Difference between revisions of "Science Fiction Eye"

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Science Fiction Eye

Science Fiction Eye issue 05 cover
Format	Print
Editor	Stephen P Brown and Daniel Steffan
Publisher	'Til You Go Blind Cooperative
Origin	Washington D.C., USA
Language	English
Frequency	NA
Active	January 1987 to Fall 1997
Topics	Cyberpunk, Science Fiction
Number of Issues	15
Follows	NA
Precedes	NA
Associated Publications	NA
Website	NA

SF Eye was a highly acclaimed critical magazine, with regular columnists including Bruce Sterling, Misha and Paul Di Filippo.

Science Fiction Eye was an amateur magazine of science-fiction criticism and review. Fifteen issues, Winter [January] 1987 to Fall 1997; edited by Stephen P Brown and Daniel Steffan, and published by the 'Til You Go Blind Cooperative to issue #5 (July 1989); edited and published Brown alone from #6; published from Washington, District of Columbia, to #8, thereafter from Asheville, North Carolina. All issues were letter-size, saddle-stapled, except #3 (March 1988) which was an extravagant large tabloid (14 x 11 in; 356 x 280 mm). This was also the special fiction issue, most if not all of whose stories were specially commissioned. It presented a range of material by Paul Di Filippo, Richard Lupoff, Charles Sheffield, John Shirley and Ian Watson, and the debut story by Kathe {KOJA}. The large format, unfortunately disliked by retailers, was intended to signal an experimental sf magazine that might have an impact, appeal and influence in sf similar to that of Art Spiegelman's (1948) Raw (1980-1991) in Comics

This intensely lively critical journal, professional in appearance, was at times regarded as the house journal of Cyberpunk, an image it gained because the first issue was a detailed study, or rather "autopsy", of the subject, including interviews with William Gibson and John Shirley. Its primary contributors continued to be the names most closely associated with the cyberpunk subgenre, especially John Kessel, John Shirley and Bruce Sterling, so it never lost that label even though the magazine was always looking beyond. The second issue (August 1987) had a special section on Philip K Dick and an interview with Lucius Shepard.

Science Fiction Eye was really a magazine for science-fiction radicals, chiefly a new generation of writers aware of how Technology was transforming society and looking at the impact and implications. It covered literature (mostly but not exclusively sf), music, technology, Communications, or whatever was hot on the streets at a given moment, with an agreeable if occasionally irritating air of seeing itself as living on the cutting edge. It was in Science Fiction Eye that Bruce Sterling coined the term Slipstream (July 1989) and it was that type of betwixt-and-between fiction that most interested the magazine.

Its various controversies included a continuing savage attack on Orson Scott Card, and others on Craig Strete and on Scientology. Further contributors included Ferret, Richard Grant, Eileen Gunn, Elizabeth Hand, Richard Kadrey, Charles Platt and Gary Westfahl, and there were features on J G Ballard, Samuel R Delany, Thomas M Disch, Ian McEwan, Christopher Priest, Connie Willis and David Wingrove.

With issue #12 (Summer 1993), Science Fiction Eye incorporated Doug Fratz's Quantum (> Thrust): Fratz then served as a contributing editor, but the personality of Quantum never really made its mark, although the subject matter covered by Science Fiction Eye became even more diverse. Paul Di Filippo provided a regular column considering the borderlands of science fiction including the writings of Ishmael Reed. Bruce Sterling examined the French romantics, whilst Stepan {CHAPMAN} looked at the role of artist John R Neill in creating the imagery of Oz (> L Frank Baum). Brown found it harder to sustain the magazine, which saw only four issues in its last five years, but it always remained very readable. Science Fiction Eye was never nominated for a Hugo award but it did win three Small Press awards given by Readercon, run by the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization.

Science Fiction Eye was also popular in Japan, where it sold 10% of its print run, which is why the cover included its price not only in US dollars and pounds sterling but in Japanese yen. Takayuku Tatsumi was a regular contributor and even assembled a Japanese edition of the magazine.

Contents

Issue 01

Interviews with William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, plus articles by John Kessel, Ted White, Sue Denim, Bruce Sterling, and Tom Maddox (A4, 72pp)

Issue 02

The Philip K. Dick issue

Issue 03

Special Fiction Issue with stories by Richard A. Lupoff, John Shirley, Ian Watson, Charles Sheffield, Kathe Koja, and Paul Di Filippo, plus an interview with Samuel R. Delany (A3, 48pp)

Issue 04

Interview with Clive Barker

Issue 05

Interview with Lewis Shiner & Howard Waldrop, plus articles by Bruce Sterling, Charles Platt, Richard Kadrey, John Shirley, and Paul Di Filippo (A4, 108pp)

Issue 06

Interview with Iain Banks, plus articles by Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, Charles Platt, Lawrence Person, Joan Gordon, Richard Grant, Takayuki Tatsumi, Richard Kadrey, and Stephen Brown (A4, 76pp)

Issue 07

Interview with Connie Willis, plus articles by Wendy Counsil, Misha, Lucius Shepard, Paul Di Filippo, Bruce Sterling, Kathe Koja, and Lucy Sussex (A4, 100pp)

Issue 08

Interview with J.G. Ballard, plus articles by Kim Stanley Robinson, Marc Laidlaw, Richard Grant, Peter Lamborn Wilson, Elizabeth Hand, Eileen Gunn, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, and Richard Kadrey (A4, 116pp)

Issue 09

Interview with Michael Capobianco & William Barton, plus articles by Tony Daniel, Gary Westfahl, Pat Murphy, Paul Riddell, Charles Platt, Philip Jones, Takayuki Tatsumi, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, and Richard Kadrey (A4, 108pp)

Issue 10

Interview with David Wingrove, plus articles by Terry Bisson, John Shirley, Dennis Kealey, Ernest Hogan, Charles Platt, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, and Richard Kadrey (A4, 116pp)

Issue 11

Interview with Thomas M. Disch, plus articles by John Shirley, Gary Westfahl, David Memmott, Ernest Hogan, Charles Platt, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, and Richard Kadrey (A4, 124pp)

Issue 12

Interview with Brian Eno, plus articles by Ron Drummond, Steve Erickson, Charles Platt, John Shirley, Bruce McAllister, Michaela Roessner, Lyle Hopwood, David Memmott, Takayuki Tatsumi, Larry McCaffery, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, and Richard Kadrey (A4, 124pp)

Issue 13

Interview with David Blair, plus articles by Don Webb, John Shirley, Charles Platt, Ken Jopp, Gary Westfahl, Steve Kelner, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, and Richard Kadrey (A4, 124pp)

Issue 14

A previously unpublished interview with Philip K. Dick, plus articles by Michael Hemmingson, Nancy A. Collins, Charles Platt, Sherry Goldsmith, Stepan Chapman, Bruce Sterling, Paul Di Filippo, Richard Kadrey, Paul T. Riddell, and Joey Zone (A4, 116pp)

Issue 15

Tenth anniversary issue with an interview with Jack Womack, plus articles by Michael Bishop, Richard Calder, Paul Di Filippo, William Gibson, Nicola Griffith, Gwyneth Jones, Eugene Mosburg, Bruce Sterling, Lucy Sussex, Takayuki Tatsumi, Don Webb, and Julia Witwer (A4, 132pp p/b)

Downloads

External Links

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Science Fiction Eye