Category: Recurring Columns

Foundational Readings: On The Edge

It’s been a while since we’ve done an installment of “Foundational Readings” or of “Next Time on Stars End.” I used those two columns to share the art that originally accompanied the stories we were reading. There’s a bit of unfinished business there, but today we have a bit of a surprise.

I remember what a big deal this was: the first Foundation novel in thirty-two years! But here’s something I didn’t remember or, more likely, wasn’t aware of at the time. Unsurprisingly, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine thought it was a pretty big deal too. So much so that the centerpiece of their December 1982 issue are the first two chapters excerpted from the book.

On Saturday we’ll release Stars End, Season 5, Episode 5. It’s our last installment about Foundation’s Edge; we’ve reached Gaia and the book’s climax.

But there’s lots more! There are two additional pieces of writing by the Great and Glorious Az himself, an editorial entitled “Susan Calvin” and a short essay entitled “The Story Behind the Foundation” under the masthead “Viewpoint.” I’ve read the latter before, although maybe not all at once; it is repurposed in an abbreviated form as a foreword (with the same title) to Foundation and Earth. The editorial, though, was new to me; I’ve never seen it anywhere else.

There are also commentaries from some of the biggest names in Science Fiction lauding the advent of a new Foundation novel including Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, and Larry Niven. Those alone were worth tracking down a copy. Here’s a sample.

A commentary by Frederik Pohl, New York City Forty years or so ago, when Isaac Asimov was beginning to write the Foundation series, I lived in Knickerbocker Village, in downtown New York City, and most Sundays Isaac used to come over to visit. Usually we would go out tor a walk in nearby Chinatown, and we would talk about what we were writing. What Isaac was writing had to do with some fellow named Flari Seldon and his exploits, over centuries, ranging across a galactic empire. Now this was all really great stuff, and I listened with joy, but later on I had to pay the price. John Campbell printed them In Astounding as fast as Isaac wrote them, of course — but then, when those issues came out, I already knew the stories. So I had nothing to read! And for this reason and tor many others, I cannot tell you how much I look forward to Foundation’s Edge, the first story In the series that I'll be able to read with pure pleasure, since some joker will not have told me the plot In advance.

But of course, the main attraction here is the artwork: like the novel, these are the first Foundation illustrations in decades. Unlike the novel, these were not all that available in the subsequent forty-one years.

There are three nice images drawn by Vincent Di Fate. The first is the opening two-page spread of the excerpt.

The other two take up an entire page of the magazine each.

Two additional images reuse elements of images 2 and 3 above. This is lovely stuff and as I’ve said on our companion site, JosephFranké.com, great art deserves to be seen.

You can find out about Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine online at www.asimovs.com. I scored my copy on eBay for a reasonable price.

Or, you can read the whole issue here: Asimov’s SF Magazine v06n12 1982-12.

All illustrations by Vincent Di Fate. You can learn more about his work at www.vincentdifate.com.

Adventures in Punditry

I like trying things I haven’t done before. A few years ago I got my one and only speeding ticket and I attended the court date. I’d never been to court before and it was interesting.

About two weeks ago, Steve Coleman, who was a Vice-President at Elmira College, invited me to be a guest on his local public affairs program. Steve’s been doing this sort of thing for years as a self-styled “Ph. D. of Politics.” Coleman and Company is now a weekly half-hour webcast that appears on Sunday evenings on MyTwinTiers.com, the website for the local WETM-18 news. Steve puts together an interesting show and it’s worth checking out.

And this isn’t just something new, this is something I’ve always wanted to try. I’m a politics junkie and I’ve been watching things like the McLaughlin Group or Face the Nation or The Rachel Maddow Show for years. I’ve done my share of groaning at the teevee and doing armchair punditry inside my own brain (“Eleanor! Pat’s just trying to wind you up! Don’t take the bait!!”). I always thought it looked like fun.

If you’re at all curious, the process was straightforward. Steve e-mailed his plan for the show to us on Sunday with an update on Tuesday so we’d know what to expect: presidential politics, impeachment, Iran, and then our own chance to sound off on something.

Over-Preparation

I was probably over-prepared. Joanne and I showed up at the studio about a half hour before we were set to tape on Thursday. We got to meet Denis Kingsley, the other guest, who is a real gentleman. Seeing the inside of the studio reminded me of my trip to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The tour took us through Mission Control and standing in these spaces is utterly unlike what you’d expect.

We took our places and started the taping; taped, incidentally, “before a live studio audience” thanks to Joanne.

I probably should have cut Eleanor some slack. A lot of the stuff I’d thought about beforehand got left on the table because it was nowhere in my brain to be found when I needed it. I guess my biggest missed opportunity was after Denis asserted that Elizabeth Warren would be unelectable if she got the nomination. I should have pointed out that the person the democrats really wanted to run against in 1980 was Ronald Reagan; they thought he’d be easy to beat. And no one seemed to honestly believe that Donald Trump could get the Republican nomination much less win the presidency in 2016. Some folks remained in denial until the electoral college actually voted. That, too, is why we have elections.

But this was a lovely experience. It was great fun and I really have to thank Steve for the opportunity. Unlike traffic court, I’d happily do this again.

So now I’m a bona fide “political analyst and commentator.” Coleman and Company featuring yours truly in the role of “company” is available here.