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Bev Vincent |
RIP: Algis Budrys |
Lead | |
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SF author, critic, and editor Algis Budrys, born 1931, died yesterday morning at the age of 77. Full obit at Locus
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David J Bell |
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ROGUE MOON and WHO? are both amazing.
THE CONDEMNED by David Jack Bell From Delirium Books January 2008 www.davidjackbell.com
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Padrone1911 |
I remember "A. J." . . . . . | ||
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with something less than fondness.
In the early eighties, he published a "review" of a sky-novel of mine called "The Secret Sea" in which he ripped open like a dressed deer on a New Hampshire state road. Full of ad hominem attacks and snide suggestions of my lack of nautical knowledge, the review sent a torpedo into my career as a sky-fie writer. (In retrospect, he did me a favor, but at the time, I was kind of stunned because the review was quite vicious, and I'd never met the guy, and couldn't figure out what I'd done --like Job and God--to Piss. Him. Off. So, as chance may have it, Budrys was a guest of honor at an upcoming sf con in DC, so I showed up and stood in line to get his autograph--the piece I asked him to sign was, of course, his hatchet-review. I had prepared myself to confront my Adversary, and was pulling the literary equivalent of running into his festering lair with spear held high and screaming "Where is the son of a btch!?" But as I approached him, I was shocked to see a florid faced, overly corpulent character who looked about as menacing as the guy who does those blow-and-twist balloon animals at kids' parties. I intro'd myself and he started acting antsy, and asked me he could buy me a drink when he fiinished signing so we could "talk about things.". I ignored that one and told him I didn't care about him hating my book--that was cool, but I needed to know why he'd attacked me so personally and viciously. He fidgeted and finally said he thought I had been "getting too much praise lately, and needed to be knocked down a few notches." I looked at him and had to control my anger. "Really, who died and gave you THAT fucking job," I said. "I want to punch your face right now. But instead, I'll just do this." Without another word, I picked up the fountain pen he'd been signing with and and I snapped it in half. Ink went flying (a stupid move on my part) and I walked away. That was the last time I ever talked to him. What a business . . . . . |
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Blunt Ed D |
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Should have stuck it in his eye, Tom. In fact, if you want a hand to dig the fucker up, we'll do it now
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Shocklines |
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A great loss to the industry. Tom, that's a great story though -- I hope you can laugh about it now. I really think he was brilliant -- even when I
disagreed with him.
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
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Lawrence Dagstine |
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Wow, and thus with Arthur C. Clarke, another one of the Old Guard leaves the Written World....
Fantastic writer and a sweetheart. I remember his advice and critiques vividly from the days when I submitted to Tomorrow Magazine. I've heard stories of his Boot Camps and classes for writers of which I had always wanted to join his in particular. A sad loss. My condolenses to family and those who knew him.
Lawrence Dagstine Homepage: www.lawrencedagstine.com
Lawrence Dagstine MySpace: www.myspace.com/lawrencedagstine
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alienmotives |
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I met him once. He was sick, still had a bit of the pomposity described, but was carrying around a lot of pain as well. I've been told since then that he
has been more-or-less housebound for at least the last two years.
Tom, it may amuse you to learn that he's one of a handful of people who has flatly refused to simply sign things, and insisted upon inscribing everything, even after I told him I was a dealer and only wanted the one... "Who?"... signed. Still, I didn't hold it against him. He was looking old before his time, very overweight, and it was obvious that many of the attendees, there for David Weber, had never even heard of him. Until Il Padrone gave his story, I'd never heard any bad anecdotes concerning him, so I'd assumed it was just my bad luck to hit him on a terrible day. Now I can tell that he had at least a streak of jerk within him... but with some good things I've heard as well, I know that streak wasn't always present, that sometimes he could be great, at least to his friends. I've heard he was crushed by his inability to win one of the two big peer awards, the Hugo or the Nebula, during his career. His best work was put out in years when other people rocked the genre; he went up against A Case of Conscience, and A Canticle for Leibowitz, and missed the cutoff in the year The Left Hand of Darkness won. I know for a fact Sheckley was bothered by his lack of a Hugo or Nebula as well. I think for some of those people, seeing friend after friend take one home and being one of a handful of people in the big crowd not to win it starts to eat at them. I think the horror writers' attitudes tend to be better: awards are appreciated, but what really matters is readership and/or money. The guy could be an ass, but he could also be an ace... that describes a lot of people. He produced some great work, and both endured physical pain and emotional self-torture. I hope he's somewhere where he's feeling no pain anymore.
Alien Motives books: www.alienmotives.com
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monkeycat |
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I've heard he was crushed by his inability to win one of the two big peer awards, the Hugo or the Nebula, during his career.I feel the same way about Bruce Willis. Troy |
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Shocklines |
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alienmotives wrote: This never bothers me anymore. In fact, I like the idea of them HAVING to hear your name. It bothers me more when people refuse to inscribe.
Shocklines.com -- your one-stop shop for hell on earth
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alienmotives |
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Matt, I never have a problem if someone tells me that they only inscribe. Or if they don't inscribe at all. Obviously, I prefer to go with my standard
policy: get one book, preferably the one that means the most to me, inscribed, and the rest just signed for potential resale... but exceptions are fine. I will
be a little disturbed, though, when the person doesn't give any indication of a policy like that, waits until they're signing, ignores the request to
just have the remainder of the books/magazines signed but continues to inscribe each item, and then hands them back saying _at that point_ "Oh, I only
inscribe."
Hmm. Maybe, then, I wouldn't have handed him the old Galaxy that I'd had signed/no inscriptions by Harry Harrison, Robert Silverberg and Piers Anthony. I'd have gotten my personal copy signed, and the signature books, and walked away delighted to have met a sf legend. I'm happy to keep the personal sf geek pleasure seperate from the book dealer, but I do prefer an indication of some sort that it will have to be done. On the other hand, I can look at it this way: I have a bunch of stuff to remind me of meeting him, so even if something is accidentally lost or destroyed, I may run across another item in the decades to come, and I'll still have a reason to recall those memories.
Alien Motives books: www.alienmotives.com
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