with a bird on it and dance sexily for the band. Both of these attempts fail miserably. The band is auctioning off clothes and kisses to raise money to record an album professionally for a possible contract! We do the mature thing and buy their shirts off them while cheering and hooting. Sunday: I wake up roughly ten minutes before check out and pack super fast. We say good bye to new friends and peace out to get some PF Chang’s and head back to NC. It’s actually a lovely drive back despite one spot of rain and I beat my Tetris High Score. It’s still not enough to beat Mad Scientist. Dammit! Highlights – I didn’t meet her myself, but Space Jesus said Amber Benson (media guest actress who played Tara on Buffy) was fantastic, funny and down to earth. As did pretty much everyone else who met her. Nice! Very relaxing and fun con. I enjoyed the panels we went to and everyone was friendly. The hotel was lovely! Newly renovated, lots of space, and very comfy. Needs Improvement – attendance wasn’t very high and the ticket prices were absurd for the size of the con. Nothing wrong with being a small con! But don’t try to charge like you’re the next Dragon if you’re only pulling in a couple hundred folks. More parties and Friday night fun! Poor Friday night always get shafted at cons. Where’s the love?

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Pre-Fanaticon: We had a cookout! A massive cookout that took two days to prepare. It was totally worth it, though. It’s so nice to hang out with friends outside the con setting…much more casual and enjoyable. I hope to do more of that this year :D The final total for the feast included homemade potato salad, burgers, bratwurst, grilled chicken, hot dogs, fruit salad, a mixed vegetables salad, fresh guacamole and salsa, Mexican street corn (which is the crack cocaine of corn, let me tell you), cole slaw, margaritas, and creamy mint chocolate ice cream. We were eating left overs for every meal after that and it was awesome. FANATICON: Allegra Torres One day event at the art museum in downtown Asheville. And free! How adorable, I thought. I was in for a bit of a surprise… it was huge! Considering it's only in its second year, I would say this bodes well. People just packed in there (which made walking around in costumes less revealing than, say, a bikini a bit of a workout) I feared the Mando Mercs would sweat to death. It was a pretty comics heavy show, but had costumers from all areas of fandom. See the pics on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150193555386446.314655.264533176445 They had some panels, some larger events (like the costume masquerade, where participants could stroll across the stage and show off their ensemble, the Star Trek vs Star Wars trivia for charity event, and kick ass comics writer Gail Simone did a talk) Also, we saw the Joker and Venom dancing to a hilarious local nerd band while the Penguin watched. Talk about your random villain interactions. We totally meant to check out the after party, but everyone was so bushed after sweating in various forms of armor all day that we crashed and watched Kung Fu Hustle instead. Someone will have to tell me if the after party was any good. Highlights – for a free one day show, you really can’t beat Fanaticon! Definitely worth checking out. Needs Improvement – oh dear god someone turn up the AC in the art museum by like a million. Or have fans. And water. Would have liked to see a little more variety in vendors , and a gaming room would have been awesome. ConCarolinas 2011 Allegra Torres About four years ago, I attended ConCarolinas for the first time. It was my first real convention experience – I met the Mandalorian Mercs and the 501st, placed “Most Original” in the costume contest (my first costume contest, I was so

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nervous I couldn’t stop bouncing on the balls of my feet) and met many of the people I consider good friends today. This year, I attended ConCarolinas as a guest, and I reflected on how far I’ve come in the convention scene. After about 30 seconds of introspection, I decided that was enough, and got on with the con. Because who has time to stand around gazing thoughtfully off into the distance when ConCarolinas awaits? Thursday Night/Friday Morning (Con Prep) 4am photoshopping and costume wrangling and printing and oh god why did I leave all this to the last minute I regret my decision making. I crash for a couple hours, wake up, try to pack things, and lack the presence of mind to pack things like shorts and toothpaste. Nevertheless, eventually I hit the road with a vendor friend, and without a map or gps but with a great deal of overconfidence we take off for Charlotte. Friday Afternoon We drive past the convention hotel. Friday Afternoon, a few minutes later Vendor friend does not have any booth help. I am charged with the dubious pleasure of helping him set up and organize. Fridays at conventions are usually a bit slow, although ours is a combination of frantic unpacking and sitting around waiting for traffic in the dealers’ room to pick up. I actually have a little half table out in the hallway this year, so I set up my table and camp out, hoping to sell some prints. Roughly half the convention comes up with the exceedingly witty “Hey Chainmail Chick, where’s your chainmail?” Yeah, I’d like to see you people set up a 10x10 booth in a metal bikini. I have no Friday panels, so I thoroughly intend to run around and cause havoc after hours. SpaceJesus, Padawan Clayton, and a few friends come out to eat. The nice little Mexican restaurant is half filled with normal people eating dinner with their family on a Friday night, and half filled with steampunk couples and leather-clad dragons. After dinner, we crashed the panel SpaceJesus was moderating, “How to Write a Sex Scene”. If they have the same panel next year with the same guests, I will totally attend again, because it might as well have been called “The Panel of Thinly Veiled Sexual Innuendos And Also Some Useful Writing Advice.” Angela and I sat against the wall and snickered every time they said “hard”. (there were way better double entendres but you really just had to be there!) Unfortunately, this is about where my steam ran out, and I went back to the room and crashed. My posse did way better than me and stayed out talking and having

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pillow fights and gaming (although to be fair, they didn’t have a 10am Saturday panel) Saturday OH BALLS 10AM PANEL. I wake up sick and manage to only be slightly late to my panel and successfully did not puke on any of the panelists. “Budget Costuming” had Brian Holloway, Mandalore the Uniter, Kirsten of the Bibbering Humdingers, cutie actor Michael R. Williams, and myself, basically explaining how to do costuming on the cheaps. While my initial suggestions would include “wear practically nothing” and “make it out of duct tape”, it was actually a very informative panel with a lot of good tips. Useful Tips for Those Who Slept In Like I Wish I Could Have

1. Invest in good tools, it’s better to have the right tool you need that will last you for a while than the wrong tool or a cheap tool than needs replacing. (Air brushes, hammers, dremels…)

2. With good costuming, you either have to sink in a lot of time or a lot of money. Be patient. Wait for good deals on things you need. Scour ebay, etsy, craigslist, etc.

3. A good paint job will get you far. With the right materials, you can make plastic look like weathered metal and turn a water gun into a steampunk ray gun or a

4. Join costuming groups, make friends, and ask around! With so many veteran costumers, there’s always someone who’s willing to help you out or give advice on products and techniques. And even newbie costumers might discover a good resource or trick that everyone else hasn’t heard of.

Lots of sitting around at my table – my younger but taller sister Alyssa was supposed to be there, but family matters kidnapped her from me. I learned a couple things while sitting at my table, namely that I hate sitting at tables. I wanted to be out and about and enjoying the con! I harassed some of the Mandos into coming over to my table so I could leer at them and got some priceless footage out of it :D Also, SpaceJesus continued our feud by putting a bounty on my head – basically you pay the Mercs a fee, give them a description, and they hunt down your friends and stick them in a cage. But it’s all for charity! Which means that they can’t leave the cage without seeming like an uncharitable douchebag. Ha HA! The Mandos arrested me first. Now, last year, I was wearing Organic Armor, which is designed for actors and dancers and is super lightweight and flexible. I made a daring and roguish escape and eluded capture for a good fifteen minutes or so. This year, I was wearing gold scale mail all over, and was about as stealthy as a tapdancer wearing jingle bells. Emma and Cord cornered me and brought me in. Curses!

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Daphne fed me French fries through the cage bars and smuggled me a sword, which I used to harass my guards. Eventually I attained freedom again, and promptly put a counter bounty on SpaceJesus. It took the Mercs a while to find him, and he hoped to evade them because he was in a panel, but he underestimated the galaxy’s fiercest bounty hunters! One of the Mercs came in and sat next to him for the entire panel just so he could arrest SpaceJesus when the panel got out. Ah, sweet vengeance. Next up was the “Sci Fi Whose Line Is It Anyway?” panel. Now, a quick bit of info, I love that show more than anything, so when I saw the panel on the list, I begged and pleaded to get on it. And glad I did, because it was one of the most fun panels I’ve ever done! We had three authors, including Harry Turtledove, and one of the guys from the Geek Comedy Tour, who more or less carried the show with his awesome improv skills. We played “Interrogation”, where we found out that author Edward McKeown stole William Shatner’s hair, I got to choose from three bachelors in “Let’s make a date” and passed over Kirk and Batman in favor of Mario. (unfortunately, when he came to pick me up, I was in another castle). There was an infomercial selling holodecks with complimentary commemorative Princess Diana plates, and ended with a round of superheroes, where the Hatless Avenger was called upon to prevent a mass of tiny poodles from slamming into the earth and bringing about an adorable apocalypse. He was aided by Captain Thinks His Feet Are Hands And His Hands Are Feet, Miss I Whip My Hair Back and Forth, The Man Who Writes His Way Out of Things, and Only Wears a Bikini Girl. (Guess which one I was) Next was a quick stop by the fabled con suite, which was run by Caterer X and his talented team of minions this year. I grabbed a bowl of tasty jambalaya (just the thing for the perpetually cold blooded like myself!) and a roast beef sandwich au jus. The only downside to our feast was that the con had forbidden any food to leave the room because…well, I wasn’t super clear on why, because all I saw food-wise from the hotel was the bar, but there was some sort of competing issue. Which meant that everyone who stopped by the con suite had to jam into one tiny room and eat as quickly as they could so there was more room for the next people to come in. Later on, I judged the costume contest, aided by Podcasting Rich, my friends Angela and Kelly, and Conor McCullagh. It was a fun contest, with some cute skits – I cannot emphasize how much better costume contests are when you have a witty skit. Otherwise it’s just a bunch of people strolling across the stage with a few awkward pauses. On the flip side, the painful skits are painful… After the costume contest, I had a panel on fetish costuming. Honestly, I could think of at least half a dozen people better qualified to speak on that panel, because fetish costuming (to me) is very glam and accessorized and on a good day I can sort of manage to put regular amounts of eyeliner on and maybe match my socks. However, it ended up becoming a hodgepodge of stories about cons and

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personal experiences, and I was the only person on the panel who’s ever had to match their pasties to their see through bikini, so I felt much better about being there! The fetish costuming panel ran from 10pm-12am, which meant I missed Geek Comedy Tour’s 10pm show (NERTS, I WANTED TO SEE THAT), but we ended the panel a little early on account of the fact that it was drinking o’clock and everyone wanted to hit up the room parties. Room parties continued to be great! I think we spent most of our time in ConTemporal’s party, but we had a blast at the Deep South Con/Lunar Party (who always has these AMAZING chocolate covered peanut butter balls) and Illogicon’s delicious brownie party. Sadly, Professor Schrodington was not in attendance at Illogicon’s party, but we hung out with several of the artists (in my experience, artists are great partiers) and discovered that one of the Mando Mercs has uber self-styling anime hair. Sunday I think the 11am panel was even harder to get up for than the 10am panel! Just means the parties were fun ;) The 11am panel was called “Should I Quit My Day Job”, and it was basically about making that leap from hobbyist/part timer to making your passion your full time career. Since the panel had six writers, it was geared a bit more towards people trying to finish that first or second novel and make it big so they can stop working the 9-5 they mildly despise. Let me sum up the panel for you: Should you quit your day job? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. In a nutshell, unless you have hit it big, and can pay your insurance, mortgage, car payments, bills, etc with your earnings, you’re better off keeping the 9-5 for the benefits and trucking along with the novel as a side job. Many published authors (in fact, almost all of the ones on the panel) have to keep a regular job (or have a spouse who does) because the average yearly earnings for an author who is doing well are somewhere around a low starting salary for an entry level 9-5 job. Dreams crushed yet? Good, goooood. (Mine were squished a bit, but I’m not completely banking on being a writer.) 12pm panel was a quick sketch contest, which was actually moderated by someone else, so I drew my panther with my typical stick figure elegance and scooted out of there. This con report is getting a bit long, so suffice to say that it went by too fast and I’m already looking forward to next year! Pics can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150205570771446.318422.264533176445

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Things I Heard Were Good But Did Not Get To Experience Personally:

1. The gaming. The good folks of MACE hosted much of the gaming, with help from S.C.A.R.A.B, and everyone must have done a good job because one of my friends was out every night till 4am playing games.

2. The guests. John Billingsley and Bonita Friedericy were apparently incredibly funny and supremely down to earth and friendly. Always good to have fun media guests!

3. Geek Comedy Tour! Nuff said. 4. Ghost Trek, Charlotte’s home brewed horror/supernatural/comedy series

based around a paranormal reality show.

Things That Might Need a Bit of Work:

1. The art room/back hallway is the least trafficked (and coldest!) area of the con, which is frustrating for guests and artists trying to sell their stuff. Other than that, I got nothing!