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 feedback form or send a message to scifiweekly@scifi.com.
-- Craig E. Engler, Editor
It's Nice To Hear That People Are Reading
hank you, Rick Noah. It's always good to hear that someone out there is actually reading the books we authors labor over!
Nancy Kress
Encyclopedia Shatnerica Review Was Offensive
'd like to make a few comments about a book review contained in Issue No. 96 under the section heading of Cool Stuff which I found offensive and distasteful. I am referring, of course, to Jeff Berkwits' review of The Encyclopedia Shatnerica, a work which is in and of itself already in extremely poor taste being nothing more than an unethical exercise in ridicule. Mr. Berkwits' obviously gleeful enjoyment of this work makes me want to unsubscribe from your newsletter forthwith.
M.Fumega-Serrano
modesto@ntplx.net
SF Must Look Past The Fanatic
retta Germroth's recent letter helped illuminate something I've been saying for years: more people would fess up to enjoying science fiction if they weren't going to find themselves categorized with the twits who bob their ears to pass for Vulcan or elf. While I'm the last person to begrudge those who depend upon fandom of their fix, the genre as a whole has to look past the fanatic if it's to survive.
Admittedly, popular news media hasn't helped with that perception. For every intelligent, articulate article in newspapers or magazines about science fiction, we get 15 "Look At the Freak" displays in those same papers or on television with closeups of gits who can't comb their hair but who can speak fluent Klingonese. Those portrayals don't help the perceptions of those outside of the genre, and the portrayed usually make matters worse by playing along for free airtime.
Sadly, I don't see anything changing: fandom is a separate calling from SF literature or art, but so long as the rest of us let the fanatics speak as our representatives, we're going to be categorized with the geeks. At the same time, people such as my wife (who detests most science fiction but adores Babylon 5) will continue to watch from the sidelines, and deny ever having any interest when asked.
Paul T. Riddell
hpoomail@usa.net
SF Fans Go Beyond The Stereotypes
n response to Gretta Germroth's comments on SF fandom,
I think that she has sold out to the typical media stereotype of an SF fan who takes great pleasure in the genre and of the role-playing gamer. Fandom gets a bad rap in the media because to them it's acceptable to find a group of people that won't take enough offense to retaliate in kind. Besides, what else would bring together such a wide array of people from so many diverse backgrounds? Gamers have always gotten a bad rap because there are those among us that do take things too far, but those are few and far between. A majority of the gamers that I know are well adjusted, have jobs, are students and "have lives." Just because we take some time out of our busy lives to get together and imagine that we are someone from a different world does not mean that we are mentally unstable. So my advice to anyone else who thinks that fandom and role-playing games are only for those who don't have lives or are mentally unstable, look at it a little better next time and not just the stereotypes.
Kevin Neff
rifleman42@hotmail.com
You Get What You Look For With Fandom
ust read the letter regarding fandom being appalling. I have been active in SF fandom for some time now and have always found it to be a fun and enriching
experience. I have never dressed as a Klingon (though I now have several new
friends that do) nor dressed as any other character from science fiction or
fantasy. I also don't indulge in role-playing games, though I have been known to sit with a group of friends and watch others indulge in them at a con.
What I have gained from fandom and attending science fiction conventions is the
opportunity to meet and talk to some of my favorite authors. It has also been
an incredible forum for meeting and talking to other people who like and enjoy
some of the books and films that I enjoy. My love of books is the primary
reason why I got involved in fandom.
In conclusion, I think that like most activities in life, what you get out of
fandom is a) what you want to find and/or b) what you choose to look for.
Susan H. Simko
shsimko@mail.duke.edu
The Side Of Fandom You Never Saw
n reading Gretta Germroth's letter, Fandom Is Appalling, I had my first
laugh of the day. Oh, yes, I remember my own initial reaction to those
within fandom who seemed to take things just a step farther than was
comfortable for the merely mundane to understand. I also remember what it
was like to be actively involved in aspects of fandom that had nothing to do
with dressing up for costume call at a convention.
After reading science fiction and fantasy since 1960, I discovered fandom 20
years later in a paperback book titled The Keeper's Price, an anthology of mostly fan-written short stories set in the Darkover universe created by
Marion Zimmer Bradley. I was totally blown away that an author such as MZB
would not only allow fans to write in her universe but help them get
published as well.
This is the side of fandom you probably never saw, Gretta. MZB wasn't alone
in her encouragement of budding writers; many encouraged their fans to write
their own stories in the universes they created. The saddest thing for me
was that, by contract, Anne McCaffrey was not allowed to read any of the
wonderful tales of alternate Perns that her fans wrote and published amongst
themselves on a regular basis. In spite of this, she never discouraged
their exploration of her universe. Jacqueline Lichtenberg for years was
involved in the non-professional publishing of Sime/Gen stories written by
her fans. She, like MZB and others, encouraged her fans to create their own
universes and write the many stories that cried out to be shared.
The Keeper's Price opened my eyes to a world unthought of, a place where
authors such as Diana Paxton, Jennifer Roberson, Melanie Rawn and Mercedes
Lackey were first introduced to this fan. I spent six years actively
involved in fandom, writing fiction,
building alternate universes with other fans, publishing newsletters, etc.,
and never regretted a moment of it.
Oh, yes, fandom is more than speaking Klingon and dressing up to dance under
the four moons of Darkover; it is an exploration of one's inner horizons as
well as you learn to look beneath the surface to see who is really there.
Raven Scott/R.T.Daughtry
siana@pacbell.net
Celebrate Fandom's Diversity
his letter is in response to Gretta Germroth's view of fandom. I have attended numerous science fiction conventions in the last 15 years and, yes, I have seen my share of degenerates, weirdos and fanboys. They do stand out, don't they? And that's my point. You only notice the ones that seem out of place. If everyone in fandom was like that, you wouldn't have noticed them at all. Many, nay, most of the fans that I know have a "life" as you call it. They have a successful career or ongoing education. Most have happy families and carry on "normal" outside lives, but prefer the open intellectual atmosphere that many conventions provide. I find most of the people in fandom I know to be sweet, open-minded and thoughtful people who tend to be smarter than the media. You just don't notice them because they don't attract attention to themselves.
Comparing the few that wander around in unwashed Klingon suits and hopelessly lost in role-playing games is like saying Falwell represents all Christian thought. And just as a side point, washed Klingon suits and playing role-playing games as just a game are okay with me, even if I don't participate in them.
Fandom is a diversity that should be celebrated, not scored over a few individuals.
Grig Larson
grig@bigfoot.com
SF Fans Are Wonderful People
am responding to a letter in issue 96 headlined "Fandom Is Appalling." I luckily stumbled upon fandom as an SF professional and have attended quite a few cons in the southeast over the decade of the '90s. Sure, there are a few people at almost any con who are interested in areas that I'm not, but one way or another, most people who are heavily into SF--in any way--are looked upon as "weirdos" by mundanes. My experience is that the overwhelming majority of fans are wonderful people--who also have lives, careers, families and so forth. In general they are intelligent, tolerant of people who are not "exactly" like them, and willing to welcome new members to the extended family of fandom. You find others with similar interests. There is no requirement that anyone saddle themselves with individuals they consider weird.
Fandom is about fun, enjoyment, finding people with similar interests, and celebrating what we like about science fiction and fantasy.
Rick Shelley
ricshelley@aol.com
D&D Movie Sounds Like Hack Work
stopped playing Dungeons & Dragons in '93, getting fed up with the lack of imagination and mental commitment of the people around me. I like the concept of the game, since I'm a fantasy reader, and I'm pleased someone has decided to do a movie based on it. But the story sounds like hack writing at best and overdone at worst. I just hope they put as much work into the acting, at least, as they surely will with the graphics. I'm a big fan of CGI, but if they screw it up on script or casting, all the graphics in the world won't save them at the box office.
Ike Davis
freejack@cybermax.net
All Women Don't Love Romance Novels
have been reading comments regarding how the typical woman does not
read SF. I have read Dune, and William Gibson's Neuromancer and the sequels. They were very good. Romance novels do not do a thing for me. I
enjoy a good yarn with great characters. I have been reading
SF and fantasy books since I can remember. I have always enjoyed other
places to "escape" to when I wanted a break from this crazy life! I
don't live in a Star Trek universe, but enjoy the stories, the way
authors have integrated characters with one another. Don't make the
mistake that all women love romance novels.
Kori Carothers
dcarothers@home.com
Sees Wide Variety In SF&F
egarding women, fantasy and SF, I'm impressed by those folks who can so easily pigeonhole these. I've found such a wide variety of story types that I have to look at the book spine to check the category and author.
Anne McCaffrey and Mercedes Lackey, for example, have each written books from both ends of the spectrum, as well as the middle. In fact, the best "fantasy" stories I've read treat "magic" as just another kind of science.
The biggest difference I've seen is character development. Real people who react to tough situations in a variety of ways. Real people have flaws and make mistakes and are affected by the people and things they encounter.
This brings up Valari Boyle's remarks on "romance" novels. These also have evolved over time to become real stories. Most of those I've read in the past few years have been "real" stories, not just the formula drivel of years past.
Melody Warner
melwarn@netscape.net
