From: Tatianna G.

Art: Bill Sienkiewicz

This is only a comment, with a question wrapped around it. I love the well thought out and for the most part presented gaming manuals and additions that White Wolf puts out. I have an extensive collection of their offshoot novels and such, but I find that I don't want to play with anyone. I don't, nor have I ever played well with others.

Is what I do that odd? I love the background information, I love the richness of the world, but I don't want to play. I was just wondering if there are others out there like me.

Tatianna,
Nope. We don't find that odd. And we suspect there are more than a few out there with a similar hobby (in fact, there are some on our staff).

This is one of the reasons we feel justified in so much gaming coverage on a website that is otherwise scrupulously devoted to fiction. Some of the most dynamic writing being done in the genre today is in the gaming industry, and much of it is overlooked by the people who might most enjoy it.

In fact, while White Wolf has done an enormous amount to raise the bar for quality of narrative prose in the industry, they are by no means the only game in town. If you're really interested in quality writing, original narrative, and richly development background worlds -- both fantasy and SF -- we urge to check out (picking some of our favourites at random) Holistic Games lush Fading Suns, TSR's fine Alternity SF universe, Pinnacle Entertainment's unique and bizarre Deadlands, Chaosium's revered Call of Cthulhu line, and FASA's well-established Battletech games and novels.

Valuing an F&SF Collection

From: John Williams

Art by Emsh

I have a collection of about 50 F&SF issues, the earliest is dated July 1963, I was wondering if these issues are collectables or not? Or if you could give me any information as to where I might find how to find out the worth of these books, they are in fairly good shape, no rips or tears, but the pages are a little yellow (after 35 years I would be to). Thanks in advance for your time.

John,
Are they collectable? Certainly. Old genre magazines in good condition aren't as in-demand as they once were -- since movies and TV series gradually have replaced them as the element which most fans had in common -- but the top magazines, including F&SF, are always in some demand among readers.

Unfortunately, we can't give you any idea of what they're worth. For one thing, we don't sell books. You might want to contact some of the book stores we have listed at www.sfsite.com/depts/bshop01.htm. Some of them sell used and out-of-print titles.

Looking for some Decent Links

From: Kmmmoss@aol.com

I'm looking for good links for Sci-Fi and fantasy for Young Adults. I am a teacher.

The hunt for good Young Adult material can be tough, even on the Web. A number of publishers -- especially Penguin Books, Avon and Simon & Schuster -- have worked hard to make their websites accessible to younger readers and adults looking for YA material, and we would suggest you start there. Try our publisher's page as a starting point.

From: Mike Trevors

I have seen this before on the SF Site, but, you guys seems to be able to get books that are not commonly located.

I live in Canada (Calgary, Alberta), and, I called two major book stores here (Chapters, Indigo), and neither has this book even listed. By your review [by Neil Walsh, lead feature in our last issue], I am in desperate need to read this book. Any ideas? How did you obtain your copy?

Thanks in Advance. =)

Reviews Editor Neil Walsh responds:

Hi Mike,

If the SF Site sometimes reviews a book you can't find in your local bookshop, it may be for one of two reasons:

1) By its very nature, the Web transcends international boundaries. Since the SF Site has devoted readers around the globe, we will review a book which is on the shelves in North America, even if it isn't available elsewhere. And vice versa.

2) The SF Site strives to give coverage to new authors and small press publications as well as the more popular F&SF fare. Sometimes these small press books have a limited print run, which can make them harder to find.

In this case, as I mentioned in my review, Gardens of the Moon is on the bookshelves now in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. You should be able to order it from either www.amazon.co.uk or from http://www.bookshop.co.uk.

To make things easy for you, the ISBN is 0593 044703. It's a nice big fat trade paperback edition from Bantam at the very reasonable UK cover price of 9.99 English pounds -- which should translate to something approaching $25 Canadian.

Hope that helps.

Next Issue

The big books of summer have just started to arrive in real numbers, and we'd love to tell you about them. We have received reviews of the following new and upcoming releases:

Lord Demon by Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold
The Girl That Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
The SFWA Grandmasters, Volume 1 edited by Frederik Pohl
Far Horizons edited by Robert Silverberg
Future War edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 12 edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Rewind by William Sleator
The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli
The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks by Nick O'Donohoe
The Wizard's Map by Jane Yolen
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

and many others. Plus our usual columns and detailed New Arrivals features. Be sure to join us on July 1st. We'll be here.