The New York Review of Science Fiction

Published monthly by Dragon Press, P. O. Box 78, Pleasantville, NY 10570. $4.00 per copy.

Issue #104, April 1997

FEATURES

Bruce Byfield: Fafhrd and Fritz: 1

"Who Killed Science Fiction?": A Spectrum of Responses: 1

Jan Berrien Berends: The Politics of Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: 15

REVIEWS

Haruki Murakami's Dance, Dance, Dance, reviewed by Paul Preuss: 6

Deborah Christian's Mainline, reviewed by Rob Errera: 7

Fritz Leiber's The Dealings of Daniel Kesserich, reviewed by Joe Milicia: 19

Damien Broderick's The White Abacus, reviewed by Gwyneth Jones: 20

William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland and Terrors of the Sea, reviewed by Darrell Schweitzer: 21

Marc Laidlaw's The Third Force: A Novel of Gadget, reviewed by Michael M. Levy: 22

PLUS

F. Brett Cox recommends short fiction (p. 10), Rebecca Ore on the golden age and escapism (p. 12), Brian C. Wilson reveals who really killed science fiction (p. 17), and an editorial (p. 24).

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Who Cares Who Killed Roger SF?

Last month we published an editorial raising the thorny questions surrounding our perceptions of an economic decline in the sf field in the mid-1990s. We feel that this topic deserves serious consideration and thoughtful discussion. So we are particularly pleased by the varied responses thus far, and anticipate that we will print more in the next issue.

The sf field is no longer small enough so that everyone's name is immediately recognizable to readers and fans. A towering figure such as writer and critic Brian Aldiss, yes, sure, we all know who he is. Neil Barron, the great producer of reference books such as Anatomy of Wonder (all four editions)--every student of sf knows Neil. Bryan Cholfin, World Fantasy Award-winning publisher of Crank!, probably needs an introduction, and Michael Kandel, in spite of his distinguished novels, his translations of Lem, his editorial work at Harcourt Brace, may not be known to you. Michael Levy, one of our indefatigable reviewers, is a college teacher, sf scholar, and current treasurer of the Science Fiction Research Association. Ira Todd Weiss is a concerned citizen who reads sf and pays attention to issues of quality. Lee Ballentine, the Denver publisher, is an anthologist and sf poetry activist.

It is our feeling that the whole community of sf, not just professionals, needs to be heard on these points. What do you have to contribute to the discussion? Now to change the subject, we wish to draw your attention to the contents page. Laura Tucker, one of our principal bundles of energy, has been forced to work at home following knee surgery (there is no truth to the rumor that she was there when the President fell), requiring some extra contributions at the weekly work meetings provided (we are thankful) willingly and immediately by several friends.

The transition to our new printer is more or less complete now and we feel that the new arrangement is superior. Our bulk rate copies are now mailed directly from New Hampshire and arrive almost as soon as the first class copies. They now cost more to mail, but the total printing and mailing costs less. Later in the year we will investigate further improvements, but for the moment, if we have any extra money, we have other bills to pay and need to upgrade our computers again (this is a recording).

--David G. Hartwell & the editors