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Omni Magazine, November 1979: A Retro-Review

Omni Magazine, November 1979: A Retro-Review

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Worst Cover Ever

I will admit that I was very nervous about delving into Omni Magazine. For years, decades! I’ve heard people talk about Omni in breathless tones of awe! Yet I knew very little about it. Not to say that it was entirely unknown to me; I have distinct memories, back in like 1983, of being at the doctor’s office and they had several issues of Omni in the waiting room. I even flipped through some of them. Here is what I remember:

Omni Magazine was owned by Bob Guiccione, who also owned Penthouse Magazine, and Omni was full of ads for Penthouse. Like it should have come with a little placard that gave you instructions on how to rent a PO box and a chart where you could tick off the years/months until you turned 18 and could get a subscription to Penthouse… ahem… not that I ever did anything like that myself.

The November 1979 Omni was remarkably free from ads for Penthouse, so maybe it was a mid-80s thing?

Another thing that gave me pause about Omni was that it was huge! Not the four by six of the pulps, and not the ¼ inch thick Galileo, either. There is no other way to say it, Omni had a girth that I wasn’t sure I could handle.

Turns out that I needn’t have worried — easily half of Omni is advertising and the other half is a quarter advertising; cigarettes, mostly, but a fair share of whiskey and cars, too. Of the remaining space, a large portion of it is given up to articles and pseudoscience essays. At the end of the day, November 1979 Omni has very little fiction, only two pieces, although it also has two sci-fi related pictorials. I don’t know if this fiction desert is standard fare for the magazine or if it was a one-off.

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Underground Bazaars, Generation Ships, and the Mountains of Madness: November/December Print SF Magazines

Underground Bazaars, Generation Ships, and the Mountains of Madness: November/December Print SF Magazines

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Covers by Kurt Huggins, Eldar Zakirov, and David A. Hardy

Things have finally settled down in the magazine section of my local Barnes & Noble, and my favorite print magazines are reliably showing up again. I have to say, I’m relieved they all survived the chaos — in distribution, the market, and to their readers — caused by the pandemic. Magazines are fragile things at the best times, and fiction magazines particularly so.

Having said that, the recent issues are well worth a look. This crop contains brand new stories by George Zebrowski, Jack McDevitt, Connie Willis, James Gunn, Matthew Hughes, Albert E. Crowdrey, Nick DiChario, Juliette Wade, Clancy Weeks, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Chen Quifan, Sam Schreiber, and Marissa Lingen (twice!)

Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact

Analog wraps up its 90th anniversary year with a solid issue overstuffed with fiction — a whopping 19 stories! — including a classic reprint by Gordon R. Dickson, the 1967 Nebula Award-winning novelette “Call Him Lord.” The issue is edited by Trevor Quachri. Here’s all the details.

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The Discovery of Digests!

The Discovery of Digests!

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Amazing Stories, March 1976 (cover by Barber), Analog, June 1976 (cover by Jack Gaughan)

On a sunny day back in May of 1976, I went with my dad to his office. He was only going to work for a few hours, then we were going fishing. To kill some time, I went over to the drugstore across the street. There I discovered something life changing — science fiction digests!

I was a big SF fan already by that time (just short of my 13th birthday) but I had no idea that SF magazines existed. I bought the issues they had of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, Amazing Stories and Fantastic Stories. How could I not, seeing those great covers!

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An Evocation of the Science Fiction Dream of Exploration: “The Star Pit” by Samuel R. Delany

An Evocation of the Science Fiction Dream of Exploration: “The Star Pit” by Samuel R. Delany

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Worlds of Tomorrow, February 1967, containing “The Star Pit” by Samuel R. Delany. Cover by Morrow

This is the first of what I hope will be an extended series of essays taking a closer look at some stories I either consider to be particularly good, or interesting for other reasons. Of necessity, each of these essays will go into some detail as to the plot of the stories – in most case, in my opinion, this will not “spoil” the stories, but I know that I am less spoiler-phobic than many, so tread carefully.

I remember reading “The Star Pit” as a teen, probably in Robert Silverberg’s exceptional reprint anthology Alpha 5. It was a story I liked then, and loved on a reread a few years later. I remember it as one of the great underappreciated novellas in SF. But it’s been quite a few years since my last read.

In fact this is a story with a decent history of anthologization and recognition over the years, so my term “underappreciated” is off base. It first appeared in Worlds of Tomorrow for February of 1967 – and as Worlds of Tomorrow was widely considered the “third-string” magazine in Fred Pohl’s editorship, behind sister magazines Galaxy and If, that could be regarded as “underappreciation,” though more likely it reflected the difficulty of fitting novellas into magazines. (Interestingly, the magazine ceased publication after the next issue (May 1967) before a brief (three issue) revival in 1970 and 1971.)

“The Star Pit” was a finalist for the 1968 Hugo for Best Novella, which went in a tie to “Riders of the Purple Wage” by Philip Jose Farmer and “Weyr Search” by Anne McCaffrey. It was in Judith Merril’s SF 12, the very last outing for her seminal series. Robert Silverberg anthologized it twice – not just in Alpha 5 but in the Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels. Gardner Dozois put it in his anthology with a similar title (and ambition) to Silverberg’s: Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction. And Richard Lupoff chose it for What If? Volume 3, the third entry in his series of books highlighting the stories that he felt should have won the Hugo each year. (Unfortunately, the What If? series was cancelled after the first two books, and Volume 3 only appeared decades later from a small press.)

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Weird Tales Deep Read: July 1936

Weird Tales Deep Read: July 1936

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Weird_Tales_July_1936

Margaret Brundage for Red Nails

We return to the golden age of Weird Tales to consider the eleven stories in the July 1936 issue. This time around we’re dealing with many familiar authors, led by the triumvirate of C. L. Moore, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard, one H. P. Lovecraft short of perfection. The big three present classic tales from their popular fantasy series (Northwest Smith, Zothique, Conan). The other familiar names deliver more of a mixed bag, but for the most part come through with decent offerings.

Edmond Hamilton, a prolific pulpster for WT and countless other genre magazines contributes one of his weakest efforts in a tale concerning germs from space. The August Derleth and Manly Wade Wellman stories are both decent, if slight, and the Arthur Conan Doyle reprint, for a change, rises above the level of curiosity.

Of the eleven stories, seven are contemporary (64%), three are set in the future (27%), and one in the past (9%), though it’s a little complicated because two stories use framing devices that cut across temporal periods. Six take place in the United States (55%), one starts in the US then goes off on a round the world tour (9%), two are in fictitious realms (18%), one in France (9%), and one on the Moon (9%).

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The Return of Fantasy Magazine

The Return of Fantasy Magazine

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Fantasy Magazine Issue 61-small

Fantasy Magazine is back! Nearly ten years since publisher John Joseph Adams merged it with Lightspeed, Fantasy has returned as a standalone digital magazine co-edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg and published by Adamant Press.

The magazine has a rich history. It originally appeared in 2005, publishing six print issues before moving online in 2007. Its editors have included Sean Wallace, Paul Tremblay, and Cat Rambo; John Joseph Adams took the reins in March 2011, and bought the magazine from Sean Wallace’s Prime Books in November of that year. We last covered Fantasy Magazine in April 2011 with issue #49 — an issue that included Peter S. Beagle, Jonathan L. Howard, and Carrie Vaughn.

What’s in the first issue of the new Fantasy? Here’s Arley and Christie from their editorial.

In this issue we have Shingai Njeri Kagunda’s heartbreaking tale of a time-skipping sister told with a dash of poetry, “And This Is How to Stay Alive”; a surreal tale of perspective, “An Introduction” by Reina Hardy; May Chong’s wildly fun and sensual werewolf fantasy poem, “things i love about my werewolf girlfriend”; “The Secret Ingredient is Always the Same,” by Sarah Grey, a poem of heartbreak, survival, and friendship; Osahon Ize-Iyamu brings us a story of personal truth and potential in “To Look Forward”; Tamoha Sengupta gives a brief, vivid account of young love and pure rebellion in “Love Laws and a Locked Heart”; and we have an interview with Burning Roses author S.L. Huang.

It’s enormously exciting to see Fantasy reappear, and in such capable hands. Check it out here, and buy digital issues for just $2.99 at Amazon and other fine online venues. See all our recent magazine coverage here.

A Tour of a Pop-Culture Phenomenon: Marvel: The First 80 Years

A Tour of a Pop-Culture Phenomenon: Marvel: The First 80 Years

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Marvel the First 80 Years magazine-small

Marvel: The First 80 Years, magazine edition from Titan Comics. On sale November 2020

I was in Barnes & Noble yesterday, picking up some new releases, including a new Stellaris anthology and the latest Year’s Best anthology from John Joseph Adams (here’s the complete stack of titles I walked out with), and literally on my way out of the store my eye fell on a colorful cover in the magazine section. I reversed course to get a closer look, and three minutes later I was back in the checkout line, buying one more item.

The magazine was Marvel: The First 80 Years, a 160-page full color special release from Titan. It’s a little pricey, even with my B&N discount ($19.99 cover price), but according to the scant facts I can find on the internet, it’s a limited release magazine version of the upcoming book Marvel: The First 80 Years, scheduled for hardcover release in two weeks with a $29.99 price tag.

I didn’t know any of that yesterday, tho. I shelled out nearly 20 bucks for an oversize magazine because it looked more than worth the money. Have a look at the gorgeous interior photo spreads below and see if you agree.

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On a Mission to Disable a Gigantic Robot: Tangent Online on “The Ambient Intelligence” by Todd McAulty

On a Mission to Disable a Gigantic Robot: Tangent Online on “The Ambient Intelligence” by Todd McAulty

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Lightspeed Magazine Issue 125 October 2020-smallIt’s been a while since I’ve been reviewed at Tangent Online, so it was a delight to find a review of my Lightspeed story “The Ambient Intelligence,” written by Tara Grimravn.

Due to a mysterious government program called the Deep Temple Project, the water in Lake Michigan has been steadily boiling away. Its shoreline is now little more than a series of mudflats and interconnected stagnant pools that go on for at least a mile before one reaches the water. Barry Simcoe is on a mission by AGRT, an international peacekeeping organization, to disable a gigantic robot destroying large portions of Chicago and killing its citizens. According to his friend Zircon Border, it was spotted coming and going from the exposed remains of an old shipwreck. In order to do this, Simcoe must navigate the treacherous bog that is now the lakebed and try to disable his opponent before it can kill him.

McAulty’s SF story is a great read. It takes a little while to get to the more exciting bits, but that’s necessary to give the reader enough background to understand what’s happening and why. The ending doesn’t disappoint either. The characters are quite well-done, and I especially liked the interactions between Simcoe and True Pacific. Give this one a read!

“The Ambient Intelligence” appeared last month in Lightspeed magazine, and it’s free to read online. It’s published under the name Todd McAulty, the name all my stories appeared under in Black Gate magazine all those years ago. It’s the story of Canadian Barry Simcoe and his robot friend Zircon Border, who face off against a mysterious 60-ton killer robot hiding in a shipwreck on the shores of Lake Michigan… one that’s hiding a very big secret. It shares a setting (and two characters) with my debut novel The Robots of Gotham, but it’s not otherwise related to that book, and stands completely on its own.

Read “The Ambient Intelligence” in its entirety here. And if you enjoy it, why not help support Lightspeed with a subscription? Six-months subs will run you just $17.94, for more than 50 stories — a whopping 350,000 words of fiction. It’s one of the true bargains in the field.

Women Do It Better? The Women of Weird Tales, from Valancourt Books

Women Do It Better? The Women of Weird Tales, from Valancourt Books

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The Women of Weird Tales-small The Women of Weird Tales-back-small

The Women of Weird Tales
By Everil Worrell, Eli Colter, Mary Elizabeth Counselman and Greye La Spina
Introduction by Melanie Anderson
Valancourt Books (280 pages, $24.99 hardcover/$16.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, November 3, 2020)

It is well known by now that women had a pivotal role in the development of those literary genres called Gothic Fiction, Horror, Dark Fantasy, etc. If we look at the iconic Weird Tales, the golden era of which spanned the ‘20s to the ‘50s, female authors were constantly included, and they penned some of the magazine’s most popular stories. Not to mention that some of the most influential editors and cover artists of the era were women as well.

Valancourt Books has aptly published a new anthology showcasing stories from Weird Tales by female writers, Women of Weird Tales.

Greye La Spina is present with five stories. The most accomplished, to me, is “The Antimacassar,” an effective, well told tale portraying a case of vampirism, gradually disclosed throughout the yarn. Other good tales are the bizarre “The Remorse of Professor Panebianco,” in which a mad scientist designs a device to imprison the soul of dying people; “The Dead-Wagon,” a dark gothic tale about a family curse dating back to the times of the Black Death; and “ The Deadly Theory,” a disturbing piece showing how the power to bring back people from the dead leads to tragedy.

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Strange Plants, Ruined Cities, and the Dangers of Antarctic Exploration: Weirdbook #43

Strange Plants, Ruined Cities, and the Dangers of Antarctic Exploration: Weirdbook #43

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Weirdbook 43-small Weirdbook 43 contents-small

Cover by Fotolia

It was a pleasure to get the latest issue of Weirdbook in the mail last month. Sadly, as has become almost routine, editor Doug Draa devotes much of his heartfelt editorial to eulogizing a lost contributor, in this case the talented author Joseph S. Pulver. (Though in the process he did misspell Pulver’s name, something also fairly routine for Weirdbook. A spellchecker would have caught the mistake, and the ones in the next few sentences. Amateur editing is part of the magazine’s charm, and certainly doesn’t bother most readers, but better copyediting wouldn’t hurt.)

Here it is, Weirdbook #43. Our 13th regular issue since the relaunch. I really can’t decide on whether calling this our “Baker’s Dozen” issue of our “Advent of the Apocalypse” issue…

This issue contains one of Joeseph (sic) Pulver, Sr.’s last stories, “Will Home Remember Me?” I say “last” because Joe passed away April 24th. It such (sic) an honor to receive the story last year. Joe was a genuine giant of weird fiction and a great man in his own right. He’ll be missed by his legions of fans and friends.

I want to believe that he’s giving them hell this very minute in not-so-Lost Carcosa and is enjoying himselv (sic) immensely while doing so!

Godspeed, Joe.

Draa and Wildside committed to an aggressive publication schedule when they relaunched the magazine five years ago, and for the most part they’ve achieved it, producing nearly three issues per year (plus the occasional Weirdbook Annual). And the magazine looks fantastic, with consistently striking cover art, and top-notch interiors by the great Allen Koszowski. Issue #43 contains stories by Black Gate writers John R. Fultz and Darrell Schweitzer, plus Adrian Cole, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr, Glynn Owen Barrass, L.F. Falconer, and others.

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