236 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
236 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
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+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME ONE NUMBER ONE
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+___________+ FFFFF SSS FFFFF N N EEEEE TTTTT
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| ++ | F S F NN N E T
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| ++ | FFF SSS FFF N N N EEE T
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| | F S F N NN E T
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|_________| F SSS F N N EEEEE T
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/___________ ==========================================
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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
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___|___________|___ Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb (NMCS025@MAINE)
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Well, here is issue number one of FSFnet, and I hope
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you all enjoy it. Since the first mailing, I have had
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a great deal of positive response, and about half a
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dozen submissions. In this issue you will find a
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scattering of reviews, an amusing story I whipped off,
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and something I'd like to continue in future issues, a
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featured author. I would like to thank those who have
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contributed, and Lord Hagen for designing the header.
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A reminder to those who did not respond to the first
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mailing: this is the last issue you will receive unless
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I hear from you that you wish to remain on the mailing
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list. Also, people whose ids have changed over the
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semester break, please notify me. A reminder, FSFnet
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will come out as often as I have enough material for
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it. This means I need submissions and ideas and
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feedback to make this zine what it ought to be. Please
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try to submit something, and try to spread the word
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about FSFnet to people you think might be interested.
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Anyone interested in a game of Diplomacy over
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Bitnet, please contact me. I will be running a game
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which will begin rather soon. Maps and rules will be
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sent out.
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Well, enough of the editorial, on to the real stuff.
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Read on!
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+ Orny +
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Have you ever heard of the micro-games Wizard and
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Melee? If so, then you may know about the way they do
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ready-made modules.
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I am working on a labyrinth for FSFnet, but am
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limited by disk space at the present time. I have
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requested additional space, and if I get it, I will be
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able to send the dungeon by electronic mail.
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It would be geared to people making choices, but
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not to dice rolls. In any case, as soon as it is
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finished, I will be willing to send it to anyone who
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sends me a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
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Lord Hagen Silverskull (VM00D4 @ WVNVM)
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DUNE
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(This review is directed at people who have read and
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liked the book)
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The movie Dune opened last Friday and I saw it
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over the weekend, I never believed that Frank
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Herbert's novel could be faithfully reproduced in a
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two hour movie, and I was glad to see I was right about
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something this year.
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There were some minor flaws in the movie such as
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the 'Weirding devices' that House Atreides had
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developed that were used as the secret weapon by the
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Atreides instead of the Fremen, in the book Duke Leto
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is planning even before leaveing Caladan to use the
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Fremen against the Imperial Sardaukar.
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When they decided to make the movie they could
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have decided to be true to the book or to really cut
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the book to make the screenplay work but they tried
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to do both and the result is a mediocre movie from a
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great book that would have made an excellent mini-
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series.
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The most drastic change from the book was they
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didn't take the time and give us the history of
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the feud between the Atreides and the Harkonnens,
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but they still had to get the audience to hate them so
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they made the Baron into a diseased sadist, instead of
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just leaving him as a mean, ruthless, power hungry,
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aristocrat.
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For all the Police fans out there Sting played
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Feyd-Rautha almost exactly as i pictured him in the
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book however he should have had more dialogue with his
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uncle the Baron.
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Mike Foley (ACPS1060 @ RYERSON)
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Ornathor's Saga
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Once upon a time there lived an errant knight, and
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his daring life of gallantry and chivalry had won him a
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considerable reputation among those realms he had
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journeyed in. He was tall and dark, with deep,
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piercing eyes, keen as the sword which hung on his
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baldric. His armor and weapons were all of silver, and
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his huge stallion was a tarnished grey. On his shield
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was his coat: suspended in a black night sky, a
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constellation of five stars in a rough diamond shape.
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It was the most prominent group of stars in the sky -
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the Southern Cross.
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The name of the realm was Bukharim; it was a
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pleasing and comfortable kingdom of green, rolling
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hills and cool evergreen forests. The silver knight
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was on an errand to Kulac, the central keep and city of
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Bukharim. The world was strangely quiet as he
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approached the city on the plains. As he passed the
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iron gates, he saw a guard poised to strike a wench
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with the back of his mailed fist. The knight yelled
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out, a strange sound in the quiet of the city; neither
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figure moved. He examined them, and saw that they
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stood as still as if time itself had stopped for them.
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He led his horse along the street, and he saw many
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frozen figures. A guillotine hung impossibly, having
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travelled halfway down its lethal course. An irate-
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looking peasant woman held a young urchin by the hair.
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A man and a woman were climbing the stairs to the
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second story of a brothel. Three veterans toasted one
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another. Perhaps they were recently reunited, and
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surprised to see one another still alive. Perhaps on
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the morning they were to be off to the next battle.
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None could ever read their faces.
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He came to the keep, and entered. The great
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reception hall was a scene from some warped painter's
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fantasies; the lord of Bukharim pointed an accusing
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finger at a figure who seemingly was no longer there.
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On a stone platform lay a woman, the most beautiful
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woman the knight had ever seen. She was, without
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doubt, the lord's daughter, no less than a princess.
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As the knight approached his vision, he heard a
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sound... this woman was not captured in timelessness,
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but merely sleeping. He could not help but feast upon
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the sight of her, her beautiful golden hair, her fair
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skin, her perfect lips. His body longed to hold her
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and his mind reeled with the desire to kiss her. He
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fell to his knees, knowing that a single kiss could
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restore normality to this ghost realm, that he would
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marry the princess, and, in time, become lord of
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Bukharim. He recalled the guard, poised to strike the
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wench, the guillotine about to fall, the woman berating
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the urchin, the man and the whore, the battle-weary
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veterans. He silently cried as he lay down beside the
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princess and was overcome by sleep, never to be seen
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again beyond the dream-gates of Ilek-vad, upon which he
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had stumbled in conscious dream.
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Orny (NMCS025 @ MAINE)
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Brisingamen, by Diana Paxson
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This book came out recently in a mass-market
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paperback. The cover says: "The magic is back. But can
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California handle it?".
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The heroine, Karen Ingold, is a grad student in
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comparative literature. The book begins with her lover
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of two years, Roger, leaving to go back to his wife,
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and telling her in the morning as he leaves, claiming
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he didn't want to spoil their last night together.
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Karen goes in to her job in the comp lit office. A
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package arrives from Sweden for her boss, Walter. It
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proves to contain a wedding chest and pieces of a
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necklace, which we know (from a prologue) goes back to
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the old Norse religion and had to be hidden away from
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the Christians. The book depicts Karen's gradually
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learning to deal with the fact that the necklace does
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have power, enabling her to invoke the Goddess Freyja
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(whether she wants to or not), while putting her
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personal life and career back together.
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The people in it are real, as is the magic. There
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are references to the Neopagan community, in particular
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a (presumably invented) group that works in the Norse
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tradition, and Paxson seems to be deriving her theories
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of magic from that source as much as from the old
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myths. She is conscious of how much we don't know about
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Norse religion, and uses that instead of trying to hide
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it.
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Vicki (ROSVICL @ YALEVMX)
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Featured Author: M.A.R. BARKER
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Muhammad Abd-al-Rahman Barker, creator of the world
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of Tekumel and author of the Man of Gold, is currently
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a full professor in the Department of South and
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Southwestern Asian Studies at the University of
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Minnesota Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is best known for
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his work with Tekumel, particularly the roleplaying
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game the Empire of the Petal Throne. Recently revived
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interest in the wonder of Tekumel has spurred a new
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roleplaying game, Swords and Glory, and the full-length
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novel the Man of Gold, with more novels to follow.
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Tekumel first was introduced to the general public
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in the form of the Empire of the Petal Throne
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roleplaying game, published by TSR in 1974. It was
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expensive for it's time, and was considered the
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'Cadillac' of RPGs during its time. It was heavily
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influenced by the developing Dungeons and Dragons RPG.
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Today EPT is a collectors item.
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Swords and Glory/EPT is a brand new roleplaying
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game, also by Barker, also set in Tekumel, an alien
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world of magic and wonder. Published by Gamescience,
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the S&G/EPT will contain three volumes, each costing
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about $25; the first two volumes are already in print
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and available. Tekumel Games, Inc. (1278 Selby Ave,
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St. Paul, MN 55104) also publishes several Tekumel-
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related products, including an official ongoing history
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of the world.
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However, the great amount of attention the games
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have received obscures the real reason for Tekumel's
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existance. Says Barker: 'The idea of Tekumel came
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first, plus a desire to write fistion about it. EPT
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was secondary.' The Man of Gold, published by DAW, is
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an excellent look into the violent nature of life in
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Tekumel's fantastically alien environment, and an
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excellent book. It is the tale of a young man who
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suddenly finds himself confronted with being the focus
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of the attention of the powers of the Tsolyani Empire.
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The book is very interesting and well-written and
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enjoyable, although the conclusion is very weak and
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leaves one wondering exactly what has gone on.
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Barker is continuing his writing. A second Tekumel
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novel, Flamesong, is already in DAW's hands, and a
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further work has been begun. An excellent interview
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with Barker, discussing the games, his books, and
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himself can be found in the Space Gamer number 71.
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Tekumel is a place that once visited, cannot be
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forgotten. It's compelling alienness intrigues and
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captivates us, and I am looking forward to the
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publication of further Tekumel-related novels.
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Orny (NMCS025 @ MAINE)
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