FSF, September-October 2010
Page 29
The second volume finds our hero and his surviving crew (there have been some casualties) back in the Mediterranean, only to be gobbled by a whale the size of a city. Escaping, the stalwarts sail to a sea of milk in which they encounter an island of cheese. Further voyages encounter species that are humanoid, half-human, or bodiless entities of pure intelligence, dressed in cobwebs.
Throughout his adventures, the narrator assures us that, if we doubt his words, we need only retrace his journey in order to see for ourselves that he is telling the truth.
True History is generally considered the first work of science fiction rather than fantasy. Its author was apparently a Syrian; almost nothing is known about him apart from his fragments of autobiography, and these appear to be a hoax.
—F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
[Back to Table of Contents]
Department: COMING ATTRACTIONS
A quirk in our scheduling (we get a lot of those, don't we? Well, we're a quirky magazine) means that next issue's lineup isn't definite as we go to press. But most likely we'll have Robert Reed's novella “Dead Man's Run” in the Nov/Dec. issue. This story takes us into the future with a murder mystery in a running club.
Other stories slated to appear soon include:
* “Free Elections” by Alan Dean Foster, a new Mad Amos tale, this one concerning a fella who just wants to sit for a spell.
* “The Whirlwind” by Jim Young, in which life in the virtual world takes some troubling twists.
* “Christmas at Hostage Canyon,” a chilling holiday story by James Stoddard.
We also have stories in the works from Albert E. Cowdrey, Alex Jablokov, John Kessel, Michaela Roessner, and Kate Wilhelm. Subscribe now and lock in two years of F&SF at our current rates.
* * *
Visit www.fsfmag.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.