Asimov's SF, January 2012 (25 page)

Immediately, the seasoned reader can sense that Hatke has tapped into some rich Ur-tropes. Abducted friend, dangerous quest, stranger in a strange land, outlaw crossroads of the universe— He's on the same wavelength as Heinlein's
Have Spacesuit—Will Travel
(1958), Laumer and Brown's
Earthblood
(1966), Bogie's
Casablanca
(1942), and any other number of epic fish-out-of-water-in-an-exotic-place tales. In fact, the sophistication of the narrative, with a minimum of handholding infodumps, is essential to the book's allure. After all, trying to catch kids who have grown up on
Futurama
is a little more difficult than the task that, say, Eleanor Cameron faced with her
Mushroom Planet
books.

And so on a pure story-telling level, Hatke delivers all the laughs, suspense, drama, fun and speculation that we can ask for, leaving Zita at book's end preparing to embark on a long and no-doubt adventure-filled journey home in Piper's starship.

But what of the art? After all, with a graphic novel, that's more than half the freight.

First off, Hatke's style is charming, a soothing blend of Watterson, Bodé, and Knight (that would be Hilary Knight, of
Eloise
fame). His character designs for the humans and aliens are bright, whimsical and attractive. He can brightly render great techno-urban landscapes, as well as pastoral ones. His page layouts are refreshingly uncluttered and active, with a sensible use of full-page spreads. There's even a bit of Moebius in his crowd scenes. Colors are subdued yet vivid. All in all, the package is clean and enticing, fun and inviting.

The last thing to examine are the subliminals. By this I mean any kind of non-explicit message. Of course, having a female protagonist is a message in itself, the main one, but it's a bit of preaching that Hatke delivers in a subtle and unbiased fashion. Making the helpless captive victim be Zita's male buddy is also a contradiction of cliché, and a welcome one. But Hatke does other clever things to reinforce his point of girlish competence, such as on page 34, when Zita steps through a gap in a wall. We see she's emerging in the middle of a poster touting the adventures of an adult female action hero. It's as if Zita is stepping into her own future role.

But all these subliminals—including ones about friendship and duty—pale when placed next to the sheer excitement and zest of Zita. Let's hope Hatke can pull off at least a hat-trick of two more books.

Into the Moorcockian Web

Editor John Davey, along with publishers David Britton and Michael Butterworth, as well as designer John Coulthart, can all give themselves immense pats on the back for the artistic and editorial triumphs that are exemplified by their latest production,
Into the Media Web
(Savoy Books, hardcover, (pounds) 48.00, 720 pages, ISBN 978-0-86130-120-1). This book is brilliantly designed, lovingly researched and assembled and illustrated and printed, and amounts to a pinnacle of the bookmaker's art. Well done, chaps! Now, let me see, who else deserves congrats for this awesome project. . . ?

Oh, yes, there's a little matter of the fellow who wrote all the text, probably, at a rough guess, upwards of a quarter of a million words! I think his name is Michael Moorcock. Let me just check the title page. . . . Yes, that's it, this volume purports to be MM's “Selected short non-fiction, 1956-2006.” But it certainly can't be the work of just one man. There has to have been a team behind the text. . . .

All kidding aside, this incredibly diverse and bountiful omnibus by Grand Master Moorcock is overstuffed with an immense range of his writings, a spectrum and abundance that I defy any other living SF writer to duplicate. Oh, sure, some talented genius like Bruce Sterling or Robert Silverberg may have penned a fair variety of non-fiction pieces, but in such quantity? No way! Moorcock stands amazingly alone in his career totals.

The contents here are arranged in a zigzag manner meant to encourage our appreciation, not following a strict chronology of publication. We begin, appropriately enough, with a bit of autobiography, gaining a sense of Moorcock's formative youth and subsequent maturity. Then, it's off to the races!

We find everything here from his earliest fanzine pieces—even then exhibiting sophistication and catholicism and style—to paeans to writers and other creators whose work he loves, to journalistic review stints, to polemics, to epistolary reportage, to diary entries, to letters to fans, to accounts of musical escapades, and on to travelogues. Throughout, we can only marvel at Moorcock's knowledge and experience, his professionalism and, in the best sense of the word, his amateur enthusiasms. The man knew practically everybody worth knowing in the span covered here, and was present at the birth of so much critical genre history. Any SF reader with an ounce of interest in the backstory of our field will find countless fascinating incidents retailed here. Want to know how Spinrad's
Bug Jack Barron
came to be written and printed? Or how UK comics were produced in the 1950s? Just dip into this book, and you'll soon find out that data, or something equally eye-opening.

The fact that the majority of these pieces are only a few pages in length, and unconnected or non-sequential, encourages random dipping. This is a book that will reward idle browsing.

Which is not to say there is no heavy meat here. Take a piece like “Jack's Unforgettable Christmas.” This is Moorcock's summary of his long friendship with the writer Jack Trevor Story (a figure too little known in the USA) and that writer's sad career arc following a police brutality incident. (Shades of Peter Watts's recent misfortunes, though Peter's fate is hardly yet written.) In this essay, we see the best of Moorcock and his writing. A passionate involvement in the matter at hand; a comprehensive grasp of all the details and subtleties; an abiding sense of friendship; an eternal quest for justice; an appreciation of life's bitter ironies; a wise philosophical stance regarding the possible limits of one's actions against the universe. You could take that catalogue of virtues and apply it to his fiction as well, but it's even more apparent in this form.

Moorcock turns seventy-two this year. Last year he published his most recent book, a Doctor Who novel titled
The Coming of the Terraphiles
. So far as I know, he had never previously done any franchise fiction. But with nothing left to prove, he was willing to venture into new territory even this far into his career.

Now that's what I call a Grand Master!

Copyright © 2011 Paul Di Filippo

[Back to Table of Contents]

It hardly seems possible that we could be up to the January issue already, but that's what the calendar says—and that means that once again it's time for our Readers’ Award poll, which is now in its twenty-sixth year.

Please vote. Most of you know the drill by now. For those of you who are new to this, we should explain a few things.

We consider this to be our yearly chance to hear from you, the readers of the magazine. That's the whole point behind this particular award. What were your favorite stories from Asimov's Science Fiction last year? This is your chance to let us know what novella, novelette, short story, poem, and cover, you liked best in the year 2011. Just take a moment to look over the Index of the stories published in last year's issues of Asimov's (pp.109-111) to refresh your memory, and then list below, in the order of your preference, your three favorites in each category. By the way, we love to get comments about the stories and the magazine, so please free to include them with your ballot. Please note: unless you request otherwise, comments will be considered for publication with attribution in the editorial that accompanies the announcement of the Readers’ Award Results.

Some cautions: Only material from 2011-dated issues of Asimov's is eligible (no other years, no other magazines, even our sister magazine Analog). Each reader gets one vote, and only one vote. If you use a photocopy of the ballot, please be sure to include your name and address; your ballot won't be counted otherwise.

Works must also be categorized on the ballot as they appear in the Index. No matter what category you think a particular story ought to appear in, we consider the Index to be the ultimate authority in this regard, so be sure to check your ballots against the Index if there is any question about which category is the appropriate one for any particular story. In the past, voters have been careless about this, and have listed stories under the wrong categories, and, as a result, ended up wasting their votes. All ballots must be postmarked no later than February 1, 2012, and should be addressed to: Readers’ Award, Asimov's Science Fiction, Dell Magazines, 267 Broadway, 4th Flr., New York, NY. 10007. You can also vote online at [email protected], but you must give us your physical mailing address as well. We will also post online ballots at our website, so please check us out at www.asimovs.com.

Remember, you—the readers—will be the only judges for this award. No juries, no panels of experts. In the past, some categories have been hotly contended, with victory or defeat riding on only one or two votes, so every vote counts. Don't let it be your vote for your favorite stories that goes uncounted! So don't put it off—vote today!

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BEST SHORT STORY
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This index covers volume 35 of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, January 2011 through December 2011. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author. When there is more than one entry for an author, listings are arranged alphabetically according to the story/article title. All entries are followed by a parenthetical note: (a) article; (c) cartoon; (ed) editorial; (na) novella; (nt) novelette; (p) poem; (r) review; (se) serial; and (ss) short story. Collaborations are listed under all authors and are cross-referenced. When a title, a parenthetical note, or an author's name is omitted, it is the same as that of the previous entry.

Adams, Danny—

Religion Is Cancelled (p) Apr/May 7

Bribing Karma (p) August 62

Arnason, Eleanor—

My Husband Steinn (nt) Oct/Nov106

Barrett, Jr., Neal—

Where (ss) March 26

D.O.C.S. (ss) September 28

Barzak, Christopher—

Smoke City (ss) Apr/May 104

Bear, Elizabeth—

Dolly (ss) January 26

Beckett, Chris—

Two Thieves (nt) January 12

Day 29 (nt) July 10

Bein, Steve—

The Most Important

Thing in the World (nt) March64

Berman, Ruth—

Being One With Your Broom (p) Oct/Nov59

Vampire Politics (p) Oct/Nov139

Boston, Bruce—

Ancient Catch (p) June 25

The Music of Nessie (p) August 71

The Music of Robots (p) September81

The Music of Werewolves (p) Oct/Nov83

Extended Family (p) Oct/Nov67

Brewer, Philip—

Watch Bees (ss) August42

Carlson, Jeff—

Planet of the Sealies (ss) February42

Chapman, Jason K.—

This Petty Pace (ss) Oct/Nov60

Clare, Gwendolyn—

Ashes on the Water (ss) January58

Clark, G.O.—

Retired Spaceman (p) January45

Cleary, David Ira—

Out of the Dream Closet (nt) February10

Cornell, Paul—

The Copenhagen

Interpretation (nt) July88

Creasey, Ian—

"I Was Nearly Your Mother” (nt) March32

The Odor of Sanctity (ss) September58

Cypess, Leah—

Twelvers (ss) July72

Davies, Colin P.—

The Fighter (ss) June56

de Bodard, Aliette—

Shipbirth (ss) February50

DeNiro, Alan—

Walking Stick Fires (ss) June34

Di Filippo, Paul—

On Books (r) January102

——— (r) March107

——— (r) July107

——— (r) September107

Emshwiller, Carol—

All the News That's Fit (ss) June26

Danilo (ss) September34

Evans, Kendall—

Science Fiction Haiku

(with David C.

Kopaska-Merkel)(p) September105

Frazier, Robert—

Seeking Out the Lobe-Finned

Truths (p) Apr/May145

Friesner, Esther M.—

The One That Got Away (ss) Apr/May134

Fulda, Nancy—

Movement (ss) March58

Gardner, Martin—

The Backwards Banana January5

Genge, Sara—

Waster Mercy (ss) February35

Goldstein, Lisa—

Paradise is a Walled Garden (nt) August84

Goss, Theodora—

Pug (ss) July28

Gunn, James—

Thought Experiments:

Celebrating Isaac (a) Apr/May10

Haldeman, Joe—

Gene's Dreams (p) July82

Heck, Peter—

On Books (r) February107

——— June107

——— August107

Hendrix, Howard V.—

Boomer Dog Days (p) June59

Jablokov, Alexander—

The Day the Wires

Came Down (nt) Apr/May18

Jernigan, Zachary—

Pairs (ss) August72

Johnson, Kij—

The Man Who

Bridged the Mist (na) Oct/Nov140

Johnson, P M F—

Elvin Alvin (p) September43

Kamlet, James—

Harold Gets Off on the

Doppler Effect (p) September27

Kaye, R.M.—

E (p) July45

Kelly, James Patrick—

On the Net: Warning:

The Internets May Be

Hazardous to Your Health! (a) January9

——— New Brains for Old (a) March9