Worldcon 2025: TANSTAAFL?

If there was one thing that surprised me more than anything else about Worldcon, it was that there was a Freebies booth.  I generally don't have a lot of faith in giveaways, as per the title of this posting*, but in this case, it turned out to be accurate.

There were three kinds of freebies available - random ephemera, like pens, buttons, post cards and book marks; free books from publishers; and, most unexpectedly, a donations section, where attendees dropped off unwanted books for the taking.  

I have to admit that I do love little bits and pieces of merch, and the freebies table was a target rich environment.  That being said, I managed to avoid overindulging, and walked away with a relatively small selection of glossy items, including a very nicely printed 11x17 poster for Matt Wagner's 2019 Grendel comic book series on heavy stock.  (Full disclosure, I actually nabbed three of these, in hopes that at least one of them would survive the rigours of packing and the luggage compartment on the bus home.)

The selection of new publications being given away didn't hold a huge appeal for me, which is probably unfortunate, given that the whole purpose of giving away copies of a new book is to help create buzz.  However, I've been trying to limit my new book acquisitions, even free ones, and I only had so much extra room in my luggage. 

The free used books were a different story (no pun intended).  I visited the used shelves several times during the convention, and there seemed to be a steady flow of new donations, my thanks to all the contributors who kept the selection fresh. I did my best not to get carried away, but I still ended up with a solid stack of replacement copies, along with a couple of spur of the moment choices, like the Jim Burns book. There were even some free Ace Doubles** in good condition - I can only imagine the embarrassment of riches in someone's library that would allow them to do this.

I could easily have come back with a much bigger stack of books, were it not for the realities of transporting them back to Canada on the bus. As it was, I felt a bit like a bag lady as I stood in line at the bus terminal, but fortunately, no one sat beside me, which gave me a little bit more room for extra luggage.

Oh, and all three of the Grendel posters reached Vancouver almost completely unscathed, please let me know if you're in the GVR and you'd like one.

- Sid

 * There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, a phrase which I first encountered in the classic Robert A. Heinlein novel The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. 

** Even more surprising than someone giving away free Ace Doubles in good condition was the fact that two of them were new editions of previously published Ace Double novels, which I'd never seen before.  It had never occurred to me that that Ace would do remix editions.  

Worldcon 2025: Quotable Quotes.

"I'm the brontosaurus of the party. You're talking about history - this is my life."

Robert Silverberg, author

‘“Mars is my planet.”

Bridget Landry, JPL engineer, retired. 

"People complained, 'They made it funny.' - I am funny!"

Martha Wells, author, on the Murderbot series adaptation

"I'm a terrible actor. I would have to be a dead body."

Martha Wells, on doing a cameo on Murderbot 

"If you enjoy this reading, you can't buy it yet."

Fonda Lee, author

"I started writing fantasy because writing science fiction was just reworking the fears of the day, I wasn't bringing anything new to that conversation. And it was DEPRESSING!"

Paolo Bacigalupi, author 

"I never had a brand."

Nancy Kress, author  

 

 "When I get a fantasy idea, I write it.  Sometimes I write it as science fiction, in which case I write two stories."

Larry Niven, author 

"When I was starting out, I tried to learn from other writers.  It's very hard to imitate Bradbury, he has a great talent for implying that there’s a story there."

Larry Niven, author 

"I helped invent a lot of elements in these and I hate them."

David Brin, author, regarding his cell phone.  

"I get hate mail from my 35 year old self and I don’t remember how I sent them: GET ON WITH IT, OLD MAN!!" 

David Brin, author, on whether he will write another Uplift novel

"My name is Olav Rokne, and as of last night I have lost the Hugo for best fanzine six times."

Olav Rokne, blogger 

"Why do Klingons only speak one language? Genocide." 

Olav Rokne, blogger 

"The future belongs to everyone."

Jordan S. Carroll, author, from his Hugo acceptance speech for Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right

- Sid

Worldcon 2025: And the winner is...

2025 Astounding, Lodestar, and Hugo Award Winners

Astounding Award
Moniquill Blackgoose

2025 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
Sheine Lende, by Darcie Little Badger

Best Poem
“A War of Words”, by Marie Brennan

Best Fan Artist
Sara Felix

Best Fan Writer
Abigail Nussbaum

Best Fancast
Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones, presented by Emily Tesh and Rebecca Fraimow

Best Fanzine
Black Nerd Problems, editors William Evans and Omar Holmon

Best Semiprozine
Uncanny Magazine, publishers and editors-in-chief: Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

Best Professional Artist
Alyssa Winans

Best Editor, Long Form
Diana M. Pho

Best Editor, Short Form
Neil Clarke

Best Game or Interactive Work
Caves of Qud, Freehold Games

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Star Trek: Lower Decks: “The New Next Generation”, created and written by Mike McMahan, directed by Megan Lloyd

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Dune: Part Two, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, directed by Denis Villeneuve

Best Related Work
Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right, by Jordan S. Carroll

Best Graphic Story or Comic
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, written by Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio

Best Series
Between Earth and Sky, by Rebecca Roanhorse

Best Short Story
“Stitched to Skin Like Family Is”, by Nghi Vo

Best Novelette
“The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea”, by Naomi Kritzer

Best Novella
The Tusks of Extinction, by Ray Nayler

Best Novel
The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett

- Sid 

 

Worldcon 2025: Valentine's Day.

Finally, it all successfully comes together for my quest to get a signature at Worldcon from science fiction legend Robert Silverberg. 

The autograph session is scheduled from 3:00 to 4:00. At 2:30 I leave a disappointing talk on the Europa Clipper mission by Space Guest of Honour Bridget Landry, who spent the first fifteen minutes of her allotted hour eating lunch and answering questions with her mouth full, and the next 15 minutes waiting for someone to run back to her hotel room and find the USB stick with her presentation slides, and hurriedly take the escalator down to the third floor autograph venue.

It makes me a little nervous to see that there's already a substantial lineup, and that one of the people in line has a dolly with a couple of storage boxes on it, presumably filled with copies of Silverberg's books.  I quickly get in line and do some math: there's about 30 people in front of me, the autograph session is scheduled for about an hour, hopefully most people don't take much more than a minute - I should be fine, provided that the 90-year-old man of the hour arrives on time and stays the course for the full sixty minutes.

A Worldcon volunteer makes their way along the line, offering Post-It™ notes for people to write out any personalized salutations in advance, and announcing that Mr. Silverberg will be signing a maximum of three books. (Presumably to the disappointment of Mr. Dolly.)  I'm good - I have the hard cover first edition of Lord Valentine's Castle that I ordered online and the paperback copy that I found in Vancouver, along with a trade paperback version of Science Fiction 101, his combined textbook/reminiscence/anthology.  I have other Silverberg books in my collection, but they were not in ideal condition, and I felt oddly embarrassed to show up with something the worse for wear for a signature.

The line begins to move - presumably someplace around the corner, Mr. Silverberg has made his arrival.  We move along at a decent pace, until he comes into view.  The person behind me in line comments that Silverberg looks to be in a good mood, an issue which hadn't occurred to me.  Apparently he was less friendly at the 2024 Glasgow Worldcon, due to a bad flight experience and time zone issues. 

Once my turn comes, there are no problems, and Silverberg is affable and cheerful, if a bit businesslike:  after all, he has a lot of signatures to get through.  He carefully signs my three books, and consents to a photo:

I give him my sincere thanks, leave the line, and return my books to their protective wrapping, hopefully I can get them home without any mishaps or damage.

And finally, the result:

Thanks again, Robert - I hope you continue to attend Worldcon for many years to come.

- Sid

Worldcon: Interlude.

"I am definitely gonna die up here ... if I have to listen to any more of Commander Lewis's god-awful disco music." 

Mark Watney, The Martian 

It's the end of Day 2 at Worldcon, and I'm relaxing in my VRBO rental unit.  Unlike a lot of the VRBO/AirBnb units I've stayed at, it actually has a decent sized TV, so I've hooked up my laptop (like any good geek I always pack an HDMI cable, just in case) and I'm watching The Martian.

One of the running gags in the plot is that castaway Mark Watney, the reluctant hero of the story, is forced to rely on his commander's terrible 70s media collection for entertainment: disco music and Happy Days. (If memory serves, in the book he also reads Johanssen's collection of mystery novels.)

But wait - where's Watney's personal media library?  I can't imagine that he left for a lengthy Mars mission* without something in terms of personal entertainment.  To help establish a baseline, I'm on a six day trip, and whereas I didn't add anything to my media, that's because I didn't need to.  I have most of my music collection on my iPhone: that's 5,871 songs, which, based on a three and a half minute average song length, works out to about 342 hours of music.  That's more or less 14 days of nonstop 24/7 listening.  I also have 453 e-books on my phone - including The Martian - and about 100 hours of video on my iPad and MacBook combined, based on different movie and TV program lengths.  

Digital storage is increasingly small and cheap - why would Watney not take every song he's ever enjoyed, every movie he's ever even thought about watching, and the contents of the Congressional Library in digital format?

I know, it's because it's funnier, but it's an unexpected plot hole considering the strict science of the rest of the storyline.

- Sid

*The book has the trip taking 124 days one-way with an ion drive propelling the Hermes.

Worldcon 2025: Better Living Through Science.

All the breakout spaces at the Summit Convention Centre are equipped with digital displays, presumably intended to inform attendees as to the programming taking place in the room.  

Is it ironic that a convention whose theme is the future has to resort to printed schedules posted outside the doors? 

- Sid 

Worldcon 2025: A Dark Future?

YOU ARE NOW BOARDING THE SPACE ARK.

This craft has been traveling the cosmos for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. It has visited many other worlds, gathering strange and unusual objects. It has also visited future Earths and alternate Earths where history took a different course.

We do not know who made this craft. It is fully automated, with no crew. Its mission, apparently, is to travel, observe, and collect.

Now it has arrived here to share its discoveries. 

MoPOP Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction introduction.

After registering for Worldcon and checking into my VRBO for the week, I do a quick trip to MoPOP, the Seattle Museum of Popular Culture, and the Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic displays. 

It's a great opportunity to see unique genre props and artwork, but I do have one criticism, particularly of the Infinite Worlds display.  

I remember a point in time when the exhibit was much better lit and easier to photograph!  I appreciate the concept of the Space Ark and its collection of artifacts from different times and realities, but honestly, is there any reason that they can't turn the lights up on the ship?   

- Sid

Worldcon 2025: Prologue.

Today's the big day - well, the day before the big day, but still. 

It's 6:00 AM, and I'm waiting to board the Amtrak train to Seattle, ready to spend the next five days at Worldcon, the annual World Science Fiction Society convention where the Hugo Awards are presented.  I'm a bit conflicted, to be honest. On one hand, this is a unique experience, and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to attend. On the other hand, the current rift between Canada and the USA makes travel across the border a bit of a political statement, and a lot of people have cancelled trips like this.  On the gripping hand?*  Everything was booked and paid for last November, long before the current situation developed, and to be honest, I'd rather not lose my money.

Surprisingly, the bus is actually a faster option than Amtrak rail - notably so, with the bus taking three hours and 45 minutes and the train logging in at four hours and 25.  However, the train has other advantages, not the least of which is that passengers go through US Immigration while still in Canada, which means if there are any issues, you can't be detained, only refused entry.  I don't anticipate any problems, but my wife has read too many cautionary tales on the internet for us to ignore possible complications, better safe than sorry.

However, things have changed since my last train trip to the US.  Shortly after crossing the border, there is a brief stop so that Immigration can check our documents again - and now we're on American soil. The inspection announcement is stern:  while the agents are on the train, passengers will not leave their seats, will not use the rest rooms, and will not use electronic devices. 

Fortunately, it's just a quick passport check by a polite Immigration agent, they collect our entry forms, and we're back on our way, actually arriving at King Street Station a little bit early. 

I leave the station and hike up to Pike Place Market, where I temporarily stash my luggage, and do a bit of shopping at Golden Age Collectables.  I top up my assortment of genre buttons, then head up to the street so that I can scout a route to the convention center and register, hopefully avoiding a lineup tomorrow.

The Summit Convention Center is an imposing structure, conveniently located a straight five minute walk from the Westlake Monorail stop.  Once inside, there's a bit of a line for registration but it's not too serious, only a few people have decided to pick up today - presumably tomorrow morning will be a LOT busier.  The age spectrum is skewed a bit older than I expected, there are more than a few white-haired attendees in line.

A friendly volunteer registers me, and I collect my badge, along with a couple of ribbons (apparently ribbons are a Worldcon thing).  That's all there is at this point in the process:  program guides and souvenir books won't be available until Wednesday morning.

Back to Pike Place, where I collect my luggage, and trudge up to my VRBO booking, about a kilometer and a half north.  Checking in goes smoothly - it's not a large space but well set up, and really, all I need is a place to sleep and shower, with the kitchenette being a welcome convenience for morning tea and breakfast. It's not very close to the convention center, but it's a relatively short ten minute walk to the Space Needle monorail terminal, which, as already established, is just five minutes from the Center - I'm all set. 

I'm really not sure what to expect in the morning.  Media coverage of events like San Diego Comic Con has left me with the impression that large fan conventions are like feeding time at the zoo, as my mother would say, but I'd also like to think that the Worldcon crowd is going to be a little more genteel than their comic book cousins.  

In my mind, this is a bit like a geek Pride Week. Admittedly, in the age of the internet, being a science fiction and fantasy fan is not the lonely experience that it was when I was a teenager, but there's still a certain feeling of isolation that comes with the territory, and as such I can't help but think that this is going to be a validating experience.

Ultimately, it's going to be a wait and see situation  - but I'm confident that it's going to be a good five days. 

- Sid

* This useful term is taken from The Gripping Hand, the sequel to The Mote in God's Eye, by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven.  The two books detail humanity's first alien contact - the aliens in question are asymmetrical, with two arms on one side, and a larger, more muscular arm on the other - allowing them to have look at one hand, the other hand, and then, to wrap the question up, the large gripping hand. Coincidentally, Mr. Niven is on several of the convention's panels.

Worldcon 2025: There's a Glitter Tattoo event as well.*

I appreciate that the organizers for Worldcon are looking to fill five days with programming that needs to appeal to a wide variety of tastes, but I admit to being a little surprised to find out that cardboard tree construction was on the list.  Still, it's all about inclusion - enjoy, tree builders!

- Sid 

* "Who doesn't love glitter?  Or tattoos?"  Well said. 

Worldcon 2025: Merch!

I'm trying to keep my Worldcon adventure as inexpensive as possible, but I do think that one of these will make its way into my luggage for the trip home. 

- Sid

Worldcon 2025: Lord Valentine's Castle.

Without missing a beat, Valentine began to walk inland, over the smoothly rising dunes toward the dense jungle wall. The trees parted as he approached, bowing to left and right, clearing a track for him, a scarlet-paved way leading to the unknown interior of the island. He looked ahead and saw foothills before him, low gray hills that rose in slow ascent to become steeply rising granite flanks, beyond which lay jagged peaks, a formidable sharp-tipped cordillera stretching on and on and on to the heart of a continent. And on the highest peak of all, on a summit so lofty that the air about it shimmered with a pale luminous glow seen only in dreams, sprawled the buttressed walls of the Castle. Valentine marched toward it, juggling as he went. Figures passed him along the path, coming the other way, waving, smiling, bowing. Lord Voriax was one, and his mother the Lady another, and the tall solemn figure of the Pontifex Tyeveras, all greeting him cordially, and Valentine waved back to them without dropping a diadem, without breaking the smooth serene flow of his juggling.  He was on the foothill trail now, and effortlessly moving upward, with a crowd growing about him, Carabella, and Sleet close at hand, Zalzan Kavol and the whole juggling band of Skandars, Lisamon Hultin the giantess and Khun of Kianimot, Shanamir, Vinorkis, Gorzval, Lorivade, Asenhart, hundreds of others, Hjorts and Ghayrogs and Liimen and Vroons, merchants, farmers, fishers, acrobats, musicians, Duke Nascimonte the bandit chieftain, Tisana the dream-speaker, Gitamorn Suul and Dondak-Sajamir arm in arm, a horde of dancing Metamorphs, a phalanx of dragon-captains merrily brandishing harpoons, a skittering cavorting troop of forest-brethren swinging hand over hand through the trees alongside the path, everyone singing, laughing, prancing, followed him toward the Castle, Lord Malibor’s Castle, Lord Spurifon’s Castle, Lord Confalume’s Castle, Lord Stiamot’s Castle, Lord Valentine’s Castle—”

Robert Silverberg, Lord Valentine's Castle

Success - the first edition hardcover copy of Lord Valentine's Castle* that I ordered last week through AbeBooks arrived this morning at about eleven o'clock, and it's in absolutely beautiful condition, well worth the money - I'll be proud to have Robert Silverberg sign this.  My heartfelt thanks to Jeff Coopman at The Usual Suspects in St. Catharine's, Ontario for all his help in making this happen before my departure for Seattle and Worldcon tomorrow morning.

- Sid

* Cover art by Ron Walotsky, op. cit. 

Worldcon 2025: In pursuit of Lord Valentine.

In the process of filtering through the epic list of programming for the five days of Worldcon, I was surprised to see legendary science fiction author Robert Silverberg listed as being a member of the panel at the Authors We Are Starting to Forget event on the first day of the conference. (There's some mild irony here, it's entirely possibly that some of the younger attendees may not be familiar with Mr. Silverberg's work.)

A quick check on Google revealed that Silverberg is 90 years old, which probably makes him one of the few remaining authors from the Golden Age of science fiction, with his first stories being submitted for publication during his early teenage years. (It also mentioned that he has never missed a Hugo awards event since their debut in 1953.)

I'm generally not an autograph hunter, but when I realized that he would also be available for autographs the following day, I decided that it was an opportunity that couldn't be missed, and added the autograph session (and the Forgotten Authors event) to my schedule. 

The selection of novel was easy - my favourite Silverberg story is his award-winning 1980 novel Lord Valentine's Castle, which marked his return to science fiction* after his announced retirement from writing in 1975.  The book details the fall and rise of the titular Valentine, who is cast down from his throne as Coronal of the planet Majipoor after having his mind transferred to a different body, and who must traverse the planet as part of an itinerant troupe of jugglers to regain his position and defeat the usurper.  It's an excellent, well-written novel, somewhat different from his earlier work:  thoughtful, introspective, playful and dramatic, with a final line that delivers an unexpectedly bittersweet ending to the story.**

However, as is the case with many of my more treasured books, my well-read 45-year-old paperback copy of Lord Valentine's Castle was somewhat the worse for wear,  so I decided to see if I could track down a hardover copy of the first edition.

My initial online search revealed several options, but shipping time was unpredictable, so I set off the following morning to tour the local used bookstores in hopes of a lucky discovery. 

Pulp Fiction's Main Street location yielded nothing, nor did The Paper Hound, on Pender.  I discovered a copy of the paperback edition in good condition at MacLeod's, just down the street from the Paper Hound, which was quite a surprise - MacLeod's is one of those bookstores which has lost the battle with its inventory, and as such browsing can be a challenging experience. 

In the words of my ex-boss in Toronto, a good plan today is better than a great plan tomorrow, so I bought the paperback edition as a backup (my existing copy also being in need of replacement) and headed off to the Seabus for a trip to North Vancouver and Book Lovers, a store which I hadn't previously visited.

Sadly, Book Lovers also came up empty for Lord Valentine, and I headed home with just a paperback copy to show from my five hour bookstore tour.

I returned to the web, and eventually found a first edition hardcover copy in Fine Condition at an Ontario bookseller for $35.00 CAD on AbeBooks, and decided to take a chance on having it delivered before I left.  I paid extra for expedited 2-7 day shipping, but so far the provided Canada Post tracking number hasn't shown any progress since I placed my order last Friday, and I leave next Tuesday at 7:15 AM.

And now we wait - fingers crossed.

- Sid 

 

* Or fantasy - there seems to be some variation in how the Majipoor Cycle, made up of Lord Valentine's Castle and a number of longer and shorter related works, is classified.

**It's also possible that a studious reader could learn how to juggle over the course of the story.

It seems so little to ask, when you think about it.

That's absolutely the message that I want to send to the world on a sweatshirt, but sadly it's really not my colour.

- Sid

 

Broadway and Ontario, Vancouver.

"Our hands are no longer dark with soil, yet we reshape our environment like never before. Communities now live in realms inconceivable before through the power of the internet and modern technology. We are more connected then ever, yet it is often experienced through a digital surrogate. The future is uncertain, but we could all take a moment to reflect on what it is to live and to be." 

L. L. PHILLIPS, Digital Renaissance.

- Sid

Worldcon 2025: It's happening!

Round trip Amtrak ticket purchased for my trip to Worldcon and the Hugos in Seattle next month!  And there are finally some reviews for my little affordable VRBO booking near the Space Needle - it's always bit worrisome when a property hasn't received a single comment.

Just over a month to go!

- Sid