I suspect Fetler has a day job given the paucity of work he’s published in our field.

Three stars for the story, but five stars for the excellent art!įetler returns to IF with his second vignette, a subtle piece about the last hours of a social deviant. Well-written, like everything Simak does, but unexceptional. SimakĪn atypical piece by Simak in which an incorrigible criminal crosses paths with the brother to The Ship Who Sang, to his ultimate dismay. The payoff is rushed, however perhaps this would have made a better novel. The spaceman must navigate a set of intelligence tests and we gradually come to understand the intentions of the extraterrestrials. Orion follows the tale of an young astrogator shanghaied across a thousand light years by aliens bent on forging an alliance with humanity. Pohl has been a writer for decades, and he produces good stuff. I have to wonder if Pohl gets paid the same rate as everyone else for stories he writes, given that he is the editor. The Five Hells of Orion, by Frederik Pohl First up is is the January 1963 IF, and if this be a harbinger, then next year will probably be a decent one: January-dated issues show up the month before, so I’ve already gotten a sneak preview into the next year.

The first night of Hannukah is the 21st, and then, of course, there’s the big mid-Hannukah holiday (named after Chris, the patron saint of presents).Īnd it’s when I renew my subscriptions for science fiction magazines since they generally offer Christmas discounts!ĭecember marks the new year, at least as far as periodicals go.

That sleepy time of the year when the air gets chillier (such as it ever gets chilly in Southern California), work slows down a bit, and shopping for the holidays picks up.

The Glory of Ippling by Helen M. Urban