James Nicoll Reviews

Although the masthead asserted that Destinies would be published four times a year, Destinies, October-December 1979 was the fifth issue in the first volume of the science fiction bookazine Destinies. Destinies was edited by Jim Baen, who is credited as James Baen on the cover and James Patrick Baen within¹.

Volume One, Number Five has some vexing issues, but it did at least provide noteworthy juxtapositions.

I don’t remember buying this, but I do remember a general sense of mild disappointment in this issue, a sense that this was somehow a placeholder issue. Well, one mildly disappointing issue in five was better than Analog​’s average at the time; as I recall, late 1970s Analog managed one interesting issue to two meh issues to one terrible issue.

In fact, this was a more interesting volume than I remembered. Too bad that the Hogan story, one of the worst pieces in the volume, is the second piece in the issue, and worse yet that the story immediately before it highlights the Hogan’s weaknesses. This sets a pattern for the volume (as explained below).

The entire run of Destinies is out of print and this is no exception.

“Go Starless in the Night” • short story by Roger Zelazny

A corpsicle is revived by enigmatic aliens whose agenda is unclear.

There’s not much to this story, but as Zelazny has a keen sense of how much narrative a slight premise can sustain, he does not overstay his welcome. Other authors five or six thick volumes into a novella’s worth of idea could learn from Zelazny.

Silver Shoes for a Princess • novelette by James P. Hogan

The interminable tale of a young woman learning from her robot mentors the curious and poorly documented history of the starship she calls home.

While in no way good, this story was noteworthy because it’s such a stark contrast with the preceding Zelazny tale in terms of narrative per word. Also because the robots’ investigation of their origins inadvertently foreshadows Hogan’s own descent into creationism.

Jove! • [New Beginnings] • essay by Jerry Pournelle [as by J. E. Pournelle, Ph.D.]

A brief discussion of the incredibly awesome discoveries made about Jupiter and its moons, courtesy of American² space probes.

Three Aliens • novelette by Kevin O’Donnell, Jr.

A discontented young person flees her social obligations, only to find herself confronted by a cousin of Saberhagen’s Berserkers. Important life lessons ensue.

The Stars Are Waiting • essay by G. Harry Stine

Man’s DESTINY IN SPACE depends on some investor sinking research funds into humanity’s salvation.

THE DEAN DRIVE.

Well, gosh. For some reason, I thought Analog had a monopoly on Dean Drive nonsense. (See, for example, Stine’s 1976’s Detesters, Phasers and Dean Drives, which offered Analog readers a thrilling account of how the Dean Drive is totally a reasonable idea that will surely be realized provided only that physics works differently than it actually does). Apparently not.

I’d mock SF readers of old for their Dean Drive enthusiasm except, as the EmDrive nonsense showed, the belief that the universe can be tricked into providing a free lunch is evergreen.

“Feathered Pigs” • short story by Frank Herbert

A short, pointless, mostly harmless fable.

“The L‑5 Review #2” • essay by the editors of L‑5 News

Space news.

Baen was clearly a true believer in space colonization and as I recall³, the publishing company that bore his name devoted a certain level of effort to books whose thesis was yay space development. I wonder when Baen decided the books just didn’t sell well enough to bother publishing them?

Spider vs. the Hax of Sol III (Destinies, October-December 1979) • essay by Spider Robinson

Robinson reviews Hot Sleep by Orson Scott Card, Titan by John Varley, The Wanting of Levine by Michael Halberstam, Galactic Empires, Volume 1 by Brian W. Aldiss, Galactic Empires, Volume 2 by Brian W. Aldiss, The Shores of Space by Richard Matheson, Nightmares and Geezenstacks by Fredric Brown, Kinsman by Ben Bova, Universe 9 by Terry Carr, A House in Space by Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr., and The Third Industrial Revolution by G. Harry Stine.

I own most of those books and have reviewed a fair number of them. For the most part, Robinson comes to much the same conclusions I did, except that he is far kinder to the space-related books.

Robinson highlights a common issue with reviews, which is that while panning terrible books can be fun for the reviewer and the reader, reading terrible books is not much fun. Also, although he does not mention it, the magazine might not be all that keen on alienating advertisers with accurate reviews.

“The Immortals: From Print to Film and Back Again” • essay by James E. Gunn

The grim account of the journey taken by Gunn’s fix-up The Immortals from book to film option to TV movie to doomed TV series.

Recommended to every SF author who thinks having a story optioned justifies running out to purchase a mansion. If only John Varley had read this before optioning ​“Air Raid,” which as you know (Bob) was the source material for the dreadful movie Millennium. Varley’s experiences during the filming were… embittering.

The Predators • [Jed Lacey • 2] • novelette by David Drake

It would seem to be impossible to get away with murder in a panopticon state, but one blackmailer’s victim believes he knows how to do it. The bold scheme fails to take into account the possibility that the investigating detective cannot afford to be outmaneuvered.

Remember when people thought plants might, in a sense, be thought to think? This story turns on that idea.

This series is to Copaganda what Hammers Slammers is to romantic war stories. The police exist to maintain existing power structures, not provide justice, and even if he weren’t a convicted rapist who had been conditioned to be a remorseless cop, Lacey would not care about the inherent flaws in the system he serves.

“What Kind of Love Is This?” • short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II

Drugs and conditioning are the key to accepting a meaningless life of pure decadence.

“Science Fiction and Science Part 5: Science Fiction and Reason” • essay by Poul Anderson

In which Anderson draws a distinction between pseudoscience that the author introduces for the sake of the story, and pure bunkum founded in resolute irrationality.

I admire Baen’s artistry in selecting works for this issue of Destinies that illustrate the distinction. The Drake piece, for example, would be an example of an improbable idea exploited for the story potential, whereas the Stine’s The Stars Are Waiting is a hint that Stine long ago lost the plot where Newtonian physics is concerned⁴. At least, if Newtonian physics gets in the way of cheap space travel.

1: As with previous issues, the names blazoned on the masthead are mostly those of people who would go on to have long, noteworthy careers in science fiction. See the previous review for details.

The interior art is by Broeck Steadman [as by E. T. Steadman], Stephen Fabian [as by Steve Fabian], Alicia Austin, and Suso. Steadman and Fabian were, of course familiar names (Fabian in particular), while Austin had an extensive career as an artist for works I seem to have missed. As far as I can tell, Suso’s documented career was limited to this very volume. Alas, the paperback illustration technology of 1979 wasn’t up to reproducing images effectively.

2: USA delenda est.

3: That means ​“I am pretty sure I am correct but too lazy to poke through ISFDB to verify my memory.”

4: Stine also wrote an editorial titled ​“Beyond Relativity,” which seems promising. What wonders await? Should I track it down?