Letters to the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Letters to the Editor department is intended to be a forum for our readers to express their own opinions and ideas. While we appreciate the many complimentary letters we receive each day, you won't find them on this page. Instead, you will find letters that go beyond or even contradict what we have written, letters that offer a different perspective and provide a different view of science fiction. If you would like to submit a letter, please use our comments form or send a message to scifiweekly@scifi.com.

-- Craig E. Engler, Editor

SF should have an alternate label

'm writing to suggest an issue for examination by your staff, guests and readers. I counted six references to the problem of "how does one define SF?" in (your last) issue, addressed in the excellent Sawyer interview as well as in the "Feedback" column. There seems to be a growing acceptance of works that many would classify as fantasy, horror, supernatural-fiction and more under the SF banner. While I read and enjoy all these, should they be on the same bookshelf with literature such as Robinson's Red Mars or anything by Pohl, Asimov, and Clarke? Let's call this Part A of my question.

Part B relates to the relationships between the health of all traditional SF (not limited to just the "hard" stuff) and the perceived definition of science-fiction by the mainstream media and public at large. Are potential readers scared away by the "comic-book, cheap horror and pulp-fiction" reputation that SF has been given since the 50s?

I think these questions are both interesting and important enough to your readers that they merit some sort of discussion. My own opinion is that the SF community should consider an alternate label for traditional SF because that sub-genre is shrinking in relation to the many others by the day. My own discovery of adult SF was pure serendipity, as at the time I held the same negative views of the genre as, I believe, most of the public does. I'll leave it to others to suggest something suitable.

Paul F. Ponte
pontep@pananet.com

Editor: Interesting points. I wonder what the rest of our readers think?

Author doesn't object to kinky virtual sex

ontrary to an assumption in your review of my novel, The Truth Machine, I have absolutely nothing against kinky virtual sex! Other than that, I thought the review was quite fair. Overall, I'm most impressed with Science Fiction Weekly. The interview with Robert Sawyer (one of my favorite sf writers) was fascinating. I eagerly look forward to devouring future issues.

Jim Halperin
jim@heritagecoin.com

Editor: This should certainly clear up the issue for our readers. And thank you for the kind words.

B5 beats out Star Drek any day

read with some amusement your comments on the fall 1996 TV shows. It is always strange to me to see people praise the Star Trek shows with their awful "let's save the universe weekly with five minutes of thought and a particle of the week" plots and horrible dialogue. Babylon 5, even in an "off" episode, is an order of magnitude better than Star Drek. None of the episodes of the incarnations of Star Trek have ever come close to the quality of "The Coming of Shadows," "The Long Twilight Struggle" or "Severed Dreams."

It is a shame that B5 isn't receiving more support from the science fiction community and Warner Bros. It seems that your e-zine is more concerned about shows like Hercules and other junk.

Randy Crist
crist@creighton.edu

Editor: Actually, many of our staff are huge fans of B5, myself included, and we wrote some very positive things about the show, which continues to be impressive. However, like all shows, it has had some truly awful episodes. That doesn't mean we don't like it.

More information about Silent Death

wanted to commend you on your review of Silent Death: The Next Millennium. You captured the essence of the game in just a few paragraphs, especially the fact that it is quick to jump into and a lot of fun to play.

I just wanted to comment on a few things about SD:TNM. First there is a deluxe map available that is incredible! It is made of cloth -- eliminating the annoying creases -- it is very large, and it has nebulas and stars all done in paint that glows under black light! Every space minatures game I saw at GenCon was using the Silent Death map.

There are many supplements already out for SD:TNM, some of which you touch on, which provide the expanded scenarios and campaigns that you are looking for.

Erik Dewey
ayrk@aol.com

Editor: Thanks for the information, Erik. I'm sure our readers will appreciate it.

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