TSV 37 online

TSV 37 has now been added to the TSV online archive (just ahead of the print publication of its mirror opposite, TSV 73).

This issue was originally published in January 1994 and features a long interview with Gary Russell. The interview is a snapshot of a moment in time when Gary was editor of DWM, the telesnaps had just been found, and his first New Adventures novel, Legacy, was about to be published. The interview was conducted by Jon Preddle during a trip to the UK.

Whilst in the UK Jon also attended a day of location filming for 30 Years in the TARDIS, at Butler's Wharf. Jon's report with accompanying photos (some of which were purchased and used in DWM) appears in this issue.

The issue also includes include my own detailed analysis of the plot of Warriors' Gate. The article came about when someone at an Auckland Chapter meeting suggested that this story needed explaining. Warrior's Gate is one of my all-time favourite stories so I needed little persuasion to tackle the subject. I'm particularly proud of the result, and submitted it for consideration when Paul Cornell was soliciting fanzine articles for his Licence Denied book. The article didn't make the cut, but it was one of the first things I got Alden to post online a few years ago, when the TSV Archive consisted of just a small handful of items from scattered issues.

The other article I wrote for this issue was a fairly scathing critique of Dimensions in Time, along with a synopsis for the benefit of the majority of TSV readers who would most likely have not seen this mini-story.

Graham Howard contributed a thought-provoking article about the ethical morality in the New Adventures novel Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark, drawing interesting parallels with Blade Runner, which is one of my all-time favourite movies.

Issue 37 also saw the introduction of a new look for TSV covers, with the move from using coloured card in favour of white card with a spot-colour logo. This was an innovation suggested by the printers, and required a change to the cover layout to keep the artwork clear of the logo, for colour separation purposes. Most previous covers dating back to TSV 21 had seen the logo laid over the top of the artwork. The spot-colour lasted for six issues but the practice of keeping the logo and artwork separate remained right up until this year.

TSV 37's cover featured a striking piece of artwork by Alden Bates that he'd intended to appear alongside his short story The Last Words which also appears in this issue. Alden's story was missing part of the text on publication in the issue. I wasn't responsible for editing the fiction at the time and only became aware that the story was cut when Alden pointed it out to me some years later. Needless to say, the online version is complete.

Click the link to read TSV 37.

Paul