Category: Critical Mass News

News items which go out to a monthly newsletter

Wrong Turns on the Wallaby Track: Australian SF Fandom 1936-60

Critical Mass News

The recording of this talk by Leigh Edmonds is now avaialble on the Fanac channel on youtube:

Wrong Turns on the Wallaby Track: Australian SF Fandom 1936-60, Pt1- Leigh Edmonds, Perry Middlemiss

Beginning with an introduction to Australian history of the period by Perry Middlemiss, the session entertainingly describes the important fans, and clubs from the beginnings in Sydney with a Science Fiction League branch, to the Futurian Society of Sydney and the Thursday night group. Leigh provides both entertaining and instructive insights, from the parallels to US fannish history, to the Australian group whose “main form of entertainment was feuding”, and the impact on science fiction readers of the Australian wartime embargo on the import of unnecessary items.

Wrong Turns on the Wallaby Track: Australian SF Fandom 1936-60, Pt2- Leigh Edmonds, Perry Middlemiss

If you missed the zoom session, you can catch up with the two parts on youtube.

Critical Mass, Wed 23rd March

Critical Mass News

Last time, we heard about suggested reads from members. This time, we find out who’s read what from the suggestions, and what people thought of their choice.

Meeting starts at 6:30 Adelaide time.
You can attend in person at Kappys (assuming you are covid-free), or join us via zoom:

Topic: Critical Mass
Time: Mar 23, 2022 06:30 PM Adelaide, 7pm Melbourne
Every month on the Fourth Wed
Mar 23, 2022 06:30 PM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0vcOyuqT4oH93GNHI5DO90Zz4z1hoobxDa/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGhrDwvHNOQshyORpx5AI_CZ-7wtiVBgvoOuzHNKnV3TVqmDPgWKON3H9fS

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89275675259?pwd=UG4rT0RaNFpOOEwyWlJOU0xOcHJ1UT09

Meeting ID: 892 7567 5259
Passcode: CritMass
If you attend in person, you will be required to wear a mask if not eating/drinking.

See The works recommended at last month’s meeting

Suggestions from Crit Mass

Critical Mass News, Snippets

LynC suggested the recent Garth Nix, The Left-handed Booksellers of London, or if we were looking for an interesting mystery series, The Vinyl Detective by Andrew Cartmel: Written in Dead Wax (2016); The Run-Out Groove (2017);
Victory Disc (2018);
Flip Back (2019);
Low Action (2020)
& Attack and Decay (2022)

Jane Routley noted she was really enjoying P Djèlí Clark’s A Master of Djinn, the novel set in an alternative Cairo, following on from the novellas Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015.

Kate Treloar picked a classic:
E M Forster’s The Machine Stops

Ruth Jenkins suggested The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield and the alternate history collection Sideways in Crime edited by Lou Anders

Adam Jenkins mentioned
The Lifecycle of Software
Objects by Ted Chiang, but
chose the manga ōsō no
Furīren, “Frieren of the
Funeral” as consistent good
storytelling.

Beata Sznajder considered Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente, but recommended Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes.

Andrew Vincent considered graphic novels: he mentioned Saga, but thought the story overly long, and preferred Rat Queens.

Andrew’s ultimate choice was an online computer game, Wildermyth, available on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/763890/Wildermyth/

Jocko suggested Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

Jeff Harris talked about time travel invasions: Invasion from 2500 by Norman Edwards (a pseudonym for Ted White and Terry Carr) from 1964,
and Clifford Simak’s Our Children’s Children (1974),
but settled enthusiastically
on Ken MacLeod’s Selkie Summer (2020).

Roman suggested the second of the Johannes Cabal novels by Jonathan L Forward, Johannes Cabal — The Detective, from 2010. He was reminded of the series about a necromancer when he listened to an audio-book (Blustery Day) of short stories about Cabal.
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, 2009
Johannes Cabal the Detective, 2010
Johannes Cabal: The Fear
Institute, 2011
The Brothers Cabal, 2014
Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day: And Other Tales of the Necromancer, 2015 (collection)
The Fall of The House of Cabal, 2016

The Bat-usi

Critical Mass News, Snippets

A pop-culture giant has shuffled off this four-color coil. Adam West, who played the title role in the 1966 Batman, and later reprised the role in voice and physical form more than once, has died of leukaemia at the age of 88.

Keith R.A. DeCandido picked his five best bat-moments, including the Bat-usi:

the entire scene in the bar that leads up to Batman doing that magnificent dance in “Hi Diddle Riddle,” the first episode of Batman to air, is pretty much vintage West Batman. We start with him entering the discotheque and refusing the offer of a table, instead going to the bar because he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself. Reportedly, that scene was the one West read for his audition, and one of the reasons why he got the part was that he played that line 100% straight rather than wink at the camera or be a goof about it. Perhaps the best thing about West’s portrayal was that he took it completely seriously. He refused to stoop to the joke, which is why little kids (like me!) could watch the show unironically and view Batman as a hero who did good. We took him seriously as a hero because he took himself seriously as one.
Even when it was totally ridiculous. Like trying to be inconspicuous while walking into a discotheque while wearing a brightly colored skintight outfit and a big blue cape. And dancing a silly dance, though the latter was after they put a mickey in his fresh-squeezed orange juice.

https://www.tor.com/2017/06/12/adam-wests-five-best-bat-moments/

The Burlesque, take 4

Critical Mass News, Events

We are looking for people interested in helping with a zoom reading of The Frankenstein Burlesque.

We are still looking for people to do some of the minor roles: 3 x Police; 6 x Peasants, 3 x pirates, 4 x sailors; so feel free to volunteer or pass details on to anyone interested.
We’re going to repeat Scenes III (Police, magistrate, Inspector and peasants) and IX (Pirates & sailors) on Monday March 7th.
If you are interested, have a look at the text and let roman know which role you might want to try — there are named roles, major and minor, plus an assortment of sailers, pirates, et alia.
If you want to be involved, please email Roman (websmith [at] internode.on.net) and let him know ASAP!

Time: Monday, Mar 7th, 2022 06:30pm Adelaide / 7pm Melbourne

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82538397387?pwd=NW1ZWnFOV1pIZTExTXEvckF0bkI0QT09

Meeting ID: 825 3839 7387
Passcode: Frankie

Crit Mass Feb 23: A delight of stories

Critical Mass News, Snippets

People are asked to bring along an SF&F novel/novella they enjoy, and tell us why they think it’s interesting. (Assume you have 5-7mins to convince us.) We will each choose one of the suggested works to read and report on at the March meeting.

Given the current state of the covid outbreak, the February meeting will be zoom only.

Critical Mass
Feb 23, 2022 6:30pm Adelaide, 7pm Melbourne

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82167796217?pwd=M2d0aUMwU01nbVVPa2g0czNXTjQxUT09

Meeting ID: 821 6779 6217
Passcode: 784499

Dangerous Visions and New Worlds

Critical Mass News

 I wanted to let you know that City Lights Bookshop are hosting a weekend long symposium that will use Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985, as a launching point for 8 sessions covering a range of topics. A flyer is below with the line-up. The event is free to attend and a link to register for the first day is below.

It’s happening on 26/2 and 27/2 (Pacific Standard Time) which for those of us in Adelaide means day one runs from 5:30am to 1:30pm on 27/2 and day two from 5:30am to 11am on 28/2.

If you could share this with people in the Nova Mob network then that would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

Iain.

Details & registration at City Lights bookshop for online sessions.

Nova Mob, Mar 9th – Perry Middlemiss on Short SF in 1965.

Critical Mass News

Perry plans to look at all the short SF/F published in 1965. What do you think are the best picks?
For what it’s worth, The World’s Best SF 1966 published these stories:

“Sunjammer” (Arthur C. Clarke); “Calling Dr. Clockwork” (Ron Goulart); “Becalmed in Hell” (Larry Niven); “Apartness” (Vernor Vinge); “Over the River and Through the Woods” (Clifford D. Simak); “Planet of Forgetting” (James H. Schmitz); “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” (Harlan Ellison); “The Decision Makers” (Joseph L. Green); “Traveler’s Rest” (David I. Masson); “Uncollected Works” (Lin Carter); “Vanishing Point” (Jonathan Brand); “In Our Block” (R. A. Lafferty); “Masque of the Red Shift” (Fred Saberhagen); “The Captive Djinn” (Christopher Anvil); “The Good New Days” (Fritz Leiber)

Note: Algis Budrys found the anthology unimpressive, saying that one-third of the stories “will not on inspection seem to be outstanding”.


7.30pm – 9.00pm Adelaide time, 8.00pm – 9.30 pm Melbourne time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09

Passcode: nova

Meeting ID: 417 758 3193

A small matter of cattitude

Critical Mass News

The 2022 Cattitude Bundle, curated Dean Wesley Smith:

Being a professional fiction writer, being owned by a cat seems almost like a requirement for the job description.

What do you do for a living? Fiction Writer.

Owned by cats? Yup.

And one of the great elements of cats and writers is that writers tend to write stories with cats in the story. Logical. The cats are always just there, so we add them into all kinds of stories. From mystery to science fiction to high fantasy. Every type of story imaginable, a writer has put a cat in it.

That’s what this bundle is all about. Cats and cat attitude in ten different books full of lots and lots of cats. Actually there are twelve books, since there is one bundle of three books as well. I hope you enjoy all the wonderful and varied cat stories.

Read more about the 10 books in the bundle here, and make sure to click on each cover for a synopsis, reviews and preview of each book!

More details from StoryBundle