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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5575693" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 235: November 1996part 4/8Bookwyrms: Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card gets a positive review from the editors, showing his fall from grace in geek circles is still yet to come. The worldbuilding is interesting, and his characters have a distinctive voice. He just wishes they'd release new books a bit faster. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is one of those old classics that any self-respecting sci-fi fan ought to have read. A man driving himself to madness in an attempt to get away with murder in a telepath controlled future. With some fascinating word-pictures, precursors of modern text speak, and exceedingly clever plot twists, this gets inside your mind and shows you different ways to think. The science may not be that hard, but there's still plenty to speculate about here. A game of Thrones by George R R Martin begins another epic series (that's also going to takes ages IRL and quite possibly never be finished) that takes fantasy in a somewhat different direction. Eschewing obvious good and bad guys for multilayered intrigue where no-one is safe, the twists just keep adding up. I doubt anyone can predict where it'll end. The grid by Philip Kerr is a story of a computerised building turned sentient and malevolent, and trying to kill the people inside it. Wasn't that the plot of an X-files episode around this time as well? Well, at least it isn't going to take over the entire world like skynet. Now you see it by Richard Matheson is a whodunnit involving a stage magician, who may well be using his craft to foil a murder investigation. This of course means plot twists and false reveals aplenty. So as usual, have fun seeing if you can guess the real killer and how they did it. So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane is another old book that they dig out to try and ensure younger readers of the magazine have shared cultural references with the editors. After all, it is perfectly targeted for kids, and it'll get you into the idea of building internally consistent magic systems. That's worth quite a bit to them. The stars my destination by Alfred Bester is another of his old books that still has few direct peers. Once again, it shows us what we could be, if we only have the will to surpass our limitations, but also that people in power will fear you if you do, and try to keep you within their boxes. War of the worlds: Global dispatches, edited by Kevin J Anderson lets a whole bunch of authors do slice-of-life examinations of the martian invasion as seen by different people in different cultures. You know, my class had to do exactly that as a project when I was 10. These are almost definitely better than what we wrote, but still, I find this spooky. I'm definitely going to track this one down. The winter king by Bernard Cornwell tries to bring a bit of gritty historical realism to arthurian myth, downplaying the magic, and focussing on the real social changes of the 5th century. Oh, how very 90's. Meh. Once again, I'm not impressed by this column. Tales of the fifth age: Relics by Jeff Grubb. Our themed fiction draws to a close with yet another low-key examination of what true heroism is. It's not about getting the praise for saving the world, although that certainly doesn't hurt. It's about the good you do for the people you know, not some anonymous and exaggerated tales. repeated by people in another country. And it's what you're prepared to do in the future, as much as what you've done in the past. But you shouldn't get cynical, and think all heroism is just exaggerations and putting a good spin on pragmatism. There are genuinely nice people out there, doing genuinely amazing things. So this isn't really a climax in any sense of the word, but a story of people carrying on another day, doing the best they can like they do in real life. The only truly happy ending is a new beginning. Actually, I have to wonder if sticking to that message so strongly was part of the reason the 5th age failed. People don't really want that level of realism in their storytelling, even if they say they might.</blockquote>

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