Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 42 — page 158: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

EMEA St; AER TCL RAR OMA “ ey * / rAd +7 te he nf cw } _ Bentclife, one of the leading lights, esigned from the Committee owing to personal differences. And cer- Pe ly this office has had no word about the convention for many _ months. Apparently the northerners, _ unable to comprehend the unity of _ London fandom, have now fallen out _ among themselves. This is a great ' pity, is quite avoidable and is some- _ thing of a disgrace to British fandom. We only hope the northerners will ve us the lie by forming a thriving jl and coming to life again over _ the convention. Pull your socks up, Birmingham and environs! And put 4 _ away your water pistols! (If that _ doesn’t shock them, Mr. Egan, noting will!) BIG ALREADY? _ Why say of Bryan Berry that ie ‘one day he will do something -_-Teally big? It somehow gave the _ impression that Adaptable Man was _ ‘not all that it might have been. I - found the story absorbing and will be satisfied if Mr. Berry keeps the _ Same standard in all his work. William Hill, 24 Constance Gre Hayes, Kent. y i. - Weill, we won't be satisfied, ‘William! Nothing will satisfy us i he but a continual improvement in _ quality among our authors. We believe that nothing is ever perfect, aN _and one of the aims of a magazine _ is to strive towards perfection: that we 'y we get better and better. And ia “y we don’t delude ourselves about the 4 A quality of stories like The Adaptable ; Sie It was not great literature. We ve Berry may one day write great ats 157 AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION literature. That is what we mean by something really big. See? COVER Oooo ... that cover... that cover! Now what is my verdict? Is it to be good or is it to be bad? The axe falls . . . it’s terrific! Terrific with a capital ““T.” It’s the best piece of art I’ve seen on any zine. So British. And not cluttered up with pop-eyed monsters; no beautiful damsels in the famous American bikini space suit; no over-built muscle men wearing skin-tight space suits. Oh, so realistic. A straight-forward paint- ing of a great scene. Don Allen, 3 Arkle Street, Gateshead 8, Co. Durham. Don, we blush and bow and kneel before you! Such praise encourages us to continue with the good work, knowing that we are appreciated. Thank you. WAIT FOR IT You have now, after trying for a long time, the best science fiction magazine published in Britain today. But that is not good enough. You must also have one good enough to beat the British editions of American magazines which are now Offered at the same price as yours. Michael R. Birrell, 10 North Street, Hastings, Sussex. Stick around, Michael, and keep your eyes peeled. All you have to do is wait for it, and you'll soon be writing to tell us we've done it. That's a promise! comiclooks.conn