In
which we take a closer look at each issue of the magazine. For our capsule
history of the magazine, go here.
Volume
1, number 9 (December, 1981)
Cover
Art: Peter Frommig
TZ Publications, Inc.
President
& Publisher: S. Edward Orenstein
Secretary/Treasurer:
Sidney Z. Gellman
Executive
Vice-Presidents: Leon Garry, Eric
Protter
Executive
Publisher: S. Edward Orenstein
Publisher:
Leon Garry
Associate
Publisher and Consulting Editor: Carol
Serling
Editorial
Director: Eric Protter
Editor:
T.E.D. Klein
Managing
Editor: Jane Bayer
Contributing
Editors: Gahan Wilson, Theodore
Sturgeon
Design
Director: Derek Burton
Art
and Studio Production: Georg the
Design Group
Production
Director: Edward Ernest
Controller:
Thomas Schiff
Director,
Marketing and Creative Services: Rose-Marie
Brooks
Public
Relations Manager: Jeffrey Nickora
Accounting
Mgr.: Chris Grossman
Circulation
Director: William D. Smith
Circulation
Assistant: Karen Wiss
Circ.
Marketing Mgr.: Jerry Alexander
Western
Newsstand Consultant: Harry Sommer
Advertising
Manager: Rachel Britapaja
Adv.
Production Manager: Marina Despotakis
Advertising
Representatives: Barney O’Hara &
Associates, Inc.
Contents:
--A Note from the Publisher by Carol
Serling
--In the Twilight Zone: “Required
reading . . .” by T.E.D. Klein
--Other Dimensions: Books by Theodore
Sturgeon
--Other Dimensions: Screen by Gahan
Wilson
--TZ Interview: Harlan Ellison by Tom
Staicar
--“Age of Reason” by David St. Marie
--“Forest God” by Jaspar Witco
--“Handyman” by Kenneth Goodman
--“The Pasture” by Joe R. Lansdale
--“All a Clone by the Telephone” by
Haskell Barkin
--TZ Screen Preview: The Quest for Fire by Ed Naha
--The Essential Writers: M.R. James by
Mike Ashley
--“The Ash Tree” by M.R. James
--“On 202” by Jeff Hecht
--“The Emerson Effect” by Jack McDevitt
--Show-by-Show Guide: TV’s Twilight
Zone: Part Nine by Marc Scott Zicree
--TZ Classic Teleplay: “The Midnight
Sun” by Rod Serling
--Looking Ahead: In January’s TZ
--A
Note from the Publisher by Carol Serling
-Serling
uses her customary place in the magazine to examine a plethora of society’s
shortcomings and the ways in which imaginative literature serves to provide an
escape from these problems as well as combat such issues as ignorance and
intolerance. Rod Serling’s work possessed a clear humanistic streak and here
his widow advocates that those who enjoy imaginative literature demand that
such literature remain a pathway to a better tomorrow. It is a small, inspiring
piece which serves to remind readers that Rod Serling’s legacy is as much about
moving viewers/readers to positive action as it is about providing escape from
life.
--In
The Twilight Zone: “Required reading . . .” by T.E.D. Klein
-Klein
spends the majority of his editorial lamenting the fact that many so-called
horror fiction fans remain ignorant of the classic writers of the form. From
this springs a new feature which begins in this issue: The Essential Writers.
This feature provides an informative essay on a classic horror writer along
with a quality example of their fiction. The editorial is rounded out by Klein’s
capsule biographies of the issue’s contributors along with thumbnail images.
--Other
Dimensions: Books by Theodore Sturgeon
-Sturgeon
is back with another round of brief book reviews. In this issue he takes a look
at:
-Millennium, Glimpses into the 21st
Century, edited by Alberto Villoldo
and Ken Dychtwald.
“.
. . it consists of a series of essays on aspects of ourselves, our species, our
culture and our thought, in terms of our potential.”
-The Prince of Morning Bells by Nancy Kress
“Smile
a lot, yes, and then weep a little, and hold your breath, and wonder at the
wisdom, and the whimsy of it, and you’re reading The Prince of Morning Bells.”
-At the Eye of the Ocean by Hilbert Schenk
“.
. . a slam-bang narrative that filled me with the same deep excitement I felt
when, as a fourteen-year-old, I discovered Robert Louis Stevenson.”
-The Gladiator by Bill Earls
“He
tells us of the frighteningly swift evolution of violence in professional
sports.”
-Radix by A.A. Attanasio
“.
. . a very large paperback, to make what is, to me, a very important point:
namely, that the most successful fiction is that which compels the reader to
identify with its people, and to be remembered as something experienced rather
than merely observed.”
-Distant Stars by Samuel R. Delany
“.
. . beautifully produced and illustrated by no fewer than seven fine artists,
it contains some of his most compelling writing, including an original story.”
-Whispers III edited by Stuart David Schiff
“.
. . for those of you who delight in shudders and grue.”
-New Voices 4, the John W. Campbell
Award Nominees edited by George R.R.
Martin
“.
. . contains an intro by van Vogt, a most penetrating appreciation of Tom Reamy
by A.J. Budrys, and one of the finest stories I have ever read: ‘Blue
Champagne’ by John Varley.”
-Nebula Winners Thirteen edited by Samuel R. Delany
“.
. . despite high-level competition by Ellison, Varley, Sheldon, and Spider
Robinson, two runners-up captured me: ‘Particle Theory,’ by Edward Bryant, and
Vonda McIntyre’s ‘Aztecs.’”
-Galaxy, Thirty Years of Innovative
Science Fiction edited by Frederick Pohl,
Martin H. Greenberg, and Joseph D. Olander
“.
. . surely the best buy of the month – possibly of the year.”
-Skyclimber by Raymond Z. Gallum
“.
. . the saga of the settlement of Mars during a period of wars on Earth.”
-Horrors edited by Charles L. Grant
“.
. . especially J. Michael Reaves’ country-flavored nightmare ‘Shadetree,’ Jack
Dann’s ‘The Drum Lollipop’ and Stephen King’s ‘The Monkey.’”
-Virgil Finlay Remembered edited by Gerry de la Ree
“It’s
hard to imagine Golden Age pulps without the Finlay touch.”
--Other
Dimensions: Screen by Gahan Wilson
-Wilson
examines two werewolf films: Wolfen, directed by Michael Wadleigh, and An American Werewolf in London, directed by John Landis. Much of this article felt repetitive for the
fact that the magazine presented a feature on werewolf films in the August
issue with a color section entitled TZ Screen Preview: Hollywood Cries
Wolf! However, Wilson gives each film the
once-over and finds things to like and dislike about each. For The Wolfen Wilson praises the performance of Albert
Finney as well as the novel use of the werewolf’s perspective in a series of
subjective shots. Wilson found the attempt to shoehorn a social message into
the film unsuccessful. For An American Werewolf in London Wilson found the special effects to be
highly accomplished (the film won an Academy Award for makeup artist Rick Baker)
but found the film’s second half to be considerably weaker than the first half,
due to the fact that director John Landis all but abandons the comedy of the
first half in the concluding portion of the film. Although An American
Werewolf in London certainly has moments
of comedy, Wilson's review indicates that he expected the film to be a full-out
comedy in the manner of Landis's previous films Animal House and The Blues Brothers, perhaps spoiling the ability for him to
enjoy the film for the bleak horror story that it is.
-The
films have had divergent paths since their initial releases. An American Werewolf in London is generally considered a modern classic by horror film fans and one of
the finest of all werewolf films. It has seen multiple home video releases,
spawned a sequel: An American Werewolf in Paris, been the subject of a feature-length documentary, Beware the Moon, and there is currently a remake planned by
John Landis' son Max Landis. The Wolfen, while admired by many horror film fans, has seen nowhere near the same
level of exposure and acclaim. It has recently seen a Blu-ray release as part
of the Warner Archive collection.
--TZ
Interview: Harlan Ellison on the Art of Making Waves
Subtitled: The candid self-portrait of
‘a very tough little bird.’
-For
readers who do not know Harlan Ellison I am not going to use this space in any
real attempt to provide a history of Ellison’s career. Those interested in such
are advised to consult a recently published biography: A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison by Nat Segaloff (NESFA Press). Briefly, Harlan
Ellison is the most honored writer of speculative fiction since Fritz Leiber
and his work has been honored by a diverse body of awards, including the
Nebula, Hugo, Bram Stoker, World Fantasy, Edgar Allan Poe, Writers Guild, and
International PEN Awards, among others. He has been recognized as a Grand
Master by both the Science Fiction Writers of America and the Horror Writers
Association. Some of Ellison’s more enduringly popular works include the short
story collections I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (1967), Deathbird Stories (1975),
Strange Wine (1978), and Shatterday
(1980), two volumes of television criticism
titled The Glass Teat (1970) and The
Other Glass Teat (1975), and two hugely
influential SF anthologies which he edited, Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). Ellison wrote for many television
series as well including The Outer Limits, Star Trek, The Alfred Hitchcock
Hour, and the 1980s Twilight Zone, for which he also served as Creative
Consultant.
-A
working knowledge of Ellison’s career will certainly assist the reader when
encountering this interview as the interview covers an enormous amount of
ground in a relatively short space. That being said, it is certainly worth your
time to read this interview even if you have not read much (or any) of Ellison’s
work. Ellison is erudite, humanistic, controversial, and deeply committed to
quality, intelligence, tolerance, and integrity. Ellison has developed a
reputation for being contentious due to his unwavering dedication to the
integrity of the writer's work. Perhaps the most fundamental aspect of
Ellison’s work, both fiction and nonfiction, is its ability to elicit a strong
reaction in the reader.
-The
interview begins with Ellison listing a number of works in progress, only one
of which has subsequently seen publication. Ellison also states that the third
and concluding volume in the Dangerous
Visions series, The Last Dangerous
Visions, will be released in three
volumes in 1982. For those who do not know, The Last Dangerous Visions is the most famous unpublished work of SF.
It was initially announced for publication in 1973 but suffered a series of
setbacks which prevented its publication. The work will likely never see publication
in its originally intended form. The interview continues by exploring the
varying aspects of Ellison’s career, including his work for television and
film, his practice of marketing his books by publicly writing stories in the
widows of bookstores, his views on fame and posterity, his college lecture
tours, his combative nature, his marriages, and his intention to have all of
his unpublished material destroyed upon his death. Overall, this is a long and
rewarding interview for Ellison’s readers and is sure to stimulate the
curiosity of those who have not yet encountered his work.
--"Age
of Reason" by David St. Marie
Illustrated by E.T. Steadman
"For the lucky few, the law of
gravity might bend a little - but only till they reached the . . ."
-A
government official is sent to an elementary school to examine a young boy who
appears able to transcend gravity.
-This
was a short, enjoyable tale which took on an additional layer of thematic
material when the protagonist examines the differences between a child's
ability to levitate due to an emotional connection or through genetic makeup. I
enjoyed the vague glimpses of a near-future society and the intimate setting
and small cast of characters. My only complaint with the tale, as the father of
a young boy, is that the child in the tale, a kindergarten student, speaks far
too much like an adult. David St. Marie's tale has not seen republication. His
work in speculative fiction appears to have started and ended with this tale,
though he did contribute a review of Wayland Drew's novelization of the film Dragonslayer to
the July, 1981 issue of Ares magazine.
--"Forest
God" by Jaspar Witco
Illustrated by Robert Morello
"Maybe the real danger wasn't out
there in the woods. Maybe it was inside himself."
-A
racist white man finds himself lost on Native American land while on a hunting
trip and discovers the truth of his animalistic nature.
-Perhaps
time has diminished my ability to enjoy this tale. Although it is competently
written, it hits just about every Native American revenge cliché that
proliferated in the horror genre in the 1980s. The characters are woefully
stereotypical and the attempt to create an outré atmosphere is mostly
unsuccessful. Worse than that, the tale hints at a disturbing transformation
scene which is never delivered. Witco does not appear to have written any
additional speculative fiction which again displays T.E.D. Klein's dedication
to publishing new writers. "Forest God" has not been reprinted.
--"Handyman"
by Kenneth Goodman
Illustrated by Gregory Cannone
". . . Which asks the vital
question: just how far are you willing to go in search of realism - and how much
are you willing to pay for it?"
-A
dim-witted janitor is coerced into chopping off his own hand for a film
director who desires ultimate realism.
-This
issue's seemingly obligatory tale of comedic relief is rather insensitively
related from the perspective of mentally challenged man who mutilates himself
for money to feed his family, only to later discover that the joke's on him. My
initial problem with the story is that it doesn't really belong in the
magazine. It possesses no speculative or even criminal element. Instead, it is
a simple character study which lacks the complexity of character to bring such
a story off. "Handyman" has not been reprinted.
--"The
Pasture" by Joe R. Lansdale
Illustrated by Ahmet Gorgun
"That craziness beyond the
barbed-wire fence - was it a dream, another dimension, or just a load of
bull?"
-A
fireman discovers a passage to a strange alternate world when he is called out
to a small pasture fire.
-"The
Pasture" is something of a Joe R. Lansdale rarity. Written early in
Lansdale's career, the story has only been reprinted in his 1996 collection A Fist Full of Stories (And Articles), a miscellany of uncollected works. The story
contains Lansdale's trademark regional humor but runs a bit long and doesn't
seem to come full circle. It is as though Lansdale conjured up the image of
naked humans grazing in a field of grass watched over by their bovine owners
but couldn't quite wrap a proper narrative around the image. It is a testament
to Lansdale's storytelling talent that it is still an enjoyable and, in places,
genuinely funny story.
-This
is Lansdale's second appearance in the magazine, after his enjoyable tale
"The Dump" appeared in the July, 1981 issue. Lansdale is a prolific
writer across a range of genres, including crime, suspense, horror, science
fiction, western, historical, and mainstream works. His celebrated career has
garnered multiple Bram Stoker Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award
in 2011. Lansdale began his career writing regional crime and horror stories of
a bleak and violent nature, resulting in such powerful works as the novels Act of Love (1981)
and The Nightrunners (1987). He is
well-known for his Hap and Leonard mystery series and has lately concentrated
his efforts on works of historical fiction which still possess his creatively
dark signature. Lansdale is particularly well-regarded for his short fiction,
collected across such volumes as By Bizarre Hands (1989), Bestsellers Guaranteed (1993),
and Writer of the Purple Rage (1994).
The best of his short fiction can be found in High Cotton: Selected Stories
(2000). Lansdale's works have been
translated to other mediums as well, including film, television, and comic
books. If you are not familiar with Lansdale's work I can highly recommend
becoming acquainted with this unique and very talented writer. My first
discovery of Lansdale some fifteen years ago was one of the most refreshing
literary discoveries in quite some time.
--"All
a Clone by the Telephone" by Haskell Barkin
Illustrated by Marty Blake
"As is generally agreed, those
telephone machines are revolting!"
-A
television writer buys a new answering machine only to find that the machine is
sentient and ruining his life.
-More
comedic fiction for this issue, this time from television writer Haskell
Barkin, who wrote a handful of 1980s Twilight
Zone episodes. Barkin's tale naturally
concerns a television writer who wages an unsuccessful war with his answering machine
when it begins to alter his life in unpleasant ways. The tale is not quite
funny enough to be a successful comedy nor quite scary enough to be a
successful tale of horror. Nevertheless, Barkin adapted the tale for the first
season of Tales from the Darkside, directed
by Frank De Palma and starring Harry Anderson and Marcie Barkin, whose possible
relation to Haskell Barkin I was unable to determine. Barkin was a relatively
prolific writer for television, primarily for animated programs such as The
Smurfs, Darkwing Duck, and various Scooby-Doo
series, and genre anthology series such
as Tales from the Darkside, The Twilight Zone revival series, and Monsters, including
an adaptation of Stephen King's "The Moving Finger," starring Tom
Noonan. Barkin wrote a handful of additional short stories for The Magazine
of Fantasy and Science Fiction. "All
a Clone by the Telephone" joins Donald Olson's "The Tear
Collector," from the October, 1981 issue, as a story published in TZ
Magazine to later be adapted for Tales
from the Darkside. Barkin died in 2013.
--TZ
Screen Preview: The Quest for Fire by
Ed Naha
Illustrated with stills from the film
"Those who loved the first twenty
minutes of '2001' can return to the past in this thinking man's stone age
adventure."
-Writer Ed
Naha steps in to deliver this enjoyable full-color preview of Quest for Fire (1981).
The article presents the title as The Quest for Fire but "The" was dropped from the title in release. This film
was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and written by Gérard Brach and concerns
the time in man's ancient past when fire was a previous commodity and warring
tribes battled for supremacy. The film stars Everett McGill, Rae Dawn Chong,
and Ron Perlman. Two interesting aspects of the production are the technical
advisers on the film. Desmond Morris, the zoologist, was engaged to direct the
actors in the ways in which early humans might move and behave. Author Anthony
Burgess, best known for A Clockwork Orange, was hired to create the film's fictional language. The film was a
critical and financial success, currently holding an 83% "fresh"
rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing more than $55 million dollars on a $12
million dollar budget. The film is also well-regarded for its makeup
achievements, having won the 1982 Academy Award for Makeup for its technicians
Sarah Monzani and Michèle Burke.
Ed
Naha is likely a familiar name to readers of such genre publications as Starlog and Fangoria, for which Naha provided dozens of feature
articles. Naha wrote one of the earliest, perhaps the earliest, series
retrospective for The Twilight Zone, which
appeared in Starlog #15 (August,
1978). The article featured an essay, “Rod Serling’s Dream,” and an episode
guide to the series. Naha also wrote a film review series, Ed Naha’s
Nahalywood, for Science Fiction
Chronicle magazine from 1986-1990. Naha
is also known for his relatively small fiction output, which includes original
novels such as Breakdown (1988) and Orphans (1989) as well as movie novelizations
including Ghostbusters II (1989), Robocop (1987), and Robocop 2 (1990). Naha’s nonfiction works include
Horrors: From Screen to Scream (1975), The
Science Fictionary (1980), and The
Films of Roger Corman (1982).
--The
Essential Writers: M.R. James by Mike Ashley
Illustrated with a photo the author, a still
from the film Night of the Demon (1957),
and illustrations by Lynd Ward, Lee Brown Coye, and Elinore Blaisdell
"With this issue, TZ begins a new
series profiling great names of fantasy's past. Our first subject is the genial
English antiquarian whose ghost stories, though merely intended to amuse his
friends at Christmas, remain the supreme examples of the form."
-Mike
Ashley, noted anthologist and compiler of numerous genre reference works, here
presents an engaging and informative profile of probably the finest author of
ghostly fiction ever to set pen to paper. M.R. James was an English author and
lifelong academic and college administrator who occasionally produced a ghost
story to read to his friends and students at Christmastime. These occasional
tales have since come to be regarded as among the finest bodies of ghostly
fiction produced in the English language. James' tales were published in four
volumes: Ghost Stories of an
Antiquary (1904), More Ghost Stories
of an Antiquary (1911), A Thin Ghost
and Others (1919), and A Warning to
the Curious and Other Ghost Stories (1925).
His Collected Ghost Stories appeared
in 1931. His stories have never been out of print.
-Although
James' tales do not range widely and can be diminished through repetition, the
best of his works contain moments of ghostly or demonic creation which can
still unnerve a reader today. His tales are also filled with esoteric details
which lend the supernatural proceedings an almost unrivaled degree of
verisimilitude. This issue presents James' 1904 tale "The Ash-Tree,"
an excellent and oft-reprinted tale of witchcraft and spectral vengeance.
Though I can recommend reading all of James' fiction, if you desire to read
only a handful of his best, go with these selections: "Canon Alberic's
Scrapbook," "Lost Hearts," "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to
You, My Lad'," "Count Magus," "The Treasure of Abbott
Thomas," "Casting the Runes," and "A Warning to the
Curious." James' influence upon the field of horror and fantasy is
profound and his style of ghost story has been frequently imitated. Multiple anthologies
have been compiled from ghost stories inspired by M.R. James and no collection
of ghostly fiction is complete without a selection from James. His acolytes are
numerous and range from James’ contemporary fellow academics to such titans of
horror fiction as Fritz Leiber and Ramsey Campbell. His influence on the field
is nearly that of H.P. Lovecraft, who considered James one of the supreme
masters of the form.
-James'
works have inspired numerous adaptations, including the 1957 film Night of the Demon, starring Twilight Zone veteran
Dana Andrews and directed by Twilight Zone director Jacques Tourneur. Several of James' tales were famously filmed
over many years for the unofficially titled Ghost Stories for Christmas on the BBC. Most of these adaptations were
directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. James’ work has inspired a long-running and
highly regarded newsletter, Ghosts and Scholars, as well as a podcast, A Podcast to the Curious.
--“The
Ash-Tree” by M.R. James
Illustrated by George Chastain
“A classic tale of undying evil.”
-A
horrible death awaits any who sleep in a certain room of a manor house which is
overlooked by an ancient ash-tree.
-“The
Ash-Tree” is the perfect selection to introduce readers to the fiction of M.R.
James as it contains many of the overriding characteristics of James’ work,
from a preoccupation with historic architecture to a fascination with the
ancient sin of witchcraft, and the sin of persecuting the innocent falsely accused
of witchcraft, to a horrible fear of spiders and a wonderful gift for dark
invention. In Mrs. Mothersole, James creates a truly frightening antagonist who
lives beyond the grave to bring a death curse upon the family of the man who
sentenced her to hang for witchcraft. The story contains some of James’ most
grisly effects, including a body turned black with poison and the horrible
arachnid progeny of Mothersole. This one comes with the highest recommendation.
-“The
Ash-Tree” was originally collected in James’ first volume of ghost stories, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), and has subsequently been reprinted numerous times, including
in Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories for Late at Night (1961, anonymously edited by Robert Arthur), The Dark Descent (1987, edited by David G. Hartwell), and The
Mammoth Book of Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories (1995, edited by Richard Dalby). “The Ash-Tree” was filmed in 1975 by
Lawrence Gordon Clark as part of A Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC. It was presented as a partially-dramatized
reading by actor Robert Powell as part of his Classic Ghost Stories series in 1986. In 2000, Sir Christopher Lee
provided a dramatic reading of “The Ash-Tree” for the BBC program Ghost
Stories for Christmas. English actor
Robert Lloyd Parry provides perhaps the finest rendition of the tale as part of
his one-man live show in which he plays M.R. James and presents spirited
readings of James’ stories. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is in the public domain in the United States
and can be read freely through any number of e-book outlets.
--“On
202” by Jeff Hecht
Illustrated by Frances Jetter
“The past lay before them, the dead
lived again, and memories ended at the end of the road . . .”
-A
young couple begin to lose their grips on reality while traveling down a
desolate stretch of New England highway.
-The
main aspect of this story which prevents it from receiving a higher grade is its ambiguity, as it comes off more as a mood piece than a proper narrative. I found Hecht able to create a truly unnerving
atmosphere fueled by the tension between the couple as well as the overarching
theme of the story, which is that the past is never dead and can eeriely intrude
upon the present. Hecht’s story is also about the danger of holding too
strongly to the past, particularly an idealized version of the past. Hecht successfully creates an atmosphere of Lovecraftian horror which occurs when the male half of the
couple juxtaposes his California existence, which he views as bright and
hopeful, with the New England landscape through which they travel, which he
views as bleak and despairing.
-“On
202” was reprinted in The Year’s Best
Horror Stories X, edited by Karl Edward
Wagner (DAW Books, 1982). Here's what Hecht related to Wagner on the origin of the story: "I lived in the back of a barn in Haydenville, Massachusetts, a little town marked by a gas station, a post office, and a flashing yellow light and 'Thickly Settled' sign on the highway. I discovered the emptiness of Route 202 while on the way from Haydenville to substitute teach in a somewhat larger western Massachusetts town." "On 202" was also reprinted in New England Ghosts, edited
by Frank D. McSherry, Jr., Charles G. Waugh, and Martin H. Greenberg (1990).
Hecht has written several tales of science fiction and horror. His first short story, “Lifeboat,” was
published in New Dimensions 8, edited
by Robert Silverberg (1978). His most recent story, “A Slice of Time,” was
published in the April 28, 2016 issue of Nature magazine. The longtime editor of a trade magazine on lasers, Hecht also wrote a series of science essays for Omni magazine in the 1980s. He performed a
similar function for the digital Lightspeed magazine in 2010 and 2011.
--“The
Emerson Effect” by Jack McDevitt
Illustrated by Jeff Gherman
“The old book bore no address – as if
its message had been intended, all along, for him.”
-A
postal worker intercepts a strange package that appears to be a personally
inscribed book from the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).
The postal worker, who leads a lonely, dull life, finds himself able to
transcend the spatial dimension once he begins reading the book.
-I
greatly enjoyed this strange and uplifting novella which presents a fresh spin
on the age-old trope of an ordinary man pushed to change his drab existence
through an encounter with the supernormal. The story is also of interest as it
is the first professionally published fiction from prolific, Nebula
Award-winning author Jack McDevitt, who has gone on to produce a stellar body
of work in the SF field. The aspect of the tale I found particularly enjoyable
was that although McDevitt is primarily interested in the philosophical and
scientific aspects of the tale he doesn’t neglect the human element and thus
presents distinct and engaging characters who look, act, and feel like real
people. This is an element missing from a great deal of SF and it is refreshing
to find it in the genre on occasion.
-“The
Emerson Effect” was reprinted in Wondrous
Beginnings, edited by Steven H. Silver
and Martin H. Greenberg (2003), a volume designed to display the first
published stories from notable SF authors. McDevitt is best known for his Academy
series and his Alex Benedict series of novels. A career retrospective of
his short fiction was published by Subterranean Press in 2009 as Cryptic:
The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt.
--Show-by-Show
Guide: TV’s Twilight Zone: Part Nine by Marc Scott Zicree
“Continuing Marc Scott Zicree’s
show-by-show guide to the entire Twilight
Zone television series, complete with Rod Serling’s opening and closing
narrations.”
-Marc
Scott Zicree returns with his Twilight
Zone episodes guide, this time providing
the cast and crew, summaries, and opening and closing narrations for the
following third season episodes, all of which we’ve covered here in the Vortex:
“A Quality of Mercy,” “Nothing in the Dark,” “One More Pallbearer,” “Dead Man’s
Shoes,” “The Hunt,” “Showdown with Rance McGrew,” and “Kick the Can.”
-TZ
Classic Teleplay: “The Midnight Sun” by Rod Serling
“The original television script first
aired on CBS-TV November 17, 1961”
-Presented
in full is Rod Serling’s teleplay for the very good (and somewhat underrated)
episode “The Midnight Sun,” which I reviewed back on July 20, 2016 and awarded
a grade of B. I still feel this is one of the stronger episodes of the series
with one of my favorite performances from Lois Nettleton.
--Looking
Ahead: In January’s TZ
-Next
month’s issue includes another essay by Mike Ashley on the essential writers.
This time it is a profile of the Irish writer Joseph Sheridan LeFanu along with
LeFanu’s tale “An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street.” Also
included are stories by Parke Godwin (with a tale later adapted for the Twilight Zone revival
series), Robert Sheckley, Reginald Bretnor, Connie Willis, Vic Johnson, Frank
Belknap Long (who is also interviewed in the issue), and John Morressy. A
special treat is a work from Rod Serling, “My Most Memorable Christmas.” Robert
Martin returns for a film preview of the Peter Straub adaptation Ghost
Story, and Theodore Sturgeon and Gahan
Wilson return to provide their thoughts on current books and films,
respectively.
See you next time!
-JP
