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ANSIBLE(R) 458
SEPTEMBER 2025

From DAVID LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU, UK. Website news.ansible.uk. ISSN 0265-9816 (print); 1740-942X (e). Available for SAE
or any tool kit that includes a crabwick, a frawlpin and a gult.

[NET NOTE. See https://news.ansible.uk/a458.html for the nice HTML version; https://news.ansible.uk/pdf/a458.pdf for a printable PDF. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below -- please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL]

SEATTLE WORLDCON NEWS. The seattlein2025.org demographics page listed 7739 members as of 9 August, including 5594 adults, 1170 WSFS-only (supporting)
and 663 virtual. At-the-door membership counts are still awaited.
To no one's surprise, the unopposed bid for Montreal was voted in as
the official 2027 Worldcon with 605 out of 682 valid ballots (16 write-in,
16 no preference, 45 'none of the above'). More in the events list below.
The traditional con newsletter, this year innovatively titled _Daily 'Zine_, can be read at seattlein2025.org/program-and-events/daily-zine/.
The regular 'Overheard' department includes such random quotes as 'Are you feeling introverted or extroverted about your death?'

HUGO AND RELATED AWARDS. NOVEL _The Tainted Cup_ by Robert Jackson Bennett. NOVELLA _The Tusks of Extinction_ by Ray Nayler. NOVELETTE 'The Four
Sisters Overlooking the Sea' by Naomi Kritzer (_Asimov's_ 9/24). SHORT 'Stitched to Skin Like Family Is' by Nghi Vo (_Uncanny_ 3/24). SERIES
_Between Earth and Sky_ by Rebecca Roanhorse. GRAPHIC _Star Trek: Lower
Decks: Warp Your Own Way_ by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio. RELATED WORK _Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right_ by Jordan S. Carroll. DRAMATIC, LONG. _Dune: Part Two_. DRAMATIC, SHORT. _Star Trek:
Lower Decks_: 'The New Next Generation'. GAME _Caves of Qud_. EDITOR, SHORT FORM Neil Clarke. EDITOR, LONG FORM Diana M. Pho. PROFESSIONAL ARTIST
Alyssa Winans. SEMIPROZINE _Uncanny Magazine_. FANZINE _Black Nerd
Problems_. FANCAST _Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones_. FAN WRITER Abigail Nussbaum. FAN ARTIST Sara Felix. POEM 'A War of Words' by Marie Brennan (_Strange Horizons_ 9/24) LODESTAR _Sheine Lende_ by Darcie Little Badger. ASTOUNDING AWARD Moniquill Blackgoose.

OTHER AWARDS. _Big Heart:_ Frank and Millie Kalisz.
_First Fandom:_ HALL OF FAME Vincent Docherty, Damon Knight, Kate
Wilhelm. SAM MOSKOWITZ ARCHIVE AWARD Rob Hansen.
_Sidewise_ (alt-history): LONG _Sargassa_ by Sophie Burnham. SHORT 'A Brother's Oath' by L. Briar (in _A Bit of Luck: Alternate Histories in
Honor of Eric Flint_ ed. Lisa Mangum).

FUTURE WORLDCONS. The Czech Republic launched a bid with flyers promising a traditional Thursday to Sunday Worldcon in Prague, followed by organized tourism Monday-Wednesday, and a special train to Brno on Thursday for a
book fair plus a comic convention running from Friday to Sunday. 'Date: end
of October, year 20??' [TC] 2050? 2099?


### THE REBOANTIC NORNS ###

MICHAEL DIRDA made a nice point on the Readercon 'Originals and Responses' panel: 'If you read Tolkien and then Old English literature, Old English literature seems like primitive Tolkien. If you read Old English literature
and _then_ Tolkien, Tolkien seems like just watered-down Old English literature. The order in which you read is important.' [BD]

JULIA DONALDSON of _The Gruffalo_ fame is the first author to pass 50
million UK sales 'since accurate records began', according to NielsenIQ BookScan. J.K. Rowling languishes with a mere 47.8 million; trailing in third-place ignominy is the mighty James Patterson fiction factory at 31.6 million. (_The Bookseller_, 26 August) [SF2C] BookScan was launched in
2001, which is presumably when 'accurate records began'. Tough luck on Dickenses and Tolkiens whose big sales are lost in the mists of prehistory.

GREER GILMAN on that same 'Originals and Responses' panel: 'There are books where the writer is going, "Take _that_, C.S. Lewis!"' [BD]

PAULA GURAN, after long delay occasioned by 'the fluctuating status and
future of both series', announced the end of her annual anthologies _The
Year's Best Fantasy_ (3 volumes) and _The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and
Horror_ (15 volumes, renumbered 2020 so the latest is 'Volume 5'). [ED]

ROBERT RANKIN knows the way of the world: 'Yep, seven months ago I
officially opened Brentford's first and only bookshop, it has now
officially gone out of business. That makes the third one I have opened
that has closed within a year. Do NOT ask me to open your bookshop. Any
arms dealers who would like me to open a new branch for them, I shall be
more than pleased.' (Facebook, 14 August)

ROBERT SILVERBERG has the mature experience to handle a mere Worldcon panel audience: 'I'm Robert Silverberg and if I have to say more than that then
one of us is at the wrong convention.' [DZ]

MARTHA WELLS on ART, the formidable spaceship AI in her Murderbot series:
'It's like Skynet, but with an academic job and a family.' [DZ]


### CONVERSAZIONE ###

4-7 Sep [] OXONMOOT (Tolkien Society), St Anne's, Oxford. GBP130 reg; other rates at www.tolkiensociety.org/events/oxonmoot-2025.

6 Sep [] RUBY-CON (games), St Paul's Church, Long Lane, London. Free, with charity fundraising sales. See tinyurl.com/rubycon25.

13 Sep - 4 Jan [] DESIGNING TERRY PRATCHETT'S DISCWORLD (Paul Kidby
exhibition, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum. 10am-4pm Tuesday-Saturday; 10am-3pm Sunday. See www.paulkidby.com/events.

13-14 Sep [] MIDDLE-EARTH FESTIVAL, Norton Lane, Wythall B47 6HA (_new
field venue_). See middleearthfestival.wordpress.com.

20 Sep [] EDGE-LIT 11, QUAD Centre, Market Place, Derby. GBP35 reg plus
GBP1 booking fee. See www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/edgelit11/.

26 Sep - 4 Oct [] FESTIVAL OF WORDS, East Riding Libraries, Yorkshire. SF/fantasy talks (GBP7 each) and workshop (GBP10) in Beverley Library on 28 September: see www.eastridinglibraries.co.uk/festival-of-words/.

26-28 Sep [] LAKES INTERNATIONAL COMIC ART FESTIVAL, Bowness-on-Windermere. GBP25 (GBP15 concessions) at www.comicartfestival.com.

27 Sep [] INNSMOUTH LITERARY FESTIVAL, Kings House Centre, 245 Ampthill Rd, Bedford MK42 9AZ. 10am-5pm. GBP30 reg. Further details at innsmouthgold.com/innsmouth-literary-festival.

27-28 Sep [] NOR-CON (media), Norfolk Showground Arena. Adult tickets GBP17
or GBP21 early entry; other rates at www.nor-con.co.uk.

1 Oct - 2 Nov [] LONDON MONTH OF THE DEAD, various venues and events, a few
of genre interest: see londonmonthofthedead.com.

9-12 Oct [] GRIMMFEST (film), Odeon Great Northern, Manchester. Weekend
pass (not Thursday) GBP96.54; other options at grimmfest.com.

12-13 Oct [] OCTOCON, Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin. Euro40 reg;
concessions Euro25; under-22s Euro10; under-13s free; supp/online Euro20. In-person convention on Saturday; online only on Sunday. See octocon.com.

17-20 Oct [] IRISH DISCWORLD CONVENTION, Cork International Hotel, Cork.
Euro95 reg; concessions Euro60; under-18s Euro20; under-7s free. Further details at idwcon.org.

8 Nov [] DOUGLAS ADAMS celebration, Royal Geographical Society, London.
7:30pm. Tickets from GBP49.95. See tinyurl.com/25ble5tz.

2-6 Sep 2027 [] MONTREAL WORLDCON 2027, Montreal, Canada. GoH announced in
PR0: Jo Walton, Yves Menard, Chris Barkley; since added, Jeph Jacques. All rates CAD: adults $250 (inc $70 WSFS membership), under-31s $200 (ditto), under-18s $90, under-13s $45, accompanied under-8s free. Rates may rise in December 2025. See montreal2027.ca.

RUMBLINGS. _Eurocon 2027_ is Forum Fantastico, Lisbon, Portugal. 2028: a
bid from Croatia. 2030: BSFA Eastercon/Eurocon bid planned.


### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ###

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS. Among the 6,000+ words to be added to the _Cambridge Dictionary_ this year is 'skibidi', which has apparently entered the
language as a nonsense term that might mean 'cool' or 'bad' or 'this is a placeholder for something actually funny' -- introduced and made famous by Alexey Gerasimov's surreal YouTube animated sf sequence _Skibidi Toilet_,
in which singing human-headed toilets battle camera-, speaker- and
tv-headed humanoids in an ever-escalating arms race. (BBC, 18 August) _The Plain People of Fandom:_ Too much information!

AWARDS. _Aldiss_ (speculative fiction worldbuilding) inaugural shortlist: _Dreadful_ by Caitilin Rozakis, _Kavithri_ by Aman J. Bedi, _Saints of
Storm and Sorrow_ by Gabriella Buba, _Shigidi and the Brass Head of
Obalufon_ by Wole Talabi, _The Dance of Shadows_ by Rogba Payne, _When
Among Crows_ by Veronica Roth. One might have expected a few worldbuilding examples in the Aldiss/Helliconia sf vein, but all the above are fantasy.
_Gaelic Literature:_ the four 2025 fiction finalists include _Draoidh Druidhteach Oz_ by L. Frank Baum (trans Zachary Wallace), _A' Hobat_ by
J.R.R. Tolkien (trans Moray Watson) and _Inneal na Time_ by H.G. Wells
(ditto). [SF2C]
_Mythopoeic:_ ADULT _The Melancholy of Untold History_ by Minsoo Kang.
YA _The Isles of the Gods_ duology by Amie Kaufman. CHILDREN'S _Island of Whispers_ by Frances Hardinge illus Emily Gravett. SCHOLARSHIP/INKLINGS
_The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien_ ed. Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. SCHOLARSHIP/OTHER _Urban Fantasy: Exploring Modernity through
Magic_ by Stefan Ekman.
_YA Book Prize_ (UK/Ireland, set up by _The Bookseller_ in 2014): the dystopian _Songlight_ by Moira Buffini. [SF2C]

AS OTHERS LEARN FROM US. 'In the nineties, DNA was the stuff of science
fiction -- I first heard about it in _Jurassic Park_ -- but here it was something real, with real-life consequences.' (Jennifer Wilson, _The New Yorker_, 25 August 2025) [PL]

R.I.P. _Loni Anderson_ (1945-2025), US actress in _The Magnificent Magical Magnet of Santa Mesa_ (1977), _All Dogs Go to Heaven_ (1989), _Munchie_
(1992) and genre tv series, died on 3 August aged 79. [LP]
_Chris Bidmead_ (1941-2025), UK _Doctor Who_ script editor (1980-1981)
and writer (14 episodes 1981-1984, plus later audiobooks and podcasts),
died on 6 August aged 84.
_Tor Age Bringsvard_ (1939-2025), pioneer and grand old man of
Norwegian sf -- active since the 1960s, winner of many awards, and
responsible with his friend Jon Bing for introducing sf to a wide audience
in Norway -- died on 4 August aged 85. [CS]
_Ray Brooks_ (1939-2025), UK actor in _Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150
A.D._ (1966) and tv series including _Jackanory_ (30 episodes 1969-1978)
and _Mr Benn_ (14 episodes 1971-2005), died on 9 August aged 86. [CM]
_Joe Caroff_ (1921-2025), US graphic designer who created the
007/pistol logo for _Dr No_ (1962) -- used with modifications for many more James Bond franchise films -- died on 17 August aged 103. [AIP]
_Franklin Dominguez_ (1931-2025), Dominican actor in _Rat Man_ (1988), _Raiders of the Magic Ivory_ (1988) and _Killer Crocodile_ (1989), died on
26 August aged 94. [SJ]
_Norman Eshley_ (1945-2025), UK actor in the Dennis Wheatley-based
_The Lost Continent_ (1968) and genre tv series, died on 2 August aged 80.
[SJ]
_Marc Estrin_ (1939-2025), US author whose sf novel is the Kafka quasi-sequel _Insect Dreams: The Half Life of Gregor Samsa_ (2002), died on
10 August aged 86.
_David Gullen_, South Africa-born UK author (active from 1995) and
Milford stalwart whose first sf novel was _Shopocalypse_ (2013), reportedly died in August. [LW]
_Ann Harris_, US publisher's editor who worked on William Peter
Blatty's _The Exorcist_ (1971) while at Harper & Row, died on 1 June aged
99. [AIP]
_Greg Iles_ (1960-2025), US author whose thrillers included the supernatural _Sleep No More_ (2002) and the sf _The Footprints of God_
(2003, aka _Dark Matter_), died on 15 August aged 65. [TM]
_Tom Jeffers_, Toronto fan and filker who entered the Filk Hall of
Fame in 2012, died on 6 August. [RR]
_David Ketchum_ (1928-2025), US screenwriter and actor in _Get Smart_
(13 episodes 1966-1967 as Agent 13), _Love at First Bite_ (1979) and
others, died on 10 August aged 97.
_Ivan Krasko_ (1930-2025), Russian actor whose credits include _Gibel 31-go otdela_ (1985, based on Per Wahloo's sf _Murder on the 31st Floor_)
and _The Hobbit_ (1985 tv), died on 9 August aged 94. [AM]
_Floyd Levine_ (1932-2025), US actor in _Cellar Dweller_ (1987), _Repossessed_ (1990), _Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills_ (1996),
_Babylon 5: Thirdspace_ (1988) and other, died on 24 August aged 93. [SJ]
_Guy H. Lillian III_ (1949-2025), long-time US fan who received US Southern Fandom's Rebel Award in 1984, won DUFF in 2003 with his wife Rose-Marie, and whose many fanzines included _Challenger_ (1993-2022, a multiple Hugo nominee), _Spartacus_ (2013-2024) and _The Zine Dump_ (2006-2024), died on 23 August aged 76. [JG]
_Enrico Lucherini_ (1932-2025), Italian 'press officer to the stars'
who promoted many genre films from _Medea_ (1969) and _Queens of Evil_
(1970) until well into the new century, died on 28 July aged 92. [SJ]
_Stanley McGeagh_ (1936-2025), Northern Irish actor in _The Land That
Time Forgot_ (1974) and genre tv series including _Doctor Who_ and _UFO_,
died on 5 August aged 88.
_Kelley Mack_ (1992-2025), US actress in _The Walking Dead_
(2018-2019) and _Broadcast Signal Intrusion_ (2012), died on 2 August aged
33. [AIP]
_Terry A. Murray_ (1953-2025), US collector and bibliographer whose _Science Fiction Magazine Story Index, 1926-1995_ (1999) covers more than 30,000 stories, died on 7 August aged 72. [L]
_Frank Price_ (1930-2025), US tv/film executive who as 1970s head of Universal TV developed or supervised _The Six Million Dollar Man_, _The
Bionic Woman_, _The Incredible Hulk_, _Battlestar Galactica_ and others,
died on 25 August aged 95. [SJ]
_Lorna Raver_ (1943-2025), US actress in _Drag Me to Hell_ (2009), _Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage_ (2014) and tv series -- often playing judges as
in _Star Trek: Voyager_ (2001) -- died on 12 May aged 81. [KF]
_Tristan Rogers_ (1946-2025), Australian/US actor in _The Rescuers
Down Under_ (1990), _Soulmates_ (1992), _Raven_ (2010) and genre tv series, died on 15 August aged 79. [SJ]
_Ronnie Rondell Jr._ (1937-2025), US actor/stuntman whose many credits include _They Live_ (1988), _Star Trek: First Contact_ (1996) and _The
Matrix Reloaded_ (2003), died on 12 August aged 88. [SJ]
_Eduardo Serra_ (1943-2025), Portuguese cinematographer whose genre
films include _Unbreakable_ (2000) and _Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows_ (2010, 2011), died on 19 August aged 81. [AIP]
_Michael Sloan_ (1946-2025), US writer, story editor and producer
whose credits include _Battlestar Galactica_ (1978-1979), _Mission
Galactica: The Cylon Attack_ (1979), _Starfleet_ (1980-1981), _Return of
the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman_ (1987) and _Bionic
Showdown_ (1989), died on 13 August aged 78. [SJ]
_Leonid Smirnov_ (1960-2025), Russian author of 18 sf novels and an award-winning 7-volume bibliography of Russian sf (2006-2021), died on 28 August. [AM]
_Terence Stamp_ (1938-2025), UK actor in _The Mind of Mr. Soames_
(1970), _Superman_ (1978 + sequel), _The Thief of Baghdad_ (1978), _Alien Nation_ (1988), _The Phantom Menace_ (1999), _Smallville_ (23 episodes 2003-2011), _The Adjustment Bureau_ (2011) and many others, died on 17
August aged 87. [SG]
_James Whale_ (1951-2025), UK broadcaster and actor in _Cold and Dark_ (2005), died on 4 August aged 74. [SG]
_Robert Wilson_ (1941-2025), US stage director and playwright whose fantastic/surreal credits include three operatic collaborations with Philip Glass -- _Einstein on the Beach_ (1976), _White Raven_ (1998) and _Monsters
of Grace_ (1998) -- died on 31 July aged 83. [LP/LH]

THE WEAKEST LINK. Q: 'The solar wind is a phenomenon of particles leaving
which celestial body?' _A:_ 'The Moon.' (ITV, _Tipping Point_) [PE]

RANDOM FANDOM. _The BSFA Survey_ was notable not so much for its
unsurprising results as for low turn-out: 'There were 63 responses from a membership of around 929, meaning roughly 7% of BSFA members took part.'
(29 August).
_Bill Mallardi_, who has no computer or net access, confides a tale of woe: a 2024 basement flood destroyed the archive of his and Bill Bowers' classic fanzine _Double:Bill_ (1962-1969), excepting only the _DB
Symposium_. Can anyone help with replacements? 476 East Huston Street, Barberton, OH 44203-3050, USA.
_Mike Richards_, well known in the UK filk community, received an MBE
in the recent Birthday Honours -- not for musical achievement but for
'services to National Security'. [RR]

THE DEAD PAST. _80 Years Ago:_ 'I am given to understand that at a recent meeting of the BIS [British Interplanetary Society] it was suggested that recent developments made such a body hardly necessary, as interplanetary
flight will soon be here in any case.' (D.R. Smith, _British Fantasy
Society Bulletin_ 23, September 1945)
_60 Years Ago_ at the second London Worldcon's robot panel: 'Quickly defining that a robot is but a programmed computer, [Poul] Anderson said
that computers could be best employed for work not fit for human beings to
do, such as garbage collection, working with radioactive materials or in subscription departments of magazines.' (_Skyrack_ 83, September 1965)
_40 Years Ago_, an early rumour: 'Arthur C. Clarke has been persuaded
to put up a regular GBP1000 to fund an annual Clarke Award for best British
SF novel. Twiddly details are under discussion at the Science Policy and SF Foundations (e.g. popular vote or Select Judging Panel? One SFF person incautiously cried, "Our own Booker Prize at last!").' (_Ansible_ 44,
September 1985)

FANFUNDERY. _TransAtlantic Fan Fund._ Mikolaj Kowalewski safely reached the Seattle Worldcon (huge sighs of relief from worried administrators), had a
busy time there, and this month plans to attend Dragoncon (Atlanta) and
Albacon (Albany NY). More details in the latest newsletter
_Taffluorescence_ 9 at taff.org.uk. NA administrator Sarah Gulde reports
$1,848 raised at the Worldcon Fan Funds Auction: $500 for DUFF and the rest
for the currently much more active TAFF.
_TAFF Ebooks._ Expected soon: Jerry Kaufman's 1983 DUFF trip report _Kaufman Coast to Coast_.

OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Sam Long_ on the _A457_ 'Weakest Link' selection: '"Lochness" is the quality of being monstrous, just as "eliotness" is the quality of being untouchable.' (Email, 2 August)

MAGAZINE SCENE. _F&SF_, which published only two issues in 2024, is now
taking pre-orders (via product pages at the _Asimov's_ site) for Summer
2025 in printed and digital form, and promising quarterly publication. The accompanying cover image was pulled on suspicion of vile AI practices and replaced by 'Coming Soon'; there's now a different cover.

THOG'S MASTERCLASS._ Bodeful Boding Dept._ 'The air was surcharged with an invisible something which seemed to surround the house. Even that
phlegmatic, nerve-proof group were not immune to the tuning in of the premonitory cross-currents.' (Florence M. Pettee, _The Palgrave Mummy_,
1929)
_Neat Tricks._ 'He flexed his teeth together.' (Logan Swanson [Richard Matheson], _Earthbound_, 1982)
_Grape Expectations._ '"Then know that it's Chohlit who holds your
life like a grape on the palm of his hand." He brought his nose right next
to Innowen's, and glared. "Too bad I don't like grapes," he hissed.' (Robin Wayne Bailey, _Shadowdance_, 1996)
_Good News Dept._ 'Suddenly there were signs in the oscilloscope
screen of a promising vicissitude.' (Nal Rafcam, _The Troglodytes_, 1961)
_Humane Skyscraper Takedown._ 'The atomic structural reaction of this shower of rays was harmful only to materials. Hence, persons working in and about the buildings were unaffected.' (_Ibid_)


### GEEKS' CORNER ###

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CONVENTION AND EVENT LINKS
British Isles -- https://news.ansible.uk
London -- https://news.ansible.uk/london.html
Overseas -- https://news.ansible.uk/conlisti.html [no longer updated]


### ENDNOTES ###

PAYPAL TIP JAR THINGY. Donate to support _Ansible_, cover website costs and keep the editor happy! Or just buy his books.
https://ansible.uk/paypal.html
https://ae.ansible.uk/
https://ansible.uk/books/index.html

GROUP THEORY.
18 September 2025, evening: London Zoom meeting, third Thursday of
each month. 'Please share this with people who you know typically come to
the Bishop's Finger, but aren't on Facebook.' https://bohemiancoast.medium.com/first-thursday-london-sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f

R.I.P. II -- LATE REPORT. _Ron Roccia_ (1950-2024), US co-author,
co-producer and crazed-projectionist star of _Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell_ (1987), died on 4 August 2024 aged 73. [SJ]

SOME LINKS from the _Ansible_ home page.
AI spam at _SFE_
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/news/ai_spam
The Cruciverbal Inquisitor meets H.G. Wells https://www.fifteensquared.net/2025/08/19/inquisitor-1920-sunken-island-by-the-ace-of-hearts/
Hugo voting statistics; Administrator's report; Nomination statistics https://seattlein2025.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-Hugo-Voting-Statistics-v2.pdf
https://seattlein2025.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-Hugo-Administrators-Report-v2.pdf
https://seattlein2025.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Nomination-Data-2025-0831-rev4.pdf
Seattle Worldcon Souvenir Book; Pocket Program; _Daily 'Zine_; pre-con membership demographics https://seattlein2025.org/files/SeattleWorldcon2025SouvenirBook.pdf https://seattlein2025.org/files/SeattleWorldcon2025PocketProgram.pdf https://seattlein2025.org/program-and-events/daily-zine/ https://seattlein2025.org/memberships/demographics/

THOG'S GOLDEN OLDIES from _Ansible_ 218, September 2005. _Earth Is The
Alien Planet Dept._ 'Driving north toward Albany on the Taconic Parkway,
Parker watched both dawn and a heavy cloud cover move in from the west.' (Richard Stark [Donald E. Westlake], _Backflash_, 1998)
_Colour Perception Dept._ 'Two incense sticks burned in a little brass holder in front of her, sending wisps of thin blue smoke upwards which were indistinguishable in colour from the rat's nest of gray hair ...' (Eugene Byrne, ThiGMOO, 1999)
_Gastric Beyond Belief Dept._ 'Norman felt his stomach tighten, in a different direction than it had at the sight of Dr. Mitchell.' (Jay Lake
and Ruth Nestvold, 'The Rivers of Eden', 2005)
_Neat Tricks Dept._ 'The animal seemed to have no face until it
twisted its head round. Then it opened two enormous lidless eyes.' (Paul
Park, _A Princess of Roumania_, 2005)


_Ansible_(R) 458 (C) David Langford, 2025. Thanks to the BSFA, Tammy Coxen, _Daily 'Zine_ (of the Seattle Worldcon), Ellen Datlow, Bob Devney, Keith Freeman, Joe Green, Steve Green, Lisa Hirsch, Steve Jones, _Locus_, Pamela Love, Todd Mason, Andrey Meshavkin, Chris Moore, Lawrence Person, Andrew I. Porter, _Private Eye_, Roger Robinson, Marcus Rowland, _SF2 Concatenation_, Cato Sture, Liz Williams, and as always our Hero Distributors: Durdles
Books (Birmingham SF Group), SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Australia).

1 September 2025
--
David Langford | http://ansible.uk/ | http://news.ansible.uk/

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)