Asimov's Science Fiction: July 2013 (23 page)

One trait of Rambo's that needs to be remarked on here is her droll humor, not unremittingly black, but hardly light and slapstick either. The prime instance in this book is "Kallakak's Cousins," about a hapless alien running a souvenir stand on a huge space station. I'm reminded of Cory Doctorow's fabulous debut story "Craphound," but Rambo's tale is even more polished and multiplex.

This whole dual collection pleases immensely, up close or distantly removed.

The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories
(PS Publishing, hardcover, £19.99, 325 pages, ISBN: 978-1-848633-09-4) is
Andy Duncan's second book. (I'm discounting his standalone novella from PS Publishing,
The Night Cache,
since that piece is also included here.) Duncan attended Clarion, the fabled workshop for fledgling SF writers, in 1994. So, two books in nearly twenty years? Not exactly a Stephen King-like level of production, but one necessarily tied to the exigencies of holding down a day job and to Duncan's personal habits of composition. And yet, Duncan has amassed a record of superior work out of all proportion to mere number of pages gathered between boards. He feels like an essential, towering part of the fantastika landscape, his every story eagerly awaited. He's in the same league as Howard Waldrop and Ted Chiang: artists who deliver infrequently, but who tender a masterpiece nine times out of ten.

Duncan is primarily, I venture, a fabulist: a teller of tall tales, of strange unlikely fate-woven happenstances that illuminate how weird the world really is. But unlike our field's most famous such figure, R. A. Lafferty, Duncan always remains in perfect control of his meticulously shaped material. With Lafferty, one always felt that the story was being improvised drunkenly word by word, and that it might go off the rails or end up at a destination utterly unintended. With Duncan, the narrative is a powerful subtle engine hauling a battered Duesenberg down a Spanish-moss-festooned corduroy road.

A story like "The Big Rock Candy Mountain," with its fairytale hobos, is both a triumph of naturalism and fancy, along the lines of Fritz Leiber's work. "Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse," detailing young Flannery O'Connor's oddly mystical barnyard pet, fills a historical niche with glorious mystery. "A Diorama of the Infernal Regions" blends Tim Powers with Robert Bloch. The Soviet space program becomes mythic in "The Chief Designer."

And that's barely scratching the surface. This book is so full of elegant marvels that it should$#x2014;and must$#x2014;suffice us until the next installment of Duncan's genius.

Everybody should have their Memorial Day convention picked out. I'll be at BaltiCon. Asimovians should particularly consider KeyCon, Oasis, ConQuest, BayCon, MisCon, ConCarolinas, Sooner-Con, and DucKon. Plan now for social weekends with your favorite SF authors, editors, artists, and fellow fans. For an explanation of con(vention)s, a sample of SF folksongs, and info on fanzines and clubs, send me an SASE (self-addressed, stamped #10 [business] envelope) at 10 Hill #22-L, Newark NJ 07102. The hot line is (973) 242-5999. If a machine answers (with a list of the week's cons), leave a message and I'll call back on my nickel. When writing cons, send an SASE. For free listings, tell me of your con five months out. Look for me at cons behind the Filthy Pierre badge, playing a musical keyboard.—Erwin S. Strauss

9-12—
ÅCon. acon6.wordpress.com.
For info, write:
10 Hill St. #22-L, Newark NJ 07102.
Or phone:
(973) 242-5999
(10 AM to 10 PM, not collect). (Web)
acon6.wordpress.com.
(E-mail) [email protected]. Con will be held in: Mariehamn, Åland I., Finland at the Aldon. Guests will include: T. Sullivan. "Pronounced 'Awe-Con:' truly Åsome." Supporting Helsinki 2015 Worldcon.

9-13—
MistiCon. misti-con.org.
Margate Hotel, Laconia NH. "A Harry Potter Convention Like No Other." Not officially sanctioned.

10-11—
Watch City Festival (781) 893-5410. watchcityfestival.com.
City-wide Steampunk bash, Waltham MA. Big evening events.

10-12—
Faerie Festival. marylandfaeriefestival.org. Camp
Ramblewood, Darlington MD. Outdoor event. Pony rides, May Pole, etc.

17-19—
KeyCon. keycon.org.
Winnipeg MB. Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica), Lee Moyer. Celebrating Dr. Who and H. P. Lovecraft.

17-19—
Spectrum. spectrumfantasticartlive.com.
Bartle Hall, Kansas City MO. M. Whelan, C. Vess, McPherson, Whitlatch, de Sève.

17-20—
CostumeCon, cc31denver.com.
Red Lion Denver Southeast, Aurora CO. Masqueraders' annual con. Spectacular costumes.

18—
Book Festival. gaithersburgbookfestival.org.
City Hall, Gaithersburg MD (near DC). "Books, Writers & the Written Word." Free.

24-26—
Oasis, Box 323, Goldenrod FL 32733. oasfis.org.
Orlando FL. Seanan McGuire, Cthulhu Chili Cookoff, NASA stuff.

24-26—
ConQuest, Box 36212, Kansas City MO 64171. conquestkc.org.
Holiday Inn CoCo Key Water Park. Rothfuss, Garcia, Wrede.

24-26—
Anime Boston. animeboston.com.
Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Hotel, Boston MA. Note new weekend (2013 only).

24-26—
Anime North. animenorth.com.
Congress Centre, Doubletree, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, all near Toronto airport (YYZ).

24-27—
BaltiCon, Box 686, Baltimore MD 21203. balticon.org.
Hunt Valley Inn, Hunt Valley MD. J. Haldeman, Okorafor, Sternbach.

24-27—
BayCon, Box 62108, Sunnyvale CA 94088. baycon.org.
Hyatt, Santa Clara CA. L. M. Bujold, V. Belmont. C. & J. O'Halloran.

24-27—
MisCon, Box 7721, Missoula MT 59807. (406) 544-7083. miscon.org.
Ruby's Inn. Jim and S. K. Butcher. "Family-friendly."

24-27—
WisCon, Box 1624, Madison WI 53701. (608) 233-8850. wiscon.info.
Concourse Hotel. Walton, Slonczewski. Feminism & SF.

31-June 1—
ConSarnit, Box 8036, Minneapolis MN 55408. (612) 721-5959. [email protected].
St. Paul MN. Western fiction.

31-June 2—
ConCarolinas, Box 26336, Charlotte NC 28221. concarolinas.org.
Charlotte NC. Tim Zahn, W. Baur, A. Rosenberg.

31-June 2—
RelaxaCon, Box 391596, Cambridge MA 02139. arisia.org.
Denisport MA. Come help plan next year's big Arisia con.

13-16—
World Horror Convention. whc2013.org.
New Orleans LA. Bram Stoker awards for horror will be given out.

21-23—
ConTerpoint, c/o 5911 Veranda Dr., Springfield VA 22152. conterpoint.org.
Gaithersburg MD. SF/fantasy folksinging.

28-30—
SoonerCon, 1848 Hemmingway Dr., Edmond OK 73013. (405) 310-9255. soonercon.com.
Midwest City, OK. Cherryh.

28-30—
DucKon, Box 4843, Wheaton IL 60189. duckon.org.
Westin Chicago North Shore, Wheeling IL. Golden Duck awards.

28-30—
ConTemporal. contemporal.org.
North Raleigh Hilton, Raleigh NC. Pirate/western/SF mashup, looks like

28-30—
BaCon. ba-con.org.
Columbus OH. "Weekend-long Convention Celebrating Geeks, Games, Tech and... BACON!!!"

4-7—
WesterCon. westercon66.org.
Sacramento CA. Griffith, Eskridge. The big annual Western/SF/fantasy convention, 66th edition.

4-7—
ConVergence, 1437 Marshall Ave. #203, St. Paul MN 55104. (612) 234-2845. convergence-con.org.
Bloomington (Mpls.) MN.

5-7—
InConJunction, Box 68514, Indianapolis IN 46268. inconjunction.org.
Marriott East. Cherie Priest. "Strange New World."

5-7—
North American Discworld Con. nadwcon.org.
Marriott Waterfront, Baltimore MD. "The Turtle Moved!"

29-Sep. 2—
Lone Star Con 3, Box 27277, Austin TX 78755. lonestarcon3.org.
San Antonio TX. The World SF Convention. $160+.

14-18—
LonCon 3, 379 Myrtle Rd., Sheffield S2 3HQ, UK. loncon3.org. Docklands,
London UK. The WorldCon. £95/A,C,U.S.$160.

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Stories from
Asimov's
have won 53 Hugos and 27 Nebula Awards, and our editors have received 19 Hugo Awards for Best Editor.

Please do not send us your manuscript until you've gotten a copy of our guidelines. Look for them online at
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or send us a self-addressed, stamped business-size (#10) envelope, and a note requesting this information. Write "manuscript guidelines" in the bottom left-hand corner of the outside envelope. We prefer electronic submissions, but the address for manual submissions and for all editorial correspondence is
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Asimov's Science Fiction.
ISSN 1065-2698. Vol. 37, No. 7. Whole No. 450, July 2013. GST #R123293128. Published monthly except for two combined double issues in April/May and October/November by Dell Magazines, a division of Crosstown Publications. One year subscription $55.90 in the United States and U.S. possessions. In all other countries $70.90 (GST included in Canada), payable in advance in U.S. funds. Address for subscription and all other correspondence about them, 6 Prowitt Street, Norwalk, CT 06855. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for change of address. Address for all editorial matters:
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