Richard Cowper
"The Hertford Manuscript"
© F&SF, October 1976
The Custodians and Other Stories, 1976
--short story : 1977 Locus award /7th place
Some readers call it a loose sequel to The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. That's probably a long stretch, but it's still an excellent time-travel story, written in a smooth respectable British style. It deals with the Dark Ages and the time of the Black Plague.
Ian Watson
"The Girl Who Was Art"
© Ambit # 65, 1976
The Very Slow Time Machine, 1979
This is a highly unusual story, both in subject matter and in masterful narrative technique. A testimony to Ian Watson's skill as a stylist, it has been posted recently in a Poetry Magazine online, which marks it as a "poetry in prose" (prosetry?). True, many passages read like some kind of a song, or a chant. It is by no means a masterpiece, but a refreshing occasion in SF genre. An avantgarde take on one photo model's uber-stylish experiences.
This is only a short sample of October 1976 stories, many more have been published in the original anthologies (1974-1977 were the prime years for themed anthologies). Next Spyglass issue will cover October 1966... be ready to take out your daddy's flowery beetle for a spin.
Artwork copyright by Alan Gutierrez
Article comments